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

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

>30% = Been there once or twice
>50% = Been there 3-5 times
>70% = Been there more than 5 times
>90% = Live here
Red = Been in an airport, but never set foot outside.

I've been to ATL and JFK on my way to and from France.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

Next destinations will hopefully be the Southwest, Alaska, or Oregon. Any recommendations?

National Parks are nice. My dad and I made a loop out of Great Basin NP, the five Utah Parks, Mesa Verde NP, and the Grand Canyon. Up towards Oregon, there's Lassen Volcanic NP and Lava Beds NM along with Crater Lake NP (the only one of those three that's actually in Oregon). Never been to Alaska.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

(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.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

(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.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

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.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

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.

[RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm]

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.