Thank you for the video.I have family in Vici One bank, one gas station, one police car, one “little grocery store. No doctor of any kind in Vici,Shattuck, or Sharon . You have to go to Woodward. Honestly the best thing in all those towns are the people. They will literally give you the shirt off their back if you have a need. They are by all accounts poor in many things however they are very kind and generous with what they have. They have manners. Please, thank you, have a nice day, even a good morning . My mother died last year in Vici. Her friends from church opened up their home to her for hospice care, she passed the day after I arrived from California. The hospice nurse had a 45 minute drive one way. So you see they have what so many people lack today. They care❤
You don't know what you are talking about. Maybe you shouldn't speak on things that you are ignorant about. There is a hospital in Shattuck. There is actually 2 banks in Vici. You also forgot about the Cafe in Vici. Seems like you got pretty close with the rest of what you said.
Also, here in NE Oklahoma, at the Southern end of the Great Tallgrass Prairie, are families, like the Phillips, the Drummond's, the Barbees, the Perriers and individuals like John Israel... the most famous spur maker and the Bighearts, the Perrigo's, and the Whitehorn families. My friend F. Bigheart, is 82 years old and sleeps in the bed she was born in - a Chippendale, ball-&-claw solid Mahogany , absolute massive piece of furniture. In the small reservation apartment she occupies, are hundreds of very significant artifacts, and the EXACT same Chippendale bed, in the smaller bedroom, that her sister was born in. She is a national, and regional treasure ! She will be honored in France next month, at the screening of the movie, "Killers of the Flower Moon", in the Osage, sister city.
I really enjoy watching your videos. Strolling virtually in peaceful states. No crowds. Less people. Away from the noisy urban life. But beautiful views. So relaxing. 💖from🇵🇭
Vici is pronounced with long I’s Vīcī. C is like s . My mom grew up there. At 22:19 you was looking at the two story house she was raised in. The house at one time was a school house. The blackboard is still on back wall. It’s been wallpapered and painted over. But its still there. Counting my mom there was 8 kids in that house. It thrilled me and made me sad to see you stop in front of that house. My grandma lived there until 2002.
I am glued to your videos! Thank you. The one thing I must say is that you classify many homes as “abandoned “ but really they just are not home at the moment. As a home health nurse I can assure you that those homes are definitely occupied. You would be amazed of the conditions humans are willing to live in.
I did 2 years of Dollar General delivery and delivered to all them small towns. Texas,Oklahoma,NM,AZ. I even did the Ardmore to Yuma run a few times. Watching these videos brings back some weird times for me. Nice!
My mother was born and grew up in southwestern OK having survived the dust bowl years during the Great Depression. It is likely many of these small towns never recovered from its devastation. Add to this the fact that many small rural towns have gone the same way as these which you show because of the takeover of agriculture by large conglomerates and the eradication of family farms.
I’m a Vietnamese got out of Viet Nam in 1978 go straight to Tulsa after lived in Thailand for 6 months and lived there for 25 years and very proud of it , love Oklahoma my home town
I think that rural Oklahoma looks so much prettier than much of the USa becuase there are so many hedges, reminiscent of rural France or EnglandThis looks beautiful and you know what? the first time in my old age I feel the urge to travel again and see this palce. First time anywhere in the US has attracted me-nature galore and few people what paradise!
13:23 have a farm 5.5 miles SW of Shattuck. 4th generation. My great grandfather migrated in the early 1900’s from the Volga in Russia to Shattuck. I have the original 160 acres deeded to my grandfather signed by then President Theodore Roosevelt. My parents grew up on the farm living and surviving the Great Depression. Thankful we still have the farm. They worked hard in this part of the country. The crime rate is low due to folks who were raised to respect your neighbors. The mentality to this day is anyone who creates problems don’t stay long in this area. Some very strong farmers around Shattuck continue to thrive. Most in 60’s and above or their children are taking over. People very involved in school sports and the young people are hardworking and respectful of their elders. It’s one of the few places I know in America where people take care of one another. Thanks for the great video! You described Shattuck perfectly!
Being an Okie I enjoyed your video. Even when a body lives their entire life in the same state, you don’t make it to every small town. Thanks for the drive👏🏻👏🏻
It is times like this when I see people living with bad roofs and dilapidated homes, that I wish I was as rich as Elon. I would travel around with a full time construction crews and fix roofs etc. for all these poor people. There are poor people in my Florida county that live in homes like that with tarps still over their homes from 5 yrs ago due to storm damage. It makes me sad to see it.
I know the feeling. I wish I could help more people too. I guess helping within your budget is the best I can do, so at least someone gets helped. I've been helped in the past, so I do my best.
People in the USVI still have tarps on their roofs from 6 years ago during hurricanes Irma and Maria. They had insurance but somehow they didn't get the money to fix their homes.
I live in Rhode Island, but just received a rescue puppy who came all across the country in a van from Ringling OK. I never thought I'd actually see this state, but love seeing it through your travels.
Also, VICI isn’t called Vichy (although we sarcastically call it that) the locals pronounced the hard “I” in the name (Like the “I” in Ice or the “I” sound from eye) so it would be pronounced V”eye”C”eye”
Great video as usual. Around where I grew up, a declining oil boom area in Oklahoma, there are houses like seen in Gage. Some go away each year. One of the towns near where I grew up had its own full service grocery store. It was in downtown at one point, but the building it was in fell apart, so it moved to a metal building. It was in this building for decades. Then it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. As Dollar General had moved in, they owners did not re-build. A pretty bad loss for the town. This same town has a Sonic as its only place to eat out.
My god, I’m from Arnett ok (30 min drive to gage and as a freshman in HS, gage was the team I loved because I would get some playing time because of how bad they were. They even joined up with our baseball team because they didn’t have enough players.
