A Journey to Three Corners - Where New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma Meet
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- Опубліковано 16 кві 2024
- Four Corners, where New Mexico meets up with three other states, is a popular tourist destination that gets thousands of visitors a day. On the opposite of the state is the Three Corners Monument, where New Mexico meets up with one less state, and not quite as many tourists visit.
In this video we travel to northeastern New Mexico to find where the state meets up with Texas and Oklahoma, stopping to visit Nara Visa, Clayton (the most haunted town in New Mexico) and the most northwestern corner of Texas along the way.
More information on the Herzstein Museum can be found here: www.herzsteinmuseum.com
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I grew up in Plainview, TX. Born 1946. I lived in Denver area for 23 years (1979-2003) and would drive to Plainview 3 times a year to visit my mom. So drove through Clayton many many times, BUT-- never stopped long enough to tour the town. Oh well. And never had a thought about visiting 3-corners. So thanks for making the journey for us folks too rushed to enjoy the journey. I very much appreciate it.
@donsambol....Hello, I grew in the TX panhandle also, Silverton, and remember making the drive to Planview to go to the grocery store etc. It's disheartening to see what's happened to the area after the agricultural decline but I still love visiting and having that feeling ths sky could swallow you up.
Watch your speed in Clayton
@donsambol I never lived in Denver my Dad was was born there in 1949. He unfortunately passed he relocated to California in the early 70’s. Married my Mom In Salinas California. Long story how they met. They moved to San Diego and were married for 42 years. I still live here . I asked my dad what was the closest weather in Denver he felt 40 below . And he walked to School he told you didn’t ask your parents to drive. Not like these days. And he told me the back door was always open. Times have changed.👍
You're a nut.
Did you know any of the McGowen family in Plainview?
I love the way you do not shy away from barren and abandoned sites. These places do evoke thoughts of the distant past.
These side trips are a great way to appreciate the vastness of our wonderful country. Thanks for your entertaining posts.
Thank you. In person those volcanoes really stand out from how flat the rest of the area is.
in 60s-70s, family vacation from Missouri-Oklahoma-Texas-Lousiana-Arkansas & back went thru this area............. In Oklahoma-Kansas area there is a desert & desert lake similar to Salt Lake, with car speed tests, "sail cars", bicycle-powered airplane tests (aka: Henry Kremer Prize broken by the Gossamer Condor) & a huge wide-shallow lake.
Very cool to document these towns and areas that aren't ever going to be on a TV show of their own. Good work.
Thanks. I can definitely imagine one of those ghost hunting shows heading to Clayton. It seemed like every building had a ghost story.
I don't know how you do it Steve, but please keep finding these unique out of the way places. So many hidden gems of history are available to see and experience to those willing to look, and I thank you for looking!
hello steve, englishman kevin here...always had a fascination of the midwest...especially the landscape and those vast open skies...your history is unique to me as its not very old at all to us...but your history is still fascinating..from the pioneers, (american )civil war to the fiftees..i love those abandoned car garages etc..always eat my dinner watching these vids ..keep up it mate..
You should find and rent the movie "The Last Picture Show", which is one of my favorites. It provides some great insight into living in the midwest during the 1950's.
This would actually be called the southwest
@@timnell207 I'm from southern California, which is as southwest as you can get, everything else is the midwest or east coast.
Sorry mate but the Midwest part of the USA is about 1500 miles north and east of three corners. US geographical terms are confusing and reflect parts of the country two centuries ago now. This is desolate country and was considered desert until water well drilling and windmills made it almost habitable. Droughts, the dust bowl and the Great Depression put a stop to most everything.
Thinking about my comment and Hawaii would probably be considered the southwest.
I think it's cool that you did this. My three sisters and I took a great (ie fun) roadtrip a few years ago, checking out the areas most affected by the monstrous dust storms, and came across the last coffee shop in OK. We were the only customers which meant the owner sat and talked with us, drinking coffee, for a good long while. Among my best memories.
If you're crazy, Steve, you're my kind of crazy! I enjoy your video explorations immensely! Thanks for taking us along.
Yip. He's definitely the kind of crazy to be a great tourist guide. Steve is crazy enough to show the real parts of America. I live in New Zealand and love his out of the way places in America. The real places, not like Hollywood or other expensive tourist traps.
😂. I’m dying
“They’ve seen ghosts and they think I’m crazy “
Haha
4:58 I loved it too!
No problem, thank you for watching!
