Trail

  By Alie Mayes, Community Science Education Specialist You are looking to connect. So, you open your dating app and start scrolling through profiles. No, no, nope, heck no. And then, you pause. Something’s different about this one. It reads: “About Me: Life is all about the connections. I am dynamic, resilient and always seeking balance. Love Languages: Acts of Service and Quality Time What I’m Looking For: I’m Looking for a partner who is nurturing, always looking for the …

Tips for Multi-day Kayaking By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley Kayak camping is exactly what it sounds like — a unique adventure that combines the best of two worlds. In high school, I was fortunate to spend a week in Alaska with the Girl Scouts, and like a dream come true, we paddled our way around the Kenai Peninsula and camped each night on different beaches. From the tranquility of a kayak, I witnessed marine wildlife from a perspective that would’ve been different …

Eager to get on the water? Yeah, me, too. Summer (Post-Memorial Day) is a perfect time to float Nebraska’s water trails. There are many reasons to take a float trip on continuously flowing water. You can do it for the openness and space that it offers and the adventure of going somewhere you have never been. You can do it to make connections and memories with people and nature, re-trace history, experience wetlands, see a variety of wildlife species, get …

Story and photos by Marissa Jensen Quiet amid noise seems like a contradiction, and yet, I’ve discovered it in the most surprising of places. Omaha is a bustling city where everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere — now. This incessant busyness is overwhelming. Every day, as weekdays feel longer and demands scream louder, I feel a part of me slipping away in all the noise. It was on such a morning, while in search of something “more” both …

Story and photos by Renae Blum It had already been an enjoyable day: wading in Pawnee Lake, picnicking along the shore, chasing Frisbees and etching names in the sand. But it was perhaps a simple green post that garnered the most excitement of all. “I see it! I see it!” Spotting the familiar outline along a wooded trail, Kenzie and Ellie Muma of Papillion took off at a breakneck pace, racing to get there first. Once their laughing parents caught …

A busy outdoor educator spends a day outside on her own. By Grace Gaard, Outdoor Educator When I was younger, time seemed to go on forever as I spent much of it exploring the outdoors. Now as an adult, I’ve recently realized that my time in nature has changed. While I absolutely love facilitating students’ exploration of nature as an outdoor educator at Game and Parks, I’m realizing that making time to explore nature for myself is something I need …

Story and photos by Gerry Steinauer Two years ago, while morel mushroom hunting in a creekside woodland near Aurora, I saw a pink, dime-sized “ball” sprouting from a log. Baffled, I concluded it was a strange puffball mushroom. I snapped a photo and texted it to my go-to guy for mushroom identification, Chance Brueggemann, woodland ecologist at Indian Cave State Park. His response: “It’s wolf’s milk, a slime mold.” I wasn’t sure what a slime mold was. I assumed they …

By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist I recently saw the most incredible meme: It compared hiking with a naturalist versus hiking with someone who was there for physical activity. The naturalist finished the 1-mile hike in about 3 hours, while the person motivated by exercise finished in about 11 minutes. You may be wondering why the naturalist took so long to finish the hike. Well, if you have ever hiked with a naturalist, or someone who appreciates nature, you know …

Topside photo of a dryad’s saddle, a.k.a. pheasant’s back or hawks wing, in Nebraska. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Along with finding and picking morel mushrooms, there is another edible wild fungus growing in your moist woodlands that you should know and consider harvesting and making for dinner — the dryad’s saddle. The Dryad’s saddle. What the heck is that? The dryad’s saddle (Cerioporus squamosus, formerly known as Polyporus squamosus), and referred to as the pheasant’s back or …

Nothing brings out paddlers like unseasonably warm temperatures. Those enjoying Nebraska’s water bodies and water trails are urged to be cautious this spring. While air temperatures can warm quickly, water temperatures still can be dangerous. Nebraska Game and Parks has the following safety tips for spring kayakers: There’s safety in numbers, so paddle with a friend or friends. Let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return home. Watch the weather forecast; it can change quickly. …