What US states (and counties) have you been to?

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

(click for full size)

I need 26 more counties to reach my goal of getting 1,000 by the end of the year.

I like the mob-rule map. If you are collecting counties, you might want to look into the Extra Miler Club. There's both a formal club and a Facebook group. They give certificates for members who get to 1000 counties (and 2000 and 3000).

Thanks. I don't plan on collecting every county - I have better things to do with my time and money than zigzag across every Kansas cornfield county, etc - but I do plan to get all Western counties and half overall eventually.

Currently on a trip through the Midwest (and went through a lot of corn fields in different states) and I’m kinda starting to agree with you. Even with my added bonus/challenge of seeing birds in all of the counties, it’s a lot of driving through nothing. Still want all 50 states and would also like to get everything out west.

There's a definite overlap between birders and county collectors. The president of the Extra Miler Club for county collectors is a serious birder.

I can definitely see the room for overlap! If you’re going to go to all of those counties, it’s nice to have even more of a reason. I know some county collectors take photos of the county courthouse.

[muon2]

(click for full size)

I need 26 more counties to reach my goal of getting 1,000 by the end of the year.

I like the mob-rule map. If you are collecting counties, you might want to look into the Extra Miler Club. There's both a formal club and a Facebook group. They give certificates for members who get to 1000 counties (and 2000 and 3000).

Thanks. I don't plan on collecting every county - I have better things to do with my time and money than zigzag across every Kansas cornfield county, etc - but I do plan to get all Western counties and half overall eventually.

Currently on a trip through the Midwest (and went through a lot of corn fields in different states) and I’m kinda starting to agree with you. Even with my added bonus/challenge of seeing birds in all of the counties, it’s a lot of driving through nothing. Still want all 50 states and would also like to get everything out west.

There's a definite overlap between birders and county collectors. The president of the Extra Miler Club for county collectors is a serious birder.

I can definitely see the room for overlap! If you’re going to go to all of those counties, it’s nice to have even more of a reason. I know some county collectors take photos of the county courthouse.

My wife records the first quilt shop she visits in a county. She has 435 counties with quilt shops.

[Crumpets]

Purple = Lived in
Red = Spent the night in
Orange = Visited (deliberately, not just stopping)
Yellow = Drove/rode a train through
Lime = layover

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

2024, with brown being brand new counties for me.

[muon2]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

That's an impressive ratio of slept in counties compared to your total. I've only slept in a little over 13% of the counties I've visited.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

That's an impressive ratio of slept in counties compared to your total. I've only slept in a little over 13% of the counties I've visited.

Can’t say that I’ve ever thought about that stat, but it’s something I could probably calculate. I started a spreadsheet (have yet to finish it) listing all of the counties and then whether I’ve been, slept there, and/or seen birds there. If anything, the trip I did lowered the ratio. Added I think I added 49 new counties and only slept in 5 of those (and the other nights were in counties I had slept in before). I suspect the larger counties out west generally help with that ratio though.

I suspect that a lot of the counties around Sacramento will stay green.

[muon2]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

That's an impressive ratio of slept in counties compared to your total. I've only slept in a little over 13% of the counties I've visited.

Can’t say that I’ve ever thought about that stat, but it’s something I could probably calculate. I started a spreadsheet (have yet to finish it) listing all of the counties and then whether I’ve been, slept there, and/or seen birds there. If anything, the trip I did lowered the ratio. Added I think I added 49 new counties and only slept in 5 of those (and the other nights were in counties I had slept in before). I suspect the larger counties out west generally help with that ratio though.

I suspect that a lot of the counties around Sacramento will stay green.

I assume from the map you live in the Bay area or central CA. I'll be sure to wave when I'm passing through later this month. I'll be on the overnight train from Klamath Falls to Oakland May 25-26, then I'm going to the Oakland Airport to pick up a rental car and head south.

[Pouring Rain and Blairing Music]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

That's an impressive ratio of slept in counties compared to your total. I've only slept in a little over 13% of the counties I've visited.

