Theron Humphrey in tree

Traveler of the Year Theron Humphrey in Hawaii, the 50th state visited for his project, "This Wild Idea."

Photograph by Susan Seubert

Traveler of the Year: Theron Humphrey

A maverick storyteller documents the oral histories of everyday Americans.

November 26, 2012
5 min read

The numbers alone are astonishing—365 days and some 66,000 miles logged on the road, 90,000 photos snapped, 50 states visited. And the cause is inspiring. Theron Humphrey took a year to see America and record the story of one person in film and audio each day. This storyteller’s monumental road trip echoes the Depression-era Federal Writers Project, but Humphrey’s oral history enterprise is rooted in a more personal motive.

“I got stirred up and wanted to live a different life. I wanted to discover new things and meet new people,” says 29-year-old Humphrey, who quit his job as a fashion studio photographer and hit the highway in August 2011 with a mission of befriending one person each day, every day, for a year and documenting that person's life story.

The result is a personal journey published online at thiswildidea.com, a site supported by donations from angel investors on the fund-raising platform Kickstarter.com. Humphrey maps out his route and shares the tales of the people he’s met along the way.

There’s Liz Roma, a farmer in Vermont. Uncle Bobby, a Hawaiian canoe craftsman. And Patrick Millard, a Pittsburgh artist, who unexpectedly died a few days after the interview.

Humphrey’s histories document the tenor of our times, spoken by the people who populate a traveler’s landscape and framed by a photographer with an eye for detail. “It's in the American DNA to seek new ideas,” says Humphrey. “That’s what drove me.”

—By George W. Stone

THE INTERVIEW

National Geographic Traveler: Why is travel important?

Theron Humphrey: I can’t say anything new about the adventure in traveling, or the inherently human desire to discover, but I do know it’s real. It’s in my nature to want to explore.

NGT: Can you point to an experience that ignited your curiosity about the world?

TH: I remember waking up one day and realizing that the world doesn’t always see life the way I do. Even the folks that literally live next to me don’t. I figured if I could learn to listen, that would be a good start.

NGT: What inspired you to travel in the way that has resulted in your being chosen as a Traveler of the Year?

TH: Some incredible folks came before me, like Stephen Shore and Robert Frank. But I wanted to go into the world and know names and shake hands, not just point a camera at them. I wanted to know their story and celebrate their life.

My aim was to create work that would gain value over time. I would love to know what my great-grandmother’s voice sounded like, so maybe this project will be a part of giving someone that gift in 30 years.

NGT: Do you have a personal motto or mantra that embodies your approach to life and travel?

TH: Everyone has a good story. Everyone has something to teach me.

NGT: What do you never leave home without when you travel?

TH: My iPhone, for its camera. The road can be a lonely place. Being able to share images instantly with thousands of folks through Instagram made it feel like I wasn’t alone.

NGT: Do you have a favorite travel book or film?

TH: Travels With Charley. It’s hard to beat a book about a man traveling with a dog.

NGT: What was your most surprising food experience on your travels?

TH: Most of my meals were simple, but I did get a lobster roll from a roadside stand in Maine and remember thinking that I’d be willing to eat lobster rolls until I got gout. It was that good.

NGT: Name three places that you’d like to visit before you die and why.

TH: Is it OK to feel like I’ve been everywhere I want to go right now? I know that will change, but I feel content.

NGT: What's one place you’ve been to that you think everyone should visit?

TH: Fort Yates, North Dakota. There are some wonderful people doing good work there, and they could use some help. I suppose like a lot of reservations there is sadness, but there is also hope and folks we’ve never heard of trying to change lives.

NGT: What’s next?

TH: I have another project in the works that involves storytelling and open adventure on the sea.

I hope I always have a passion for going into the world and meeting folks, but I also want to collaborate. I’d love to be a part of helping others create what they love.

>> Read the Next Traveler of the Year Interview

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