Point of Rocks
A picture that looks like a lot of nothing. I am standing by the Fishing Ponds, looking west at Point of Rocks. The trees poking up on the right are located at Middle Spring.
A few weeks ago I made a fast trip through southwest Kansas and stopped at Point of Rocks located in the Cimarron National Grassland. This is located on the Santa Fe Trail, which followed old Native American trails. When the railroads were finally built it marked the end of the Santa Fe Trail which was used by freight wagons for so long that the ruts from the wagons still show in many places in this area. There are markers and a trail you can walk following the old path for many miles through the National Grassland.
Standing on Point of Rocks looking east. The first picture was taken by the little white speck to the left of center. The trees on the left are Middle Spring. The Companion Trail for hiking along the Santa Fe Trail route is just below.
Point of Rocks is a major landmark on the trail. Only a couple of miles away from the Three-State Corner of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado you can see the high point for miles in either direction down the Cimarron valley. When you got to where you could see the point, you knew that you were making some real progress. This is some very dry country out here, there is a good bit of rain, but the heat and wind cause far more evaporation than there is rainfall. The Cimarron mainly just flows underground through the sand. Because of this dryness, Point of Rocks had another very significant meaning which is the presence of Middle Spring a little to the east. This is a very reliable water source.
Looking west from Point of Rocks, you can see the trail disappear in the distance. I am guessing that you can see three states in this picture and the river swings through the corner of Colorado and into the Oklahoma panhandle.
I did not take many pictures or spend much time simply because this was a scouting mission for me. Now I will have to go back and do some hiking and more photography.
