what does your state have?

[john warren]

i am unabashedly proud of my state, Michigan.

what would you like? we have it.

forests? from stem to stern we have forest.
lakes? thousands of nice inland lakes.
beaches? thousands of beautiful beaches. including one thats listed as one of the top ten beaches in the world.
sand dunes? we have several
moutains?, yes we have some.
fishing?,,,oh yeah
hunting? wonderful hunting
boating and canueing? all sorts.
big water? we are in the middle of the largest freshwater seas in the world
coastline? only alaska has more
waterfalls? we have plenty of beautiful woodland waterfalls.

please come visit us,,, this place is too good to keep to ourselves.

lol this has not been a paid advertisement.

[Marsha D]

I agree. Michigan is (was?) one of the best kept secrets.

[Donna D.]

Oregon's beauty is reknown. We have everything from the Pacific Ocean to high deserts. The entire length of ocean beaches belong to the public. No fences and no "No Trespassing" signs. Our largest mountain has year around snow skiing. The US Ski Team trains on Mt. Hood during the summer for the next winter Olympics. We have one of the wonders of the world in Crater Lake National Park, the deepest fresh water lake in the United States. Oregon has thousands of acres of BLM land, state and national forests open for camping. Our state parks are plentiful, clean, safe and cheap. You don't typically need a screen room to be outside while camping, because slugs don't fly! If you go to the store to buy a $1 item, it costs you $1... we don't have sales tax. Your hands stay clean while refueling.. because we don't pump our own fuel! Oregonians are environmentalists, we recycle everything possible and are stewards of the land.

[Mike Magee]

Oklahoma has some of that stuff. Let's see...
Forests? We have lots of scrubby little things they call trees, with leaves that all turn dingy brown in autumn.
Lakes? There are a few, mostly man-made (dams)
Beaches? Ummmmm, not really
Sand Dunes? Oh yeah, we have Sahara Dunes State Park!
Mountains? No, but we have Cavanal, the World's Highest Hill
Fishing? Sure, plenty of fishing, but it's too hot in summer to be outside for it
Hunting? Yep. Deer, boars, turkeys, doves, etc. That we have.
Boating & Canoeing: sure, on all those dam lakes
Big water? nope.
Coastline? Uh, does the Red River bank count?
Waterfalls? Sure, we have a couple of modest falls, but nothing even close to Michigan's U.P. where there are hundreds.

Maybe that's why I try to get back to Michigan for a recharge every summer!

[Kevin K]

Minnesota over 10,000 Lakes

[honda03842]

Beyond a beautiful State NH has 5% unemployment, no sales tax and no income tax....

Paid for by Gov. Lynch.....LOL

[Ray N]

I've enjoyed every state I've ever lived in (Utah, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, and Florida), except for one desert state in the Southwest - I guess I'm just not a desert person. I wonder if I would still enjoy NJ like I did back in the 50s & 60s - back then it seemed that camping wasn't very popular and there were very few people using the campgrounds in the many beautiful state parks.

[Jon Vermilye]

Well, even though almost everyone thinks NY ends about 5 miles north of New York City, we have just about everything but desert here. Waterfalls, mountains (well, nothing compared to the west, but the Adirondacks have some that are more than hills, Lakes, rivers, even sand dunes (along the eastern end on Lake Ontario). Of course I most of my NY photos are of my favorites- Waterfalls...

Letchworth State Park, Chittenango State Park, Buttermilk Falls, - Adirondacks, Bouquet River - Adirondacks.

[Larry,C]

Those are some great shots of New York's beauty! That's where I was born and raised. Kentucky has a nice temperate climate (compared to Syracuse NY) and beautiful state parks. It also has beautiful horse farms and did I mention Bourbon!

[Sharon G]

Georgia has mountains, hills, the ocean, beaches, forests, waterfalls, lakes, rivers. Everywhere we camp here feels like a different world.

Oh--and you can camp in the winter. We just got back from here:

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

Well, even though almost everyone thinks NY ends about 5 miles north of New York City...

I grew up in Upstate New York, and have fond high school memories of Chittenango Falls.
Are the sidewalks in the Village still paved in Yellow Brick?