There used to be more tracks, a yard there. But still looks active in Gage. It is amazing to see how quiet it is. I wish I could have visited these towns. I would love to see quiet places like this and talk to the people. I would have loved to stop for lunch and dinner in the local diner or restaurant and talk to the people. In the area north of Binghamton NY it is rural area and driving up through Marathon and I stayed at the 3 bear inn and they had a bar and restaurant. Very nice to have dinner there and hang out and talk to people.
This is so surreal! I grew up in Arnett, though I don't live there anymore. It's a very nice, quiet, little town. 15:36 Yep! It was a theater at one point! 16:29 When the town was voting whether to build the new jail, there was talk that this small cabin would be torn down (because this cabin used to be near the courthouse). It was relocated to Addington park a few years ago to preserve it, and you can actually walk inside! 17:28 I'm fairly certain the liquor store is closed 😢 but R&R is a nice place. Has the neccessities!
Glad I got the cat sighting. Thanks. What is concerning to me is I never see a medical center or doctor/dentist. What do these people do? As an old, retired guy, these things would be important to me. I am so glad you actually make these town tours worth seeing. The stats you give are SUPER!
They simply drive to the nearest town with doctors and a hospital. It could be Woodward. Some of the biggest towns in northwest and western Oklahoma, such as Woodward, are not declining and successfully struggling to hold their own. Enid is the biggest town in northwest Oklahoma, which has been holding its own. Did you see his interesting video on Enid? If not, it's worth a look.
Varmod you just hit on one of the dirty secrets about rural living. Rural people are often subsidized by suburban and urban folks when it comes to medical care. It only makes sense right? It is very costly to get medications and medical care out to these hard to reach places. Certainly harder then folks who live in areas that are more well-connected to transportation networks. Also think about emergency situations. In an emergency situtation oftentimes an ambulance is not enough. Therefore they often have to be flown to hospital by HELICOPTER since they live so far from hospitals. Where I am from in Georgia this is a major problem and it is not even as rural as the places in this video. If folks who want to live in the super rural towns thats fine but then they get mad when their private helicopter ride to the hospital is so expensive! The bottom line is that these folks will still get their medical care. It will just be more expensive per capita than the rest of the country and whether you have a private insurance system or a public healthcare system it doesnt matter costs will go up for everyone else as a result. Rural hospitals are closing at an alarming rate too so the problem will likely get even worse. This is all easily verifiable information via a simple google search.
@@concernedcitizen6572 Where do you think your food comes from, Einstein? Where do you think most of the energy and natural resources come from that powers your urban/suburban lifestyle? Rural areas, that's where. This is all easily verifiable information via a simple google search. 🤦♂
More interesting insights in to the towns, cities and metropolises of the US. Rural USA does seem to be in fast paced decline. As ever, highly interesting and informative.
Yeah the decline of rural America has been well documented for years now. Work from home due to COVID helped small towns a bit but I think its only a temporary blip. As work from home policies end many workers will have to either stomach ungodly commutes or sell their home for a massive loss. Either way no more LARPing as Little House on the Prairie for many.
Such an interesting video, as always. The windmill museum was fascinating. When I was a child on long car trips, we used to count windmills as we went through the rural areas, just for fun. Sadly, you don't see them very often now. Thanks so much for another enjoyable video.😊
Hello Joe. Just discovered your channel. Very interesting places you had visited. Thank you for taking us to places where we probably wouldn’t visit. Keep up your great work and safe journey. !
Joe, you and Nicole should come to Osage County, the Great Osage Nation Reservation. Pawhuska, the County seat, is booming with business and tourism ! They filmed the movie, soon to be released, "Killers of the Flower Moon", here and it is the exact place where Indian princesses and heirs to Osage oil, and mineral rights...were taken advantage of, and some killed. There's Frank Phillips home, museum, and wildlife ranch, the Great Heritage Trails, the Drummond's vast wild horse ranges, Mounds... built centuries ago, by the mound builders.... likely gravesites. Actual graveyards, in the wilderness, round houses, where Indian rituals were held - it's all here.
21:55. That's a really beautiful structure! I believe it is reminiscent of Early Mid-Century Ajerbaijanian Tudor Architecture, but I could be mistaken.
I just found this channel the other day and I know why I love it. I travel a shit ton to a lot of places within and outside the U.S. And I always want to stop at these down and out abandoned towns but usually don't unless I'm alone and don't have the kids in the car. However, now that they're older, I think they'd really enjoy something like this as it also gives them a perspective on how lucky they are (but maybe some people don't mind living like that 🤷🏽). I also really enjoy the census facts you drop as well. I really hope that the people who want and need the help in these towns are getting it. 😢 Great channel!
Hey Joe, Just finished the Okla video of which I often watch. Being an ex Okie as you are, I find this stuff very interesting. Since you are heading to Kansas, thought I might suggest a very unique town with an unbelievable history. The town is Nicodemus. A little off the beaten path but you can probably find enough info to gain some interest. HAPPY TRAILS Ron.....
I'm not from the US, i don't know if it's normal overthere but i've never seen a single soul walking around in these videos. We have rural areas here as well, but you generally see people going for a walk especially on saturday or sunday morning.
Yeah, I'm from Brazil and i find this really weird by watching this channel videos. Here in Brazil, even in the small poor and rural towns, we will always see people walking around the downtown or in the front of their houses chatting with the neighbours....
It's true that the places seem desolate of people. Ironically, there were pedestrians in this video but not many. More often than not, residences are not within the commercial centers and these centers now often have empty buildings; so are not magnets or destinations for walkers. People who do go to the remaining businesses in these centers take vehicles because it's for business not pleasure or leisure and that business trip may require returning with something too heavy to carry. Also, prohibitive distances for walking.
Hi Joe, Thank you for all your videos.. we do enjoy when you ask us what we think bc it makes us believe you want to know what we think.. it brings us into your experience.. makes us feel as if we were sitting next to you on this fun road trip..so yeah I appreciate your various questions.. also I want to thank you for showing the post offices in each town you all travel to..post offices are always the beginning buildings for any new city along with the city halls and whatnot.. you guys are great and I can't wait for your next posting! Please keep up the great work and thank you God bless you through all your travels!
