Sir I think you have touched a nerve with so many people with your amazing channel. Gas is $4 a gallon so its hard to even drive to the grocery store, let alone all over the U.S. Hitting these old towns off the beaten path is something most of us 60 somethings won't have a chance to do on a fixed income. In a time where most cities resemble Soddom and Gamorrah, these places remind us of when living in the U.S. was safe and fun. Your commentary and demeanor are perfect. Can't wait to see where we're going next.

Another awesome video. I have a 12-year-old granddaughter, and due to medical issues, she is homeschooled. Today's Social Studies assignment was on rivers and their tributaries, so I decided to show her your video on Cairo, Illinois. She absolutely loved it. You are an amazing film maker and commentator. Your eye finds beauty that mine would simply pass over. I pray you never decide to lay your camera down.

Aside from being declared uninhabitable, Picher, OK had a bad F4 tornado in 2008 which is the reason most of the structures from the town are no longer there, as it left Picher almost completely demolished.

I remember taking 66 on my way back home from California, didn’t have any cash to pay the turnpike toll on 244, decided to go scenic for a bit. Sun was just starting to set at my back, was a nice summer night… those couple hours through OK, KS and into Joplin before I got back on 44 were the most relaxing hours of driving I’ve ever had. Something about that Midwest charm.

Every time I hear Kansas, I think Dust In The Wind. Beautiful song.

I think it's so cool that you give us a look at places many of us will never see. The road less followed is often some of the most amazing sites. Every town has its own unique story, very fascinating.

Fun fact no one mentions. They took that chat and dumped it along railroads instead of gravel for over a half century. They scattered that chat all across Kansas, OK, Mo and AR. People, myself included climbed those piles, slid down them, people ran 3 wheeler's, 4 wheeler's, 4X4's, quads and dune buggies on them for over a half a century.

So very sad to see small town USA in rough shape. I love discovering these small towns the architecture is amazing.

I went to high school in Parsons because my parents moved there to buy a 1900 victorian home with a good land size. My parents are gone and I didn't think I would ever see Parsons again. But thanks to you I have. :)

I bought a house in south East Kansas…. It’s actually quite peaceful for the most part…. After living in the big cities most of my life it’s a nice change 👍

Having lived in Southern California for over 40 years, and also having lived 3 years in Cherry Hill New Jersey and frequently going to Philadelphia and Manhattan New York, and now living in the Northeast part of Kansas, close to Manhattan Kansas, for the past 8 years, I’ll take Kansas in a heartbeat over living in California or New York …….

appreciate all the TERRITORY you cover and report on

We love your videos... One thought for you... you give a lot of interesting statistics but one other one to provide... what drives the economy... where are people employed?

I love little towns that appear clean, quiet and old architectured well kept Church(s). Kansas appears to have quite a few. It's sooo cool ! Thx for having this Channel Joe & Nic. ♥

As a life long resident of Kansas,Kansas City Kansas to be exact I very much enjoyed this video had a no idea of any of these places even existed. This was awesome!

Great series of "Road Less Traveled" videos. Since we like that sort of thing there is a great book that is devoted to nearby (a couple counties north) Chase County Kansas. Profound detail on the history, geography, sociology, and significance of one obscure Kansas county. It's called "PrairieErth, A Deep Map" (sic) by William Least Heat Moon. Always made me wonder what fascinating stories that any county anywhere would offer if someone just looked close enough.

Drive under the speed limit in Oswego...

The reason the poverty rate is so low in Baxter Springs is that many of the people work in the casino across the border in MO and in Joplin.

Thank you for the trip down memory lane. I was born & raised in southeast Kansas. My family still owns several hundred acres of land there. ❤️🙌

My daddy grew up just outside Baxter Springs and went to high school in Columbus. He was one of 10 siblings. The older ones grew up in Joplin and had a nice house with electricity and running water for a time, but Grandma didn't like the "big city." She put her foot down, Grandpa quit working the mines, and off the family went to scratching out a living in Baxter Springs, and life with no bathroom and a 2-seater outhouse. That thing always scared the liver out of me. How they raised a family in the Depression in that tiny 1 bedroom house with a tiny kitchen and sitting room blows my mind. With all the nearby mining activities, sulfur got into the well sometime in the 30's I think, but my grandparents still used it for everything and remained there until they died in the 1970's. I can still taste the green beans cooked in that sulfur water. Yikes! Seems I've heard that the Shawnee Tribe has been buying back the land in and around Picher and taking on a lot of the pollution remediation. They're also handling security and slowly pulling down remaining dangerous structures as money allows. It's quite a vision they have that will likely take generations, but will no doubt be speedier than the US Federal Government.

