State Places Challenge -- A to Z

[lhuff]

Bear with me here - I could either think of tons of things, or mine are serious stretches. I'll try to add links later.

A = Andouilli Sausage and the Atchafalaya River Basin

B = Baton Rouge - our illustrious capital, Bossier City - where I work and
Bayous

C = Caddo Indians (I live in Caddo Parish), Cajuns and Cypress Trees

D - DeSoto - the parish and Spanish Explorer

E- Evangeline - the oak and the famous Longfellow Poem

F- Forests and Fishing - why we're known as the Sportsmans Paradise

G - Grand Isle (gorgeous scenery), Goodwill - town so small you can't
even send mail there, and Grosse Tete (yes there is a town named fat
head)

H - Huey P. Long - the man and the bridge
the heat and humidity that make up our climate

I - Iota and Iowa - great names for small towns in South Louisiana

J - Jefferson Davis Parish - yes we still have places named after the
president of the Confederacy

Jean Lafitte - famous pirate that got mixed up in the Battle of New
Orleans

K - Katrina, the Kisatchie National Forest, and the random names near where
I live of Keachi, Kickapoo, and Keithville

L - Lafayette, Lake Charles, Lagniappe, Laissez les bons temps rouler, La
Place (another weird place name)

M - Magnolia Trees, the Morganza Spillway (seen from US 190) and Monroe

N - Natchitoches - small town in North LA - tourist destination and filling in
for New Orleans in lots of movies

O - Ouachita (pronounced washitaw) and Opelousas

P - Petroleum Industry, Poverty Point (if you visit make sure they've mowed
the right paths)

Q - Questionable Politics - what we're most famous far

R - Red River, Rampart Street (for me all roads led here when I lived in New
Orleans - don't know how I kept ending up there)

S - Shreveport, Sulphur (I love descriptive place names) and the Sabine River

T - Tangipahoa (just try and pronounce that one) and Tchoupitoulas (street
in New Orleans and an old governor)

U - for the Universities - LSU, Loyola, etc. Go Tigers! BTW,
Mike the
Tiger just died

V - Ville Platte - small town where the Greyhound bus always stopped when I
was travelling from Shreveport to New Orleans overnight and Vieux
Carre - the I-10 exit to reach the French Quarter

W - Winnfield - proud home of Huey P. Long, Earl Long and OK Allen - see Q
for questionable politicians

X = XIV and XV as in Louis - the French Kings that Ruled Lousiana - the name
comes from Louis XIV

Y = Yellow Fever (an epidemic wiped out much of Shreveport in 1873)
Y'at and Y'all - phrases heard in Louisiana

Z - Zwolle - everyone must eat at least on Zwolle Tamale in their lives and
Zachary Taylor - the only president ever from Louisiana

[click here for an index to the states]

[AZBuck]

The first place I moved when I was totally on my own, and I still get there from time to time.

Attitash: Year-round resort in the White Mountains
Bear Brook State Park: Largest state park, near Concord and Manchester urban centers
Connecticut River: Forms the western boundry of the state: farms, countryside, boating, birding, biking, covered bridges.
Dixville Notch: Thanks to its voting habits, it's famous every 4 years
Enfield Shaker Museum: The story of a unique community
Franconia Notch: The quintessential New Hampshire scenic locale
Great Bay: New Hampshire's great tidal estuary
Highland Games: Celts, Picts and Gaels gather under St. Andrew's Cross
Isles of Shoals: Legends and lighthouses out in the Atlantic
John Paul Jones House: Your entry into historic old Portsmouth
Kancamagus Highway: It's New Hampshire's most famous scenic byway for good reason
Lost River Gorge: Great hiking over boulders, up streams, and through forests
Mount Washington: Highest wind ever recorded, great views, and you can drive to the top
Nashua: One o Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live"
One, Two, Three, Four: Only in New Hampshire can you drive on all these US highways - and see US-5 across the Connecticut River
Pinkham Notch: Gateway to some of the best hiking in the White Mountains
Quarries: The Granite State mines its namesake bedrock
Redstone Rocket: in Warren. This is the missle that took the first two American astronauts into space.
Santa's Village: Little (and not-so-little) kid's love this place
Trading Post: Roadside Tacky, but Clark's has been around seemingly forever
Umbagog Lake State Park: The northwoods of New Hampshire, beyond where the tourists go
Velvet Rocks: One of hundreds, if not thousands, of hikes in new Hampshire
Whitefield Grist Mill: When people think about rural New Hampshire, this is what they have in mind
X-Files: Follow the trail of two of the original alien abductees
Yankee, Flying: Restoring a Depression-era streamlined train
Zest Fest: OK, the 2006 contest for hot sauces was held in Fort Worth, but the winner was from Conway, NH