Yeah sadly due to a variety of reasons (hyper car-dependency, restrictive single-family-home-only zoning and tax-averse population among many other things) we rarely fund things that would be considered "normal" in the rest of the world: Walkable streets with sidewalks and useable public transit. But in many metro areas of the USA this is changing for the better. 😊 My city in Tennessee recently made its downtown square car-free and its quite lovely! So much better for families and local markets and festivals etc and helping foster a sense of community! :) I hope to visit Scotland one day. I hear Edinburgh is amazing! 😊
There's a stigma in northwest Oklahoma. They hate anything that resembles hippies, like walking or biking. Had a beer bottle thrown at me once while walking. They yelled to "get a job" as they passed.
@@driftingover Dang thats so sad. The hatred for people on bikes is insane. So many people are so obsessed with going as fast as possible in their cars and if anyone gets in the way of that... well it could get ugly
@@concernedcitizen6572 Scotland is a lovely country,I’m from Glasgow and we do have our fair share of drug addicts,in fact we have the worst drug deaths in Europe.The city centre has a lot of closed shops but people with cars drive out to shopping centres and retail parks.There is also a cost of living crisis here with food prices sky rocketing .🏴🏴🏴🏴
I loved your last comment in Vici about taking care of a downtown by putting all the businesses in the downtown. That's what's killing my own town: the businesses are moving out of downtown and then killing the town as a whole.
My Mother's family are from a small town in southeastern Oklahoma called Cloudy, in Pushmataha County. They only have one store, one church and a community building. The post office was closed in the 80's. The last few years Cloudy is growing as many families from larger cities are buying up land.
I drove across Oklahoma back in 2019. I traveled to Oklahoma mainly to see the Wichita mountains wildlife refuge. It is something to see. Then I drove as much of the remains of Route 66 as I could. Oklahoma has the most drivable portions of Route 66 of any Route 66 state. Not necessarily the most surviving icons, but the most drivable portions of road. I drove through some of these towns in your video.
Arizona has some neat murals along route 66, especially in Flagstaff depicting the people of the Depression era travelling along Route 66. I admired them every morning when my walk took me along 66.
As a kid growing up in Guymon Okla ,we would go fishing at the lakes and ponds around Shattuck. I broke an ankle and I remember Doctor BURGTORF in Shattuck set my ankle and put it in a cast . A lot of people would go there to have work done by him in the 70s .
It would be nice to see some of the interiors of the grocery stores and other stores. I always wonder what these small local stores look like inside. Nice video and information. These small towns seems so peaceful.
They are anything but. The drama and math use here are rampant. The Christians are as hateful as they come. Not all of course, but a good amount. Lots of deadbeat dads that would rather sit on their ass and drink or do drugs. LOTS of domestic abuse. I can't wait to get out of here, but coming from poverty in an impoverished place with no opportunities takes some time.
I moved to an undesirable area of Oklahoma 3 yrs ago, Muskogee Ok from Santa Rosa Ca. Can’t really afford to go back but I still think about doing it anyways lol
Beautiful Joe..love those "W I D E open Blue skies...much less stress in those little town, the log cabin an liquor store,. would be interesting to visit...all good sights and relaxing, you've got the touch! Good Sir..please stay safe in your travels, looking forward to the Kansas sights, thankyou.🌼
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Oh, that's so nice of Cesar. I wish I could-- I would too--Love these videos! Maybe some day soon I'll be living somewhere that you've filmed and then I can do it for you too Joe! 🙂Thanks for making them--I hate to drive, love to ride with someone else though. lol
Missed the busy part of Shattuck. The hospital, dentist, Venture grocery, Medic drug, ElTipi Truck stop, Sonic and Dollar General all on the South end of main street. Pretty lively out that way all day
My dad was born in a small town in Oklahoma called Butler. I think it might have just over 100 people there now. My dad left there in 1949 to join the Air Force. My father-in-law was born in Rocky, Oklahoma another small town.
Could you talk to a few locals on your trips. I think that would be awesome to get some history from some older locals 👍 I love the concept, we stayed in the same hotel as you in Biloxi 👍 .
You are amazing...as a Non-American this is so awesome to me 😅... The way you choose towns its Unique...I like how you give all information about each town... It's like a Peaceful Movie with all enjoyment 👌🏻🙂 Keep it up.... and keep asking us as if we can answer 😅😂... GREETINGS FROM KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 🇸🇦 🌴💐
Hi Joe. Love your videos. No need to worry about asking us “…what do you think…”. I frequently find myself answering out loud to your questions. So if you think you hear someone talking to you when no one is around it’s probably just me, lol…really enjoy your dialogue and commentary anyway, keep up the great work and looking forward to your next production.
At 6:08 -- except for the iffy road condition, I love driving stretches of road like that, with green fields on either side and blue skies with puffy white clouds as far as you can see. I could spend some quality street photography time in Shattuck, with the old garage and the giant funeral home storefront. And the windmill park--how cool is that? Reminds me of the windmill "museum" in Pie Town NM.
Went to college at Oklahoma State. I remember driving up from Texas going the back way up state hwy 51, there were plenty of rundown towns out there. This video really reminds me of those drives up through the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, there’s really nowhere like it.
Love the channel. In that I grew up in Chickasha, OK, loved seeing these seldom mentioned little towns. One suggestion-- after driving down a Main Street with the camera facing forward, how about doing two additional sweeps so we can see the stores (what's left) on each side of the street. It's checking out the storefronts that is the coolest aspect of your travels, IMHO. So rather than offer side-camera views in just the residential areas, how about a thorough exam of Main Street businesses. Just having a forward view of Main Street is like a horse going down the street with side blinders on. Anyone who gets bored can FF, right ? Thanks ! Keep up the great work.
