Comments on: Bragging About States

By: elle

elle — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:40:56 +0000

what were you up to in Nigeria? I saw that on your list.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:36:50 +0000

I only included countries with real time: The shortest being Nigeria, could drop that from the list or leave it on. For states, I’ve done something in each state. Nebraska: No shower, but ate, visited tourist trap, etc. Nebraska would be my lease visited state. I think all the other states I lived in, or stayed days in, lots of showers, etc.

Note I’ve been to the state of Washington but only the airport so I did not count it. I never stayed over night in Idaho but I did get drunk there. Oh, I might have skiied there once too (x country).

Oh, Burundi. I really have not spent much time in Burundi. One could remove that too … there was no shower but there was food and probably beer.

By: elle

elle — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:10:34 +0000

The standard my friends and I use for “visit” means you had to have a shower. But then you could cheat too, like at the Amsterdam airport and get a shower and never leave the terminal. Or, when you drive in the East and those states are TINY you can enjoy areas but shower in a different state. So the shower theory isn’t mayber the best, but a pretty good one and the one i stick with.

True, it is a countries map, but bonus points should be awared for Antarctica!

By: Notagod

Notagod — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:48:21 +0000

I’m rather proud of Greg for not visiting Utah. Yeah, there is some nice geology there but not unlike the surrounding states. Besides, there is a risk of catching the moron illness.

By: Cal Harth

Cal Harth — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:58:37 +0000

Morejello,
Too bad you don’t like Utah. Everyone has their own way of rating places. Southeast Utah is mostly a blank spot on the map. It has its own form of beauty. Solitude and landscape forms matter a lot to me.

By: Morejello

Morejello — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:37:38 +0000

I’d advise leaving Utah out for as long as you can. Really, you’re not missing anything.

By: chris

chris — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:30:57 +0000

So what exactly constitutes a “visit”?

I would say you have to stop and get out and actually see something other than the highway rest stop. By the same token, changing planes at O’Hare shouldn’t really count as a visit to Illinois. Just my 2 cents.

Based on that I’ve visited 48 states (no HI or AK) and 17 countries. It helps that I’ve lived in DC, MD, PA, NJ, AZ, CA, TX, CO, and MN (and visited states nearby) and worked for an airline.

By: Notagod

Notagod — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:24:53 +0000

If I could see Russia from my house and I was the christian that would probably mean I had been to Russia, which would be a total of three countries that I have visited.

I’ve only been in the western states but that would equal about fifty of the eastern states. They say size does matter ya know.

By: Cal Harth

Cal Harth — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:47:37 +0000

Greg,
I am impressed by your travels. You missed the Dakotas though. Badlands in both states are amazing and the fossiles are very impressive. An exit off I-90 in ND has some of the best plant fossiles on earth in a road-cut just a little way away from the freeway.
A back-country camping trip in open bison range will leave you feeling a little vulnerable. Birds, mammals, reptiles, plants, etc. are so different than Minnesota’s biota that it can be a real eye opener there.
Cal

By: CyberLizard

CyberLizard — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:29:28 +0000

So what exactly constitutes a “visit”? I’ve driven through several states, does that count? Or does one have to spend the night in a state for it to count?