Finding the Center of Arizona

[@justnerdystuff]

Baseline Road goes on through Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa and beyond. I know, because I used to live on Baseline Road in Tempe. Thank you for this video, I did not know about this marking. Very cool. I might even show my 31yo daughter this when we go to visit my mom in April and she can do the hike. and those noisy bugs are called Cicadas. I loved hearing those when they came out. Those particular species, the Periodic Cicadas come out every year. I loved going out after they had been there and picking their shells off the trees.

[@ldd7525]

Your channel is such a delight, never dull. You're a breath of fresh air. Thank you.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Wow, thank you!

[@bubbleboi28]

You know I've been a fan of Phoenix Speedway for years and had no idea the big hill on T4 was so significant, that's really cool.

[@Lizerator]

I've lived in Arizona for over 60 years and am learning a lot from your interesting videos. Thanks!

[@stewartthompson72]

Well researched, interesting, and well delivered as always.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@bryanfreitag9533]

Nice Arizona Padres baseball cap.

[@ChristiesThisnThat]

I love that you want to visit the center of all the states! What a goal!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Some aren't easy we've learned!

[@Rfk1966]

Me too, but I think I’ll skip Hawai’i

[@OMEGA521]

Love this neat little detail of Arizona Great video!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you. it was fun exploring Arizona some. Can't wait to get back.

[@RobinsVoyage]

Baseline Rd actually continue further west and ends at tye Eagle tail wildernesses area in Yuma county.

[@rogerdickinson1260]

My wife and I climbed the hill to see the speedway several years ago, we wondered what the marker was for. Now we know. We drove baseline road clear back to the end at Goldfield Rd. where we were staying. Thank you for the information. We live in Michigan and this video took us back to one of our little adventures.

[@texasgal3903]

I have been to 4 corners. Those bugs are cicadas, they always make that noise during the hot season, I have them where I live in the desert SW Texas.

[@jasonbrogdon8841]

Best place in Arizona. My home for 48 years Camp Verde AZ. 👍👍👍👍🙏

[@patrishs1]

That's cool. My best friend and I found the meridian marker in Florida, by following old directions found in a book (many years before the internet). I remember one of the directions said in a low swampy area next to the old jail. But we found it! Just looked it up and it was rededicated in 2013.

[@thesarge4457]

I been surfing your channels and learning about My State from you and the Mrs. Thank You Sir and Ma'am. THE SARGE

[@1984xlx]

How the heck do you find all these informative tidbits?

[@kurtweiand7086]

Thanks 😊 again Steve. I am loving your channel. I lived 6 years in AZ. Now I'm visiting it through your 📹 videos 📹😀!

[@ME-qr2kq]

How do you decide on your destinations, just a map of historical points or landmarks? You make these places more interesting than they would appear on maps or roads signs. I Guess it's a good lesson to slow down and appreciate what's there.. Love the content.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you for the kind words. For this, we got the idea after visiting the center of California, but usually I just see what's in the area of places we are already going. We like to check out places off the beaten path.

[@bwhog]

This is called "The Baseline and Merdian Marker" of the PLSS (Public Land Survey System) for Arizona. Quick bit of trivia... if you look at a map of the East Valley, you will see that the roads all deviate a bit as you go south of US 60. The reason for that is that the original survey for the township (that's a survey term for a block of ~16 square miles) of Mesa was done with a worn out and stretched chain. So the town ended up a little farther away than it was supposed to. Later surveys were done correctly. The curved roads are those running along the survey lines, section lines, within these areas and had to adjust when they went between those two areas. This monument has actually been relocated a couple of times to refine the exact position. This location was chosen because it is a prominence at the confluence of three rivers; the Salt, the Gila, and the Augua Fria. Makes it very easy to locate and impossible to remove. The side of the hill forms the cheap seats for PIR (Phoenix International Raceway.) The area down below on the other side is a riparian reserve and that's the direction you have to approach the hill from. The other slope sits within the boundaries of PIR, obviously. The Corps of Engineers mark is probably the official benchmark for the crest of that hill (summit mark.) You can find these on the tops of most of the hills in this area if you know where to look, but they are no more obvious than the one shown here, just a bronze slug in a little bit of concrete. And if you move it, expect prison time. I've been aware of this monument for quite some years but never had time to stop by and locate it when I was over on that side of town. The Verde Valley is indeed quite a jewel in the state. The bugs are Cicadas. They come out during the Monsoon, after spending 20 years underground usually attached to tree roots. During the last season of their life, the nymphs come out of the ground, molt one last time, gain wings, and fly around looking for a hot date before the end comes. That is their mating call. They seem to especially favor Palo Verde trees. If you want to shut them up long enough to narrate, clap really loudly and you'll probably have about 30 seconds of quite time. Also, navigating the Verde river is doable but not for the inexperienced. It can be narrow, sometimes fast moving, with brush suddenly appearing that can smack you in the face hard enough to knock you out of your boat. (Wear goggles.)

