Highland Park Boy Visits All 50 States Before 10th Birthday

A common life goal for an American citizen is to pay a visit to all 50 states. Some make it, while others wish they just had the time.

One Highland Park resident has recently accomplished the feat. He did it last week, on July 17, when he visited nearby Michigan for the very first time.

He turns 10 on Thursday, July 23.

That’s right. 50 states before his 10th birthday.

Callan McLoudrey, an incoming fifth grader at Oak Terrace Elementary School, has done what some retired folks are still working on.

“I love how every state has its own unique features,” said Callan, who first realized his goal to get to all 50 by the time he turned a decade old during a family trip five years ago to Iowa - the 17th state he had visited. “Wisconsin has its cows, and cheeseheads of course, Alaska has its igloos and Hawaii some very cool beaches.”

Also on Patch: Man Who Saw Cubs Play in World Series Has Impressive List of Life Accomplishments

Sara - Callan’s mom - immediately thought it would be a fun goal when he mentioned it in Iowa. After all, Callan’s grandmother had reached the 50-state milestone at age 50 and Sara (thanks to her son’s idea) has it in her bank at 39.

“Then we started planning and planning,” Sara said. “What’s another 33 states — yikes! So we got traveling.”

And travel they did. Callan’s family would drive to some states, and obviously fly to some of the more tricky ones.

To save time, they would hit up as many states as possible during one trip. For example, Callan points out the family flew to Atlanta, rented a car and then flew back via New Orleans - stacking up six southern states during that time.

The focus in as many states as possible was the National Parks, and Callan’s participation in the different Junior Ranger programs.

“We always tried to include historical landmarks, Nationals Parks, and something educational about each state,” Sara said. “As a family we have always loved visiting National Park sites. Callan’s first visit to a National Park site, Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, was when he was just 11 weeks old!

“Thanks to the National Parks system we have seen everything from amazing natural lands, to battlegrounds, to wildlife, to important historical sites and everything in between.”

The travels have resulted in a total of 51 National Park visits and 26 Junior Ranger badges for Callan.

Callan’s favorite? Yellowstone, of course.

He also prefers the mountains more than the cornfields (who wouldn’t) and would like to spend more time in Idaho, Montana and Washington in future travels. The three northwest states were among the quick stops for the family. The rule is that you must either use the restroom or have a meal in every state. In Washington, a quick restroom stop at the airport was all they had time for.

For each state, the family would take a picture of the welcome sign, and pull to the side for a personal photo if safe.

Read Callan’s travel blog.

The journey concluded on July 17 at the New Buffalo Welcome Center in Southwest Michigan - just an hour-and-a-half ride from Highland Park.

“While we were doing this, we noticed that we hadn’t got Michigan even though it was one of the closest. So we decided to save that one for last,” Callan explains.

With the United States in his back pocket at age 10, Callan is considering visiting 50 countries by the time he is 50 as his next feat.

“I like the idea, but that seems like it will be much harder,” he said.

Mom says all the travels help make for a broadened life experience.

“Each state brought us new experiences that have broadened our view of the world,” Sara said. “The unexpected benefit to all this traveling has been watching Callan grow as a person. He has become a more empathic, kind and caring kid. He now easily thinks outside of his world of the Chicago North Shore.”