[click here for an index of the states]

[Mark Sedenquist]

I was born in Wyoming and still have lots of family here….

(Photo by Craig Antill)
A – Afton, (home to the world’s largest antler arch, 18-feet tall, 3,000+ antlers)
B – Buffalo Bill Scenic Highway (west of Cody)
C – Cowboy Wave (raising the first finger off of the steering wheel as a “howdy” to passing vehicles)
D – Devils Tower (mystical location and made more famous in “Close Encounters of a Third Kind”)
E – Eagle Butte Mine (one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world)
F – Fort Phil Kearny State Historical Site
G – Gumbo (that impossibly, sticky & slippery mud that ensnares hapless travelers on eastern Wyoming dirt roads)
H – Hole-in-the-Wall (former home to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
I – Independence Rock (a granite monolith on the Oregon Trail with carved names)
J – Jackalopes (often seen hiding in the backyards of Douglas residents)
K – King’s Saddlery Museum in Sheridan, (500+ custom made saddles)
L – Laramie (Home to the University of Wyoming)
M – Museum of Flight & Aerial Firefighting (at the airport in Greybull)
N – Natrona, (near Hell’s Half Acre)
O – Oregon Trail (I have several photos of the wagon ruts near Guernsey)
P – Potbelly (Slang term for the semi-trucks that haul cattle on Wyoming roads)
Q – Quealy, (near Rock Springs on I-80)
R – Register Cliff (near Ft. Laramie, names etched in the sandstone by Oregon Trail pioneers)
S – Sundance, (home of the famous “Sundance Kid” who was Harry Longabaugh)
T – Thermopolis ( world’s largest natural hot springs)
U – Ute Mountain Fire Tower (built in 1935, it is the oldest , still operating fire lookout in Wyoming)
V – Vore Bison Jump (US-14 between Sundance & Beulah)
W – Western History Center, (near Lingle and presentation during RTA Rendezvous)
X – XP Ranch (near Orin, home to the Shaw Family Ranch and a state historical monument – My Great, Grandparents’s place)
Y – Yellowstone National Park
Z – Zion… (“Seeking Zion” was the explanation given to thousands of Mormon settlers on their way to the promised land)

[Click here for an index of the states]

[AZBuck]

If home is where the heart is, then Maine is still home.

Acadia National Park: The crown jewel of the Maine coast
Baxter State Park: 200,000 acres of pristine Maine woods and mountains
Colonial Pemaquid: Archaeological site, discovering and reliving the period 1631-1759
Damariscotta Reversing Falls: For all you kayakers and canoeists, how many times do you get to go over a falls going up-river?
Estcourt Station: Like Point Roberts in Washington, a US town reachable only from Canada
Fryeburg Fair: The largest agricultural fair in Maine, and a fall tradition since 1851
Grafton Notch State Park: In the Mahoosuc Range of the Longfellow Mountans, Maine's Appalachians
Hemlock Bridge: While not as endowed as its New England neighbors, Maine does have a few covered bridges
Islesboro Ferry: You knew I had to get a ferry in here, and this one goes to such a lovely town
Jackman: Entry point to some of the best of the Maine wilderness experience
Kennebec-Chaudičre Corridor: An International scenic byway connecting the Gulf of Maine and the St. Lawrence River
Lighthouses: You have your choice of many, and they're all beautiful
Madawaska: Northernmost town in Maine, and proud of its bi-cultural heritage
Northport: One of a seemingly unlimited number of gorgeous coastal towns with a story to tell
Ogunquit: One of Maine's finest beach resorts
Popham Colony: Where the first American ship was constructed in 1607-1608
Quoddy Head: Easternmost point in the US
Rangeley Lakes: Maine's interior coastline
Swimming Holes: Secluded, free, and refreshing. If you view the slideshow, you will see my former front yard
Ticonic or Two-cent Bridge: Waterville, last toll footbridge in America
UMMA: University of Maine Museum of Art, specializing in American mid-20th century works
Vinalhaven: Only 15 miles off the coast, but another world entirely
Windjammers: It's still possible to actually sail the coast on any one of a dozen tall ships
X-Country Skiing: Over 20 Nordic ski areas, plus all those woods
Yarmouth Clam Festival: 40+ years of Downeast Tradition - Always the third Friday in July
Zeke's Lookout: The beauty of hiking the Rock-Ribbed Coast

