Panorama Point, Nebraska

On August 14, 2013, After a restful night and a delicious breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express in Goodland, Kansas, I began a leisurely drive toward Kimball, Nebraska the nearest city, on my map, to Panorama Point, the high point of Nebraska.  The most interesting fact of note...it was difficult to keep track of time as my drive regularly skirted in and out of the Mountain and Central time zones. A road trip alone introduces solitude and offers plenty of time to contemplate such things or to simply take in the passing landscape. It was a restful, mobile meditation with Wyoming on my westward side, Nebraska on my eastward.  Again, it was a trip through the high plains.  I saw few people over the many hours of my drive.  Some might think it a bit wacky to seek the high point in states like Kansas and Nebraska, but I find it enlightening because these are places that I would otherwise have little reason to see.  There are lessons to be had by just the motion and presence of travel in such large and sparsely populated places.  I found it peaceful and it brought to mind where my food comes from, how very large America is, and how different it would be to live with so few people around me each day.

Again, there were wild sunflowers for miles!

I reached Kimball just after noon and was happy to find a welcome center with free coffee and lots of information about the area, including clear directions about how to find Panorama Point.  They proved very helpful as it was again a challenge to find my way on the back roads.  They informed me that there are Buffalo on the land surrounding Panorama Point, that I should not get out of my car if they were near the high point marker.  Apparently Buffalo can be pretty aggressive.  I imagine I would be too if mankind had all but exterminated my species.

This high point is also on private land,
guess these folks do not want to miss the opportunity to cash in on it

The road in

This is it, The high point of Nebraska

The Buffalo were not near the high point, they were happily grazing in the meadow below.

Once again, conclusive proof of my presence on the high point of Nebraska

Panorama Point is near the point where Nebraska and Wyoming meet on the northern border of Colorado.  There is No picnic table! So, after a few pictures and a good look around I was back in the car and headed toward Custer, South Dakota to position myself for a "run" up Harney, the high point of South Dakota, the next day.