[@combusean]

This isn't accurate. The initial plat of Mesa was not done on a township which is 36 sqmi, it was done on a section (1 sqmi). The county assessor's current map proves the original survey (Maricopa County Recorder Number 1-4) correct because you can see the section lines and everything else right where they should be. The curve is to account for the curvature of the earth to make a township consistently 36 sqmi. The streets south of Baseline in Phoenix and Tempe have the same deviation.

[@bwhog]

@@combusean Sorry, the whole reason surveyors use "sections" is that the local survey does not take into account the curvature of the earth. Therefore a section is "ABOUT" one square mile. I stand behind my statement about the stretched chain and have documents to back it up.

[@philiproszak1678]

That's crazy. I had no idea what Baseline Road meant. The Arizona grid?????

[@DW-qe7qe]

Great video. The music was a wonderful addition. Thank you

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Glad you liked it!

[@sigalsmadar4547]

If you've been to Camp Verde, I hope you've also traveled into Sedona to see the red rocks! And the drive up Oak Creek Canyon that eventually leads to Flagstaff! Love your stuff. I grew up in a family of explorers.... Daniel Boone is my 5th great uncle! My dad always liked to take the "scenic route." Now I'm passing that on to my grandsons. I watch them a lot, so this summer we're going to do some traveling. You've inspired me to see the small out of the way stuff. 👍 Tucson just does not have a lot of big, wildly famous stuff.

[@climbtoglory5654]

Thank you, Steve. You do a really good job of narrating your stories. There is a place in Red Rock AZ. Near the Silver Bell Army Heliport on Pinal Air Park Road. There is an old Air Traffick Control Tower. I once heard a story that the area was used during WWII for training bomber pilots on touch-and-go landings amongst other things. For instance when Evergreen owned the area there were rumors that during the days when the shuttle was reentering, they were going to use the runway in case of emergencies.

[@Jezeppi1]

Very cool Them bugs are cicadas THANKS Steve 😅

[@silicon212]

Camp Verde is a nice place to visit for sure. I even bought a Crown Vic Police Interceptor from the Marshall's office back in 2019.

[@anonymustly7818]

Most of us stick to the stands during races for quick access to concessions. That hill may be a quick hike, but not with a cooler full of drinks.

[@andycanable5076]

Baseline runs through my town clear across the valley. And now I know why it's named that! Thanks!!

[@Tom-d9x]

Very good. Lived in AZ for 75 years and these sites I have never seen.

[@CactusAtlas]

It's almost ALWAYS summer here. 😂 That's a load of markers up there and oddly enough I've never been up there. And even odder... never really looked into the center of AZ. Wish we knew it was so close. HAHA! Yeah, the Verde Valley is awesome. Always love that part of I-17 when you descend and suddenly everything turns green - especially after rain. Thanks for the shoutout and awesome video! Always like seeing and learning things new to us. 😄

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The I-17 is great. Even that rest stop at Sunset Point has awesome views. Definitely want to explore more of that area.

[@DM-lc2cf]

Love your videos. So many people have died this year and other years from hiking in the hot months. Please don't attempt this in the hot months. Typically visitors don't realize how fast the body gives out in the intense heat of Arizona. Hike in the cooler months, take plenty of water, and let someone know where you are going.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thanks. We are always super cautious when hiking. This was a very short hike, early in the day, and we had plenty of water.

[@DavidWilliams-vd2yf]

Have you ever been to Jerome AZ? very interesting place close to Cottonwood AZ

[@SpoiledBratzwear]

Those are cicadas, we have them every summer. They love those Cottonwood trees. We are over in the Prescott area

[@MrOhgoodgolly]

hat baseline goes right through Yucca Valley and San Bernardino Ca. The reason for baseline street name in San Bermardino.

[@jimschafer9196]

Great field trip, hear you on the shorts VS long pants can not blame you for not going further.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you for watching. The bugs that ate my legs up appreciated the shorts at least!

[@drobertsmithjewelry]

Now you need to follow up with a vid on Centerville, about 15 miles NW past Cottonwood.

[@daveybass655]

You should try an find the old border marker, at the Gila river , out in Buckeye, that used to be the U.S. Mexico, borderline. It's also on a hill like that. Not too far from where you are, at the track there. Just to the south west of it.