Great video as always! But what gets me is how the grass is always neat to a certain point. Like they still have pride even if it rundown or vacant! Thank you 👑 can't wait until next video!
I noticed that too but I also got the impression that the "gardens" around the houses were incredibly boring with few shrubs, flower borders or veg beds.
It looks like the city of gauge Oklahoma is 0% white 0%, Hispanic and 0% Native American There is one guy there, and only reason he’s there is because he got lost,, What a good factor is, I noticed there’s no rush hour traffic,,,
@@jdavis1770you're right. The lost guy is a long-bearded old man called Billy Bob and he drives a 1994 Dodge Ram truck and I just noticed the windshield is cracked, the hood is fastened with a clothes hanger, and the inside looks like a hoarder's home.
I’ve never seen a video where you have gone to a Native reserve or even passed one. This may be more common in Canada but I can’t believe there wouldn’t be any in some of the areas you go through like Oklahoma.
Great video Joe. It's sad to see the old abandoned homes and think that once there were families living in them eating, drinking and having fun. I wonder where they all went to. Keep up the good work mate. Brynn --- Stafford --- UK.
Really enjoy your videos. I'm from Michigan so getting to see these towns that most likely, I will not ever see is pretty cool. Relaxing also. Thank you! My only tip, if you can, would be to upgrade to 1440p or even 4k quality. The videos look SO much better then 1080p. Just a note.
Pretty incredible sky in that area. Very neat to see the original log cabin. I have to say that it's a very different lifestyle there from the urban Northeast where I live. Where do they get the things they need?
Howdy from oklahoma! You should absolutely check out quartz mountain state park and lake altus if you get the chance. Its not a big tourist destination even for people in the state and deserves more love
I noticed that NONE of the houses in these small towns have anything close to a maintained garden and very few have fences. From an Australian perspective it looks odd as gardens are the normal thing here.
After what's gone on in the world the last 10 yrs, I'm thinking of doing my part to reignite rural small town living. Looking peaceful and quiet. Big cities are truly overrated.
have you ever considered traveling through prairie village kansas..beautiful bedroom city also right next door is overland park thanks Joe happy travels
My ancestry moved relocated from southern Ohio, lived in Oklahoma in the 1870s then into Kansas. The picture I have seen of the homestead indicates a sod clad on the side of a small hillside. Probably just a hole in the ground now.
Thank you for the video.I have family in Vici
One bank, one gas station, one police car, one “little grocery store.
No doctor of any kind in Vici,Shattuck, or Sharon . You have to go to Woodward.
Honestly the best thing in all those towns are the people.
They will literally give you the shirt off their back if you have a need.
They are by all accounts poor in many things however they are very kind and generous with what they have.
They have manners. Please, thank you, have a nice day, even a good morning .
My mother died last year in Vici.
Her friends from church opened up their home to her for hospice care, she passed the day after I arrived from California. The hospice nurse had a 45 minute drive one way.
So you see they have what so many people lack today. They care❤
There’s a hospital in shattuck
Do you remember the tornado of 46, Woodward was completely destroyed. Class 5 it was.
You don't know what you are talking about. Maybe you shouldn't speak on things that you are ignorant about. There is a hospital in Shattuck. There is actually 2 banks in Vici. You also forgot about the Cafe in Vici. Seems like you got pretty close with the rest of what you said.
My exes mom grew up in ViCi
@@dominicd7610 One side of my family or most of them currently live in Vici. For sure a place where everyone knows everyone.
Also, here in NE Oklahoma, at the Southern end of the Great Tallgrass Prairie, are families, like the Phillips, the Drummond's, the Barbees, the Perriers and individuals like John Israel... the most famous spur maker and the Bighearts, the Perrigo's, and the Whitehorn families. My friend F. Bigheart, is 82 years old and sleeps in the bed she was born in - a Chippendale, ball-&-claw solid Mahogany , absolute massive piece of furniture. In the small reservation apartment she occupies, are hundreds of very significant artifacts, and the EXACT same Chippendale bed, in the smaller bedroom, that her sister was born in. She is a national, and regional treasure !
She will be honored in France next month, at the screening of the movie, "Killers of the Flower Moon", in the Osage, sister city.
Joe, there is just something so comforting about your voice and your delivery. You sound hopeful. Thank you!
Wow, thank you!
I really enjoy watching your videos. Strolling virtually in peaceful states. No crowds. Less people. Away from the noisy urban life. But beautiful views. So relaxing. 💖from🇵🇭
Greetings
Ha. Not as comforting when people start moving in and getting nosy. Stay on your cities please. Thanks. -Okie
Agree
Beautiful views? I see poverty everywhere in countless struggling towns.
@@DellDreamer thank you
Vici is pronounced with long I’s Vīcī. C is like s . My mom grew up there. At 22:19 you was looking at the two story house she was raised in. The house at one time was a school house. The blackboard is still on back wall. It’s been wallpapered and painted over. But its still there. Counting my mom there was 8 kids in that house. It thrilled me and made me sad to see you stop in front of that house. My grandma lived there until 2002.
Holy smokes! Ten people lived in that little house? Assuming ma & pa with 8 kids but no grands.
I am glued to your videos! Thank you. The one thing I must say is that you classify many homes as “abandoned “ but really they just are not home at the moment. As a home health nurse I can assure you that those homes are definitely occupied. You would be amazed of the conditions humans are willing to live in.
Yep, if there's a window A/C, it's not abandoned.
I appreciate how respectful you are of each of these old towns.
I did 2 years of Dollar General delivery and delivered to all them small towns. Texas,Oklahoma,NM,AZ.
I even did the Ardmore to Yuma run a few times.
Watching these videos brings back some weird times for me. Nice!
@@vesturedippedinblood4450
No, I delivered the goods. I operated a 18 wheeler. The distribution center for DG is in Ardmore, OK.
all the dang freemasons
Beautiful! The sky was sticking out to me in all these cities, the clouds, blue sky, green grass.