Thanks for highlighting my part of the world. There is some captivating history, and some really great folks around here. I live in a little town called Caney, about 20 minutes west of Coffeyville, on the Oklahoma state line.

Picher, Ok has a fascinating history ! I love Route 66. The preserved gas stations are really cool. Also loved Galena and Parsons. The church in Parsons was spectacular. Thank you for a great video!

I love watching your videos with my son. I'm always asking him "hey did he upload yet?" Or he'll come to me and say "He uploaded!" Good times, keep on driving!👍

Born and raised in Parsons, Dad worked for the MKT railroad for many years as did a lot of people. When the railroad left and moved to Denison, Texas, Parsons suffered. Glad you are doing a tour of SE Kansas. Sorry the Presbyterian Church is not surviving. I have cousins who still live in Parsons, The Smiths.

I grew up 3 miles away from Picher in Commerce ok (home town of Mickey Mantle). Many of my family members worked those mines until they closed in the early 70s. Most of the town of Picher is undermined several street have collapsed.

Born and raised in SE KS. If only all those towns you showed could talk. A lot of history and memories.

i grew up in SE Ks in a town called Coffeyville, known for the Dalton gang raid. This was a fun video to come across, i've been in all those towns you went to

Joey, know some of these well. Grew up in SEK and used to be a tv news photog in the area. You might or might not know that even towns (Treece) on the Kansas side of the border were also evacuated for the lead contamination. Just a little south and west of Picher is Commerce, OK, where Mickey Mantle grew up. Interesting you went through Weir and didn't stop in nearby West Mineral to see the big Shovel "Big Brutus", that was used for strip mining operations. It was the second largest of its type in operation in the 1960s and 1970s.

Fun Fact: There are approximately 1,000 billboards in Kansas. 900 say "Jesus Believes in You". Thanks, Invisible Guy. I drive thru Kansas twice a year, so I know this sort of thing. 😎

Of all the cars trips I have seen you take, besides Dodge City, I so wish I could have been in the car with you. Mentioned before that I am from Larned, Kansas near Dodge City. My family had a ranching and cattle corporation. My twin and I were Tri Delts at University of Kansas. We had a sorority sister from Galena, Baxter Springs and Parsons. You made me so happy today on this trip! Thank you so much! Off to Topeka next? My uncle was a Senator there for 17 years. Bob Dole used to come to dinner parties at my house is Larned. Thank you, thank you!!

I went to the Wizard of Oz site in Liberal Kansas and enjoyed that except that it was in the wind path of a slaughter house. I will try the one you visited on my next trip to Kansas in the spring.

You were close to Oswego. In that town they have a mansion that was bought at the World's Fair. They shipped it piece by piece, but assembled it backwards.

You are always positive about everything - do not change. Keep up the good work.

I’m in Kansas City! How fun to see you exploring Kansas towns! So cool!!! Thank you! 🥰

I grew up in Parsons during my Jr. High School days. We lived on Broadway, east of the downtown area. Thanks for the memory.

Spend too much time out in the Kansas boonies, and it gets creepy and intolerable at about the same rate. Try the Flint hills region.

Went through Galena on a 2018 Route 66 trip, most of these towns look really nice.

If you come back through Parsons, you missed quite a few things. Across the street from the Presbyterian Church is the old Carnegie Library. Supplanted in the mid 70's as the municipal library, it is still used on occasion as a cultural and arts center. On the other side of town, St Patricks Catholic Church is undergoing a major roof repair and renovation. The movie Kodachrome was about a famous photographer, played by Ed Harris trying to get to Dwayne's Photo in Parsons to get his last rolls of Kodachrome film developed (Dwayne's was the last lab to process Kodachrome). Sadly, the film didn't even send a second unit to shoot in Parsons. In Chetopa, if you had driven just a little farther out Maple, you would have come to the Neosho River, a very popular fishing spot in the summer.

