Carry on my wayward son...

Having climbed 4 14ers, visited almost all of my friends from last summer, attended Brewfest in spectacular fashion, driven part of Route 66, and hung out on an Indian reservation for 2 days, it was time for me to head home. I set out early from Pueblo, after informing a man that his Ford Taurus with 115,000 miles on it could probably make it to Florida. He seemed encouraged by the fact that mine had 190,000 and could make it to Colorado. I considered my road-tripping duty done.

However, it would have been irresponsible of me to have gone through Kansas without stopping at a ridiculous roadside attraction. This is the land of the world's largest easel, the world's largest ball of twine, and the 6-legged steer. Oh, and don't forget the world's largest prairie dog. I decided to stick with my accidental theme of state highpoints, and made my way to Mt. Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas. At 4,039ft, and only a half-mile from the Colorado border, Mt. Sunflower is a formidable peak. The dirt road leads through miles of treacherous farmland, and you must be ever mindful of the danger of native cattle attacks. However, the summit is built up quite nicely:


Approaching the summit- note the picnic area

After a strenuous hike, I made it to the summit, and rewarded myself with a picnic lunch. I took a couple of summit shots of myself and my travel buddy, signed the summit register, and began my long descent.






After making it back to the car, I continued on my way to Lee's Summit, Missouri, where I stayed with Molly and Chris for the night (thanks Molly!). Gotta love the Midwest. Or something.