Dates: March 23, 2024
Meets: Sa from 10:00 AM to 12:30 AM
Location: MCC Sarpy Center Parking Lot
Registration Fee: $159.00
Sorry, we are no longer accepting registrations for this course. Please contact our office to find out if it will be rescheduled, or if alternative classes are available.
Sorry, we are no longer accepting registrations for this course. Please contact our office to find out if it will be rescheduled, or if alternative classes are available.
Online registration is not available at this time. Please contact our office for more information.
Support Person: Stacia Payne Phone: 531-622-2522 M-F, 8-5pm OR call Registration Mon-Thu until 7pm; Friday until 5pm; Saturday until noon 531-622-5231 Email: slpayne1@mccneb.edu
Witness the world’s largest concentration of sandhill cranes from the banks of the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. Every year during March and early April over 500,000 Sandhill Cranes along with hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese converge on the Platte River Valley. There will be several opportunities to view the cranes. You will meet experienced staff guides of the Crane Trust Nature Center and Fort Kearny Historical State Park during this tour. Each of these sites are located right in the heart of this magnificent Sandhill Crane staging area where the birds can be viewed in the fields and in gatherings on their roosts along the Platte River.
Your first stop is the Crane Trust Nature Center in Wood River, Nebraska, which provides a place where you can connect to nature along the Platte River. The spacious interpretive center offers exhibits on cranes, waterfowl, and endangered species. The center also includes the Crimson Crown Gift Ship and an art gallery highlighting Nebraska’s top photographic artists. There’s a 35-foot observation tower that offers a commanding view of the valley and the nearby herd of bison. For lunch enjoy a buffet at the Alley Rose with an entrée, several side dishes, salad bar, and dessert. In the afternoon you’ll visit the George W. Frank House, a historical mansion built in 1889.
Fort Kearny is the next destination in the early evening. View the historical fort which includes a blacksmith-carpenter shop, powder magazine, and split stockade. Next, visit the Historical Campground site for watching the cranes. You’ll follow a 1/3 mile trail to a bridge that overlooks the Platte River to hear and see the cranes roosting for the evening at a distance. Bring comfortable shoes, a warm jacket, hat, and flashlight. Wear dark colored clothing so you won’t be spotted as easily by the Cranes. Be sure to bring your camera and binoculars to capture excellent views of the river and wildlife!
Cost paid to MCC is for bus transportation, the buffet luncheon, tax, & gratuity, the Crane Trust and Center, the Frank House tour, and the Fort Kearny park fee. Other meals and shopping are not included. Our deluxe motor coach departs promptly at 10:00 a.m. from Metro’s Sarpy Center, 9110 Giles Road; park and meet the bus at the northeast parking lot. Return is approximately 12:30 a.m. Refunds will not be allowed within 14 days of the trip. Trip leader: Kevin Kowskie. Must be 18 or older.
Your first stop is the Crane Trust Nature Center in Wood River, Nebraska, which provides a place where you can connect to nature along the Platte River. The spacious interpretive center offers exhibits on cranes, waterfowl, and endangered species. The center also includes the Crimson Crown Gift Ship and an art gallery highlighting Nebraska’s top photographic artists. There’s a 35-foot observation tower that offers a commanding view of the valley and the nearby herd of bison. For lunch enjoy a buffet at the Alley Rose with an entrée, several side dishes, salad bar, and dessert. In the afternoon you’ll visit the George W. Frank House, a historical mansion built in 1889.
Fort Kearny is the next destination in the early evening. View the historical fort which includes a blacksmith-carpenter shop, powder magazine, and split stockade. Next, visit the Historical Campground site for watching the cranes. You’ll follow a 1/3 mile trail to a bridge that overlooks the Platte River to hear and see the cranes roosting for the evening at a distance. Bring comfortable shoes, a warm jacket, hat, and flashlight. Wear dark colored clothing so you won’t be spotted as easily by the Cranes. Be sure to bring your camera and binoculars to capture excellent views of the river and wildlife!
Cost paid to MCC is for bus transportation, the buffet luncheon, tax, & gratuity, the Crane Trust and Center, the Frank House tour, and the Fort Kearny park fee. Other meals and shopping are not included. Our deluxe motor coach departs promptly at 10:00 a.m. from Metro’s Sarpy Center, 9110 Giles Road; park and meet the bus at the northeast parking lot. Return is approximately 12:30 a.m. Refunds will not be allowed within 14 days of the trip. Trip leader: Kevin Kowskie. Must be 18 or older.
Notes:
Cost paid to MCC is for bus transportation, the buffet luncheon, tax, & gratuity, the Crane Trust and Center, the Frank House tour, and the Fort Kearny park fee. Other meals and shopping are not included. Our deluxe motor coach departs promptly at 10:00 a.m. from Metro’s Sarpy Center, 9110 Giles Road; park and meet the bus at the northeast parking lot. Return is approximately 12:30am. Refunds will not be allowed within 14 days of the trip. Trip leader: Kevin Kowskie. Must be 18 or older.
| Fee: | $159.00 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | 14.50 |
| CEUs: | 1.45 |
Call us at 531-622-2522 M-F, 8-5pm OR call Registration Mon-Thu until 7pm; Friday until 5pm; Saturday until noon 531-622-5231 to see if you qualify for a discount on this course.
MCC Sarpy Center Parking Lot
Kevin Kowskie
Kevin Kowskie is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is passionate about travel and art. His artwork has been displayed at the College of St. Mary’s, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Durham Museum and has been included in a group show at the Joslyn Art Museum. Kowskie’s love for foreign travel and cultural enrichment goes back as far as he can remember. While traveling with his family to Rocky Mountain National Park as a child, he developed a keen desire to expand his journeys to distant lands, and the rest was history. After traveling through much of the United States as he got older, this ambition drew him to expand his travels on an international scale—discovering destinations in Canada, Mexico and a dozen European nations. In his early thirties, Kevin and a friend devoted two weeks every year to backpacking through Europe and visiting different nations and destinations via train. He loves encountering new cultures and meeting people from diverse backgrounds. After someone suggested to him that Omaha would appreciate seminars on European travel, Kowskie followed his passion to become a noncredit instructor on the subject for MCC. Planning, organizing and leading group tours are part of his favorite pastimes. Kowskie is currently a trip leader and coordinator for MCC’s Traveling Classrooms, sharing his experience and knowledge as part of the motivated Continuing Education staff.