[Click here for an index of the states]

[AZBuck]

The last of the states I've lived in (RoadDog and the Chicago Tribune started this with Arizona). 7 years in the Finger Lakes

Adirondack Park: A state park bigger than half a dozen states
Bennington Battlefield: Although named for the town in Vermont, the battle was actually fought in New York
Cooperstown: Home of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Delaware River: Has its headwaters in New York, where it is a National Scenic and Recreational River
Erie Canal: Far from being just historic, it is still an operating waterway
Falls, The: Like 'The Canyon' and 'The Strip', there's only one
George: and Champlain, Lakes with a past
Herkimer county and 'diamonds': Unique crystals in upstate New York
Islands, Islands, Islands: A thousand of them in the St. Lawrence River, and almost as many parks
Jamestown: Lucille Ball's hometown and site of the Lucy-Desi Museum
Keuka Lake: I love its name, I love its beauty, I love its shape, so it's my proxy for all the Finger Lakes
Letchworth State Park: A gem on the Niagra Frontier
Montauk: At the other end of Long Island
New York, NY: "So great, they had to name it twice."
Oyster Bay: Where Theodore Roosevelt's home was located
Plattsburgh: On the "Sixth Great Lake" - Champlain
Queens: One of five counties in New York City, and home to JFK, the Mets, US Open Tennis Championships, etc.
Rochester: A great city, facing north on Lake Ontario
Seneca Falls: Birthplace of the women's rights movement
Taughannock Falls: Higher than Niagara, on the west shore of Cayuga Lake
United States Military Academy: West Point, walk in the footsteps of Washington, Grant, Pershing, and Eisenhower (and OK, Benedict as well as Hap Arnold)
Verona Beach State Park: Gorgeous bit of nature preserved in the Syracuse area
Watkins Glen State Park: Climb through the gorge and behind a waterfall
Xenosauridae: And other lizards are on display at the American Museum of Natural History
Youngstown: The American equivalent of Niagara-on-the-Lake
Zoar Valley: Hiking and white water in a little known nature sanctuary

[Click here for an index to the states]

[Mass Tim]

A - Auburn - where Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-propelled rocket
B - Berklee College of Music
C - Cape Cod National Seashore
D - Dana - no longer a town, but a ghost common within the bounds of the lands of the Quabbin
E - Erving Castle - cave, or castle?
F - Fisherman's Statue / "Man at the Wheel" - Gloucester's most famous monument
G - Great Barrington - home to Searles Castle (it's for sale if anyone is interested!)
H - Hull - one of the smallest towns with one of the highest population densities
I - Ipswich - home of the Clam Box
J - Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
K - King's Chapel - an historic chapel in Boston
L - Lexington - where the American Revolution got under way
M - Mount Greylock - the state's highest point
N - Nantucket Film Festival
O - Orange - a popular place for skydiving
P - Plymouth Rock
Q - Quabbin Reservoir - Boston's water supply
R - Rutland - the geographic center of the state, marked at Central Tree Road
S - Springfield - where basketball was born
T - Tanglewood - the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Summer home
U - Uxbridge - One of the towns along the Blackstone River Canal
V - Vineyard - as in Martha's Vineyard
W - Williamstown - gateway to the state on US-7 from VT or MA-2 from NY (W is also a very popular letter for towns in the state)
X - [...the only thing I can think of is the "X" in Springfield....]
Y - Yarmouth - incorporated in 1639, one of the oldest towns in the United States
Z - Zoar - Whitewater Rafting

[click here for an index to the states]

[Midwest Michael]

My birthplace - and one with easy X's and Z's!

