Vermont

Year of First Visit – 2015
Point of Entry – Vermont 279 at the New York border


It was a getaway weekend.  I was in my doctoral studies and had exactly one weekend off between August and Christmas.  We loaded up the van and hit the road right after school in Friday night making it to Albany before bedtime.

Saturday was for Vermont.

It was about a week after peak color, but that still leaves a sight to behold.  Our plan was to drive from Albany to Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park to do some exploring.  We enjoyed the leisurely drive and the Vermont scenery.



The park itself was fascinating.  Through three owners, this property was the epicenter of the emerging environmental sensitivity and restoration that we take for granted today.  This was site was why these things are deep in Vermont's DNA.

We left the park in the early afternoon, driving out on a different route than the way we came in.  I got a lovely taste of Vermont and hope to go back for more.

Wyoming

Year of First Visit – 2007
Point of Entry – US-89 at the Montana line in Yellowstone National Park


I hadn't really planned to go to Wyoming as I always pictured it as a place without much of anything to see.  I was wrong.

Most of my time in Wyoming was spent on a trip that included about 4 days in Yellowstone National Park followed by about a day and a half in Grand Teton National Park.

A couple years later we spent time at Fort Laramie and at Devils Tower (with a very long drive in between).

My memories of the state are pretty much limited to those federal lands within it.

Wisconsin

Year of First Visit – 1978
Point of Entry – US-41 in Marinette


"Is it West Consin or Wisconsin?" is the question I would ask my 5th graders in Texas when we were learning the 50 states song.  For many of those students, English was not their native language so enunciation within a song was a part of learning at a different level.

I first entered Wisconsin when we were taking my brother to college in Iowa.  We had always gone south around Lake Michigan with the town of Standish being a signal point that we were getting somewhere.  That day we caravanned across US-2 through Michigan's Upper Peninsula and crossed into Wisconsin in time for lunch. My brother looked at the map and exclaimed, "We've been traveling all day and we're still not south of Standish!"

Another time, I was relatively new at driving I powered our brand new Oldsmobile down I-43 and I saw my first 65 MPH speed limit sign; they hadn't gone up yet in Michigan after the partial repeal of the nationwide 55 law.  A little ways down the road, I saw a sign that said, "Milwaukee 65" making the city an hour away.  The speed limit slowed to 55 around Sheboygan where I saw a sign saying "Milwaukee 55" making the city still an hour away.

We were dining at a former Sambos in Menominee Falls, the waitress stopped by the table to let us know that the tornado sirens had sounded and if we felt the need we were welcome to com into the restaurant's coolers.  We turned to watch the darkness and rain strengthen to the point that we couldn't see our car parked only a few feet away. 

I have many less intriguing memories of Wisconsin.  One brother lived in the Milwaukee area so visits there were a part of my regular summer travels as a teen.  Another brother live near Green Bay during my college and early career years so I had a few visits there as well.  I've traveled in, through, and round the state from the Apostle Islands to the Illinois and Iowa lines.

I was on a Southwest Airlines flight that stopped in Milwaukee on their inaugural day flying there.  The pilot was excited and invited those of us who were continuing west to get off the plane and see the airport.  He was quite surprised that I skipped the opportunity and stayed on the plane.

That sort of summarized my experience with Wisconsin.  I'm glad to go.  I'm glad to be there.  But I'm not quite as excited as those I'm with and it's not too long until I'm ready to move on.

West Virginia

Year of First Visit – 1998
Point of Entry – US 340 near Harper's Ferry


My first glimpse of West Virginia was out the window of a Suburban full of youth workers heading to Nashville for a Youth Specialties Conference.  It was mid-November and as we rounded the bend along the Potomac and Shenandoah river confluence, I saw what looked like a Christmas village being set up and waiting for the lights and frocking.

The intrigue brought me back to Harper's Ferry several times in spring, summer, and fall.  It's a quick trip from home and a quick trip back in time among a stunning blend of natural and man-made beauty.

I've had a couple of "drive through" trips in West Virginia where I could enjoy the scenery, like on our road trip that led us to Monmouth Cave that included a night in Charleston.  Or that drive west on I-70 through the Wheeling.

