Searching for Mount Sunflower II

With a slight shudder, then, I turned from the dirt road (County C) in Kit Carson County, CO and onto Route 385, heading South. I resisted the invitation to take another dirt road to Arapahoe (on US 40), having learned my lessons with the dirt roads between US 385 and the KS border. So, I pulled into Cheyenne Wells and was just about to turn West on US 40 toward KS when I was motioned over to the side of the road by a man in an official-looking jacket holding a cell phone. I couldn't turn left from Route 385 to US 40. "What is the problem?" I inquired. I had chilling feelings that perhaps US 40 was closed and that I had no choice but to go through some of the dirt roads to make it to KS. "No problem at all, sir," he intoned. "You just have to get off the road for a while until the 'rig' can make the turn." I pulled off into a parking lot and then watched, as the largest trailer I had ever seen tried to negotiate a four lane turn onto Route 385. Well, here is a picture of what I saw.

The picture doesn't lie. The tractor is pulling a huge vat of some kind. I talked to one of the guys, which are those little specks alongside of the containment vessel, and he said that the tractor was pulling 96 wheels. The device must have been 250 feet long and at least two lanes of traffic wide. At least five guys and two or three "wide load" vehicles were surrounding it. It looked like a mother hen surrounded by all her chicks. They were taking it from north of Houston to some place in N CO. Have you ever seen something this big?

On to Mount Sunflower

I got so excited with this event in Cheyenne Wells that I almost forgot that I wanted to make it to Mt. Sunflower before arriving in Garden City. So, I pressed on. Just after crossing into KS there was a sign for Mount Sunflower. I think it must have been Wa S-3 (the Wallace County road) that I took North for about 12 miles, with a turn to the left then saying that Mount Sunflower was one mile away. I scanned the horizon in vain looking for a prominent eminence that might dominate the otherwise flat Plains. But it was getting cloudy by then, and I couldn't see Mt. Sunflower. So, along the county road I went, spinning out once on the heavily rutted road, but eventually reaching the turn off to the "Mount." The road was plowed, but three or four feet of snow lay on the surrounding fields. The road was mostly flat, but then, as I approached what must have been the "summit," I noticed that the road rose slightly. It must have been an elevation climb of about 10 feet, though if you looked at the same "climb" from the perspective of the fields, the "rise" is imperceptible. Then I noticed a sign that welcomed me to Mount Sunflower. Since there are no pictures on the Net of what Mt. Sunflower looks like in Winter, I thought I would share these with you.

Yep, here we are. I am standing on the snow which was plowed up on the side of the dirt road heading West. As you see (the sign says "No Outlet") there would have been no direct route for me to Mt. Sunflower from CO. But here it is. It is as flat as any piece of land in Haskell County, KS--reputed to be the flattest county in KS.

But maybe you don't believe me. Thus, I decided to get a "close up" of this sign. Here it is.

Here it is, on closer inspection. This is Mount Sunflower in winter. You can look to the right (North) and it is flat, as it is to the West and South. If you look back to the East, you see a slight declivity. We are about a mile from CO now. This is what I came for. My life now has lots of meaning.

Conclusion

When I arrived in Garden City and saw my friends Caverly and Katherine at their office, my shoes were muddy and the car was covered with grime. Little did they know, or the people with whom I shared dinner that night, the "adventures" I had in getting to Garden City. I knew that if my weekend began this auspiciously, then I was in for a big treat in Garden City and beyond. Indeed, I was not mistaken.

[Next]

2447