Spatial/Tech

www.allenfinchum.net

Stillwater, OK USA

Welcome - this site is a personal blog where I discuss issues related to Tech and Geography (two of my favorite issues) along with an occasional sports comment on one of my favorite teams.  There is no real schedule for updates, I will simply add things as something interesting comes up.  Comments in this blog are the thoughts and opinions of the author, and do not reflect the position of Oklahoma State University or the OSU Department of Geography in any manner.

Background Image - Boone Pickens Stadium, OSU

DESCRIPTION: These maps show counties (and independent cities) in the Continental US (CONUS) I have visited in the past 50+ years or so (OK, I was born in 1958, but shown here are the places I have visited since roughly 1968 when I was 10 and have records/can remember).  The initial view of the map shows counties visited or not ("on or off").  The color scheme in the first map below shows counties I have visited as Orange and Non-Visited Counties as White (Go Vols!! - haha). 

Counties Visited - Simple Display

The second map below shows a visit sequence of when and with whom I visited a place in the CONUS.  The color scheme for the Period display depicts the following "eras" and persons with whom I visited a place:

  • 0-White: Never Visited - (271 Total and 249 in CONUS)

  • 1-Blue: Visited with my father/parents 1968-80 (1,159 Total/1,147 CONUS)

  • 2-Dark Green: Visited by myself, or with persons not otherwise listed (127 in CONUS)

  • 3-Lite Green: Visited with OSU Colleagues since 1996 (288 in CONUS)

  • 4-Red: Visited with my wife Tanya since 1980 (305 in CONUS)

  • 5-Brown: Visited with my son Curtis since 2000 (83 in CONUS)

  • 6-Orange: Visited with Tanya & Curtis since 1990 (909 in CONUS)

The final maps are “zoomed in” versions of the Detailed map showing the core of the northeastern US/Megalopolis and a simple map for the state of Alaska. I included the maps because many of the counties in in the Northeast are among the largest in population and most diverse in the country but they are so small they are impossible to see on the other images, and because Alaska is not visible on the CONUS maps shown above. My visits to Alaska and Hawaii were in the early to mid 70s when I was a teen and unfortunately I have not been able to return - perhaps in the future?

I have not included a map of Hawaii since I have visited all of the counties in this beautiful state, but as noted above would like to return to in the future.

Counties Visited - Detailed Display

Counties Visited - Megalopolis Core

Counties/Boroughs VIsited - Alaska

As of 17 September 2024 I have made at least one cursory visit to 2,859 of the 3,108 county level or similar political entities in the CONUS (92.00%).  I have also visited all of the primary counties (5) and major cities in Hawaii, as well as 7 of the 29 boroughs/census zones in Alaska. My Alaska visits have also included Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Denali/Mt McKinley National Park. For the entire US I have visited 2,871 of 3,142 county level political entities (91.38%).

The categories are hierarchical, so for example if a county is in group 1,2, or 3, and then I visit with Tanya and/or Curtis, it becomes a 4, 5, or 6.

I have completed all of the county visits for the following 36 States and the District of Columbia (2,074 Total County level units):

  • Arizona (15)

  • Arkansas (75)

  • Colorado (64)

  • Connecticut (8)

  • Delaware (3)

  • District of Columbia (1) - not included in the 3142/3108 totals

  • Florida (67)

  • Hawaii (5)

  • Idaho (44)

  • Illinois (102)

  • Indiana (92)

  • Iowa (99)

  • Kansas (105)

  • Louisiana (64) - Parishes

  • Maine (17)

  • Maryland (24) - 23 Counties & City of Baltimore

  • Massachusetts (14)

  • Minnesota (87)

  • Mississippi (82)

  • Missouri (115) - 114 Counties & City of St Louis

  • Montana (56)

  • Nevada (16)

  • New Hampshire (10)

  • New Jersey (21)

  • New Mexico (33)

  • North Carolina (100)

  • North Dakota (53)

  • Oklahoma (77)

  • Rhode Island (5)

  • Tennessee (95)

  • Texas (254) - State with the most counties

  • Utah (29)

  • Vermont (14)

  • Virginia (133) - 95 Counties & 38 Independent Cities

  • Wisconsin (72)

  • Wyoming (23)

Here are the 15 states yet to be completed containing 271 non-visited counties/county equivalents (out of 1,061 counties in all unfinished states - 249 unvisited out of 1,039 in CONUS):

  • Alabama (15 of 67)

  • Alaska (22 of 29) - Boroughs/County Equivalents

  • California (14 of 58)

  • Georgia (68 of 159) - most counties remaining to be visited

  • Kentucky (15 of 120)

  • Michigan (15 of 83)

  • Nebraska (29 of 93)

  • New York (12 of 62)

  • Ohio (15 of 88)

  • Oregon (17 of 36)

  • Pennsylvania (11 of 67)

  • South Carolina (6 of 46)

  • South Dakota (3 of 66)

  • Washington (8 of 39)

  • West Virginia (21 of 55)

I hope you enjoy the maps, and hopefully I can update them with more visits soon.

FYI - After a long period of non-activity in terms of adding new counties, In the last 14 months I have been on six trips to visit places I had not been in some time as well as visiting some new counties. The trips allowed me to finish off nine (9) states and 169 counties.

Details for these trips are outlined here: County Trips

Last Updated: 17 September 2024