In May 1996 I made a quick three-day journey through Denver and knocked out three state highpoints - Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. However, the weather during those three days was abysmal: fog, rain, hail and the ever-present threat of twisters. I didn't have as good a time as I'd have liked. So eight years later, I had some free time, the teaching being over for a few weeks at ASU. The big peaks were still snowed up so I was looking for a project to tackle. I settled on another High Plains trip, with the goal of expanding my glob of counties to include Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. I really enjoyed the Sand Hills of Nebraska on my first trip in 1996, and I figured that since I had bad weather the first time, I was guaranteed to get good weather the second time. That's how these things work, I like to think. With my wife Beth out of town for a week on business, everything was properly primed for a highpointing binge unlike anything the world had ever seen.

The fun all began at Phoenix' Sky Harbor Airport. To get a good deal to Denver I had chosen to fly at unpopular times. My flight out was at 9:30 p.m., due to arrive in Denver at 11:30 p.m. I was flying "Ted", the United Airlines' low-cost carrier. But when I arrived my flight was delayed 3 hours. I was able to get them to get me onto an America West flight leaving about the same time. So I trekked over to that terminal with my stuff, and got in line. A woman was raising hell with one of the check-in ladies. Furious doesn't begin to describe her feelings at that moment. A tall gangly cowboy fellow in line was backing her up. I wasn't exactly sure what had happened but suffice to say the woman was angry and the check-in ladies weren't too happy either. Fun theater. I got checked in alright, and the flight went well. It was almost midnight when I finally got my vehicle, a Ford Escape mid-sized SUV that Budget had for $200 for a week. Not a bad deal!

I hadn't planned on a hotel because there are none near the Denver Middle-of-nowhere International Airport, so I figured I may as well get driving, heading east toward Kansas. Along the way there were two very easy Colorado County highpoints to be had, including this one, Washington County. I drove east via Interstate-70 then US-36 for about 100 miles in cold, misty weather to the town of Last Chance, then south on CO-71 to the Washington - Lincoln County Line. From here, it was a couple more miles east along a dirt county road to a high spot in the road, the Washington County Highpoint. I had no topo map, just John and Dave's Hiking Colorado's Summits book with me, which I followed to the letter. Once at the highpoint, I got out, at 1:45 a.m., in total pitch blackness and a pall of fog, and walked the area. It was cold and windy and not generally very nice. I could see nothing. I'll have to trust John and Dave on this one. I got back into my vehicle and drove back to Last Chance, then east a bit more until I finally pulled off the road and slept in the vehicle for a few hours. Next up: Yuma County's equally pathetic highpoint, at 6 a.m.