Completing all counties, etc. in the lower 48 -- in one car

[oscar]

One of my fellow Extra Miler Club members and his wife just finished visiting all the counties in the lower 48, with a ferry trip to Massachusetts' two offshore counties Dukes (a/k/a Martha's Vineyard) and Nantucket. The unusual feature of that completion is that it was all done driving the same vehicle, a 1999 Dodge Intrepid, which went on the ferry with them.

http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20150311/NEWS/150319892/101015

I've discussed with him how he could continue his quest in Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. That would require a lot of expensive barge and ferry trips; some super-remote jurisdictions might be completely out of the Intrepid's reach; and who knows how long the car will last (it has over 540,000 miles already)?

[kkt]

Man, he got a Dodge Intrepid to last 540,000 miles!  That is impressive!

[1995hoo]

.... some super-remote jurisdictions might be completely out of the Intrepid's reach ....

This is almost certainly true of Kalawao County unless he wants to land himself in a heap of trouble.

[corco]

.... some super-remote jurisdictions might be completely out of the Intrepid's reach ....

This is almost certainly true of Kalawao County unless he wants to land himself in a heap of trouble.

Do that one last

[oscar]

.... some super-remote jurisdictions might be completely out of the Intrepid's reach ....

This is almost certainly true of Kalawao County unless he wants to land himself in a heap of trouble.

Kalawao County is nearly, but not completely, impossible. There are cars there, just that they came over on a state resupply barge that AFAIK comes only once a year. He'd also need to negotiate a special permit to enter the county with his own car, perhaps arranging an invitation as a personal guest of a county resident since unescorted visits are otherwise not allowed.

The most practical option might be to outlive the few elderly Hansen's Disease patients who still live there. At that point I expect Kalawao County to be folded into Maui County, since the state plans to turn over the county to the National Park Service once the last patient has departed (by death or transfer to a Honolulu health facility), as part of that process it would need to revise several laws governing only that county (such as the one forbidding most visits by children), and the state might as well abolish the county at the same time.

The most difficult jurisdiction in North America is probably a roadless "improvement district" in Alberta. (I've been there, but drove to a parking area just outside the district, and hiked the rest of the way in. It helps to be not overly afraid of bears.) AFAIK, all the other jurisdictions in Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii have cars that got driven, barged, or flown in somehow, and if you try hard enough you can get your car there too.

[english si]

Kalawao County is nearly, but not completely, impossible. There are cars there, just that they came over on a state resupply barge that AFAIK comes only once a year. He'd also need to negotiate a special permit to enter the county with his own car, perhaps arranging an invitation as a personal guest of a county resident since unescorted visits are otherwise not allowed.

It would help if it was his last county in getting the permit.

[Duke87]

The most difficult jurisdiction in North America is probably a roadless "improvement district" in Alberta. (I've been there, but drove to a parking area just outside the district, and hiked the rest of the way in. It helps to be not overly afraid of bears.)

Which district is that?

[oscar]

The most difficult jurisdiction in North America is probably a roadless "improvement district" in Alberta. (I've been there, but drove to a parking area just outside the district, and hiked the rest of the way in. It helps to be not overly afraid of bears.)

Which district is that?

Willmore Wilderness Improvement District, which is co-extensive with the provincial park of the same name in west central Alberta.

It comes tantalizingly close to AB 40, with its northeast corner about half a km from AB 40. But I couldn't find a hike-able trail at that point. I took a dirt road farther to the south, which is a long-ish drive off pavement but takes you to a trailhead also about half a km from the park boundary, with a well-marked and -groomed trail into the park.

I reviewed some photos I took at the park boundary, which show a locked gate blocking vehicle access. The trail looks wide enough to take a car at least a short distance past the gate if you can unlock it, and ignore the park rule explicitly prohibiting motor vehicle traffic anywhere within the park.

Alberta has several other "improvement districts" with little or no population and no local governments, which are not part of any other county or equivalent jurisdiction. Most are within national parks, but they have roads and I've driven into all but one of those (the last one definitely has roads too, but I'm saving that for last). There is also a new improvement district comprising a bombing/weapons range, which apparently is also open (with Canadian Forces permission) to both the military and to civilians involved in oil sands development. But official maps show AB 881 clipping the northwest corner of the district, which I guess will have to do for the rest of us.

[cpzilliacus]

What about boroughs in Alaska that are not on the state's highway network like Kotzebue and Nome?

[kphoger]

There are cars in both Kotzebue and Nome. The idea was that, if those cars were able to be transported there, then it is also possible for your car as well.

[oscar]

There are cars in both Kotzebue and Nome. The idea was that, if those cars were able to be transported there, then it is also possible for your car as well.

Yes. That's true for all the off-highway jurisdictions in Alaska, which are on the coast or along the barge-able Yukon River.

[NE2]

But how many counties does he actually remember anything about?

[kphoger]

But how many counties does he actually remember anything about?

322.

[empirestate]

Perhaps more importantly, he drove his Intrepid in a manner that suits its name. I have no tolerance for meek Intrepids.

[cpzilliacus]

There are cars in both Kotzebue and Nome. The idea was that, if those cars were able to be transported there, then it is also possible for your car as well.

Yes. That's true for all the off-highway jurisdictions in Alaska, which are on the coast or along the barge-able Yukon River.

Alaska State Troopers on the National Geographic Channel has implied several times (but has never come out and said so directly) that the rivers of western Alaska (in particular the Yukon) are drivable by highway-use vehicles once they are frozen-over.   

[Duke87]

Alaska State Troopers on the National Geographic Channel has implied several times (but has never come out and said so directly) that the rivers of western Alaska (in particular the Yukon) are drivable by highway-use vehicles once they are frozen-over.

They probably are, but there aren't any officially maintained ice roads so this isn't recommended because you have no guarantee you won't hit a thin spot and end up sleeping with the fishes.

Also, with the last couple winters in Alaska having been unusually warm, this is probably less true now than it was in past years.

[oscar]

Here's an NBC News video on the story, shot after the couple returned home to Michigan from their lower-48 completion trip:

http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-channel/couple-visits-every-county-in-lower-48-states-415868483936

[cjk374]

Here's an NBC News video on the story, shot after the couple returned home to Michigan from their lower-48 completion trip:

http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nbc-news-channel/couple-visits-every-county-in-lower-48-states-415868483936

I love stories like this.  I wish I could go on long cross-country jaunts like this.  Maybe one day I will.