That part of Kansas is beautiful!!! Lovely people! Miss it!

The towns are old, but well kept, not much trash.

Yes that was an impressive church.

I grew up in a mining town and though the mines were abandoned by then, the waste remained. We always climbed up on the chat which we called slag piles. It's sad that a town was wiped out like that. Mining towns have such rich histories as they attracted so many ethnicities.

TY for showing us this bit of history. Loved it

I grew up in Baxter springs for 25 years. Used to climb to the top of rainbow bridge as a kid

That A/C unit on the house at 24:59 is impressive. That sized unit is usually for department stores. WOW!

Thanks for sharing! Those were great little towns!

Great video; thanks for the adventure.

You are in my neck of the woods!!!! ❤ grew up in Picher and live a stones throw away now in SE KS! The homes still standing in Picher were owned by the government. They were low income housing. They use them now for K9 training or so I heard. The Quapaw Tribe bought all of that area including the school. I love seeing this!

Great Video!!! The murals on the Old Poolhall in Galena, Ks. = Mtn. Dew / those murals I've been told are very old maybe 50 years but due to the way the bldg sits the weather hasn't been able to decay & fade it like most murals that age. I live in the bldg. across the street & if you ever get this way again feel free to stop by & I can show you so much more in Galena that will make it worth the trip. Blessings 2U and Ur's

This is very cool and I love hearing the history !

Have you noticed that the current value of homes according to the real estate industry is always substantially higher than the most recent census valuation? Who, other than the residents, potentially benefit from this statistic? Simple. REALTORS. I frankly would not put any trust in those numbers. Dying towns with a hot real estate market should give anyone pause. Just doesn't seem plausible to me.

Carneiro KS is an almost ghost town - population of about 5 - about 30 miles west of Salina. Not much left there - Mushroom Rock State Park, most of the town is gone.

Been to Parsons several times... I am from Coffeyville.. It's definitely on the verge of becoming a ghost town

Back when I was in my 20's we use to ride dune buggies and dirt bikes on the Chat piles.

As a truck driver I have had the priviledge of seeing most of these places firsthand. It changes you.

Terrific series of vids . Don't need to spend thousands of dollars exploring the many interesting small towns when I can view from the comfort of my sofa on my 60 in screen

My grandparents lived in Joplin, so, naturally, I grew up riding around this area. Thanks for the look back. You know, Mickey Mantle grew up near Picher, in Quapaw and attended Commerce, OK High School.

Very interesting, rute 66 is historic in deed.

Yet another Lord Spoda video showing us the America that no one else in the world (and few Americans) ever sees. This is why I love this channel. I lived in South Carolina from ages 11-25, and South Carolina has plenty of neglected and even abandoned small towns and rural areas. Any chance you'll be heading that way anytime soon?

thanks for the great trip ! I enjoy learning about these old towns!

I absolutely love watching your videos, your travels are a part of history.

Interesting video, i love the bridge with the stop sign, in the middle of nowhere, whaha, awesome.

HAHA never fail to disappoint? Think about that a minute. Would love to find more on those bigger homes. Interesting as an architecture guy.

I stumbled across this video and oh the memories it has brought back… I had family and friends in all of those towns many years ago and had visited them quite often…. Thank you for a trip down memory lane!!

Acquaintances just did a route 66 road trip. They spoke in the same way about some of these dying towns.

Thanks for all these cool vids man!

I just subscribed to your channel. I find all the places you have shown us to be fascinating! I've always wanted to explore these small towns that have so much history. Thank you for taking us along!

Another excellent video thank you be safe

Too cool thats the town and vehicles that inspired cars.

Absolutely Awesome Video Young Man Thank You For your Channel

Parsons has a Jr College and a state hospital and training center. That one neat building is a church. The narrowness of the Rainbow Bridge is about the width of almost all US 66 back in the old days, outside of cities. lots of rural areas, you can still see where around World War II, highways were rebuilt 100 feet or so from the original road. Many times to straighten a bad curve. Chetopa was home to Chetopa Twill Pants. A type of kakckis. H D Lee bought them. Later closed the factory. Best building & home architecture is Atchison.

