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I Love your Great Ideas!

You had some great trips for me to consider. Thank you for sharing your suggestions. I have a lot to consider. “Diane” suggested Glacier National Park. I must say that National Parks are always a super choice. I’ve been to many. I even have the “passport” books and collect the stamps. I thought that Glacier National Park was primarily a hiking destination and I’m not sure I’m up for much hiking. Time for me to do a little research.

Glacier National Park

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The first thing I found out when I searched Glacier National Park was Going-to-the-Sun Road. This drive connects the east and west sides of the park as it cuts through the middle. Going-to-the-Sun road is 50 miles of scenic wonder. I’ll need to plan this vacation in the summer. The road is often closed by snow in the winter. It’s wild country out there. Wildlife may be present anywhere along Going-to-the-Sun Road. As you know if you’ve read many of my posts, I’m a sucker for Wildlife. I can watch for mountain goats and Big Horn sheep. You can even see a glacier from the road at Jackson Glacier Overlook. A bonus for me is that Glacier National Park is in Montana. I haven’t been to Montana yet!

Yosemite National Park

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Sticking with the National Park theme, my boss at work got in on the suggestions. She lobbied for Yosemite National Park. She and her family recently vacationed there and she came away quite impressed. Yosemite National Park is in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s famous for El Capitan and Half Dome, two iconic landmarks. Its also home to giant, ancient sequoia trees. When I think of Yosemite I think of waterfalls. I was concerned that this hiker’s paradise might be another place that would be beyond my skill set? I’m happy to report that many areas of the park can be reached by car and some places even have shuttle access! Sounds like a user friendly park to me!

Stay Tuned

There are more suggestions to come and they just keep getting better!

There’s a photo blog I follow and his post yesterday was that he wants to take pictures in all 50 states before he’s 50. He’s been to 22 states so far. Check his blog out. For the most part its a photo blog. Not a lot of writing but some of his pictures are amazing http://placesunknown.com/2013/09/22/50-by-50/

But back to my quest to visit every state. For me, at my age it isn’t before 50, already passed that milestone. Talk about a bucket list!

Let’s see, we were running through the 8 states that start with “M” and we’ve reached the last 2. And sad to say, I haven’t been to either, Missouri or Montana.

Lets see what I’m missing in Missouri.

I know Missouri is the “Show Me ” State so I’m sure there must be lots to live up to that slogan, plus my time share has an exchange there in Branson. They describe Branson, Missouri, as your destination for good old-fashioned family fun where you can choose from over 70 live shows (head for the famous ’76 Strip Country Music Boulevard), 50 restaurants, amusement parks, whitewater rafting and premier trout fishing. Whew! And that’s just 1 place!

Missouri is another state that divides it’s area up into sections. There’s Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest. One thing I did notice is that RT 61 seems to be a popular scenic drive right through the state.

Parts of the Ozark mountains are also in Missouri.

Missouri played a part in the civil war and there are monuments and attractions celebrating that role as well.

After Harry S. Truman grew up in Independence, leading the allied forces to victory in World War II seemed like the next logical step. And to think, the newspapers at first reported that he lost his election.

Samuel Clemens was born in Missouri.

Then, he penned under the name Mark Twain and changed Hannibal, Missouri into America’s Hometown with classic literary characters like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

And how about St. Louis…meet me in St Louis Louie.

I have to see the famous arch.

Sounds like a neat state to visit as long as I don’t have to paint any fences. 🙂

Last but not least is Montana.

This state is high on my list. With one of the most diverse geographies of any state in the union, as well as being the fourth largest in sheer size, Montana’s snow-peaked mountains, lush valleys and flowing rivers make it a popular tourist destination. Known as “Big Sky Country,” the state’s wide open spaces are home to national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone.

To me Montana means ranching and cowboys and the west. Billings, Montana comes to mind. When you visit Billings you visit the land where General Custer fought the Sioux and Cheyenne, where Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led their people through struggles and to victories, where William Clark left his signature as the Lewis & Clark Expedition passed through and where Calamity Jane raised a ruckus. Learn about the old Railroad history that Billings was built on and about its namesake: Frederick Billings.

Well, I’m running out of space again. Time to post the tally of seen /to be seen states.

Of the 8 M states I’ve only been to 2, Maine and Massachusetts. That leaves 6 that still need a visit. So the count is 8 visited, 18 still to go. (24 states left to review)