Flying back to Denver this morning, we passed above a snowy landscape from Kansas City to Denver. Initially crossing the southern portion of the former Metroplex, our route eventually switched to the north side of Interstate 70 near Junction City, Kansas. As we continued westward, paralleling that highway, I enjoyed a fabulous view of southern Kansas and southern Colorado, the river valleys producing black channels through the snow-covered terrain.
Noting the Smoky Hill River just south of the Interstate, I watched as the Solomon and Saline Rivers curved in from the north to merge with that stream. A bit farther west, as the upper Smoky Hill made a beeline toward Colorado, I could see the broad northern curve of the Arkansas River far to the south, passing Great Bend, Kansas, before it dipped toward Wichita. As we passed over Oakley, in western Kansas, I observed the Arkansas Valley once again, angling northwestward toward the Colorado line.
In Southeast Colorado, our route curved northwestward above Rush Creek and I could see the Purgatoire River to the southwest, flowing northeastward from the Raton Mesa to join the upper Arkansas; the latter stretched westward toward the high spine of the Sangre de Cristo Range. After crossing the broad ridge of the Palmer Divide, with Pike's Peak looming to the west, we entered the South Platte watershed and made our final descent into Denver.
Noting the Smoky Hill River just south of the Interstate, I watched as the Solomon and Saline Rivers curved in from the north to merge with that stream. A bit farther west, as the upper Smoky Hill made a beeline toward Colorado, I could see the broad northern curve of the Arkansas River far to the south, passing Great Bend, Kansas, before it dipped toward Wichita. As we passed over Oakley, in western Kansas, I observed the Arkansas Valley once again, angling northwestward toward the Colorado line.
In Southeast Colorado, our route curved northwestward above Rush Creek and I could see the Purgatoire River to the southwest, flowing northeastward from the Raton Mesa to join the upper Arkansas; the latter stretched westward toward the high spine of the Sangre de Cristo Range. After crossing the broad ridge of the Palmer Divide, with Pike's Peak looming to the west, we entered the South Platte watershed and made our final descent into Denver.