This is one of my favorite areas. The Joplin area is one of the most affordable in America. I live in Texas and have been playing a trip for years but haven't been able to afford it. As John said, this video is quite valuable to me.

I grew up in McCune. Many of my best friends were from Weir. Parsons was where we went when needed to “go to town”. I haven’t been home in a few years now. Thanks for this journey. Brought back a lot memories.

so looking forward to your Topeka trip, visiting the Capital building, you should still be able to go to the top of dome. Enjoy!

I use to travel the back roads some years back on my motorcycle... I loved going through the small towns. So small towns were not to happy having a biker passing through their tow... LOL...

Thanks for a fascinating tour of southeast Kansas. I live in southwest Missouri and am looking forward to more tours.

fantastic footage

3.29 for gas is GOOD! Thanks for the ride! Ya gotta love them old homes, and wonder how they did that so easily back then when to build something like those would cost millions in this day.

Very familiar with this area and used to drive through Picher once in a while on my way from KC to Tulsa. It is an interesting and empty part of the state, but a fun drive..

The city opened up the Main Street in the late 1990’s early 2000’s to open up the business there. My dad painted one of these houses in Parsons.

planning a spring trip through small kansas towns...this was very helpful

this is awesome,

Great video! I've studied a lot about Pitcher over the years. It's a popular spot for urban exploration. The houses you saw standing is the old public houses. That's about all that's left. I'd love to see it myself one day. I also enjoyed your Centraila PA video as well as Cairo IL. I've been really enjoying all the videos lately especially these far off the interstate towns. All the history and statistics makes these videos really interesting . Keep up the good work!

What a great video. Route 66 is definitely something to see.

Love your channel and your content. Keep with the good work! From Portugal 💪

I SO appreciate your narration. I’ve long felt that these exploratory videos needed some historical background info to be really good. I’ve just subscribed. Thanks b

very nice place guys....

You need to check out my town in Kansas if you love history. Fort Scott Ks has the very first National Cemetery and we still have a Civil War Fort. Also Gordon Parks is from my town and shot the Learning Tree here.

Beautiful channel you have mister!! Inspire me to travel And gives choices to open mind!!

An interesting tour. Many thanks and best wishes the from the UK

Great video! I love watching your videos of towns off the beaten path. I live in SE Kansas and it's a pleasure to see my neck of the woods in your videos. Although you didn't get to my hometown of Fredonia, which holds its own personal charm and history, I know the surrounding towns seen here on your video. A couple great towns to visit next time is Coffeyville and Cherryvale. Coffeyville holds a lot of history with the Dalton Gang and they even do a reenactment of the Dalton Gang's Raid around October 5th. Another cool site in Coffeyville is the Brown Mansion. Not too far from Coffeyville is Cherryvale, the home of Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz from "I Love Lucy"). Then just a little east of Cherryvale is the site of the Bloody Benders. Nothing is left of the Bender home, but I believe there is still a historical marker up near the site.

Excellent video!

Love your videos god bless and safe travels

I grew up in Weir and got my first tattoo in Baxter Springs... I could spend an hour typing up memories, Thank You!!!

Outstanding history lesson! Love it!

"your going the wrong way...! (Oh...he's drunk! How would he know where we're going...! lol) Darn...! I was hoping you would come up to where I live, in Pittsburg, Kansas! Very interesting stuff that you presented in regards to the small towns I am near. Thank you!

If you’re still in Kansas you should check out Ottawa, we’ve got a great history with a old depot museum about the history of Ottawa and Kansas in general. We have an old coca-Cola bottling house, and we have the oldest cinema in America (proven)

I enjoy the positive tone of your voice. Thank u. Regarding St. Bridget's Catholic Church. Bet it was open for visitors any time of the day

I live not too far from there and I’ve never even heard of that town!!!! WOW, thank you for the video!

I would love to do what you are doing…..but will never be able to, ….., , it is important to know the land, to help us place ourselves in the scheme of things, thank you So much for your time, energy, we appreciate you. I love your videos.