We are currently guiding our earthship towards Houston and will dock this evening concluding our 4 state highpoint north central trip. It was the longest trip we have taken in the coach, and except for a few minor mechanical challenges all went smoothly.
It was a fun trip, and we experienced some parts of America that few people see, and created many new memories.
Just completed Mt Sunflower Kansas. Surrounded by cultivated farm land as far as the eye can see.
Checked out a book I was while there. Really, there’s a library.
We are leaving Denver Colorado after a couple of pleasant days here. I enjoy the process of pushing some buttons to transform our home into a car, and pointing it towards the horizon of new possibilities.
Kansas Here we Come
We are headed due East to Mount Sunflower Kansas to bag that highpoint and then will make the journey south and back to Houston.
Panorama Point Trip Report
This one is short, so the whole trip report is duplicated in the blog in its entirety as well having the typical Trip Report page.
On Monday August 24th, 2015 I stood at the highest point in Nebraska which is Panorama Point. This was the third of the 4 state highpoints completed during our 2015 North Central Trip and it was #32 out of the 50 states for me.
Highpoint Statistics:
Completion Date: Monday August 24th, 2015
State: Nebraska
Elevation:5,426
US Rank: 20
Hiking Distance: NA
Hiking Round Trip Time: NA
Highpoint Links:
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Trip Report
Panorama Point is located in the heart of the aptly named Great Plains and surrounded by pastures and farmland which while mostly flat, has its own sort of charm. We also saw many wind farms turning lazily in the distance as it was a calm day.
This one is very remote and we drove miles of very dusty dirt farm roads to get there, and once at the turnoff I detached and took the jeep down the rugged 1.3 mile access road which would not have been healthy for the 30,000 lb motor coach.
Oh and ignore Google, it will take you through a farmers private land who will shoot at you.
At the Summit!
The highpoint itself is located out in a wide open plain and is a barely perceptible rise in the landscape, yet it is taller than 30 other states. There was a large herd of buffalo in the distance, but they seemed oblivious to my presence.
Time for a Beer and a Banana
So after the treacherous climb to the highest point of Nebraska, which happened to by the roof of my Jeep at the time, this seemed like as good a place as any for a beer and a banana.
All in a days work…
On Saturday August 22nd, 2015 I stood atop Harney Peak with my good friend and climbing partner Rick Overholt who flew up to Climb Harney Peak for the second time. Harney Peak was the second of the 4 state highpoints completed during our 2015 North Central Trip and it was #31 out of the 50 states for me.
It’s a dramatic mountain, and I understand why Rick went back again. The climb was easy but interesting for both of us and we found ourselves involved in rescuing lost hikers in the end.
You will find the entire Trip Report here.
Highpoint Statistics:
Summit Date:Monday August 24th, 2015
State: South Dakota
Elevation: 7,242
US Rank: 15
Distance: 7 Miles
Round Trip Time: 6.5 Hours
Highpoint Links:
Photo Gallery
Posts
Trip Report
You will find, status, photo galleries and trip reports for all of my adventures on the Highpoints Page.
Below are some of my favorite photos from the climb, and you can find the entire Photo Gallery here.
I now proudly stand on the barely perceptible rise that is the highest point in Nebraska.
It’s located in a vast plain that is also home to a herd of buffalo who haven’t noticed me.
Just delivered kids back to trailhead where search and rescue was staging from. Everyone was very relieved and they gave us the key to the city.
We found the kids walking along the road and are taking them back up the mountain.
Back at the trailhead. Was large group of kids leaving the summit as we came up & 3 are lost. Offered to help, but rangers declined.
Standing on the 7,242′ summit of Harney Peak SD. It is overcast, cold and freakishly windy. Despite that the scenery is breathtaking.
Beautiful terrain w unique rock formations. Temp is 48F w strong winds. Feels like rain is coming. Missed summit trail, doubling back now. Next stop summit.
Rick and I decided to start Harney Peak a bit later so we could enjoy the scenery going up. Should be midway up mountain at sunrise. Leaving trailhead now.
Rick flew in to join me on Harney Peak which we are climbing tomorrow. We are making an early start with the goal of a sunrise summit. Harney is a beautiful climb, and we will miss the ascent as it will be dark, but being at the summit during sunrise offers some spectacular photographic opportunities.
