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<p>The website WalletHub recently ranked Pennsylvania 36th in a list of &#8220;2016&#8217;s best and worst states for <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-for-summer-road-trips/4648/" target="_blank">summer road trips</a>.&#8221;</p><p>One of the first questions regarding the photo accompanying the online report is why are four attractive young people crammed unsafely in the front seat of a vehicle, presumably prepared for a &#8220;road trip?&#8221;</p><p>Of course, that can be dismissed as marketing. The real puzzler for those who live here and like it would be Pennsylvania&#8217;s rating as the nation&#8217;s 15th worst state for hopping in the car and heading for some R&amp;R.</p><p>Thirty-five states are better for road trips than a state with a name meaning &#8220;Penn&#8217;s Woods&#8221;? Heck, the bucolic adjective &#8220;sylvan&#8221; is built right into the place.</p><p>What does Ohio (20th) have that Pennsylvania lacks? How many &#8220;road trips&#8221; can you take in Hawaii (25th) before you need to board a boat to see something new?</p><p>Granted, PA probably falls short in the &#8220;National Parks&#8221; category, one of 21 &#8220;relevant metrics&#8221; used by WalletHub, the self-described &#8220;personal finance website.&#8221; But residents can hardly be blamed for that.</p><p>And how does one measure the metric &#8220;number of scenic byways,&#8221; anyway? Does driving through the Endless Mountains on Route 6 count? If not, what&#8217;s the threshold?</p><p>Is a trip through parched stretches of fabled Route 66 in Arizona less compelling than a drive along Shenandoah National Park&#8217;s Skyline Drive?</p><p>This is not a slam against WalletHub. The site may be a bit overachieving in the number of things it tries to measure (best and worst states for families, teen drivers and nurses, to name a few). But the reports, particularly those focusing on metropolitan areas (often including Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton) can provoke worthwhile conversations.</p><p>Yet, this one seems to highlight predictable flaws created when all the research involves number crunching from a distance.</p><p>One wonders what local and regional road trips were known by the WalletHub gurus. Seven Tubs? Ricketts Glenn? Regional rails-to-trails projects? Local historical museums? Concrete City in Nanticoke?</p><p>True, part of a local newspaper&#8217;s job should be touting local assets, but this goes further. Luzerne County residents live within road trip-worthy destinations like Philadelphia, Hershey, Bethlehem and many points north and west.</p><p>The state boasts an expansive Renaissance Faire, Amish country, college and professional sports teams major and minor, railroad exhibits, live entertainment venues of all sizes and versions of city night life to satisfy all but the most selective tastes.</p><p>Maybe the real question is this: What&#8217;s the point of these rankings? Is everyone yearning a road trip supposed to fly to top-rated Oregon to take one?</p><p>Cramming four in the front for a road trip is uncomfortable and dangerous, but makes for an eye-catching visual.</p><p>Shouting a joyous &#8220;Road Trip!&#8221; in the TSA screening line seems &#8212; at the very least &#8212; an oxymoron.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Ignore ranking in planning road trip route