[@lindagrimmett6564]

We once stopped at the geographic center of North America!

[@pax61]

LOL, a state center monument not at the actual center of the state, but 23 miles off! Someone must have had a wry sense of humor about that. Try this adventure instead - find the geographic center of California. That one's pretty close to a drive-up, near North Fork in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. That point was established in the 1990s by a student in Fresno State's surveying engineering program. Interesting channel, I've watched several of your videos, good content. I lived in AZ for 25 years and have been to the Monument Hill site. Your info is pretty much on-the-nose accurate.

[@rufusmacck3712]

Never knew the marker existed. Great video.

[@mobiltec]

Another spot to add to my AZ list.

[@dennisschnobrich9288]

FYI, the 1977 film Kingdom of the Spiders was made in Camp Verde.

[@glennbellman1100]

Wasn't the baseline marker also the border of Mexico before the Gadsen purchase?

[@ChrisTopheRaz]

I was born to raise here in Arizona. I actually live on baseline right now LOL. I would love to see the actual center of my state. Maybe I’ll take up this adventure

[@user-tp1bi6of3v]

Like all the locations, keep doing them as some people can't physically get there. The first part of the presentation looks like a delightful place for aliens to land and start a colony??!!😊

[@alternatesportshistory3605]

Great video! The "Tres Rios" park certainly looks drier than its Pittsburgh equivalent.... Strangely, if you look on Wikipedia for the geographic center of AZ you're directed to a parking lot a few hundred yards from the Rezzonico Family Park, never mind the actual geographic center...

[@SidetrackAdventures]

We were probably in that parking lot too! The big problem with these "centers" are there is a lot of disagreement where they are at.

[@Howoldareweanywayyipes]

NASCAR race track... wow

[@AlanShirtsink]

Nice!

[@tropicalsailor2908]

I've seen you rent a jet ski to get to an island 300 yds away. You should have tried harder! Just kidding, loved it

[@Raptorman0909]

Going to the GPS coordinates listed for the center of the state there's nothing I can see as a marker, just some bushes around it.

[@tomwestbrook]

I'm wondering how that grid center relates to the territorial boundaries at the time.

[@mr.m4602]

Check out old clay pool tunnel. It would make a great video

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I have it on my list! Weather just has to work out, every time I planned to do it the weather was either too hot or raining.

[@mr.m4602]

@@SidetrackAdventures sounds good. i have a very short video clip of cars on it in the late 40s . Let me know when you go there is also a old hidden old rest stop just minutes from there I can show you. Super cool w/ old bridge from 20s. I live in Mesa.

[@mikejerman4147]

So that marker in Camp Verde isn't the geographic center of the state but a TRIBUTE to the geographic center of the state.

[@PacoOtis]

Whoa! What about elevation and lat/long?

[@anonymustly7818]

The loud bugs are probably cicadas.

[@paul9156c]

Kayaking is fun. Like anything you do in life that has an element of danger, basic safety must be understood, and followed. So basic kayaking safety lessons should be taught by a properly licensed professional. Imo

[@Kehk-in-a-MiG]

It looks a bit like a Zia sun symbol from New Mexico.

[@andreajohnson1796]

How did they know where the center of the state is /was and made the market ..... 🤔

[@David-sk9vv]

Finding the centre of anywhere is easy... just go to the Cemetery... The Dead Centre 🤣

[@User0000000000000004]

looks more like 1/5 mile to me.

[@neilfleming2787]

...you mean you didn't come with a kayak...tut-tut...I think you need to go home and re-do this video by bringing a kayak as well...lol

[@benlamar6267]

Music is really to loud.

[@denvermason2467]

Some say the pig was publicly lynched by an angry mob.

[@michaeltaylor4984]

The town had a Metansa that night

[@joycejames8461]

So who's been up there to watch a NASCAR race?

[@SidetrackAdventures]

That's what i want to know. The entire side of the mountain had what looked like areas to setup chairs or picnic blankets to watch, but I'm not sure if they can close off the top of the mountain to non-paying viewers or not.

[@MrRandolph52]

If it's so hot, why wear black?

[@vibingwithvinyl]

Uploaded 10 seconds ago. Yay me.

[@budwilliams6590]

Fail!

[@danhumphrey5755]

It's not the bugs, making it hard to hear you. It's the music. Intrusive, distracting and unnecessary.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Sorry you didn't enjoy it. Working on getting better.

[@OMEGA521]

Oh come on its barely audible and really nails the vibe of the video

[@ViceSociety]

I like the music----and it wasn't drowning out his voice.

[@MathewDaniel-k7c]

I get to go on a trip every night.. thank you