Counting states or countries visited is a somewhat useful metric in determining how well traveled someone is, but like many statistics, there are limitations. Am I really more of a seasoned traveler than other Americans who have set foot in far fewer states or do I just benefit from living among the Lilliputian states of the Northeast? If I can color in Mexico on my map because I walked a few blocks in Tijuana, does that carry the same weight as another who spent weeks hiking the Yucatan? No way.
For those who keep a count, what counts as a visit?
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The rankings of the number of geographic entities visited by members of MostTraveledPeople.com read like high scorers on a video game. Veley, one of the ultimate globetrotters who has racked up more than 1.5 million miles and visited all 192 countries recognized by the United Nations, acknowledges that some travelers might be too focused on amassing passport stamps than truly experiencing foreign lands. Next year, the organization plans to work with local tourist offices to establish checklists of places and activities that would encourage depth and quality of visits.
“You can’t say you’ve seen the country just because you’ve visited each state,’’ says J. Stephen Conn. When Conn hit the magical 50-state mark 15 years ago, he pulled out a map. “It struck me all the places where I hadn’t been, and I decided to go back and visit every county.’’
Conn, among several hundred “county collectors’’ in the Extra Miler Club, is just 91 counties shy of visiting each of the 3,142 counties across the country. He adds to his total whenever he sets foot across a county border, no meals or overnight stays required. “The way I look at it is this: If I was struck by a bolt of lightning or hit by a meteorite, the obituary would say I died in Podunk County. How could you die there unless you were there?’’
Christopher Klein can be reached at chris@christopherklein.com.
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