Many of us are County Counters here on Twelve Mile Circle. I’m a practitioner myself and I’ve been known to go a couple hours out of my way to pick up a few new ones. However, what would you say about a plan to visit every single county in New England within a 24-hour period?
Would you call this misguided? Insane? I call it genius, and about the coolest idea I’ve heard in a long time. I wish I was in a position to actually try something of this level of enlightenment and endurance. The guys at “Every Whatever” — an intermittent blog that I love to follow [update: which no longer exists] — not only considered the idea but hit the road and tried to achieve it. The expedition took them a couple of hours longer than their goal but they did reach every single county. It’s a great story and you can consult their website to review all the posts they created live from the road as the adventure unfolded.
The Movie
Here’s something even more incredible: they mounted a dashboard camera in their car and took more than 12,000 still photos. They then compiled the photos chronologically into a a 20-minute video so viewers can experience the same journey vicariously [again, sadly lost to history]. I watched the trip at lightning speed as it progress throughout the day and into the night, then back into the sunlight as a new dawn rose on the horizon.
The Plot
The path starts with an airplane (Nantucket and Dukes Counties in Massachusetts are islands), but the action quickly switches to an automobile barreling down interstate highways and all manner of minor roads. There are cities occasionally but what is most striking is the vast preponderance of rural countryside. The constant motion is punctuated by brief stops at convenience stores and the rare lengthy stoplight.
It was difficult to identify exact locations because images flashed by too quickly to read any road signs. I think I may have caught a glimpse of Boston in the dark — or something very similar to the architecture of the Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River and the Big Dig tunnel.
It’s hypnotizing and addictive. Yes, I did make it through the entire twenty minutes. It’s definitely worth visiting if you’re a County Counter or if just want to experience a whimsical road trip with a purpose.
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