Kinda disrespectful imo. Not necessarily a believer in ghosts myself, but there’s plenty of unexplained things that happen that wouldn’t lend towards someone being crazy for developing a belief in ghosts. Bad etiquette to insult your host.
The triple corner of Nevada, Arizona and California is located just north of Needles , about a mile south of the Avi Casino on the west levee road. It's actually a reference point because the point is in the Colorado River.
7:11 Not only a cool theater sign, look how great the tiles have held up at the entry! And at the JC Penney entrance! Wow! Thanks Steve!
"They've seen ghosts... but I'M crazy" 🤣🤣 Great video! Literally exploring every last corner
Thanks for the visit. I haven't been through there in over 20 years. My dad was born in Dawson (a mining town near Cimmaron) in 1921. There will be a Dawson Reunion and picnic on Labor Day weekend this year at the sight of where the town once stood. The town closed when the mines closed in 1952. My dad's family came out west from Arkansas to Dawson in 1907 where my grandfather worked on the railroad. They moved to Trinidad, CO in 1929 and to Dalhart, TX in 1930. My parents met in Dalhart after WW2. They got married in Clayton and came out to California in 1949.
Such an amazing Americana story; thanks for sharing!
Tucumcari is kind of a sad town to me. There's a lot of empty, decaying buildings. I had a friend that had a vacation home in Logan right on the lake. It was beautiful. Thanks for showing us this only slightly traveled part of New Mexico. It was a fun trip down memory lane.
Was surprised how many empty buildings there are, even though it’s on the freeway. Businesses on I-40 seem to be doing ok, but less-so the rest of the town. Hope it turns around.
@@Rfk1966 Me too. I lived in Deming, New Mexico for 11 years until my husband passed away in 2017. I miss it. I have friends in Tucumcari and they are having a hard time keeping their business afloat. I hope it turns around for them.
I used to regularly visit relatives who lived in Tucumcari. I was around when the I-40 bypass finally opened in 1981. It seemed like the town went from boom to bust almost overnight. The once bustling main drag had become all but deserted. It was really quite shocking to see how fast the transformation occurred. There's simply little reason for most travelers on I-40 to actually take the business route through town unless they're Route 66 buffs.
It looks like a few businesses are doing a good job leaning into Route 66, but its hard because not every place can be the Blue Swallow. Hopefully they can figure something out.
There's a college there, but otherwise, there's not a lot to do there since the Interstate took all the Route 66 business away. Businesses close, people leave, and don't come back.
Made the identical trip last year. I was able to hit the other three corners that same day: OK/NM/CO, which is even more off the beaten path. Pretty mesa-country. Safe travels!
We visited this place too, with a group of motorcycles riding around the border of the state of Oklahoma. 👍
I saw a picture of that marker. It looked much cooler than this one. I might try to get there when I'm back in the area later this year.
I didn’t know it was accessible! It’s now on my bucket list. I’ve been to the Tex/OK/NM spot and am planning to go to the KS/OK/CO spot. Now I have another goal!
@@SidetrackAdventures if it has been raining, be sure you have 4WD. The last 1/4 mile isn’t paved and gets extremely muddy
@Barbara-pe2jf , I will be hitting up the KS/OK/CO spot in a couple of weeks... going to be staying in the Cimarron National Grasslands for a few days... then the Comanche National Grasslands in Colorado, then down into New Mexico. I'll probably be hitting up Tucumcari on the way back.
It's nice to see that other people travel like i do... not a fan of cities and Interstates, lol.
I live west of Clayton. I leased the grazing rights in the field in NM. I too took time to look at and place my hand on that very place. Thanks for the interest in my home turf.
I have family in that area and property on west side of union county
I lived in Texline when my dog ran away. Was easy to watch him the first two days. Standing on a milk crate, was able to watch him 2 more.
That's pretty funny.
I haven’t heard that joke in 30 years! Thanks for the chuckle and the memories.
@@KillerRabbit1975 My twist on it
Love it! Driving back from Tucson to Chicago, we took our young daughters to the Four Corners. My daughters being gymnast's, took a great photo doing a backflip with a foot and hand in the four different states. Was saddened to hear in the news years later that apparently the exact location was determined to be off by a little bit.
After posting my comment, I did a search on the Four Corners controversy. NOAH has a great detailed write up on it. Long story short is that once the government makes an official marking and it is accepted. That is the official location.😊
We stopped by there about 10 years ago and have a cool picture of our son as a baby in all four states, but haven't been in the area surprisingly since.