The green only lasts a couple of months in the spring. It's dead grass and red dirt the rest of the year.
My mother was born and grew up in southwestern OK having survived the dust bowl years during the Great Depression. It is likely many of these small towns never recovered from its devastation. Add to this the fact that many small rural towns have gone the same way as these which you show because of the takeover of agriculture by large conglomerates and the eradication of family farms.
All these towns peaked around 1980 at the peak of the oil boom. No oil boom, no people.
Ja sehr schöne Stadt, gefällt mir sehr
@@dirkthiemann5419 Really?
You said southwestern Oklahoma. Which town? I live in Ringling Oklahoma.
@@cynthiacamplain6553 She was born in Marlin and grew up in Granite.
I’m a Vietnamese got out of Viet Nam in 1978 go straight to Tulsa after lived in Thailand for 6 months and lived there for 25 years and very proud of it , love Oklahoma my home town
That former old gas station with the large, portico, was magnificent!
I think that rural Oklahoma looks so much prettier than much of the USa becuase there are so many hedges, reminiscent of rural France or EnglandThis looks beautiful and you know what? the first time in my old age I feel the urge to travel again and see this palce. First time anywhere in the US has attracted me-nature galore and few people what paradise!
😂😂😂😂 hedges and trees don't bring jobs.
@@AlmaMercer Not entirely true since trees can be timber and hedges nead tending but I know what you mean.
13:23 have a farm 5.5 miles SW of Shattuck. 4th generation. My great grandfather migrated in the early 1900’s from the Volga in Russia to Shattuck. I have the original 160 acres deeded to my grandfather signed by then President Theodore Roosevelt. My parents grew up on the farm living and surviving the Great Depression. Thankful we still have the farm. They worked hard in this part of the country. The crime rate is low due to folks who were raised to respect your neighbors. The mentality to this day is anyone who creates problems don’t stay long in this area. Some very strong farmers around Shattuck continue to thrive. Most in 60’s and above or their children are taking over. People very involved in school sports and the young people are hardworking and respectful of their elders. It’s one of the few places I know in America where people take care of one another. Thanks for the great video! You described Shattuck perfectly!
Great comment.
I’m descended from Volga Russian-Germans, too. My great-grands emigrated from Russia to KS.
Being an Okie I enjoyed your video.
Even when a body lives their entire life in the same state, you don’t make it to every small town.
Thanks for the drive👏🏻👏🏻
Are you from Muskogee?
It is times like this when I see people living with bad roofs and dilapidated homes, that I wish I was as rich as Elon. I would travel around with a full time construction crews and fix roofs etc. for all these poor people. There are poor people in my Florida county that live in homes like that with tarps still over their homes from 5 yrs ago due to storm damage. It makes me sad to see it.
I know the feeling. I wish I could help more people too. I guess helping within your budget is the best I can do, so at least someone gets helped. I've been helped in the past, so I do my best.
People in the USVI still have tarps on their roofs from 6 years ago during hurricanes Irma and Maria. They had insurance but somehow they didn't get the money to fix their homes.
In every town there are houses where the roof over the front porch is collapsing. They don't care about it because they don't live under it.
You don't need to be rich to help....
@@lulululu6334 I'm not rich, I'm on a fixed income, you do only what you can.
Joe . I always like your diplomatic commentary. "That's a lot of stuff".
Crying with you 😢it hurts my heart too. You never know what people are going through. I prayed for Cody and his daddy and I will continue praying.
Thanks for showing and talking about any kind of food stores. It is just the one factor that interested me when I started watching your videos.
I live in Rhode Island, but just received a rescue puppy who came all across the country in a van from Ringling OK. I never thought I'd actually see this state, but love seeing it through your travels.
Also, VICI isn’t called Vichy (although we sarcastically call it that) the locals pronounced the hard “I” in the name (Like the “I” in Ice or the “I” sound from eye) so it would be pronounced V”eye”C”eye”
Great video as usual. Around where I grew up, a declining oil boom area in Oklahoma, there are houses like seen in Gage. Some go away each year. One of the towns near where I grew up had its own full service grocery store. It was in downtown at one point, but the building it was in fell apart, so it moved to a metal building. It was in this building for decades. Then it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. As Dollar General had moved in, they owners did not re-build. A pretty bad loss for the town. This same town has a Sonic as its only place to eat out.
My god, I’m from Arnett ok (30 min drive to gage and as a freshman in HS, gage was the team I loved because I would get some playing time because of how bad they were. They even joined up with our baseball team because they didn’t have enough players.
My great grandparents are buried at Shattuck, great great grandparents at Gage. Thanks for sharing.They settled there in the 1880's.
There used to be more tracks, a yard there. But still looks active in Gage.
It is amazing to see how quiet it is.
I wish I could have visited these towns.
I would love to see quiet places like this and talk to the people.
I would have loved to stop for lunch and dinner in the local diner or restaurant and talk to the people.
In the area north of Binghamton NY it is rural area and driving up through Marathon and I stayed at the 3 bear inn and they had a bar and restaurant. Very nice to have dinner there and hang out and talk to people.
This is so surreal! I grew up in Arnett, though I don't live there anymore. It's a very nice, quiet, little town.
15:36 Yep! It was a theater at one point!
16:29 When the town was voting whether to build the new jail, there was talk that this small cabin would be torn down (because this cabin used to be near the courthouse). It was relocated to Addington park a few years ago to preserve it, and you can actually walk inside!
17:28 I'm fairly certain the liquor store is closed 😢 but R&R is a nice place. Has the neccessities!
OZ here/ I love how you talk while driving, feels like we are in the passenger seat ! Thanks for your work Joe (& Nicole too).
Thank you! That's what I'm going for. :)
Glad I got the cat sighting. Thanks. What is concerning to me is I never see a medical center or doctor/dentist. What do these people do? As an old, retired guy, these things would be important to me. I am so glad you actually make these town tours worth seeing. The stats you give are SUPER!
