Seeing Machu Pichu for myself would be kind of interesting, but what’s the point of repeating something millions of people have done already?

Seeing it for yourself is more than just being at the destination. Traveling to the country, meeting the people, eating the food, dabbling in the language, and learning the culture is its own reward.

What's more, Peru has changed quite a bit since it was built in the 15th century. Your journey is going to be unique to the time you take it and the people you take it with.

There’s still plenty of new stuff to see and do in the world, but it’s far less straightforward than just getting on a plane.

To throw it back to dinosaurs, one of the novelties of the field of paleontology is in identifying new fossils and linking them into the overall fossil chain. Dinosaurs aren't a single species but an entire spectrum of lifeforms that existed for tens of millions of years. Digging a little deeper and finding another novel variation of creature is fascinating on its own merits. And the value it brings goes beyond raw hedonism.

Similarly, travel logs of the modern world de-mystify foreign cultures and bring disparate people together. Even just dipping south of the border and realizing Mexico isn't trapped behind a sepia filter, like all the TV Shows and movies set their insist it to be, is useful for orienting yourself within the context of the world around you. Getting your Libertarian father-in-law out of his John Bircher bubble on a trip to visit relatives in Beijing and Shenzhen is invaluable.