Visit 531 duo publishes book after comprehensive Nebraska journey

WAHOO, NE — Nebraska’s favorite statewide travelers are hoping the next stop in their Cornhusker quest is your Christmas stocking.

Wahoo natives Seth Varner and Austin Schneider gained local fame by visiting all 531 incorporated towns in the state this summer. They shared their journey on social media and amassed more than 22,000 Facebook followers. It was the followers who suggested their next adventure: publishing a book.

“10 people said it, then 30 people said it, then those kept getting more likes,” Varner said. “So I was like, ‘Um, I guess we have to do a book, Austin.’”

The two University of Nebraska-Omaha sophomores have no book writing or designing experience, but plunged into the project.

“So we did the whole thing in Microsoft Word of all things," Varner said. "It took us just a couple months to put the whole thing together.”

They self-published the Visit 531 book on Wednesday. The duo made sure it was interactive.

“You take your phone out and you scan whatever town’s QR code and it pulls up a photo album on Google Photos with all of the pictures we took of that town,” Schneider said.

“We plan on adding pictures to the albums if we happen to return to these towns over time," Varner said. "It’s an ever-growing book, it’s eternal in a way.”

The pair says they’re surprised by all the feedback they’ve received.

“It’s a weird feeling just knowing that people are inspired from what we did," Varner said. "All we wanted to do is go drive around and visit some towns. Now suddenly, dozens of other people are going to these same spots just because we went there.”

You can buy the book at visit531nebraska.com.