Student embarks to visit his 49th state

Jordan Powers (11) is about to set off on his 49th adventure, making him one step closer to fulfilling his goal to visit all 50 states before he turns 18. 

“It’s something that my mom first had the idea for,” Powers said.

Powers’ mom began this tradition when Powers was in elementary school after frequently traveling to different states for conferences. 

“She saw how much I enjoyed it, and she enjoyed it too,” Powers said, “so we just kind of kept doing it.”

On Sept. 9, Powers will be taking off on his escapade through Alaska, the second to last state on his list.

“We’re taking a cruise there so we’re going to visit different cities in Alaska at different ports,” Powers said. “It’s going to be a great time.”

Alaska is more than twice as big as Texas, the largest state in the contiguous United States, and compared to the northeast US, Powers has a lot of ground to cover.

“We’re going to see the Northern Lights—that’s why we picked September,” Powers said.

Similar to what one might think because of its population, Alaska’s most popular attractions are nature-related, which appeals to Powers, whose favorite states thus far have been Colorado and Utah due to their natural beauty.

“California or Florida, they were cool,” Powers said, “but Colorado and Utah, they were just beautiful.”

So what will Powers do once he finishes visiting all 50 states?

“I want to see different countries, but my mom is not as big of a fan of that idea,” Powers said.

Instead, Powers predicts he will go back to states that he hasn’t visited recently. When he does get a chance to travel outside of the country, though, he has some places in mind to visit first.

“I want to visit Japan. It seems beautiful,” Powers said. “I’d like to visit the cities and the countryside.”

Besides Japan, Powers also would like to visit Australia, England, Scotland and Wales. In the meantime, however, he has the last stop on his 50 state journey to look forward to in 2023: Hawaii. 

“I really appreciate the time and planning they (my parents) put into this goal,” Powers said. “This has been the best thing I’ve experienced.”