Ohio's High Point - "Campbell Hill"

Ohio's high point is Campbell Hill at 1,550 feet. It is located in a school and only available during school hours so we had to time this highpoint for the weekday. From Indiana, it was an hour or so drive to Ohio's high point where were able to drive up to the "summit" which is marked by a sign. Today was the 25th October 2006 and the last stop of our roadtrip. After 9 high points in 6 days, we started for the very very long drive back on I-80 East to New Jersey.

Indiana's High Point - "Hoosier Hill"

It was another long drive from Wisconsion to Indiana, past the city traffic of Chicago and driving south through Illinios towards Indianapolis, Indiana. You may ask why we didn't do Illinios's high point since we were in the area. Illinios's high point is only open 3 weekends over the summer each year so due to timing we would have to come back. It was a long night and we tried to get as close to the high point of Indiana as possible, finally pulling into a roadside Econolodge at 1am to crash.

It was the 25th October 2006 and we headed out that morning towards Indiana's high point Hoosier Hill at 1,257 feet. The high point is not far from a small town right on the Indiana-Ohio state line on a rather deserted area surrounded by empty fields. We pulled into a driveway of sorts and the high point was on the right in a small clearing with a sign. A few photos and we were off.

Wisconsin's High Point - "Timm's Hill"

We headed from Michigan to Wisconsin's high point Timm's Hill at 1,951 feet. Driving through cheese country, we arrived at the high point in the mid afternoon and climbed the fire tower to the top to a decent view of the area. Directly under the fire tower was the USGS marker on a pole which we took a few photos of. There were a few other cars in the parking lot as we left. It was a quick visit and we were on our way.

Michigan's High Point - "Mount Arvon"

From Minnesota we drove to Michigan's high point, driving back south and passing Lake Superior. It was great to see the lake during the day, and the massiveness of the lake was breathtaking. It felt like you were on the edge of the ocean as you couldn't see the other side of the lake. The beauty of the Minnesota wilderness and the Great Lakes looked like a great place for a vacation and I understood why this place was so popular for the northerners.

As were were so far north, the drive to Michigan would mean we would have navigate around Lake Superior and head east. We spent most the day in the car and only arrived in the town of L'Anse after dark and stayed at the Hilltop motel. We would have to make the high point the next morning.

It was the 24th October 2006. We started the morning by picking up some famous sweet rolls at the Hilltop restaurant next to the motel (books had told us stopped for these rolls were a must, and we agreed as they were absolutely huge and yum!). We headed to Michigan's high point Mount Arvon at 1,979 feet, which wasn't too far out of town but was known to be difficult to get to as a result of its remoteness and logging operations in the area. We were able to drive up, but needed some serious 4-WD as the road was all broken up. The summit was marked with a clearing in the woods with a picnic table. There was a bit of trash which indicated someone had a late night party out in this remote area. We took a few photos and headed out.

Minnesota's High Point - "Eagle Mountain"

From Missouri we drove straight to Minnesota. A long drive past the Twin cities and up towards the Great Lakes, we stayed awake with Friends on dvd (Mark listening as he drove and me watching). It was dark as we drove along the road along Lake Superior, paraniod about stray deer about to run across the road. Pulling into a cute roadside motel along the lake which I had made a reservation at (the motel reminded me of the old school roadside motels you saw on tv in the 50's) and passed out after the long day.

It was the 23rd October 2006 and we woke up early ready to hike Minnesota's high point located about 20 miles from our motel. No one was on the road as we headed in-land We pulled into an empty parking area at the Eagle Mountain trailhead and go ready for the hike. Minnesota's high point Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet was a 3.5 mile one way hike to the summit from the trailhead. We headed out in chilly 32 degree temperatures, hiking along wooden walkways across ponds and through the trees and passing many beautiful lakes. I was half expecting to see a bear or moose in this wilderness. We also saw a sign saying we had reached the entrance to the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area. The last part of the hike was quite steep but when we reached the top, we were afforded a fantastic view of the boundary waters. At the summit, we took in the view and took some happy snaps before heading back down. We didn't see a soul through out the hike and it was a great to take in the wilderness and solitude the environment provided this early in the morning.

Missouri's High Point - "Taum Sauk Mountain"

From Iowa we headed north again up towards Missouri. It was getting late in the afternoon and we wanted to get to the high point before dark. Missouri's high point is Taum Sauk Mountain at 1772 feet. Located in Taum Sauk Mountain State Park, it is a nice drive up the mountain arriving at a large well paved and well kept parking lot. We grabbed the camera and followed the paved path to a plaque of the high point. A photo and we were on our way. We drove towards St Louis, stopped for Ruby Tuesdays (since we were craving ribs) and found a hotel for the night.

Iowa's High Point - "Hawkeye Point"

It was the 22nd October and only two days since we had left New Jersey. 3 high points down and 7 to go, we were on our way from Arkansas to Iowa. Iowa's high point called Hawkeye Point at 1,670 feet is located on a farm off the main road in the middle of nowhere. The land in the area felt pretty flat and it didn't seem like much of a high point. Hawkeye Point is on private land, but the owners let high pointers like us to drive onto their land past the red barn to the shelter where the marker was. We signed the register and took a few photos and went on our way as it felt bad to be on their land. The state are building a huge highway right onto the farm's land. What a disruption it will be for them.