The Cowboy Trail

We finally made it back on the trail today after a couple of days taken to help heal a blister about the size of a silver dollar on the bottom of my left foot. That foot’s still not one hundred percent, but it felt alright, and we managed to cover the twenty mile gap between O’Neill and Atkinson, Nebraska.

It was a great day for a stroll. The sky was mostly overcast although a little blue peeked out from around the clouds from time to time. Temperatures started in the low 60’s and rocketed all the way up to the mid-70’s by early afternoon. For my Texas readers, I’m sorry, but Nebraska is only a couple days drive away. I might be time for your own pilgrimage off the anvil of the sun to someplace a little more temperate.

Cowboy Trail - Holt County, Nebraska

We covered the entire distance today on a small section of the one hundred and ninety-five mile “Cowboy Trail” in the outback section of central Nebraska. On the section we’re on, the trail loosely parallels US Highway 20, known as the “Outlaw Trail,” but it gets far enough from the highway for wildlife sightings and a great scenic walk.

I passed signs today prohibiting this use of the trail by both motor vehicles as well as cows, and I’m in full agreement with both of those sound policies.

No Cows Allowed - Cowboy Trail

Along the path, we saw more than a handful of rabbits, a couple of fairly large hawks, and two groups of six or seven wild turkeys. 

Now I know it’s a pretty common occurrence to see the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K run advertised in most of our hometowns. Usually there’s a picture of a plump turkey with really short legs trotting at a reasonable pace. Based on these images, I always imagined that turkeys were ungainly beasts capable only of a light jog.

I can tell you from my experience today, that is NOT the case at all.  I spotted the first bunch of turkeys off to the left side of the trail in a pasture. I was too far away to get any pictures, but I thought I’d walk up a little closer and maybe snap a few shots. These wiley beasts somehow caught wind of my presence. I don’t know. I showered and had on clean clothes, but somehow they sensed me anyway. They took off at what looked like a walk and disappeared behind a row of round hay bales.

“No problem,” I thought to myself. I’ll just walk to the end of the hay, and they’ll be there. I walked past the hay and glanced toward the turkeys. They were more than halfway to a treeline a couple of hundred yards in the distance. I’d only covered about twenty yards. I started to jog. They picked up their pace, and the distance widened even further.

As I slowed to a stop, the last turkey in line glanced back at me over her right shoulder as if to say, “Silly human. Turkey Trot means we can actually run. You have no chance of outpacing us on the ground.” It’s a pretty good dialog for a glance from a turkey, but I’m pretty sure that’s what she was communicating.

This evening, I did a little research, and it turns out that a wild turkey can run at speeds exceeding twenty five miles per hour. The fastest human recorded to date is sprinter Usain Bolt who clocked in at just under twenty eight miles per hour in his record setting one hundred meter dash.

This will come as no surprise to most of you, but in the interest of full disclosure, I’m no Usain Bolt when it comes to burning up the track. More of slow smolder, if I’m lucky. 

That made me feel a little better about being outrun by a pack of wild birds. Today was a good saunter, and we’ll see what tomorrow will bring. 

Hope you all had a great Thursday!