They simply drive to the nearest town with doctors and a hospital. It could be Woodward. Some of the biggest towns in northwest and western Oklahoma, such as Woodward, are not declining and successfully struggling to hold their own. Enid is the biggest town in northwest Oklahoma, which has been holding its own. Did you see his interesting video on Enid? If not, it's worth a look.
We prefer it like this.
@@ericwinter8409 You prefer to not live close to life-saving medical care?
Varmod you just hit on one of the dirty secrets about rural living. Rural people are often subsidized by suburban and urban folks when it comes to medical care. It only makes sense right? It is very costly to get medications and medical care out to these hard to reach places. Certainly harder then folks who live in areas that are more well-connected to transportation networks. Also think about emergency situations. In an emergency situtation oftentimes an ambulance is not enough. Therefore they often have to be flown to hospital by HELICOPTER since they live so far from hospitals. Where I am from in Georgia this is a major problem and it is not even as rural as the places in this video. If folks who want to live in the super rural towns thats fine but then they get mad when their private helicopter ride to the hospital is so expensive! The bottom line is that these folks will still get their medical care. It will just be more expensive per capita than the rest of the country and whether you have a private insurance system or a public healthcare system it doesnt matter costs will go up for everyone else as a result. Rural hospitals are closing at an alarming rate too so the problem will likely get even worse. This is all easily verifiable information via a simple google search.
@@concernedcitizen6572 Where do you think your food comes from, Einstein? Where do you think most of the energy and natural resources come from that powers your urban/suburban lifestyle? Rural areas, that's where. This is all easily verifiable information via a simple google search. 🤦♂
More interesting insights in to the towns, cities and metropolises of the US. Rural USA does seem to be in fast paced decline. As ever, highly interesting and informative.
Yes, we are disappearing into an elites and poverty world. Nothing in between.
Yeah the decline of rural America has been well documented for years now. Work from home due to COVID helped small towns a bit but I think its only a temporary blip. As work from home policies end many workers will have to either stomach ungodly commutes or sell their home for a massive loss. Either way no more LARPing as Little House on the Prairie for many.
People would rather live somewhere else. Better weather especially.
My husband used to drive a semi tank truck out of Amarillo Texas picking up raw milk. He went through Gage,Booker,Guymon!
Such an interesting video, as always. The windmill museum was fascinating. When I was a child on long car trips, we used to count windmills as we went through the rural areas, just for fun. Sadly, you don't see them very often now. Thanks so much for another enjoyable video.😊
Hello Joe. Just discovered your channel. Very interesting places you had visited.
Thank you for taking us to places where we probably wouldn’t visit. Keep up your great work and safe journey. !
Thanks and welcome! 😀
I just found this channel also about month ago! Isn't it great? I love the stats joe gives on the towns. Great job Joe and Nicole!
Joe, you and Nicole should come to Osage County, the Great Osage Nation Reservation. Pawhuska, the County seat, is booming with business and tourism !
They filmed the movie, soon to be released, "Killers of the Flower Moon", here and it is the exact place where Indian princesses and heirs to Osage oil, and mineral rights...were taken advantage of, and some killed.
There's Frank Phillips home, museum, and wildlife ranch, the Great Heritage Trails, the Drummond's vast wild horse ranges, Mounds... built centuries ago, by the mound builders.... likely gravesites. Actual graveyards, in the wilderness, round houses, where Indian rituals were held - it's all here.
21:55. That's a really beautiful structure! I believe it is reminiscent of Early Mid-Century Ajerbaijanian Tudor Architecture, but I could be mistaken.
Right. With some Greek classical influence. lol.
Keep asking questions. It makes my feel like I am present and going along for the ride. Raises the interest in your videos.😊
I just found this channel the other day and I know why I love it. I travel a shit ton to a lot of places within and outside the U.S. And I always want to stop at these down and out abandoned towns but usually don't unless I'm alone and don't have the kids in the car. However, now that they're older, I think they'd really enjoy something like this as it also gives them a perspective on how lucky they are (but maybe some people don't mind living like that 🤷🏽). I also really enjoy the census facts you drop as well. I really hope that the people who want and need the help in these towns are getting it. 😢
Great channel!
Hey Joe, Just finished the Okla video of which I often watch. Being an ex Okie as you are, I find this stuff very interesting. Since you are heading to Kansas, thought I might suggest a very unique town with an unbelievable history. The town is Nicodemus. A little off the beaten path but you can probably find enough info to gain some interest. HAPPY TRAILS Ron.....
I'm not from the US, i don't know if it's normal overthere but i've never seen a single soul walking around in these videos. We have rural areas here as well, but you generally see people going for a walk especially on saturday or sunday morning.
People don't move unless by automobile. 😂
Yeah, I'm from Brazil and i find this really weird by watching this channel videos. Here in Brazil, even in the small poor and rural towns, we will always see people walking around the downtown or in the front of their houses chatting with the neighbours....
You don’t won’t to be seen walking around. You’ll be deemed healthy enough to work and lose that monthly check. Walkin’ is for SUCKERS!
Good point
It's true that the places seem desolate of people. Ironically, there were pedestrians in this video but not many. More often than not, residences are not within the commercial centers and these centers now often have empty buildings; so are not magnets or destinations for walkers. People who do go to the remaining businesses in these centers take vehicles because it's for business not pleasure or leisure and that business trip may require returning with something too heavy to carry. Also, prohibitive distances for walking.
Hi Joe, Thank you for all your videos.. we do enjoy when you ask us what we think bc it makes us believe you want to know what we think.. it brings us into your experience.. makes us feel as if we were sitting next to you on this fun road trip..so yeah I appreciate your various questions.. also I want to thank you for showing the post offices in each town you all travel to..post offices are always the beginning buildings for any new city along with the city halls and whatnot.. you guys are great and I can't wait for your next posting! Please keep up the great work and thank you God bless you through all your travels!
Thank you, CR!
