Valentine Nebraska... where else will you find hearts stenciled through town on the sidewalk. Small town but quite a diverse region of lakes, grassy sand hills, waterfalls, a national forest, and 2 wildlife refuges. We spent an extra day just to drive and hike around this quiet town in North Central Nebraska.

Waterfalls on the Niobrara river. We saw several of these along the river. Where oh where is my kayak. Miles and miles of gentle running river just waiting for paddlers.

More waterfalls. We were in awe as we would come around a corner and discover more water running.

We were impressed by these pads with supports to easily climb in and out of canoes or kayaks along the river.

Valentine has a 72,000 acre National Wildlife refuge. Not a lot of wild animals but every sighting delighted us.

WOW, yes we were treated to this view of 30 to 40 elk enjoying the grasses. Darn, they were spooked by our presence.

We saw this waterfall on the way to Merritt Reservoir, 11 mile long water area with 44 miles of shoreline. This is suppose to be a trophy fishery with lots of bass, perch, pike and walleye. May need to come back and fish some day.