We got to Valentine Wednesday afternoon, checked into our motel, and headed out to see some prairies and a waterfall. Our first stop was Niobrara Refuge, and we looked for the wilderness trail. Even with directions from the visitor ce ter, we couldn’t find d it. Or maybe we found it, but it was a locked gate with no car signs on it. We backtracked thinking it might be somewhere else. But as we walked back toward the old corral, Kenobi was covered with ticks. It wasn’t like armor, or anything g, but I pulled seven off of him. I think seven counts as covered.
He’s been treated with a tick repellant that can only be reapplied after 30 days . . . He also hurt his two left paws. I suspect he was bitten by a ts because I removed one from between his toes. Poor guy would not leave his paws alone, and I wanted to get him ho.e and into a bath as soon as possible and double check for the bloodsuckers. It does take hours for ticks to infect victims with diseases, but the sooner they’re gone, the better, if you ask me. So, it was back to the motel for a bath and some Benadryl. He has reactions to bites abd stings. It was a rough first day!
The next morning, Kenobi was back to being himself and his paws were back to normal. We set out again–this time in search of the Fort Falls. Kenobi seemed a bit shy in taking the lead, and bashful about getting into the geasses. Although the walk went well, I was constantly removing ticks from him. Takes some of the enjoyment away having to be on tick patrol. Tiring, but we kept on and saw the prairies, Smith Falls, and trekked the trail next to the Smith Falls. I’m not sure how many ticks I removed or pulled from Kenobi. I removed four from me.
The good: gorgeous trails, beautiful falls worth the walks, wild turkeys, prairie dogs, and wild flowers, and several birds.
One more mention of caut I n: poison ivy. There is a sign planted in the middle of an area full of it, but it is plentiful along the longer trail as you walk back to the start.
It’s all dog – friendly sly, but parts of the trail–long stretches–ate on the prairie in bright sunshine making it hot. Kenobi couldn’t wait to get back into the shade and needed several minutes of cool-down. We rested again once back on the lawn.
I’d planned to leave for the Buffalo Gap Prairie and continue on to the Black Hills National Park this morning, but the weather for casted is thunderstorms with possibilities of tornado. That doesn’t seem like optimum camping weather. So, we’re going to see if dogs are welcome on tube and test the river waters as well Kenobi ‘ life vest.
On the Trails with Kenobi 
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