Beyond the drives, we spend a day or two at New River Gorge.  It was quite the blend of technologies, cultures, and time periods all living in both harmony and conflict simultaneously.

Fascinating.

Wild.

Wonderful.

Washington

Year of First Visit – 2007
Point of Entry – Spokane International Airport (GEG)


You may notice a gap in entries since Virginia.  What to write about Washington has been quite a puzzle.  Then life happened but I've been meaning to get back to this project.  I need to finish up this alphabetical list then go back and fill in the states I've visited in the past five years.

That actually fits a bit of my experience with Washington.  My initial experience was to land in Spokane as a launch point for a road trip to Montana and Wyoming the spend the night there before our return flight.  We meant to spend the afternoon in Spokane but only really went to the Best Western.

Perhaps later.

A couple years after that we flew into Seattle for a Pacific Coast vacation.  We spent time at Mount Rainier.  It left a deep impression and is a place I would to spend some serious time.

Someday, maybe.


From there, it was Mt. St. Helens.  Wow.  Just Wow.  I had been fascinated with the place since it erupted when I was in 4th grade.  It was utterly mesmerizing.  We didn't plan enough time to take in all that we wanted to do and it sits at the top of our places that we want to go back and explore.

Sooner or later.

We loved our morning at the mouth of the Columbia River.  We had to leave before the kids could turn in their Junior Ranger folders and they somehow got lost on the trip home.

When we get back there . . .




Olympic National Park was a delight.  So much to see and do and so many extremely different settings.  We weren't able to get to some of the key locations.  We also saw the dams the summer before they were removed.

We'll have to finish it up.

Bryce's school orientation was scheduled after we planned the trip so he and I went home before the ladies.  When we went home, they spent the day exploring Seattle around the Space Needle.

Next time.

Washington is filled with wonderful memories and experiences.  Getting back there to finish them up, though, has taken longer than coming up with this post.  Hopefully, I will eventually get back there like I finally did to this blog.

Virginia

Year of First Visit – 1998

Point of Entry – I-81 near Bristol

Many of my memories of Virginia start include heavy traffic.  Most trips in and out of Virginia, and there have been many, involve severe traffic in the Northern Virginia DC suburbs continuing down I-95 past Fredericksburg.

Trying to write about Virginia memories is a lot like trying to negotiate that traffic.  I have so many memories coming at me from so many different directions that they jam up when I try to put some order to them.

Like driving Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and going deep into Luray Caverns.  Or spending a couple of Spring Break days in Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.  Or a stress-relieving day trip to Washington's Birthplace and another one at his Mt. Vernon estate.

Plus spending five years on staff at summer youth camp followed by another eight years of dropping kids off and picking them up a week later.

And what about the chance I had in July of 2001 to spend time in the control tower at Dulles or riding the subway to take a friend to National Airport on September 10 of that same year?

Then there's the VA in Delmarva walking through the fence from Maryland on Assateague and the wildlife refuge on Chincoteague or the cool drive on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.

Plus there were so many church meetings (including training, staff meetings, conferences, business meetings, reunions) in Springfield and Stafford and Hampton and Chester that I couldn't begin to sort them out.

Yes, memories of the commonwealth are thick.  Whether it's a vacation destination or that less-than-a-mile trip through the state on US-340 between Maryland and West Virginia, Virginia promises to jam up more memories on each trip.

Utah

Year of First Visit – 1995

Point of Entry – I-15 near St. George

There's probably no state more different from where I live than the state of Utah. Yet there is probably no place (besides places that I've lived) where I feel more at home.

The bulk of my Utah time has been spent in the Southwest corner of the state. Zion National Park is in my top 5 favorite places on the planet (others include Yosemite, Manhattan, San Francisco, and Disney World). And, depending on my mood, it usually ranks #1. I have days that I long to return and absorb all that it is.

Bryce Canyon is a treat, too, especially with my eldest being named Bryce. My kids think Knab was the model for “Peach Springs” in the movie “Cars.” The beautiful waters of Lake Powell set me to dreaming of houseboating there.

And though I'd like to explore much more of the state, like the northern mountains and the LDS Geneology Library, pulling off I-15 at highway 9 near Hurricane makes me feel like I've finally arrived home again.