County-counting map

Check out the latest version of my county-counting map, recently updated to reflect the six new counties in Utah (Iron, Garfield, Piute, Sevier, Millard, and Beaver) and one new county in Nevada (Lincoln) that I picked up on my Bryce Canyon/Las Vegas trip. You can make one of your own on Marty O'Brien's website and compare it against the other users.

It's a fun way to mark your progress and provide a reason to explore back roads and rural areas; I took US-89 north to I-70 along the Sevier River to capture a few new counties but found the bucolic, snow-covered valley I drove through to be serenely beautiful. It's getting difficult for me to reach new counties without flying, though; the county closest to my home that I haven't visited is Esmeralda County, Nevada, a 300-mile drive away.