State Rankings Project/Game - Rankings due August 1st
I haven't run a game in ~forever & this is a pretty silly one to start with, but what the hell.
Me & a friend accidentally ended up in a conversation about a certain state being in the bottom 15 in terms of visitability, so the idea of this game is for people to rank ALL the states (+Washington DC) from most visitable to least visitable (1-51, but no need to #).
The basic premise being you are going to take like a 10 day vacation to this state at whatever time of year you want, & any place in the state you want.
Once I get the lists, and compile them, there will be a few games to be played. You can research for the initial list part, I just ask that you don't exactly copy some list from the internet if such a list exists.
You will still be able to play the other games if you don't submit a list, but there will be participation points given for those who do submit an initial list, plus you will have a bit more information.
Alphabetical list of states:
Spoiler
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
22 Replies
I'm thinking about a couple of road trips this summer to get myself into the 50 states club (having visited all 50 states.)
My question is, what qualifies a visit as being official? I've been to the Minneapolis airport on a layover, but never left the building. Surely I can't give myself credit for Minnesota.
I've driven through Indiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, and Delaware, but never stopped the car, other than to get gas in Arkansas. Do those count?
I stopped in Kentucky for McDonalds and went inside a liquor store for a bottle of bourbon. I stopped at a dog park in Kansas and had lunch later that day. I visited New Orleans for 4 hours with college buddies, collected a bunch of beads at a Mardi Gras parade, and drank 2 hurricanes before heading back to Florida. Do I count Louisiana?
I've never set foot in Iowa, Nebraska Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, or either of the Dakotas. Every other state I've spent the night at least once, so full credit there.
Back to the original question. What qualifies me to claim that I've visited a state?
for me, i qualify if im in a place and have an interaction with someone who lives there(like ordering mcdonalds in person)
but that's just me
for you, i suggest you just judge whether or not you feel like you've been there
My standard for myself is that you have to make a stop at something authentic to the state. Stop at some sort of landmark exclusive to the state, or at least stop and have a meal at a non-chain restaurant that you wouldn't be able to visit anywhere else.
IMO you've definitely checked Louisiana off the list, Kansas is a maybe, the rest are a no.
My last edge case was when I was going to drive through a corner of Mississippi in between Alabama and Memphis. I dialed up TripAdvisor on my phone and found a historic site of a Civil War battlefield to stop and spend an hour at.
Obviously all of this is really arbitrary and a person can go with whatever standard they want, but if people are including **** like "connected in an airport in that state" as their only qualification then that's odd to me.
one exception though that comes to mind, is barren parts of west texas. i don't think i ever interacted with anyone, but it took like 8 hours to drive through. we must have stopped for gas, but i dont think i talked to anyone.
but 8 hours driving through a place that geographically is the same, qualifies imo
oh i didn't think about interactions with airport employees, if you're just stopping in the airport. those don't count. imo
Can I change my submission to Delaware #50
I'm thinking about a couple of road trips this summer to get myself into the 50 states club (having visited all 50 states.)
My question is, what qualifies a visit as being official? I've been to the Minneapolis airport on a layover, but never left the building. Surely I can't give myself credit for Minnesota.
I've driven through Indiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, and Delaware, but never stopped the car, other than to get gas in Arkansas. Do those count?
I stopped in Kentucky for McDonalds and went insi
I count layovers for countries I've been to. For example, layover in Taiwan, but never stepped outside airport. Chalk it up. I've had a layover in LAX but never been to LA. Maybe there's a difference between 'been to' and 'visited'.
I think this is my map, with different levels of "visited".
I could see it with other countries. But every airport in the US that I've seen, regardless of size, feels like it's part of the same monoculture. Maybe an exception for Nevada airports and the gaming machines in those; that does feel like it's putting an imprint of local culture inside the airport walls.
Doing a bourbon tour would count, stopping at McDonald's does not.
Missed this game originally but love messing around with maps.
Not an American so only visited 46 states.
Ooops, missed Delaware - another yellow state.
What do y'all think is greater, number of states I've hitched in, or number of states I've set foot in, but haven't been inside a vehicle in?
Eh, wasn't as close as I thought it'd be
Always feels like more till I list 'em out.
People hating the Midwest
spent multiple nights in these states
alaska was only on a cruise ship though, but did spend 3 days hiking there, and one day sailing around glacier bay, probably the single most beautiful place i've ever been, that or yosemite
in the last 10+ years though i've only been in ca, hi, and alaska. my traveling days are mostly behind me
Don't ever remember using Denver as a crossover when visiting my siblings when they were in Arizona, but possible. Actually the driving route from Lexington to New Orleans looks like it probably went through Alabama, don't remember for sure.
