Platte River – Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings

Autumn Memory

These tiny wild grapes growing along a Florida trail brought back memories of traipsing along the Platt River in the fall. Wild grapes were abundant, and I used to enjoy picking and eating them though they were small, about the size of a blueberry, and quite tart. There was no hiding the snacking, either, sinceContinue reading “Autumn Memory”

Secrets Locked

In the mid 1960’s, my dad was digging in a field that lay along the north banks of the Platte River in Nebraska. He felt the shovel hit something solid, so he reached into the hole and pulled out this rusty old padlock. It has a crown and “VR,” in honor of Queen Victoria, stampedContinue reading “Secrets Locked”

Platte

The Platte is a curious river washing over the gravelly remnants of the ancestral Rocky Mountains. Native Americans once camped and hunted along its waters, and later, European emigrants to Oregon, California, and Utah passed along the banks of this “Great Platte River Road.” The river was often described as “too thick to drink andContinue reading “Platte”

First Fossils

At an abandoned gravel pit along the Platte River, I once searched through the pile of large rocks that had been filtered from the gravel. They were of no commercial use and had been discarded by the gravel pit operator. However, they were a treasure trove to young rockhounds like me, and there I foundContinue reading “First Fossils”

Faux Frost

Imagine a hard frost coating the windows in central Florida; actually I try not to. I remember past times of cold fingers, frozen whiskers, and frostbite on the bridge of my nose after a jog in -30 degrees one morning in Wyoming. One winter in Illinois I had to shovel snow off our roof threeContinue reading “Faux Frost”

Platte River Venture

Dad had always loved to fish, especially for rainbow trout. We would drive to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado for camping trips to follow this passion, and for hiking and camping. It was a long drive back then, and he came up with his own fishing, camping, and golf resort along the Platte River nearContinue reading “Platte River Venture”

Pathway to Yesterday

A walk through the woods recently along the greenway proved to be more than just a path through the forest. Like a tunnel to another time, it summoned memories, nearly six decades old, of childhood wanderings through the trees and thickets along the Platte River in Nebraska. It was a quail’s whistling call, “Poor BobContinue reading “Pathway to Yesterday”

June in January

”It’s June in January…” crooned Bing Crosby in the 1934 movie Here Is My Heart. The photo above is actually June 2021 at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Oregon. By Florida standards it was “January in June,” or worse. Fortunately for us our weather this January has been much milder than June at the lodge,Continue reading “June in January”