We went to "Four Corners" a few years ago and it was closed for updating. Never been back. Maybe someday
A bad Wednesday, is made MUCH better due to a Sidetrack Adventure.
Brings back a lot of memories from when our family was stationed in Amarillo. Dad used to say it was nothing but miles upon miles of miles in all directions. That part of the country is so flat that back in the 1960's at night we could get radio stations from Chicago.
Well, if it's crazy that you came to this spot in America, then you can call me absolutely nuts. I really enjoy these little adventures you take us on.
Your videos are wonderful: no agenda, no politics, only a simple love of forgotten history. Much appreciated!
Thanks!
I remember the National Geographic special "Love those trains". The phrase that came up" It's got to be the going,not the getting there thats good". I have enjoyed your journey, thanks for taking us along.....RF
With American trains, you'd better enjoy the going, because it takes a l-o-o-o-ng time to get anywhere! 😆
Thank you, Steve, for making the drive and sharing it with the rest of us!
Nice video. I would say it was worth a four hour drive. My wife and I have been to Clayton New Mexico several times to see the dinosaur tracks. Didn't think about the boundary of the three states being that close. Now we will have to make a return trip. It's only 8 hours from our home in Arkansas.
Well, Steve, I'm also one of those weirdos who deliberately chose to go visit that spot a few years ago. I even took the same route from Tucumcari that you did! And to further add to the geography nerdiness, I visited the southeastern corner of NM on my way back from Texas last winter.
Drove through the western corner of the Oklahoma panhandle, Delhart, and Guymon area. I had just read the book Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan, about the brave people who stayed and rode out thr Dust Bowl years when lots of people left for California trying to eke out a living as sharecroppers. Still dusty, hot, and dry during my summer road trip. Went to the XIT museum, Panhandle State University Museum, then drove south through Lubbock to Wink, Texas, near Pecos, to visit the Roy Orbison Museum. Love Roy's music. It wasn't open, but just walk next door to the city hall and ask if anyone is working there because I just drive 2,000 miles to see Roy. They'll ask someone to open it for you. Simple one roommuseim of memorabilia, including his famous preacription sunglasses.
Speaking of JC Penneys, the mother store, the firstl store where James Cash Penney started his department store is located in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and it is still operating as a store.
Thank you for letting us come along with you on your adventures.
And I grew up in Friona, about 165 miles south of Clayton. We spent the bulk of our married lives in Beaumont/Houston/Baytown but love to trip up to Colorado and New Mexico so yes, many gas/motel stops in Clayton.
The picture of the sandstorm approaching brought back many memories. Standing at a north facing window (after hurriedly getting a load of laundry off the clothesline) watching it approach. A roar, the sound of the sand hitting the windows, the darkness suddenly bringing visibility down to about a fifty feet for a few minutes with gradual clearing, the little deltas of fine sand accumulating at the corners of the windows. Happened many Springs in the fifties. The thing I liked about that country was being able to SEE forever.........
My dad's side of the family lived in Friona. My family probably knew yours.
I was there in 2022! My next goal is to get the three states at the Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma mark, then find the Colorado, NM, and Oklahoma mark (although I don’t think it is accessible. ) there is also a three state mark at the Oklahoma, Kansas, MO junction. The Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma Tri mark is in the Red River. 🤷🏻♀️I was at Four Corners in 1989. The mountain you saw are called Rabbit Ears. They are a very familiar landmark for Texans and Oklahomans heading to the mountains both for skiing and summer fun. Loved your video! Edited to say, there are travel people out there who badmouth these wide expanses of sky and land, but you were so respectful in this video. The people who stayed through the Dust Bowl were tough. My grandma gave birth to my mom during the Dust Bowl, in July, in Western Oklahoma. She was a tough lady.
I stopped by this Tri-State location 15 years ago. I was delivering a propane truck upfitted in Flint MI. The delivery was in Southern California. To break the monotony of the long drive I would plan rest stops in interesting places. The driving across the Oklahoma Panhandle is fascinating but at times frightful. Tremendous thunderstorms would loom up on the horizon far out in the distance. I was always glad to arrive in Rayton NM. Your video captures the high and very dry climate in this part of the southwest. Thank you.
I JUST finsihed this exact same trip only from Wichita back to So cal...very cool towns out there...thanks for this video !!!
Really cool. Did you stop at the three state marker?
