looking california and feeling minnesota

The title of the bloggo post is one of the best lyrics ever written and comes from this song.

One of my future plans is to travel 'round the United States to see some more of the land of the free and the home of the brave. But there are several places I won't bother going to.

It is true there are quite a few places in the USA that are a big ball of nothing. Some states have more nothing than others.

As an example, Idaho has a lot of nothing. The population density is only 15 people per square mile; that's factual data. As a comparison, Florida has 338 and Connecticut 703 (they pack 'em in tight in southern New England).

Another example is Wyoming. Believe it or not they have more nothing than Idaho does. Their population density is only 5 people per square mile. The only state lower is Alaska. One wonders if anyone would go there were it not for Yellowstone.

Even though I'm a road geek I am fully aware that there are miles and miles of nothing but boring stretches of asphalt in many places. While it's true in New England there is no such thing as a "lonely highway" on the southern end, the northern end has got 'em. I-91 and I-95 are classic examples of that.

Another one I had the unfortunate pleasure of traveling across was I-80 on the eastern side of the US. Boring as crap.

It is nothing short of amazing to me how much the states don't expand. There are many who say there's a population problem in America. I say b.s. Go to Idaho and you tell me if they have a problem with too many people there. Or Wyoming. Or Maine. There's craploads of undeveloped land in those places and many others.

And when it comes to states that are already developed, they only do so in "pockets". Take Florida for example and look at the Tampa Bay area. Yes, there are craploads of people here. But then head west. Do you see the same population issue in say.. Bartow? Or Sebring? Nope.

My goal when traveling around the US is to avoid the sparsely populated areas. I truly have no interest in it because where there's people there's life.

As for those who want to "get away from it all", well you're in luck because there are plenty of states in the union that show absolutely no possibility of being overrun with population anytime soon.