Panorama Point Trip Report
East Road, 07/10/07
Part of our Summer '07 Roadtrip called for a cross-country drive, from Utah to New York. Although long and tedious, I couldn't pass up the opportunity, as it would allow me to visit a few more of the State Highpoints. Panorama Point of Nebraska was a great candidate: drive up, relatively close to the highway, and a great chance to stop and stretch our legs.
The approach was pretty uneventful. We exited I-80 in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, just before reaching the Nebraska state line. We followed the directions in Don Holmes' book, and about 15 minutes later reached the entrance to Highpoint Bison Ranch. The entry fee was $3.00 per person, payable at the entrance. We were only going to be a few minutes, but the honor system dictated that we pay the fee anyway. There is a nice informational sign at the entrance about the bison in the area.
As we were driving to the highpoint marker, we saw the rumored bison heard in a field just south of the road. They didn't seem disturbed at all by our presence. I was also interested by the large wind farm that is now in place just south of the highpoint area, in Colorado. At the highpoint, we stretched our legs, took a few pictures, and enjoyed the fresh air.
When it came time to leave, we followed the instructions in the Holmes book back to I-80, this time going to Exit 8 in Nebraska. Although not really that unique, the highpoint offered a nice diversion from our cross-country journey, and a chance to see some parts of Nebraska and Wyoming missed by staying on the interstate.