Nebraska

07-23-11

Another short night saw us up at 4:30am and off to another tri-state point.  We arrived at the CO, NE, KS point at 6:45am and decided it would be best to get an early run in (it was going to be a really hot day).  It was 70 and sunny when we headed out for a 45 minute run then visited the tri-state marker.

Next up was Panorama Point (5,424’) which is the highest point in Nebraska.  The final ½ mile was rough but signs indicated hiking was not allowed because it was an active bison ranch.  We spent just a few minutes taking in the view of Wyoming and the mountains of Colorado before heading for the final tri-state point of the trip.

We parked about ¾ of a mile away from the point where CO, NE, and WY meet and headed out for another 45 minute run that included a bit of off road to get to the tri-state point.  We had to be careful dodging cow droppings and cows (with shouts of “hey cow, no cow”) but safely completed our run.  At 11 am it was right around 90 degrees.

We headed for Denver for our final night and decided to get another run in. The 100 degree heat wasn’t too bad when the wind was in our faces but the tailwind just made it seem REALLY hot.  We ended up running 3 miles to get a 14 mile day.  This was also our longest day of driving with 450 miles.  The next morning (4am) we ran 4.5 miles then headed for home.  Mission accomplished.

Totals

State high points = 4

Mt Elbert, CO – 14,433’

Black Mesa, OK – 4,973’

Mt Sunflower, KS – 4,039’

Panorama Pt, NE – 5,424’

County High points = 5

The state HP’s above plus

Elam Benchmark – Texas County (OK) 3,770’

Tri-State points = 4

NM/OK/CO

CO/KS/OK

CO/NE/KS

WY/OK/CO

Critters seen

Deer

Antelope

Bear (2)

Snake

Prairie Dogs

Roadrunner

Rabbits

Cows

Bison

Miles driven = 1,396

Miles run = 43