67, 3, 45, 98, 6, Hennepin, 9...Misadventures of Minnesota

Driving about the country as we do lends itself to a certain amount of extreme creativity and a certain amount of insanity. Then you begin noticing things that you just may not typically think about.

I first became aware of the state of Minnesota's county problem driving from Pennsylvania to Montana. I was somewhat aware that the numbering system made no sense, and as we sailed along I-90 I was reading off the county signs. "County 34. County 5. County 98. Hennepin County. County 76." Naturally I was concerned for Minnesota's apparent lack of mathematical sense, but it was what it was...and I carried on. Driving BACK from Montana, we achieved a feat of sheer insanity by driving 36 hours straight. Perhaps you yourself have never spent 36 straight hours in a car. I'm going to have to say...we had fun...but it's not highly recommended. By South Dakota, at 3am, we were trying to identify and photograph roadkill. By Minnesota, I was in no frame of mind to deal with the senseless system of numbering...and as I again read off all the county numbers...ALWAYS dramatically out of order, I found myself becoming more and more agitated by it. Likely because, by this point, we had been in the car for longer than any human SHOULD be...but I still maintain that Minnesota needs to work on this issue. I'm aware there are probably some of you reading this who ARE from Minnesota. I'll admit...I have no problems with the state, it's residents, it's sports teams, or those who enjoy vacationing there. In fact, other than this sticking point, I enjoyed Minnesota. I only take issue with the counties. Perhaps it's just me...but should I have been the one settling and colonizing uncharted territory, I may have taken the time to NAME the counties...or at least put them in reasonable order.

THESE are the things that enter ones mind when they are sleep deprived, hungry, sore, and I find that once you've sunken to the level of who can name the roadkill...maybe counties SHOULDN'T be my biggest problem. But it was. And Minnesota may need to get working on that.