Angle Inlet. Bring your passport if you want to visit. The only access by land is via Canada!
Bunyan, Paul and Babe the Blue Ox, in Bemidji
Curling Clubs - As in the Bemidji Culing Club, home to Most of the US olympic team
Duluth
Ely - On the Iron Range, pronounced E-Lee
First Avenue - Minneapolis Music Club owned by Prince
Grand Portage National Monument
Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome - Stadium named after a former Vice President, not a faceless corporation.
Itasca State Park - Birthplace of the Mississppi River
Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth
Kilen Woods State Park, near Jackson and I-90
Lakes - Do you really want me to name all 11,842 of them?
Morel Mushrooms - The Only "Official State Fungus" in the US.
Niagara Cave - Cave in SE part of the state
Orpheum Theatre - Historic Theatre, playing broadway shows in Minneapolis
Pipestone National Monument
Quanda Resort - Thanks to Buck for this one!
Rochester - home to the Mayo Clinic
SPAMtown USA - aka Austin, MN
Two Harbors - Scenic City on the North Shore of Lake Superior
Underwood - a town I know nothing about.
Voyageurs National Park
Winona - Mississippi River Town
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul Arena home to the NHL's Wild
Young America - A city until 1997, when it merged with Norwood.
Zumbro River - Connecting the towns of Zumbro Falls and Zumbrota

[Click here for an index to the states]

[AZBuck]

Adventures are to be had here!.

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument: 10-20 million year old fossils and more recent Indian artifacts
Broken Bow: Small town America off the beaten path
Cornhuskers: Championship caliber athletics
Dannebrog: The heart of Denmark beats in Nebraska
Eagle Viewing: Great sites throughout the state
Fairbury Frontier Funpark: {Triple Points!} If you're RoadTriping with kids, places like this are perfect
Gothenburg: Pony Express station(s) and much more
Homestead National Monument: Beatrice - How the west was really won
Indian Cave State Park: Barada, the Missouri bluffs much as Lewis and Clark saw them
Johnstown: the Niobra Valley Preserve is just north of town
Kearney: The nearby state historic park contains restored buildings from the pioneer days
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail: Headquarters are in Omaha
Mahoney State Park: Nebraska's most popular park, possibly due to its Family Aquatic Center (water park)
North Platte: Buffalo Bill's home during the height of his Wild West Show
Oregon Trail: History, scenery, landmarks, the ultimate RoadTrip before there were roads
Prairie Museum: Which is also home to the National Sod House Society
Quilts A to Z: Appropriate to the state and this exercise
Rodeos: Everything from High School to Professional
Strategic Air and Space Museum: Near Ashland, planes and missiles of the Strategic Air Command
Toadstool Geologic Park: Crawford, Nebraska's Badlands
University of Nebraska State Museum: Lincoln, with a children's Discovery Center and a planetarium
Valentine: In the 'heart' of the Sand Hills
Warp's Pioneer Village: Minden, gives new meaning to the word eclectic
Xenia: Ghost town, east of Springfield
York: Or anyway, 50 miles west of it in Grand Isle, a great prairie museum
Zorinsky Lake: Multi-use park in Omaha


(Photo by Gerald Thurman)

[Click here for a index to the states]

[Mark Sedenquist]

My Dad was born in Montana and so this is dedicated to Charlie for “Father’s Day” and for his 81st birthday later this month.