@@SidetrackAdventures no and glad that you posted it as I wanted to go but the weather was a little sketchy when I was in the area and chose to push on
I've been to the "Three Corner's Triangle," where Utah, Colorado and Wyoming meet. It's about 15 miles NE of the John Jarvie Historic Ranch
Steve, I love watching your videos from Perth, Australia. I always say" it's not the destination but the journey is the most fun part"
You found those white squirrels so fast i figured i was gonna see a ghost on this video!
Really good one. Loved it. Thanks Steve
Excellent addition to your saga! It never crossed my mind that such a place exists, your humor is at its best, and I learned many things. Hahaha! "They've seen ghosts but they think ..." Many thanks for your uplifting UA-cam posts, Mr. Adventures!
Thanks again Brother Steve! Always makes my week! 😀🙏
The spot where three administrative boundaries, such as US state lines, intersect is known as a *tripoint.* _That_ tripoint is called *"Texhomex".* There is another tripoint not too far from there called Preston Tripoint between New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Preston is far more interesting than Texhomex, being in a forested volcanic canyon (Blacksmith Canyon) and with a small monument bearing the names of the three states on its sides.
Don’t know where you get your information but there’s definitely not a forested canyon at the marker between Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico.
@@scottsmith5165 You are looking at the wrong monument. (I tried to put a picture URL to show you, but YT keeps deleting the comment, so Google Image "Preston Monument"; all images of the monument show the canyon in the background (or use Maps to look for "Blacksmith Canyon, OK"). The green color in it are trees, i.e., a forest).
@@jul1440 that marker is in our old pasture
@@scottsmith5165 Then you know what I'm talking about; those flat green hills that surround it are Blacksmith Canyon. Further west are North Canyon, South Canyon, and Trail Canyon.
Love this! Thanx for sharing
Oh man, Steve! I absolutely love this video. I used to travel many of those lonely roads in New Mexico and I thoroughly enjoyed passing through all the many small towns and forgotten places. Being from Southern California, it's nice to get out in the wide open areas of this great land and leave the congestion and crowds behind!
Amen, biscuitboy.(born in ELA, former Palm Springs resident)
Great work as always.
Always enjoy your videos!
Great video!!!!Thank you for sharing!!!❤
I always enjoy your adventures. Thanks!
Content like this is why I love your channel! Thank you!
Cool love this stuff and absolutely loved video!
Great video! Keep up the good work
This had become my favorite youtube channel... Thanks Steve!
That was a really cool adventure. Thanks for sharing!
Great stuff. I’ve come to really appreciate your video excursions into the obscure, off the beaten path sites and the history you weave into your narratives.
😎👍😎
This is awesome! Thanks for sharing Steve
Glad you liked it!
As always, wonderful video and very informative. Thank you.
Thank you for this. I’m 76 and I grew up is this area. My great uncle built the Nuway Cafe that you see on Clayton Main Street and my cousin Freddy ran it when I was a kid. my grandfather owned the Studebaker dealership there for many years. My mother was born there in 1930 and she and her siblings went to high school at Clayton high school. We used to go to that theater to watch Roy Rodger’s and Gene Autry in the 50s
One of your best videos ever. Well done and very interesting!
Another great vid, thank you , Steve.
Another classic sidetrack adventure, thank you MrSteve☺️
6:47 - Definitely recognized that building as a JCP. There's one just like it in Astoria, OR as well.
Today I learned about the border screw up. Thanks for sharing, Steve!
I love this kind of thing. Wish I had the time to go see stuff like you do.
I wish I had more time myself!
Great destination for a video. Please keep up the good work!
The journey makes any trip worthwhile. Like your videos!
What an interesting video! You have a knack for finding those out-of-the-way places. Great job!
Good job, I enjoy your vids
Love living your adventures through your videos, Steve. Keep those great postcards coping in!
Great video,thanks.
Great tour of everything Thankyou
Thanks for another cool vid.
Many times, the journey is the best part. Can't tell you how many times on a road trip, I found the journey better/more interesting than the destination.
Over the past 2 years I've travelled a lot from California to Arizona and New Mexico, and your videos are showing me things/places/areas that I've driven past without any knowledge of their existence. Needless to say, my next trip will at a much slower pace to enjoy what you've highlighted.
Thanks for bringing them to us!
Always enjoy your videos. A great escape without leaving my couch.
