Oct 09 2008
Standing in Three States at Once
Most of us have heard of the “Four Corners,” the only place in the United States where four states come together. Because that location is far, far away from Minnesota, I had to settle for the next best thing, a tri-state marker.
The idea for this little jaunt came from a site called North Star Highways, which pointed out that although three states come together in several places, many of them are under water or in jagged terrain. The intersection of Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota, however, is on flat land at the junction of two roads.
And so it was, as we were going to LeMars, Iowa, by way of Pipestone, Minnesota, that the tri-state marker was only a few miles out of our way. I read the map, while hubby did the honor of driving, and we told the kids what we were up to. (They were very excited about it, having watched kids at the Four Corners on the TripFLIX
We found the marker, which is on the northwest corner of the intersection, but decided that it would be best not to have four kids standing in the middle of the road where the actual point is. Instead, I got out to take a few pictures of the monument, and then we swung the mini-van around, making sure to drive over the exact location and shout out that we were indeed in three states at one time.
This is another one of those little adventures that will be memorable even though it cost nothing and no one else was there. If we ever make it to the Four Corners, that will be even more exciting, but for now, having been in three states at once is good enough.
I haven’t had the pleasure, but I have stood on Lookout Mountain and SAW seven states at once!!
Hi! I just stumbled upon your site and wanted to say I love all the great posts!
Hello you Minnesotans;
Stumbled upon your blog about the Tri-State marker, and thought I was the only one weird enough to do stuff like that.
It was sort of a twilight zone moment standing at Four Corners when I traveled through there in 2004.
Like you’all, I guess I enjoy making the most of little adventures in life like that.
Here’s a link to my flickr photo blog with my pics at Four Corners.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulstravelpics/sets/72057594090578856/
Regards
Paul
I’ve actually been to Laughlin, Nevada and, although you don’t stand in 3 states at once, the grocery store was in California, the hotel was in Nevada and the Lake was in Arizona-we were in three different states every day each summer.
We’re just weird enough to do stuff like that, too. I love that you went out of your way to do that. My DH and I drove as far south of New Orleans as we could when we visited there (before Katrina). It was REALLY flat and wet there, but there were still some big houses……Hmmmm…..um, hurricanes, anyone? We also have been to Key West and to South Point (HI) just to do it. I have a personal goal of visiting all 50 state capitol buildings and have now been to 34 of them, lacking mostly the upper midwest and pacific northwest. That’s a long way from Alabama! Thanks for sharing!
Very cool that the kids were excited about that. You’ll get to four corners some day.
It’s good to know that I’m not alone in seeking out the weird, wonderful & sometimes mundane on our travels. I’m planning a round trip drive from NY to FL next month, and I can only hope to find such an exciting spot!
I love this idea! I’ve only straddled two states before, so this is going to have to be a weekend mission one of these days.
I love going to geographical oddities like that.