I read something interesting yesterday about what it means to “be in a state.” I’ve long used the “driven through it” or “as long as I stepped foot in it” analogy. In an email newsletter I get, the writer Will Leitch disagreed.
Here are the activities Leitch counts towards “being in a state”:
- Spending the night.
- Attending a sporting event or concert.
- Having a dinner with an old friend (as opposed to eating by yourself on a drive and then leaving).
- Going for a run.
- Visiting some sort of attraction, whether it’s a historical landmark, an amusement park or the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota. If you go do it, even if you’re just on a drive and stopping for a couple of hours, does count.
I’ve long counted some states that I’ve just driven through. So I’m going reevaluate and see if I can remember what I did in most of those states. Blue means I have been to the state, grey means I have not. (I think that's the color grey.)


Ok, so first, I've never been to either Alaska or Hawaii, so those are two easy ones to cut out.
California- Visited LA numerous times, went to San Diego, was in Northern California for a wedding.
Oregon- Family vacation on the coast. Can't exactly remember which town, but would like to get to Portland
Washington- Family trip to Seattle. Also went camping with a buddy in Olympic National park.
Idaho/Montana/Wyoming- I've never stepped foot in in Idaho. I took a nice trip to Glacier National Park, and I have visited Yellowstone National Park. All good times.
Nevada- Trip to Vegas with family. I was a teenager, so didn't have that much fun. Also went backpacking with a buddy in the Ruby Mountains. Northeastern Nevada does not have much going on in a human sense.
Utah/New Mexico/Arizona- I first thought I just hit Arizona and Utah due to a family four corners trip. Now that I think about it, I've been to Salt Lake City (I don't remember why.) But I haven't done the same for Arizona. Weird. I've been to New Mexico a handful of times to visit an aunt that lives in Albuquerque. I also went to Philmont Scout Ranch.
Colorado- I went to Colorado three times last year. My last trip was to the Boulder area for a friend's wedding.
North Dakota/South Dakota- I stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. I made a few trips to Sioux Falls this past year. We also did a family vacation to the Badlands earlier. I also remember a scouting backpacking trip in the area as well.
Nebraska- Since two of my good friends live down there, I've been to Lincoln a few times.
Arkansas/Kansas/Oklahoma- I think we drove through these states for a family trip to Texas. I used to count them on my list, but I can't remember if we did anything of significance in either states.
Texas- We visited Dallas on a family trip when I was in second grade. I also went to Houston for the quiz bowl national championships.
OK, round two coming up in the next blog post.
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