2023-08-22: Panorama Point

Panorama Point, elevation 5429'. Nebraska highpoint; U.S. state highpoints 31/50.

It was Day Five of my great midwest solo roadtrip, and I woke up with my alarm and the sun in a rest area parking lot somewhere in southeastern Wyoming. I hadn't expected to end up in Wyoming on this trip, but ended up here after getting lost on the way back from Black Elk Peak the previous night. I was exhausted, operating on about six hours of sleep after hiking over ten miles the previous day, all in ninety degree weather, and driving for nearly as long. It took me awhile to truly wake up.

Photo at the welcome center sign.

Once I had really woken my brain up, however, I noticed what looked like a herd path climbing into some bluffs behind the rest area. As this was my first time in the state, and I wanted something to remember it by, I grabbed my camera and scrambled up the rocky hillside. Today was a mostly driving day, so it was good to get some exercise in when I could.

At the top of the hill was open ranchland with a cell tower in the middle of it. I stopped near the top to look out on the view over the nearby town of Pine Springs. The town was very close-packed, and I found it interesting that there was all this space, yet everyone still lived right on top of each other. After a quick scramble down, I got back in the car and headed off to today's stop: Panorama Point.

Sunrise from the trail over Pine Bluffs.

Panorama Point, the highest point in the state of Nebraska, is a simple drive-up in the middle of an active bison ranch. Entry to the land costs $5, and is paid on the honor system via a deposit box at the edge of the private land. This is accompanied by a number of signs warning visitors to remain in their car and not to hike to the highpoint given the possibility of being gored by buffalo (and, I'm sure, the liability that comes with it).

The ranch is covered in massive wind turbines, hundreds of them, all silently spinning in the quiet morning sunrise. With the low angle of the sun, they cast great shadows on the landscape that spun across the ground at unnatural speeds, giving an odd, otherworldly feel to the setting.

Wind turbines in the distance over a farm. This 'higher ground' is located to the west in Wyoming.

The road to the highpoint beneath a myriad of wind turbines. The small dots on the ground are bison for scale.

I drove up to the 'summit' which, much like Hawkeye Point, didn't really seem particularly higher than any other spot on the wide plain. I was still pretty tired from the day before, so I stopped here awhile as I tried to wake myself up a little more to properly enjoy the highpoint. There was a stone obelisk engraved with information about the peak, along with a desk-shaped summit register (quite unlike the more common mailbox-shaped registers), and of course a Highpointers Club bench.

The road to the highpoint. From this vantage point, the summit really does seem notably high.

The register and summit marker.

A plaque on the bench explains the history of the highpoint.

I took the requisite summit pictures, checked out the monument and register, and then I sort of ran out of things to do. I had only been here a few minutes, and I didn't want to leave a highpoint so quickly, especially in the early morning cool under the big spinning turbines. So I decided to just stand and enjoy the spot for awhile. I found some sunflowers in fully bloom at a nearby fence and watched the distant bison wander around the open fields. After four days of rushing and speeding through my trip, it was nice to take a few minutes to just sit in silence and appreciate a landscape that was totally new to me.

Looking out over the wide, empty expanse.

One of several wild sunflowers near the highpoint.

A distant farmstead is dwarfed by the array of massive wind plants.

After while, I felt fully awake and fully relaxed, and I was ready to head on to my next spot. On the way out, I drove closer to some of the bison on the farm. I didn't want to approach too close, but I was able to get some zoomed-in pictures of the animals that once freely roamed these plains.

The herd of bison some distance off the road.

I turned back onto the main, non-private road and headed on towards my next goal with renewed purpose and enjoyment. I followed backroads south and soon found myself in yet another new state: Colorado.