The Oklahoma Traveler in No Man's Land, Part 2, Black Mesa, the state's highest point. KOTV/Tulsa

It always seemed to me that we collectively ignored the Oklahoma Panhandle, three counties that hang off the western edge of the state and give it its distinctive frying pan shape. Not too many people live out there. The weather conditions can be harsh. The distances are long. And there's no oceanfront property or soaring mountain ranges. But there's beauty, just the same, if you know where to look and appreciate the subtle shades of the prairie and mesa country. It's also where you'll find Oklahoma's highest point, Black Mesa. On a cold day in January, photojournalist Grant Gerondale joined me for a hike to the top of the Mesa, where we enjoyed the beautiful vistas of the Cimarron River valley, the majesty of extinct volcanoes and the quiet solitude of what it means to stand alone, atop Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Traveler in No Man's Land, Part 2, was broadcast on KOTV/Tulsa, on February 20, 1997.