For the last few days we have been relaxing in the Black Hills of South Dakota. One of the best things about the highpointing is that it has taken us to wonderful places that we would never have gone otherwise. The Black Hills area is just such a place, and if you are looking for a great place to take your family, visit the Black Hills and tell them Danger sent you. It won’t get you any extra perks, but it sounds really cool.
On August 17th, 2015 I stood on White Butte the highest point in North Dakota. It was #1 of the 4 state highpoints of our 2015 North Central Trip and was the northern most highpoint of that trip. It was #30 out of the 50 states for me.
You will find the entire Trip Report here.
White Butte Statistics:
Summit Date:Monday August 17th, 2015
State: North Dakota
Elevation: 3,507′
Distance: 1.5 Miles
White Butte Links:
Photo Gallery
Posts
Trip Report
You will find, status, photo galleries and trip reports for all of my adventures on the Highpoints Page.
Below are some of my favorite photos from the climb, and you can find the entire White Butte Photo Gallery here.
Back at trailhead & my waiting Jeep.
It was a nice hike & more beautiful than expected. The rainstorm sunrise was perfect & coyotes were a pleasant surprise.
Standing on the 3,506′ Summit of White Butte watching sunrise through distant rainstorm while smoking a Cuban cigar & listening to the coyotes howling
Still dark & I’m following what appears to be a cow path. I can’t imagine what interest bovine would have in state highpoints, but its heading in the right direction.
After fumbling about following Google maps through some pastures, I found the tractor road to the trailhead and drove jeep as far as possible.
No trail signs, but GPS says I’m close so I’m just going to head in that direction on foot.
Yesterday we stayed in in Chamberlain South Dakota and it was a fairly uneventful day. Today was much more interesting as we made the 368 mile drive to North Dakota.
We drove through miles and miles of beautiful farmland with rolling hills covered with various crops as far as the eye could see.
We had been seeing billboards for Wall Drug for the last 2 days, and after being on the road for hours having seen little more than crops and cows, we were ready for a stop so we dropped in the see what all the fuss was about.
Turns out Wall Drug is a great entrepreneurial story that dates back to 1931 when Ted Hustead & his wife bought a drugstore in the tiny town of Wall. After a few years with poor results, he was about to close the doors, when he had the idea to put signs on the road offering “Free Ice water”. As soon as the signs were up he had a store full of customers, and its been so ever since. Today 22,000 people a day stop in to Wall Drug and it has something for everyone.
Jack-A-Lopes
Shopping
Piano Playing Gorillas
Ladies of Ill Repute
Gunfights!
Chapels
We also drove through Sturgis which was a ghost town after the big rally earlier this month.
We are now relaxing in a very secluded and peaceful spot which is the northernmost point of the trip for our motor coach and Susan . In the morning, I’ll take the Jeep and continue North to the highest point in North Dakota which will be state highpoint #30 for me.
We just crossed from Kansas into Nebraska. Nothing else has broken, and FedEx dropped off the parts I needed to repair the hitch early this morning, so I was able to replace the broken part, and reclaim my hardworking screwdriver.
As for the alternator, were are still doing fine without it, so I’ll replace it when we get back home. I already planned an upgrade, so I’m ordering a 200 Amp PowerMax Large Case alternator that is more powerful than the factory one and has a computerized programmable external regulator, that will allow me to tweak the charging profile to support AGM batteries which I plan to move to.
Since Susan has gotten more comfortable driving, traveling in the coach has become much more enjoyable. At present I am lounging on the sofa eating organic animal crackers while Susan drives. Life is good.
Yesterday morning, after 30 minutes of driving I realized I was headed South instead of North. It was of course Susan’s fault as she is supposed to be my navigator, but she was otherwise occupied. So an hour after starting out, we passed the Pilot truck stop we have stayed at overnight.
The house charging system is having no trouble charging the chassis batteries, so the lack of an alternator is a minor inconvenience. I have been keeping an eye on the chassis battery voltage and manually charging them by connecting the two banks together when the voltage gets below 12 volts. I can now do this from the dash from a temporary switch I have installed.
So last night I tried to make a very tight turn and realized it was not going to happen. The jeep needed to be detached in order to backup, but the telescoping towbar was in a bind and I could not get it to release. I grabbed a rubber hammer, and whacked the release trigger which worked great, but the second which was now under even more stress snapped off.
This morning I took the locking assembly apart, studied and realized that all it needs is a screwdriver and duct tape to keep it locked. Really, I’m not kidding, see for yourself.
So unless I break anything else, we should be in Wichita Kansas this evening.
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