Have you seen the major tourist sites in your state?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Am I the only one who hasn't? I live in the state with the MIssissippi headwaters - in Itasca State Park. I've lived in this state for all but a couple of my 64 years and have not visited this until today - kind of pathetic in my opinion. Before I retired a couple years ago I made a list of things I wanted to do when I had free time after I retired. So I finally went to the park - beautiful sunny, 75 degree day - it was perfection. Drove the scenic drive, saw the headwaters, hiked in the old growth pine forest, had lunch, visited the historic lodge and bought a souvenir. Now that I've done this I need to pick my next destination.

Here’s the start of the Mississipi. The marshy lake is the headwaters and then it flows out into the marshy stream and on to the mighty Mississippi.

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Comments (26)

lisaam
2 years ago
glad you got out to see something on your lits. the pics are pretty. it seems very placid and surprisingly unassuming.
eld6161
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Lovely. So true to enjoy the places that peope come to your state to see.
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blfenton
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Cool. I will never see the source of the Mississippi so it's neat to see a picture of it. I've seen some things in my province but it's pretty big and goes a long way north.

ETA - I had mouth instead of source. As I was typing I was picturing the mouth of the Mississippi in connection with Hurricane Ida and thinking about the river flowing backwards during the storm.
LynnNM
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I’m glad that you’re finally seeing some, Katz. As for me, yes, I’ve seen many of the drop-dead beautiful and wonderful famous sites here in my New Mexico. Santa Fe and it’s ski area, museums, art galleries and restaurants. Ditto with Taos and Albuquerque and it’s wonderful historic Old Town; Elephant Butte Lake; our breathtaking Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (many times) and the Burning of Zozobra (Old Man Gloom - a giant puppet - in Ft. Marcy Park) every Fall in Santa Fe; Chaco Canyon; Acoma Pueblo/Sky City and other pueblos ; the Santuario de Chimayo; Los Alamos; our beautiful Sandia, Manzano, and Sangre de Cristo Mountains and others; our famous ex-ghost town now thriving artists’ mecca, Madrid (pronounced MAD-rid), where that great movie “Wild Hogs “ was filmed.

And, how could I have forgotten the incredible Carlsbad Caverns?!? I've been there many times and they are so worth visiting. Thanks SeattleMCM!
bpath
2 years ago
That’s not the mouth of the Mississippi, which is in Louisiana. It’s the source. Our mother took us there as part of trip when we visited her mother in Fargo.

We took the boys to Springfield IL and saw the Lincoln ”hot spots” (the museum is good), and the state fair. Thanks to school field trips I’ve been to most of the museums and zoos in Chicago, and thanks to DS working at Chicago Shakespeare Theater I’ve been there and to Navy Pier. Sometimes it takes out-of-town visitors to get us to things like boat cruises. I haven’t been downstate, haven’t been to historic Starved Rock. But I’ve taken my niece to Michael Jordan’s house to take her picture in front of the ”23” gates! And our ”movie tour” lol.
dedtired
2 years ago
Looks lovely, 2katz. I havent seen a lot of my state, Pennsylvania. Ive never even been to Pittsburgh. Ive never seen the Penn State campus. I havent seen Independence Hall (inside) since fourth grade. However, Ive visited most of the nooks and crannies in Philadelphia. Sometimes I feel more like I am a resident of the East Coast more than PA, since I have pretty well covered that. Now I better make a list! Ive wanted to see the frank Lloyd Wright homes in western PA for long time, so I guess I better get going.
Funkyart
2 years ago
Lovely, Katz.. I am a fan of Minnesota and would like to see more of the state. Enjoy your exploration!

I also live in PA and have been to a lot of state parks, museums, historical sites-- but there are so many! I have so many yet to go. I have seen/done a lot in the Philadelphia area extending both west and north. I have been to many (most?) attractions in Lancaster and Harrisburg. Ive been to Pittsburgh and spent some time in the Laurel Highland but have much more to see in the western and northern part of the state.

Ded, I can relate about feeling like you are a resident of the East Coast vs PA. One of the awesome things about our location is how easy it is to get to Boston, NYC, Baltimore, DC and points south.
Sueb20
2 years ago
Well, I live about 6 miles from Boston and I’ve never walked the Freedom Trail, but I’ve seen most of the other tourist draws, including all the museums. I’ve also lived about 3 miles from Mt Auburn Cemetery, which is a beautiful historic site, for 25 years, and never stepped foot inside the gates until 3 years ago. Now I go at least once every fall, when it’s at its prettiest IMO.

During the pandemic we have discovered sooo many outdoor walking areas/trails that we never knew about before!
Feathers11
2 years ago
Beautiful photos! I've never been to the source of the Mississippi. I'm in the Chicago area, and my experience is similar to Bpath's. When friends and family members visit, I get to cross sites off my list. I'd love to do one of Chicago's famed architectural tours. I have visited various destinations throughout the rest of Illinois (Springfield, Galena, Starved Rock).

