This is the highest point in Oklahoma. It's in the panhandle, just inside the state line, where Black Mesa winds into the state from New Mexico and Colorado. It's a mildly strenuous hike to the monument - about an hour and twenty minutes from the parking area, as I recall. But it was well worth it, for the solitude and for the beautiful vistas of the mesa country. Don't go if you're loathe to mammoth-sized grasshoppers and alien bugs that look like little armored spacecraft. When I was up there (October '95), I could pick out several landmarks way off in the distance: Rabbit Ear Mountain to the south in New Mexico, Sierra Grande to the west in New Mexico, and Tecolote Mesa to the north in Colorado. Bonus: there's a petrified dinosaur footprint track not far down the road from the trailhead parking area.
Cary Todd is a big fan of this part of Oklahoma. If you're interested in learning more about Cimarron County, click here to visit his page.
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