Love watching your videos,absolutely fascinating.What really gets to me is the lack of humans walking about in those places.🏴
Yeah sadly due to a variety of reasons (hyper car-dependency, restrictive single-family-home-only zoning and tax-averse population among many other things) we rarely fund things that would be considered "normal" in the rest of the world: Walkable streets with sidewalks and useable public transit.
But in many metro areas of the USA this is changing for the better. 😊 My city in Tennessee recently made its downtown square car-free and its quite lovely! So much better for families and local markets and festivals etc and helping foster a sense of community! :)
I hope to visit Scotland one day. I hear Edinburgh is amazing! 😊
There's a stigma in northwest Oklahoma. They hate anything that resembles hippies, like walking or biking. Had a beer bottle thrown at me once while walking. They yelled to "get a job" as they passed.
@@driftingover Dang thats so sad. The hatred for people on bikes is insane. So many people are so obsessed with going as fast as possible in their cars and if anyone gets in the way of that... well it could get ugly
@@concernedcitizen6572 Scotland is a lovely country,I’m from Glasgow and we do have our fair share of drug addicts,in fact we have the worst drug deaths in Europe.The city centre has a lot of closed shops but people with cars drive out to shopping centres and retail parks.There is also a cost of living crisis here with food prices sky rocketing .🏴🏴🏴🏴
@@ladytron1724 I have heard that Glasgow is getting better/safer though so thats good. Maybe one day I will visit. I do love walkable places.
You have the most interesting exploration videos on you tube I find myself having to watch them all, keep up the good work
Wow, thanks!
I love your drive-thoughs of these little old towns and knowing their stats.
I love your videos - your camera work is nice and steady giving time to take in the fantastic views, it’s like almost being there
Thank you, thats the idea! :)
Thanks for giving the temperature in both Fahrenheit and Centigrade - I was brought up on F (as I am old!) but living in the UK became used to C!
Wow I wonder what those places are like when it snows. Thanks for the ride along
I like it when you say," what do you guys think" it makes it seem like were riding along with you, and personal, a very nice touch!😬👍
Thank you, that's the idea!
I loved your last comment in Vici about taking care of a downtown by putting all the businesses in the downtown. That's what's killing my own town: the businesses are moving out of downtown and then killing the town as a whole.
My Mother's family are from a small town in southeastern Oklahoma called Cloudy, in Pushmataha County.
They only have one store, one church and a community building. The post office was closed in the 80's.
The last few years Cloudy is growing as many families from larger cities are buying up land.
I drove across Oklahoma back in 2019. I traveled to Oklahoma mainly to see the Wichita mountains wildlife refuge. It is something to see. Then I drove as much of the remains of Route 66 as I could. Oklahoma has the most drivable portions of Route 66 of any Route 66 state. Not necessarily the most surviving icons, but the most drivable portions of road. I drove through some of these towns in your video.
Arizona has some neat murals along route 66, especially in Flagstaff depicting the people of the Depression era travelling along Route 66. I admired them every morning when my walk took me along 66.
As a kid growing up in Guymon Okla ,we would go fishing at the lakes and ponds around Shattuck. I broke an ankle and I remember Doctor
BURGTORF in Shattuck set my ankle and put it in a cast . A lot of people would go there to have work done by him in the 70s .
It would be nice to see some of the interiors of the grocery stores and other stores. I always wonder what these small local stores look like inside. Nice video and information. These small towns seems so peaceful.
They are anything but. The drama and math use here are rampant. The Christians are as hateful as they come. Not all of course, but a good amount. Lots of deadbeat dads that would rather sit on their ass and drink or do drugs. LOTS of domestic abuse. I can't wait to get out of here, but coming from poverty in an impoverished place with no opportunities takes some time.
The sky here is really beautiful. What a sight!
I moved to an undesirable area of Oklahoma 3 yrs ago, Muskogee Ok from Santa Rosa Ca. Can’t really afford to go back but I still think about doing it anyways lol
Another great video, Joe. Great job of documenting all aspects of your travels. I look forward to your videos.
Beautiful Joe..love those "W I D E open Blue skies...much less stress in those little town, the log cabin an liquor store,. would be interesting to visit...all good sights and relaxing, you've got the touch! Good Sir..please stay safe in your travels, looking forward to the Kansas sights, thankyou.🌼
Thanks!
Thank you, Cesar!
@@JoeandNicsRoadTrip Oh, that's so nice of Cesar. I wish I could-- I would too--Love these videos! Maybe some day soon I'll be living somewhere that you've filmed and then I can do it for you too Joe! 🙂Thanks for making them--I hate to drive, love to ride with someone else though. lol
Missed the busy part of Shattuck. The hospital, dentist, Venture grocery, Medic drug, ElTipi Truck stop, Sonic and Dollar General all on the South end of main street. Pretty lively out that way all day
Enjoying the Oklahoma tour! ☺️
My dad was born in a small town in Oklahoma called Butler. I think it might have just over 100 people there now. My dad left there in 1949 to join the Air Force. My father-in-law was born in Rocky, Oklahoma another small town.
My dad and his parents, siblings were all from Cromwell and near the same age as your dad. I think my dad graduated in 1948. Cawdell is the sir name.
Could you talk to a few locals on your trips. I think that would be awesome to get some history from some older locals 👍 I love the concept, we stayed in the same hotel as you in Biloxi 👍 .
So I am beyond blessed to be in small rural town ❤ How blessed are we? God is amazing all the time!!
You are amazing...as a Non-American this is so awesome to me 😅...
The way you choose towns its Unique...I like how you give all information about each town...
It's like a Peaceful Movie with all enjoyment 👌🏻🙂
Keep it up.... and keep asking us as if we can answer 😅😂...
GREETINGS FROM KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA 🇸🇦 🌴💐
Greetings from rural West Texas
@@wileecoyote5929 💐👍🏻
Hi Joe. Love your videos. No need to worry about asking us “…what do you think…”. I frequently find myself answering out loud to your questions. So if you think you hear someone talking to you when no one is around it’s probably just me, lol…really enjoy your dialogue and commentary anyway, keep up the great work and looking forward to your next production.