I've even visited the Cahokia Mounds, a relatively overlooked National Historic Landmark that's "the largest and most complex archaeological site north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico," according to Wikipedia. I had to look that up because, although I've visited it several times, I often forget how significant it is.

One place in Illinois I have not visited, but which I've heard is beautiful, is the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.
cawaps
2 years ago
California is a huge state and everybody's list of must-sees is probably different. But I've been to Alcatraz, Yosemite, Pinnacles, Mt. Lassen, Lava Beds, Redwood National Park, Monterey Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Anza Borrego State Park, the La Brea tar pits, Venice Beach, the Getty Museum, Big Sur, Winchester Mystery House, Sutter's Mill, Haight-Ashbury, the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods, wine country, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Disneyland, and lots more sites that are only well known locally. It's certainly not exhaustive, but I've done an okay job, I think.

I haven't done Death Valley or Joshua Trees (I've seen Joshua trees but haven't done the national park).

I grew up in Washington State and my dad was a farmer so he tended to get only a few days off at a time during the summer. But he loved to travel, and we would pick a destination within a few hours drive to go camping for a few nights. We didn't go far, but there are very few places of interest within 4 hours of the house I grew up in where I haven't been.
Gooster
2 years ago
The headwaters look quite serene.

I had to look up a list of California's top attractions. I've been to almost all of them on the various list, but I've not been to the Channel Islands. I think I've also missed the Redwoods. @cawaps -- the missing one I see on your list is Sequoia/Kings Canyon.
cawaps
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I think I might have visited Sequoia when I was a kid, but I don't remember for sure. California has so many parks featuring redwoods, but I am pretty sure at some point I visited a park with giant sequoias, where most of the parks I've been more recently have coast redwoods.

My list of lesser attractions includes things like Columbia State Historic Park , Moaning Cave, Old Town San Diego, Fort Ross, soooooooo many missions (but not all, I don't think*), Sonoma State Historic Park, the Calistoga geyser, the petrified forest, Fort Ross, Jack London State Historic Park, the 17 mile drive in Carmel, Solvang, Castle Crags, McArthur-Burney Falls, the pedestrian suspension bridge in Redding, Point Reyes, Black Diamond Mines, Big Break Regional Park, at least 4 lighthouses, lots of tidepooling, the Clarksburg 4th of July parade, Fort Point, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Tam, Hotel del Coronado.

I haven't been to Hearst Castle. That's an omission. I also haven't been the the Channel Islands. Still, I feel I've done pretty well, and I'm not done yet.

*I checked the list of missions after I wrote this an I've only been to 5 or 6 of the 21 missions. It seems like more, because I've been to some of them multiple times.
msmeow
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
2Katz, I have been to Lake Itasca! Long time ago, but it looked the same. :)

I live in central Florida and I avoid the major tourist spots like the plague. Hate Disney, don’t care about Universal, and unwilling to shell out major bucks to visit SeaWorld.

Donna
User
2 years ago
New York is pretty big, but yes I've seen all the various areas. Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes, the Adirondacks, the Catskills, various areas of NYC and LI. They're all so different and all beautiful.
party_music50
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Beautiful photos! I'm also in NY and have seen most, but not all (still haven't seen Letchworth State Park!). The top recommendation on my list is Watkins Glen State Park! The beauty is breath-taking. I used to work with PhDs doing sabbatical research/grant projects and one asked me where he should take his family for sight-seeing while in NY. He was definitely going to NYC... and I told him Watkins Glen was the one place he must see. I received a glowing thank you card from him about a month after he left. :)
DLM2000-GW
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Hit many/most *Chicago* hot spots during my 60 years in IL - museums, Navy Pier, FLW home tours in Oak Park, Chicago Botanic Garden (which is in Glencoe 30ish miles north of the city), Grant Park, The Bean, Maggie Daley Park, The Hancock, Sears Tower, Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks games (nope never saw the Bulls), Lincoln Park and the zoo, Brookfield soo, the river architecture tours, Lake Michigan dinner cruises.... Been to Starved Rock, Galena, Woodstock, Wildlife Prairie Park, tons of quirky little towns along IL rivers, IL Amish areas and on and on. Somehow never made it to Springfield though which is really sad.

New state, new attractions. Been to Great Smokey Nat'l Park, Cataloochee to see the elk, The outer banks to see the wild horses, Dismal Swamp State Park, Merchants Millpond State Park (probably my favorite so far) but there is so much to see here and like IL it's a huge state, just horizontal instead of vertical. I have a DH who is not fond of cities, museums and prefers anything nature related but I will drag him kicking and screaming to Raleigh at some point or go on my own.
maire_cate
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Although my primary home has been in NJ for over 35 years we're only about 15 miles from Center City (Philadelphia). Both of us are originally from the Pittsburgh area where we attended college and we've spent countless hours on the PA Turnpike or our preferred Route 30 traveling back to see family. We even had a 2 day honeymoon in a historic hotel in Bedford, just off the turnpike. We've always owned property in upstate PA and honestly consider PA to be our home state. We're much more familiar with PA than NJ. DH went to med school here and his practice was in Bucks County. We'd move back across the Delaware but this is a closer to our kids.

