Mount Sunflower, Kansas 4,039 feet

Visited 11/07/2020

Mount Sunflower is a perfect highpoint to visit during a COVID-19 pandemic. It provides automatic social distancing, being located over 20 miles from the nearest town, with a brisk breeze supplying excellent ventilation.

County Road 3 through the high plains

The "summit" rises ever so slightly above the cornfields and cow pastures. Because of the flat Kansas landscape, the wind has plenty of fetch to gain strength. An iron sunflower sculpture marks the highpoint, along with a mailbox containing the summit register.

Mount Sunflower
The summit register

Like most of the Midwestern highpoints, Mount Sunflower is at the western border of the state as the country tilts upward toward the Rocky Mountains. The town where we turned off from I-70 is named Kanorado, a portmanteau of Kansas and Colorado. We had views of both states from the top.

   
Kansas to the east, Colorado to the west

After visiting Mount Sunflower, we headed back to the highway in search of sustenance. We expected to have to choose between a Subway and a rundown truck stop, but we had the great good fortune to find the Dish Room in Burlington, Colorado.

Blended Burger and Beef Gorgonzola

We had an elegant lunch, then drove back to Denver, where we spent a couple of days before catching the California Zephyr train back home.

Contrasting weather in Denver

Riding the rails