I'm from Oneida. The "city" actually, not the community...

[Red-Dwarf]

British Columbia (province, not a state) has everything from desert to rainforest to subarctic regions, ocean beaches to snow-capped mountains, islands (large and small), lakes, rivers and lots of underused camp grounds.

I sound like a travel brochure...

[floyd]

Illinois is a state which stretches 425 miles from the Wisconsin border to well into the South. Southern Illinois extends further south than parts of several southern states. As a result, the culture and landscape is varied. Once south of Effingham, you are in what is considered Southern Illinois or "Little Egypt". Lots of lakes and hills and Shawnee National Forrest. Camping, fishing, hunting, bicycling, and hiking can be be done among some of the most beautiful wooded country in the U.S.
Check out the "River to River Trail" across Southern Illinois, and be sure to visit Metropolis, home of Superman,and Ft Massac State Park which has the reconstructed fort, great camping and hiking and a downtown which goes right down to the Ohio River and a large nostalgic designed Casino.

I apologize for my previous comment, which for once truly was not in the spirit of the thread, although it is said that truth is the perfect defense against slander.
Illinois has a lot to offer and is a place to visit, and a great place to be from.

[RRIZZO]

I think we all love where we are now, but have fond memories of other areas. As a California native I know we have many beautiful parts in this state. We always love to brag about being able to snow ski in the morning and surf in the afternoon. Iam looking forward to getting out of L.A., want to have a retired base in Bishop up in the Eastern Sierras. I think all Americans should travel in our own country. Forget Mexico, Caribbean, Europe.........STAY AND SEE AMERICA....we need the tourist dollars.

[RRIZZO]

Love your photos Jon !

[itlives]

Louisiana has mosquitoes, snakes, fleas, chiggers, biting flies, stagnant water and alligators. Did I mention mosuitoes? Oh yeah, don't forget HUMIDITY with 67 days of over 100 degrees last year.
Y'all Come!!

PS- It's why I go to Arkansas and OK -

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by itlives

Louisiana has mosquitoes, snakes, fleas, chiggers, biting flies, stagnant water and alligators.

But are there any negatives?

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by itlives

Louisiana has mosquitoes, snakes, fleas, chiggers, biting flies, stagnant water and alligators. Did I mention mosuitoes? Oh yeah, don't forget HUMIDITY with 67 days of over 100 degrees last year.
Y'all Come!!

PS- It's why I go to Arkansas and OK -

NH defends LA.

This is our first time in LA not counting going to New Orleans on an earlier trip.

We have now spent two days in New Iberia and love the area. I have not been bitten by a fly, mosquito or chigger.

Today we began with a trip to Avery Island home of Tabasco, followed by a visit to the countries oldest rice mill, then lunch at Duffy's dinner splitting spicy Corn and Shrimp Chowder, perfectly fried Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fries and a Frozen Lemonade (slush like) at a table with 4 kinds of Tabasco sauce and a bottle of Tobasco' spicy Ketchup......

We followed that off with a trip to Weeks Island through sugar cane fields and march reaching a gulf of working oil wells, salt mines and shrimp boats. I love it that here people produce things and finally to Cypremort Point State Park.

We were admitted to the park for free because we were over 62 and camping is half price with a Golden Eagle Pass, pretty nice of LA.

Downtown New Iberia is enchanting...we like it here.

One of the neatest parts of long term travel is no destination, finding spots like this that make you nwant to stay.

[itlives]

Norm and Ginny-
Yeah, it is a great place to visit in the winter or spring (if you miss the rains). I agree also with you on the food. It is GREAT!
I don't think the trip would be nearly as good in July/August!

I've live in Louisiana for 42 years and never been to New Orleans. I like going north when I leave town. Arkansas has cold-clear running streams (even in the summer) in the Ouachita National Forest where I camp.

(It was supposed to be a little tongue-in-cheek).

[honda03842]

I suspected you were kidding, afterall you live here.

We usually miss the bugs people complain about because we're usually traveling in the winter and home in the summer, though not this year.

Unfortunately coastal NH has mosquitos but fortunately thay spray weekly in the Summer.

I assume Arkansas has spring sourced waterways like MO and FL, very nice

Thanks for the response....