#2: [07-Aug-09]

#1: [22-Oct-00]

24-May-2025 -- As it has been my tradition for the last many years to take an extended weekend over the US Memorial Day holiday to visit railroad depots, abandoned buildings, grain silos, campgrounds, county courthouses, convenience stores, agricultural fields, and confluence points, I had been looking forward to this trip for an entire year. You would think that after 500 points behind me, I would grow tired of this, but not so as a geographer. There was always the attraction of getting out into the field. Finally, the day came.

This year, one of my aims was to connect the large number of points forming an oblong shape in the central and western part of the USA with my large shape to the eastern side of the Midwest. Several points between those two shapes would be wonderful if they could be filled in, I thought. There was a reason why I had not visited these points already--they would require some trekking. This filling-in goal dictated the first part of my trek; and the rest were points that I had never visited but were in some of my favorite landscapes, that of Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois. The final statistics of the trip are below.

After spending the night in the beautiful campground at Marysville, Kansas, I visited 40 North 94 West, then 39 North 93 West, and now I found myself heading toward 39 North 92 West in late afternoon. I stopped at the water cylinder (a modern water tower) a few miles before the turn onto the landowner's property for this point and gathered supplies and the permission letter. I then set out once more, heading north on County Road M and passing a mobile home park. This weekend I would experience several moments where I was thankfully and amazingly at the right place at the right time. For just when I was observing the many No Trespassing signs on the lane toward the landowner's property, the landowner was approaching me in an All Terrain Vehicle with a few family members and friends, giving them a tour of the property. We had an amiable chat; he understood my mission and we then made an appointment to rendezvous at his home in 10 minutes time after his tour for the family was over. What were the odds of this happening? Because without meeting the landowner, the many signs probably would have caused me to turn around at County Road M.

Once we were both there, I learned a lot about land, harvesting, and animals from the landowners. Out of respect for their privacy I decline to give the details, except that they were incredibly kind, entrepreneurial, and smart people. The landowner also very kindly offered to accompany me in the ATV to the point as "there were a lot of ticks there in the meadow." I heeded the advice and sprayed myself. En route, which took only 4 minutes in the ATV, the landowner pointed out the very tall old oak that he was rightly very proud of, likely dating from the 19th Century and visible in the photo looking west. The confluence lies just beyond this in the tall grassy meadow to the east. We stopped the ATV at the oak and proceeded on foot. We achieved centeredness and had a lovely chat.

It was late afternoon in late spring, windy and cloudy skies and a bit cool for this time of year temperature of about 72° F. This was one of the most peaceful points I have ever visited, after over 500 points visited worldwide over 25 years. I was glad to be here. The land is a bit rolling in this part of Missouri but flat at the point. There were only a few houses visible from this point. The horizon was obscured by trees to the north; the land rose to the south and the view from there was short, too. The ground here is covered with tall grass. We saw some magnificent birds but that oak tree was the best thing to contemplate, thinking of what it must have seen over its life. It was grand to be on the 92nd Meridian. I reflected that it had been 16 years since the last visit, though certainly the landowner had been here planting and harvesting each season and the Indigenous People were traversing the area for centuries before that. I took pictures but no doubt looking disheveled as I had slept for the entire weekend's nights in a rental car, but it was all part of the adventure! I posted this video 39 North Latitude, 92 West Longitude.

I now have a very nice collection of confluence points in Missouri spanning 25 years of visits but had not visited a point in the state (other than today's treks) since 2021 during one of my extended confluence trips. 39° North is probably my most oft-visited line of latitude; I must have at least 25 points along it, maybe even 30. I have stood on 39° north latitude in many places from California on the west to Maryland on the east. I have also stood on 92° West on the north end in Wisconsin to Mississippi on the south. These points cover an amazingly wide range of landforms, climate zones, and vegetation types. This was my third point of the day.

To respect the landowner's time we didn't stay on the point for more than 10 minutes. After a return to the home in the ATV, we parted ways. Wishing my new friends well, upon leaving the point, I drove north toward 40 N. 92 W, hoping to make it before sundown. A short distance from the point I just completed was the community of Hatton. I could not resist stopping, taking a few photographs near the abandoned General store. It was a lovely community with a park and maybe 40 houses total. Would I make 40 North 92 West before sundown? Onward with gratitude!

When the trip was all said and done, here are the final statistics:

-------------------------------------------------
Days set aside to visit points:  4 + 1 evening.

Confluence points attempted:  13.  

Confluence points successfully visited:  13. 

Points where I met the local landowner = 5 of 13 points. 

Points where I met the local dogs = 2 of 13 points.

Miles = 2547, Kilometers = 4099.
  
Percent of travel on interstate highways:  25%
Percent of travel on US, state, and county roads:  75 % :-)

Campgrounds = 4.  

Windy confluence points:  4 of 13.
Rainy confluence points:  4 of 13.
Beautiful confluence points:   13 of 13.

Convenience store stops = 8.  

Points that turned out to be

                easier than I thought they would be =           1 
                about the same as I expected them to be =       4 
                more difficult than I thought they would be =   8 
		-------------------------------------------------------
			                                     13 points.
Points          in woodlands             2
		in non-tilled fields     4
		in agricultural fields   7
		-----------------------------------
			                13 points.

Points along 	42 North = 2 
		41 North = 1 
		40 North = 5 
		39 North = 3
                38 North = 1
                37 North = 1  
		----------------
			   13 points.

Points visited on 	Day 1 = 4 
			Day 2 = 4 
			Day 3 = 4 
			Day 4 = 1
		-------------------
			   	13 points.  

Points visited in the 	morning = 	5 
			afternoon = 	5 
			evening = 	3 
		-------------------------------
			   	       13 points

Points visited in 	Nebraska =       3
			Kansas =         2
			Missouri =       5 
			Illinois =       3
		-------------------------------
			   		13 points 

The most frequently visited longitude line:  
-------------------------------------------- 
                                      92 West:  3 points.

2nd most frequently visited longitude line:  
---------------------------------------------
                                      89 West and 99 West:  2 points each.

Get out there and explore!