3 more state highpoints

I had the 25-28th of May off of work, and wanted to have a big adventure. Originally I had planned to go to Hawaii with a friend. But my poor friend had to have surgery, and couldn't go. And then I tried to get on some flights by myself, and didn't put in the greatest amount of effort, but found the flights to be completely full. Kids are starting to get out of school, families are starting to take vacations, weather has been crazy here in the states, so why not go to Hawaii? That's what everybody and their dog mush have been thinking too. And so I'm going to postpone any thoughts of Hawaii until kids are back in school, families are back to the grind, and the weather is again crazy. So I decided to continue a little goal that I've had since I was 12. And that is to reach the highpoint of every state. I have already been to the tops of WV, MD, PA, AL, MS, and AR, and wanted to add some local flavor to the list.

So I took off to the East on Tuesday afternoon around 3 pm towards Kansas. I knew it wasn't going to be a difficult highpoint, but a highpoint is a highpoint, and I have to check it off the list. I didn't really know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. As I drove east on I-70, I was heading into a huge thunderstorm, but it seemed to run away from me as fast as I could catch it. But the rain livened up the lush, green fields, and made the dirt roads not look so dusty, and the sun was going down in the west. The colors were amazing! The state highpoint of Kansas is on the private land of the Harold family, and they have graciously allowed people to visit. They also have made a very inviting sign, and monument complete with picnic table on the "summit". Thank you Harold family for making this highpoint an enjoyable place to visit.

Then Wednesday night, a friend and I took off to the north, to conquer Harney Peak, the highest point between the Rockies, and the Pyrenees Mountains of Europe. It wasn't a difficult hike, but that description makes it sound so awesome, so I'll put it that way. From the top of Harney Peak, you can see the backside of Mt. Rushmore. There is a big tower on top of the mountain, that was used as a forest fire lookout station, and there is a dam up there that houses the water used to put out any forest fires that may break out.

Then we saw one of the nation's treasures; Mt. Rushmore! Indescribable.

From Mt. Rushmore, we headed south towards Nebraska. We drove and drove and drove through field after field after field. We did pass through a cool little town, called Hot Springs, South Dakota, that was full of natural springs, and waterfalls, and delicious water. And Chadron State Park in Nebraska was pretty cool. But seriously, field after field after field. And finally arrived at Panorama Point, Nebraska, the state's highpoint. It was much less impressive than Kansas' highpoint, although it was just as flat. This picture is me contemplating on the incredible it took the reach that point. ha ha. There were buffalo roaming the plains, and a tractor out in the field. But that's about it. So there you have it, 3 new state highpoints, bringing my total up to 9. Only 41 more to go.