(Photo by Craig Antill)
A – Alder Gulch Shortline Railroad, (An estimated $100 million of gold was mined in this area)
B – Beaver Creek Park (my Dad went fishing along Beaver Creek as a kid, south of Havre on Hwy 234)
C – Cut Bank (Has been called the “coldest spot in America)
D – Dupuyer (one of the oldest towns along the eastern slope of the Rockies)
E – Egg Mountain (it is more of a hill – but it was the place where the very first dinosaur egg was found in the western hemisphere)
F – Flathead Lake (southwest of Glacier National Park)
G – Glacier National Park (here is a field report from the Going to the Sun Road)
H – Havre, (My Dad’s home town located just south of the Canadian border).
I – Ingomar (a central Montana town with a unique B&B – “the Bunk and the Bisquit”)
J – Joplin (A little town on US-2, west of Havre – lots of grasshoppers here)
K – Kootenia (mountain range and national forest in northwest corner of Montana)
L – Libby Dam (17 miles north of Libby, completed in 1976)
M – Missoula (Home of the University of Montana)
N – National Bison Range, (near Glacier National Park – awesome place to see buffalo)
O – Old Shep (Statue of a dog found in Fort Benton – this is really a pretty town with a nice walkway along the Missouri River)
P – Polson (on the southern edge of Flathead lake)
Q – Quinn’s Hot Springs, (near Missoula, on Hwy 135 overlooking the Clark Fork River)
R – Rattlesnake Wilderness (the north side of Missoula and beyond)
S – Sun River Canyon, (east of Augusta – one of the best areas in the state to see bighorn sheep. November and December is the when they are battling for mating rights) Also, the Sports Club Cattle Baron restaurant in Shelby, Montana – great food!
T – Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (about 11 miles west of Dupuyer – nature trails with lots of opportunities to see large animals)
U – Ursuline Center (Is a preserved Catholic boarding school in Great Falls, -- the best part could be the gargoyles over the front door….)
V – Virginia City (the town that grew up around Alder Gulch – like Virginia City, NV this town is still incredibly preserved. )
W – Wolf Point Bridge, (the longest bridge span in the state – 400 feet – there is also a very nice historical museum in the town of Wolf Point)
X –
Y – Yaak (the most northwestern-most town in Montana)
Z – Zortman (Near Virginia City, visitors can still pan for gold, the old jail is still standing here )

Mark

[Click here for an index to the states]

[AZBuck]

We haven't really started to tackle the southeast yet, and besides, it's been on my mind.

Atlanta: The city's own list of attractions is practically an A to Z all on its own
Button Gwinnett: Perhaps the most obscure of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
Camp Sumter: or as it's better known - Andersonville
Dahlonega: Site of America's first Gold Rush
Eatonton: The boyhood home of the author is now home to the Uncle Remus Museum
Flint RiverQuarium: Albany, an aquarium with a difference, especially suited to kids
Georgia Rural Telephone Museum: Largest collection of antique telephones in the world
Historic Heartland: Central Georgia waits to be explored
Isle of Hope: the slower pace of southern coastal living
Jekyll Island: A public jewel on the Atlantic coast
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park: Some say Serman's March started here
Lunchbox Museum: Columbus, from Hopalong Cassidy to Charlie's Angels
Macon: Cherry Blossom Capital of the World. Home to the Georgia Music Hall
National Barbecue Festival: Come hungry!
Okefenokee Swamp: Pogo's home, a water wilderness
Pine Mountain: Callaway Gardens, but besides the flowers, there's boating, hiking, fishing, and swiming
Quitman County: Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway: The southern Appalachians, with a waterfall tour
Stone Mountain: The South's Mt. Rushmore
Tallulah Gorge State Park: Gorges, and they even schedule when the waterfalls are 'on'
Unicoi State Park: Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and an Oktoberfest
Vogel State Park: In the Chattahoochee National Forest near the southern end of the Appalachian Trail
Warm Springs: FDR's Little White House is here because of the springs
XGames Skatepark: Lawrenceville, first in the nation: ramps, halfpipes, bowls, etc.
Yahoola Creek: Class I-IV whitewhater in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Zebulon: The seat of Pike County and the center of a small town way of life

[Click here for an index to the states]