Cool. :)
Stunningly beautiful skies.
At 6:08 -- except for the iffy road condition, I love driving stretches of road like that, with green fields on either side and blue skies with puffy white clouds as far as you can see. I could spend some quality street photography time in Shattuck, with the old garage and the giant funeral home storefront. And the windmill park--how cool is that? Reminds me of the windmill "museum" in Pie Town NM.
Went to college at Oklahoma State. I remember driving up from Texas going the back way up state hwy 51, there were plenty of rundown towns out there. This video really reminds me of those drives up through the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, there’s really nowhere like it.
Love the channel. In that I grew up in Chickasha, OK, loved seeing these seldom mentioned little towns. One suggestion-- after driving down a Main Street with the camera facing forward, how about doing two additional sweeps so we can see the stores (what's left) on each side of the street. It's checking out the storefronts that is the coolest aspect of your travels, IMHO.
So rather than offer side-camera views in just the residential areas, how about a thorough exam of Main Street businesses. Just having a forward view of Main Street is like a horse going down the street with side blinders on. Anyone who gets bored can FF, right ? Thanks ! Keep up the great work.
I lived in Stillwater/Sandsprings Oklahoma areas 38 years.
Sad to see Gage so run down, Windmills were very cool! Thank you! Love your vids
Reminds me of the films / movies. The Last Picture Show and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
The movie Come Hell or High Water does a good job of showing small towns in Texas.
@@andrewward5891 Have seen that, good film.
Great video as always! But what gets me is how the grass is always neat to a certain point. Like they still have pride even if it rundown or vacant! Thank you 👑 can't wait until next video!
It's "country" got to love it .
I noticed that too but I also got the impression that the "gardens" around the houses were incredibly boring with few shrubs, flower borders or veg beds.
As an Oklahoman I am kind of proud that even our crappy poor towns are nicer than all the others you feature 😂
It's true.
Low crime with people who are cultured and even though poor they are clean you don't see trash everywhere and furniture thrown off. I am impressed .
So you don't like progress.
It looks like the city of gauge Oklahoma is 0% white 0%, Hispanic and 0% Native American There is one guy there, and only reason he’s there is because he got lost,, What a good factor is, I noticed there’s no rush hour traffic,,,
@@jdavis1770you're right. The lost guy is a long-bearded old man called Billy Bob and he drives a 1994 Dodge Ram truck and I just noticed the windshield is cracked, the hood is fastened with a clothes hanger, and the inside looks like a hoarder's home.
Thank you for making these videos. They are valuable reconnaissance for my own adventures in the ''OK' state.
Love those big skies
They are amazing.
Always appreciate sharing your travels Thanks!
I love riding along with you! Very interesting places. Love the grain elevators, saw them on our trips to Oklahoma from Hurley, NM. Thanks.
Shattuck is my hometown . You have to do one on Higgins Tx and Catsby
You should go to Linden, Texas.
Would love to hear what you have to say about Linden. Then Atlanta is a few miles up 59.
Linden and Jefferson are fun to explore, Don Henley is a Linden native.
@@beachdiva9586 He is. He was actually born in Gilmer,Texas but grew up and went to school in Linden.
I’ve never seen a video where you have gone to a Native reserve or even passed one. This may be more common in Canada but I can’t believe there wouldn’t be any in some of the areas you go through like Oklahoma.
Oh! What a beautiful mornin’!!
Great video Joe. It's sad to see the old abandoned homes and think that once there were families living in them eating, drinking and having fun. I wonder where they all went to. Keep up the good work mate. Brynn --- Stafford --- UK.
Have you ever been to the? I281 up through I 40 and pass through Hilton Oklahoma lociba and banger. These are some beautiful little places
dear lord the amazement you will have when you come to Gans Oklahoma. Just come east.
Really enjoy your videos. I'm from Michigan so getting to see these towns that most likely, I will not ever see is pretty cool. Relaxing also. Thank you! My only tip, if you can, would be to upgrade to 1440p or even 4k quality. The videos look SO much better then 1080p. Just a note.
Pretty incredible sky in that area. Very neat to see the original log cabin. I have to say that it's a very different lifestyle there from the urban Northeast where I live. Where do they get the things they need?
Love this show very informative 👏 not only for the host but for the folks that actually experienced these lands of the free❤ and cement about it
Thanks once again for a fantastic tour.
Beautiful Blue cloudy skies!
When you say lets head on to the next one what do you guys think we say yeah lets go remember we're only passengers and enjoying the ride.
Comanche OK here. Like your video. Worked out in Guymon 96 ta 01 Livec in Hardesty slong the coldwater . Loved that country.
Howdy from oklahoma! You should absolutely check out quartz mountain state park and lake altus if you get the chance. Its not a big tourist destination even for people in the state and deserves more love
Enjoyed your video. I lived in the Midwest before and the video brings back some memory.
Awesome the Windmill Park I have looking for one for years way to expensive
I noticed that NONE of the houses in these small towns have anything close to a maintained garden and very few have fences. From an Australian perspective it looks odd as gardens are the normal thing here.
Is a good place for travel and sightseeing every town.
Loved your OK small town tour!
I forgot to say I really did love the Huge sky in Oklahoma. Now in Tennessee we don't see that.
It’s amazing,
After what's gone on in the world the last 10 yrs, I'm thinking of doing my part to reignite rural small town living. Looking peaceful and quiet. Big cities are truly overrated.
Great video! My folks were from Hess and Tipton
have you ever considered traveling through prairie village kansas..beautiful bedroom city also right next door is overland park thanks Joe happy travels
My ancestry moved relocated from southern Ohio, lived in Oklahoma in the 1870s then into Kansas.
The picture I have seen of the homestead indicates a sod clad on the side of a small hillside.
Probably just a hole in the ground now.