{"id":17989,"date":"2017-10-22T05:31:26","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T10:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=17989"},"modified":"2022-02-22T07:42:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T12:42:56","slug":"biggest-unvisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/biggest-unvisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest Unvisited"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A couple of years ago I wrote about my Airport Visits<\/a>. At that time I came oh-so-close to capturing Love Field in Dallas, Texas. A weather delay and a change of route dashed that achievement. However a work trip to Dallas last week finally righted that wrong. I flew there on Southwest Airlines and naturally landed at and later departed from Love Field. It didn’t change anything in the earlier article, I figured. Houston’s Hobby Airport remained the largest airport in the United States I’d yet to use. Although something did change, something subtle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since that last article, Love Field surpassed Hobby in passenger counts. Unbeknownst to me, Love Field became my largest unvisited airport for awhile, although my recent visit corrected that situation. I’ve now traveled through the top 32 largest airports in the U.S., with Hobby dropping one spot to 33rd. It remains unvisited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Houston’s Hobby Airport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Old<\/a>
Old Terminal at Hobby Airport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Actually, I’m not sure I will ever set foot at Hobby (map<\/a>). I used to have a reason to go to Houston when family lived nearby. Unfortunately my grandmother passed away a few years ago<\/a> at the age of 102. Then remaining family members moved to New Mexico<\/a> for their retirement years. I just don’t see any trips near Houston on the horizon. So progress on this list will probably end. Plus, even if I did return, I’d likely use the much larger George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Southwest Airlines still uses Hobby extensively although most others focus on the other one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hobby began as Houston’s original commercial airport in the 1920’s albeit with a different name and under private ownership. It didn’t become Hobby until the city purchased it in the 1930’s. William P. Hobby, its namesake, had connections both to Texas and to Houston. He served as Governor of Texas in 1917 before his fortieth birthday. Afterwards, I guess because he felt like he hadn’t accomplished enough already, he became publisher of the Houston Post newspaper. Naming the local airport for him seemed fitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Fresno County, California<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
Entering Fresno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That got me thinking about some of the other largest places in the United States I’d never visited. I’ve done a lot of county counting<\/a> over the years. The total stood at 1,428 as of the time I wrote this, or 45.5% of counties available. However, I’d never considered the largest of the remaining unvisited counties. I had to actually create a spreadsheet to figure it out. When I sorted the results I learned the answer: Fresno County, California. More than 900,000 people resided in the county so I’d missed a pretty significant place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my defense, there didn’t seem to be a lot of reasons to target Fresno. Sure, numerous people lived there although it seemed to lack any specific attractions unless agriculture in California’s Central Valley seemed exciting. People who are more familiar with the area are free to correct me. I’m sure it’s a nice place and I hate to give it short shrift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It did have an attraction of a sort, I supposed. As Historic Fresno<\/a> reported,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Fresno Sanitary Landfill is the oldest ‘true’ sanitary landfill in the United States, and the oldest compartmentalized municipal landfill in the western United States… [it] is a National Historic Landmark as well as in the National Register of Historic Places.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Someday I’m sure I’ll find myself in the area and of course I’ll capture Fresno. I might just want to check out the Historic Landfill too (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Oklahoma<\/a>
Oklahoma City National Memorial<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The largest unvisited city<\/em> in the United States on my list was Oklahoma City (map<\/a>). I liked this place because of the whole nesting of Oklahoma City in Oklahoma County in the state of Oklahoma. It didn’t exist until 1889 when the big “Land Run” commenced and it blossomed overnight. The city grew so quickly that it became the state capital in 1907. Today about 600,000 people live there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m trying to convince my family that we should go there for our family vacation next summer. I select a different state each year and I’ve already made my initial pitch for Oklahoma. It didn’t generate a lot of interest. I don’t know why. I found a couple of zoos for my older son and some military museums for my younger son. For my wife I compiled a list of breweries and brewpubs I knew she’d enjoy. Still, we’ll just have to see. Nobody else suggested a state so I might just win this one by default. I believe we have some Twelve Mile Circle readers from Oklahoma City. Please give me a few good reasons to visit and help me make my case. I think the family would enjoy it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of years ago I wrote about my Airport Visits. At that time I came oh-so-close to capturing Love Field in Dallas, Texas. A weather delay and a change of route dashed that achievement. However a work trip to Dallas last week finally righted that wrong. 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