Skip to main content

Roadgeeking with Kids - County Collecting

Image
By
A popular pastime within the roadgeeking hobby is county collecting.  In a nutshell, you keep track of all the counties in the US - and now Canada and Mexico - that you have been in.  It is one of those quirky little things that not only roadgeeks enjoy but also pretty much anyone that likes to travel.  Mob-Rule.com is the home for most county collectors and it is an interactive site that allows you to track your counties and label them however you wish.  You can label them by year visited, by if you have resided or spend the night there, how you visited them and even with whom.  Others even have rules for the counties to count, they or their spouse has to actually be driving, must visit the county seat, must do some sort of activity or transaction within the county.

I started keeping track of my overall counties about 15 years ago.  It was a lot easier to remember where and when you went there when you were 26 then now at 41.   County collecting can easily be a family affair.  I keep track of the counties both of my son's - Colton (5) and Nash (2) - have been to.  In Colton's case, he really enjoys it.  We started to tell him about his new counties when he was close to three, and he's been excited about getting new ones ever since.  In 2017, when we went to St. Louis on vacation, Colt told me his goal was to get 100 counties on the trip.  Though we didn't, he would ask how many we got each day and what part of the state they were in. On a recent trip from Charlottesville, Virginia to Charlotte, North Carolina, he picked up another six counties and was upset that he couldn't get ten!

Chris Allen updating the family county map after their recent cross-country roadtrip
I can't say that we are the first to keep track of our children's counties.  A good personal friend of mine - and also part of the hobby - Chris Allen - started to keep track of counties for his oldest daughter, Marla.  He would then also do the same for their youngest son, Bruce.  A number of other roadgeeks do this also.

However, the Allen's have done another great idea.  They have been keeping track of counties that their family of four have done together.  But this is where they take it to another level, the Allen's have blown up a photo of the US county map that is found on Mob-Rule, and after every trip that they collect, the family colors in the counties they have visited.  The map then goes back in the picture frame and is hung proudly in their living room. 

The finished product!
The Allen's were kind enough to share photos of the family updating their county map after their most recent cross-country adventure to New Mexico and Arizona!

This is a great way to get the whole family involved in a silly little hobby and can make those long road trips with kids a little more tolerable.
Labels:

Comments

Jim T. said…
It's also a great side effect that the kids will grow up with a much better appreciation for where things are, the size of the country, etc.
10:03 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon

By
Within the Truckee River Canyon in the Sierra Nevada range numerous abandoned portions of US Route 40 can be found alongside modern Interstate 80.   This segment of highway was opened during 1926 as a bypass of the Dog Valley Grade which carried the early North Lincoln Highway and Victory Highway. The corridor of the Truckee River Canyon State Highway would be assigned as US Route 40 when the US Route System was commissioned during November 1926. During 1958 the segment of Interstate 80 between Boca, California and the Nevada state line was complete. When Interstate 80 opened east of Boca numerous obsolete portions of US Route 40 were abandoned. Some of these abandoned segments have been incorporated into the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.  Part 1; the history of US Route 40 in the Truckee River Canyon The Truckee River Canyon for centuries has been an established corridor of travel known to native tribes crossing the Sierra Nevada range.  The first documented wagon crossi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced...
Post a Comment
Read more