Exploring Not Kansas

These are the states i've been in. That's 44, so you don't have to do any counting. And DC. For years i've been on a quest to get all 50. Because my dad was military and we did so much moving around, my dad, brother, and i ended up on this mission to visit all 50 states. my mother thinks it's ridiculous. But then, she thinks anything my father does is ridiculous. (Much of it is.) My father visited New Mexico in 2004 and completed all 50. i pulled ahead of my brother in the same year with a trip through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. i rented a car and drove up there on my own. Only had three days because i had a summer job that year, but what a blast. One of the best times of my life. i could have died in Acadia National Park it was so beautiful. Mid-August, tried wading in the ocean, realized why all the other people doing it had Canadian accents. Brr.

Recently i set some goals for myself. The lower 48 by the time i'm 30, and all 50 by the time i'm 40. Alaska and Hawaii will be difficult on a teacher's salary. i'm still holding out hope for a summer job in Alaska someday. After that, i will work on the Canadian provinces (i only have 2 of 13 at the moment), and then i guess the Mexican states (of which i only have 1, out of.... some number).

There is one thing about being a teacher that makes this easier -- summer vacation. That means i have two months to go and do whatever i want, every year, if i can do it cheaply enough. Which i figure means that i rent a compact car, pack a cooler so i can eat apples for lunches and other cheap things, and stay in roach motels when i have to and camping grounds when i can.

Recently i have begun thinking about this summer's adventure: Arizona and New Mexico. Just by coincidence, i will also have to drive through a corner of Texas to get there. And though i will "count" it as a state, i will have to go back and experience it. Driving through and putting your foot in counts the state, but doesn't make up for not knowing the place.

So far i only have two things on my list to visit (well, three, if you count the Fuddruckers in Albuquerque): the Grand Canyon and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Also, i want to drive a solid section of US 666 (now renamed 491 -- pansies) and Route 66.

Here are my guidelines for traveling (which i call experiencing):

• Log as few interstate miles as possible.
• Never pass up an opportunity to eat at a local greasy spoon.
• Cooky little places the billboards tell you to go are a crap shoot. Try them anyway.
• Meet locals.
• Take pictures. Of everything. You never know what will make a cool shot when you pull it off your camera a few weeks later.
• Have a vague plan of what you want to see. But itineraries are for pussies.
• Maps, on the other hand, are essential. Get the big gazetteers with the back roads if you can find them.

i did ask an old hiking buddy of mine to find me a good 6-hour hike, something off the beaten path, moderately strenuous, and with great views. So as soon as that comes through i'll have three. But that's pretty pathetic. i need to get some guide books and start researching. Suggestions would be welcome.