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, raised in Las Vegas, New Mexico lived in Albuquerque 17 years and currently live in Phoenix, AZ. I’ve passed the area many times never knew there was a 3 Corners. That’s awesome!!!! Thank you for sharing!!! I’m looking forward to subscribing to your channel and hoping to find things about AZ on your channel.
Love your channel and your adventures. I've lived my live in the Southwestern US. Arizona and California are home but I've traveled through just about every state in the Union. Its a treat to see you bring back to life the Mother Road and the way life once was.
Thanks for the video.
Love this!
Thanks, Steve! Another interesting video history!
I’m glad you had good weather to make this journey. I like doing this kind of thing too. Thank you.
Thank you for posting this great little adventure. I love that are but have never been to that spot. Awesome video!👌
Steve, another interesting video. Thanks for all your hard work.
Cool spot. Thanks for taking us there.
Thanks for taking us to that remote place!
The Oklahoma panhandle has three trips-state corners. Straight north of where you were is OK/NM/CO and straight east of there is OK/CO/KS. Visited them all a few years ago traveling back roads thru Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado. It was a very interesting trip discovering places that are not visited often, great way to avoid crowds.🤠
Did you visit them all in one day? That might make an interesting road trip.
It actually would be a great trip for you to take. Especially on US 56 and 287, thru the panhandles of OK and TX.
@@SidetrackAdventures Saw the one you went to one day then the next day took the hike to the highest point in OK before going on to the next two.
Really a wonderful trip. I always feel like we're right there with you guys. I can't wait to visit those small towns myself. Thank you.
Another cool adventure. Thanks Steve.
I almost died in a blizzard around here in late march of 2022. I got caught on one of the those volcanoes when the blizzard started. I didn't think it would be so bad because I had made it through the Raton Pass well before the blizzard. The 3 corners heading east was when the weather eased up and I was fairly sure I was going to be ok and not literally blown off the road.
I spent the night in a NM rest area and was cozy since I luckily always carry a sleeping bag in my car. The next morning I was awoken by a semi truck frozen to the ground trying to leave the rest area. Cars were abandoned all over the road with big red "x's" on the driver's door. It was like the apocalypse being the only car on the highway dodging abandoned vehicles. Box trucks had been blown over the guard rails and vehicles littered the ditches. I had towed a little silver hatchback from FL out of a shallow ditch near the beginning of the blizzard just a bit east of Raton Pass several hours before I stopped to sleep because the wind kept blowing me off the road. They kept going when I stopped. I saw it way down in a ravine with an "x" on it the next morning. I didn't see another occupied vehicle that morning until the border into OK where a bunch of cops were holding back a line of traffic because the road was still closed. I emerged from a cloud of wind driven snow and slowly drove past them as they all stared at me.
It was fun once me and my car survived. When everything is white it's hard to tell where the road is...especially when the wind is strong enough to literally blow you off of it.
That was a learning experience. I had just driven from the upper peninsula in Michigan west across WI, MN, ND, SD, WY, MT, ID, WA to Seattle the month before and nothing I experienced was nearly as bad as that storm so much further south a month later in the year.
Always love your videos.
Thanks for the enjoyable ride! I haven’t been in that area since 1970. I had forgotten just how flat the southwest is! Beautiful.
Hello from New Jersey. Excellent tour and background music.
I was born and raised in Clayton. The town has declined since the late seventies and early eighties. I miss the town I grew up in. Great video.
Really nice video. Well done.
Very interesting - thanks for the trip, Steve.
Nice work on this one!
Thank you. My dad and uncle graduated in Clayton. My family had been in Union county since the early 1900’s. I graduated in Des Moines, NM. Left in the early ‘80s. Thank you for sharing. Many memories.
Great vid. ❤
Thank you for this video. I grew up in Sedan, NM and went to school in Clayton. It has been many years since I've visited my childhood home. The drive north to Clayton with Rabbit Ears Mountain in the distance was a very nostalgic experience for me.
A very fun and relaxing video. Thank you. 👌
Always fun, Thanks Steve.
I truly enjoy all your journeys. Thank you
Thanks for taking us along. Never really thought of the three corners. Fun stuff.
Another great video!
I love anything that has to do with history and the his obscure out of the way play place and other places like it are road trip heaven!
There are loads of links and videos, etc online pertaining to the four corners but ya gotta love stuff like this this that doesn't get the same publicity!
Really awesome and thanks for taking us along. Regards from LA.
Lastly, Clayton seems like a serious YIKES!!!
You just put a future road trip of mine in my head. Thanks!