Backcountry

Prior to moving to the Nebraska countryside from the city, our recreation time was spent trying to get away from it all. We had a couple pop up campers over the years that we pulled behind our Jeeps into the Mountains of Colorado just about every weekend. This was before we hit the road full time in a motor home pulling the Jeep doing the same thing after I retired. We became pretty good at finding out of the way places to camp away from the maddening crowds of the city. We found ghost towns in Colorado, ghost camps of general George Patton that were used for desert training during WWII in the Arizona and California deserts, old mines, and places so remote that we could camp for a couple weeks at a time and not see another person.

Now that we've moved to the country, we've kinda gotten into a rut of staying home. It's really nice here! That notion got reinforced this morning as we were greeted to two mule deer right outside our window when we got up. However, we did get out of the home bound rut Sunday afternoon because it was a really nice weather day. What we found just keeps making us certain we made the right choice moving here!

Just a few miles from our place is the Medicine Creek WMA. The WMA stands for wildlife management area in case you didn't know, and while these areas are great habitat for wildlife and offer sportsmen hunting and fishing opportunities, they are a great place to get away from it all too.

Our trip along much of the west side of the WMA yielded quiet country roads, abundant wildlife, and solitude that is increasingly difficult to find. We stumbled on a cemetery with a single headstone dated 1876, found remote campsites, and wished we would have brought our blanket or chairs to be able to sit next to the creek and listen to the wind rustle and tumble the changing leaves.

So if you are looking for a place to escape your rat race to find some peace and quiet, the Medicine Creek WMA gets my recommendation. A word of caution, if it's wet, unless you have 4 wheel drive, I'd stay home unless you really enjoy getting unstuck from the mud.