And we has hams are really lucky by living in Colorado. Tons of 14,000 ft antenna locations in the state. The entire front range is covered with communication sites, most are commercial, but ham repeaters are allowed on them too. You'll find most of the good repeaters on those commercial sites.

Think about hams in states like Kansas. (or eastern colorado) The best repeater they can get is up on top of a grain silo or something similar. (just an example) They will have to setup more repeaters to get a further distance away. Greater Power (watts) and such.

If you're in another location/state while traveling and using the ham radio, be aware the communications distance/quality will most likely be diminished compared to here.

The ham repeaters here in the metro area and front range are only about 25 watts output, elevation and quality antennas are allowing such great distance.