Can’t say that I’ve ever thought about that stat, but it’s something I could probably calculate. I started a spreadsheet (have yet to finish it) listing all of the counties and then whether I’ve been, slept there, and/or seen birds there. If anything, the trip I did lowered the ratio. Added I think I added 49 new counties and only slept in 5 of those (and the other nights were in counties I had slept in before). I suspect the larger counties out west generally help with that ratio though.

I suspect that a lot of the counties around Sacramento will stay green.

I assume from the map you live in the Bay area or central CA. I'll be sure to wave when I'm passing through later this month. I'll be on the overnight train from Klamath Falls to Oakland May 25-26, then I'm going to the Oakland Airport to pick up a rental car and head south.

I do! Have a good trip out here! Sequoia National Park should be good. I’ve been wanting to go back to Kings Canyon proper (not just the General Grant area), but haven’t made the time to do it even though I have family in Fresno. San Luis Obispo County is good. Nothing spectacular, but it’s nice. Hearst Castle is interesting. The less time you spend in Kings and Kern counties, the better imo.

I’m guessing that you’re going to be going to Crater Lake before you leave Klamath Falls? If you haven’t set your plans in stone, I’d absolutely recommend Lava Beds National Monument if it’s not already in your plans.

And with the Oakland airport, be careful not to fill up at the Shell on Hegenberger by the airport. If you check the reviews, you’ll see there’s a high chance of robbery.

[muon2]

Gold: spent the night in; Green: visited/drove through



Added South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota to my state list.

That's an impressive ratio of slept in counties compared to your total. I've only slept in a little over 13% of the counties I've visited.

Can’t say that I’ve ever thought about that stat, but it’s something I could probably calculate. I started a spreadsheet (have yet to finish it) listing all of the counties and then whether I’ve been, slept there, and/or seen birds there. If anything, the trip I did lowered the ratio. Added I think I added 49 new counties and only slept in 5 of those (and the other nights were in counties I had slept in before). I suspect the larger counties out west generally help with that ratio though.

I suspect that a lot of the counties around Sacramento will stay green.

I assume from the map you live in the Bay area or central CA. I'll be sure to wave when I'm passing through later this month. I'll be on the overnight train from Klamath Falls to Oakland May 25-26, then I'm going to the Oakland Airport to pick up a rental car and head south.

I do! Have a good trip out here! Sequoia National Park should be good. I’ve been wanting to go back to Kings Canyon proper (not just the General Grant area), but haven’t made the time to do it even though I have family in Fresno. San Luis Obispo County is good. Nothing spectacular, but it’s nice. Hearst Castle is interesting. The less time you spend in Kings and Kern counties, the better imo.

I’m guessing that you’re going to be going to Crater Lake before you leave Klamath Falls? If you haven’t set your plans in stone, I’d absolutely recommend Lava Beds National Monument if it’s not already in your plans.

And with the Oakland airport, be careful not to fill up at the Shell on Hegenberger by the airport. If you check the reviews, you’ll see there’s a high chance of robbery.

Thanks for the tips. We arrive in Medford OR Saturday and are staying 6 nights in KF. Crater Lake and the Lava Beds are our agenda as are day trips to Redwood NP and Lassen Volcanic (though probably just the south end since the main road is still closed). Umpqua wineries are also on our agenda.

We are staying one night in Bandon OR on the coast before taking the train to Oakland and BART to the airport car rental. We won't need gas and I hope we won't have any difficulties on a Sun morning getting the car.

From Oakland we are heading to Pinnacles NP and another wine stop in SLO county before heading to Visalia for the night. That puts us close to Kings Canyon and Sequoia NPs for our Memorial Day visit. From there we are driving to Palm Desert where we spend three nights and plan to see Joshua Tree NP and the Salton Sea.

We leave for home from Palm Springs, which avoids the return to Oakland. If all goes well I'll add 7 national parks and 18 new counties in 13 days. I'll still have four left in CA north of SF, and we have a week booked in Nice CA in Oct to finish those.

[retromike22]

Red = Overnight
Blue = Visited
Yellow = Drove through/took a train or bus through
Green = Airport layover