One of our favorite activities in the fall is to take a Leaf Peeping trip around the state. The northern part of the state is about 10-14 days ahead of the lower part. We'll leave from our place in Pike County and take a slow, meandering drive west, stopping at various sites along the way. One year we stopped at the headwaters of the Allegheny River which surprisingly is just a tiny stream in a farm field on Cobb Hill but that is the northereasternmost drainage area of the Mississippi watershed. Eventually it joins the Monongahela River in Pgh forming the Ohio and then into the Mississippi.

We usually spend a few days visiting old friends in Potter county in NW PA before heading south toward Pgh. If we time it right we manage to catch peak foliage for most of the trip. We take our time and stop for the night in scenic areas like the Laurel Highlands and spend the final days in Gettysburg, Lancaster and Hersey.

Like dedtired - I haven't been to Independence Hall for decades, not since chaperoning my own children on class trips. My DS and DDIL have asked me to join them on some excursions this fall and they're looking at places for kids like the Zoo, the Franklin Institute, the Please Touch Museum. We had planned to include Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob on our fall trip last year but decided not to travel during Covid. Our visit to the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville is something that will remain with me. I haven't been to Penn State either and my son attended college not far from there.

Maire
Tina Marie
2 years ago
Beautiful pictures @2katz! Being avid "road-trippers", we have seen many of the sites in our beautiful state. However, the western part of the state isn't as appealing to us so I am sure there are sites there we have missed. We are in a little unincorporated city very close to three larger cities with one being a very touristy area. We have a view of the Smoky Mountains from our house and of course, there are all kinds of attractions, hiking trails, beautiful views, etc. in that area. We're blessed with several beautiful lakes within easy driving distance. Museums, former World's Fair site, revitalized downtown, in one of the nearby cities. There is Graceland (Elvis Pressley's home), The Hermitage (President Andrew Jackson's home), Nashville and all it has to offer, The Amercian Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge (where a national laboratory is located), Lookout Mt. and Ruby Falls (underground waterfall). We have not, but should, check out Beale Street.

A great idea to visit spots in your own state!
texanjana
2 years ago
Having lived most of my life in Texas, I have seen most of the attractions. These are the ones I have not been to yet, but am planning on visiting:

Palo Duro Canyon

Dallas Arboretum

Laredo

Orange-Shangri la Gardens, Stark Museum

Caddo Lake (so weird that neither DH or I have ever been-he grew up about 2 hours from it).
robo (z6a)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I live in a small province and enjoy road trips so I have seen almost all the tourist highlights!

I just looked at our top 25 destinations/activities according to tourism NS and have done all except:

* Tidal bore rafting

I've also never been on possibly our most famous piece of real estate: Oak Island.

Nova Scotia has six UNESCO world heritage sites and I've visited them all. We have two national parks that I've explored although not in depth (lots of backcountry which isn't my thing).

But there is a THIRD national park reserve - Sable Island - that is very remote and that I'd LOVE to visit!! Need a friend with a helicopter, though.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ns/sable/visit/directions
User
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
LynnNM - whenever somebody says to me "what should I see in New Mexico?", I'm like, do you have a month? there is so much to see! I often direct people to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands for their first trip.

I love the caverns because it's an easy paved walk, with an elevator out of there, so it's impressive w/o being challenging.

When people want to go to Santa Fe, obviously they need to see lots of SW art, but I make sure they include time to see their modern museums too, such as Meow Wolf:

As for my current home, Washington state. So much beauty to see. We're city / restaurant people, so whenever we want to take a road trip, we tend to choose Vancouver or Victoria BC, or anything that requires a ferry and ends up with a waterfront view. But of course we have some breathtaking mountains:

Or if you want to go full cheesy, I really love our fake German town, Leavenworth:
jill302
2 years ago
Another California girl. Yes, I have done most of it, although I first visited Lake Tahoe, Mammoth and Yosemite just this July.

The few places that I have not been that I would like to visit are Muir Woods, Lassen National Park and Death Valley. Hopefully within the next few years. The Clarksburg parade sounds interesting too
morz8 - Washington Coast
2 years ago
I thought I'd seen most, so just now looked up 'Top 25 Attractions Washington State'. 23 that I've been to, some several times. I have not traveled to the San Juans by seaplane so couldn't count that one - although I've been there by boat and ferry. One restaurant I've never been to and wasn't at all familiar with - How To Cook a Wolf - must not be as 'with it' as we thought ;0)
maddielee
2 years ago
We’ve been lucky to see many of the above mentioned sites. When I looked up the top 25 places in my state, Florida, we’ve only missed one. They must not have a good PR person because I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of it..

#20

The Stetson Mansion

https://www.stetsonmansion.com
gsciencechick
2 years ago
NC

Yes: Biltmore Estate, Asheville Breweries, NASCAR speedway

No: Outer Banks

SC

Yes: Historic Charleston, Downtown Greenville/Swamp Rabbit Trail, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head
msmeow
2 years ago
Maddielee, I haven’t heard of the Stetson Mansion, either!