Click ~ funadium

Where are we off to this time? To the likes of Oklahoma (35) ~ I don’t think about mountain ranges, when I think about Oklahoma, but it is home to several mountain ranges, including: Arbuckle Mountains, Oachita Mountains, Wichita Mountains and the Ozark Mountains. Never stopped in Oklahoma, but I have been through, when I went on that Greyhound Bus tour.

The photo on the left, calls to mind the legendary story of The Grapes of Wrath, with the rows and rows of vines changing colors at harvest time.

Click ~ Faith.Ammarie

Oregon (36) ~ has the Columbia River, Mount Hood, Willamette Valley and Crater Lake. Yes, I have visited this state, and took a day trip over to this quaint little town known as Ashland. They have a theater there, which is home to the acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival, since 1935. The festival wasn’t going at the time we visited, but we got to stroll the local shops in the area. The pretty picture at the right was taken at Lithia Park.

Click ~ Ivan S. Abrams

Moving on to another state that I actually stopped at on a couple of occasions. It’s the only state starting with the letter “P” and it’s known as Pennsylvania (37). This is the state where the Founding Fathers got together to create and sign the Declaration of Independence on, July 4, 1776, which will forever be known as Independence Day. It is also home to a symbol of freedom called the Liberty Bell.

The train at the left, is moving across the Mahoning Creek Bridge in Kittanning. It’s strikes a handsome fall picture.

Apparently, there are no states with the letter “Q”. Looks like Canada decided that they could accommodate that letter.

Click ~ K Spottswood

Rhode Island (38) ~ Another of the original Thirteen Colonies. It has more Dunkin’ Donuts than any other state. How about that?! Considering, it’s one of our smallest states, and another one that I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting.

The state consists of a number of islands, including: Aquidneck Island, Block Island, Conainicut Island, Prudence amongst others. Most of the state is located on the mainland of the United States. I had no idea it consisted of so many islands. I’m learning lots of new things on this trip.

A pretty picture perfect day, strolling down a wooded lane, imagining the smells, colors and sights of autumn…sigh.

I hope you’re enjoying the scenery with all the sites on our itinerary. Nothing is really planned on this trip, just putting up what strikes my fancy. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Now, if you’re just starting to join me and my little avatar, on our Rx tour, you can go back and check out where we’ve been:

• The Soft Glow of Autumn
• Picking Up the Pace
• What?! Leaves But No B’s!
• Leaf Peeping North to South
• G: Is for GollyGeeGorgeous Leaves…
• H: Is for Hoopin&Hollerin’ Leaves…
• I: Is for Irresistible Leaves Detour to Route 66 & Lincoln Highway
• J: Is for Jazzy Leaf Break
• M: Is for Magnificent Leaves States & I Got to Visit the White House
• N: Is for Notorious Leaves in Eight States & My Visit to New York City
• More Notorious Leaves in Eight States

My Leaf Rx From Seasons Past:

Some Little Leaf Ideas for Autumn:

Several of the states, have two names as opposed to the other states that have one. So what am I quibbling about? Am I saying that these states are not legitimate “N” states? Well, quite frankly, those states couldn’t stand alone as just Carolina, Dakota, Hampshire, Jersey or York! Oh, with the exception of one, and that’s Mexico. But the rest needed support and that’s what they got. Case closed! Let me get on with my leaf peeping!

Click ~ StGrundy

North Carolina (32) ~ This is a breathtaking view of contrasting colors in an area called Maggie Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains, a part of the Appalachian Mountains, which also include the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’ve never been, but I can see there are lots and lots of beautiful trees with leaves that fall. I’d like to keep looking, but I can’t dilly dally, I’ve got to move on. Next up…

… is a place in North Dakota (33) ~ called the Badlands, in a state I’ve never been. Such a stark contrast from the one above. Looking really rough and tough — including the leaves.

Click ~ Badlands

I read that there are areas called the National Grasslands, which are supposed to be a great place to catch the northern lights. I’ve caught a glimpse of them twice in my life, once in Illinois and again, to a lesser degree, of all places, California.

It appears that North Dakota has a lot of grass and some rough and tough mountain ranges, but not too many trees with leaves. Or was it that I couldn’t find a good picture. I’ll have to check other sources. Moving on to the last of the “N’s”…

Click ~ natureluv

… to a place where we find such a soft view compared to the one above, in another state
I’ve never been to before, called New Hampshire (34). It was one of the original thirteen states. The biggest lake in the state, is called Lake Winnipesaukee. Say that three times. Plus the state was home to this use to be anomaly.

Well that’s it for this group, it’s time to move on, because we still have several other states for, me and my little avatar, to see.

Now, if you’re just starting to join me and my little avatar, on our Rx tour, you can go back and check out where we’ve been:

• The Soft Glow of Autumn
• Picking Up the Pace
• What?! Leaves But No B’s!
• Leaf Peeping North to South
• G: Is for GollyGeeGorgeous Leaves…
• H: Is for Hoopin&Hollerin’ Leaves…
• I: Is for Irresistible Leaves Detour to Route 66 & Lincoln Highway
• J: Is for Jazzy Leaf Break
• M: Is for Magnificent Leaves States & I Got to Visit the White House
• N: Is for Notorious Leaves in Eight States & My Visit to New York City
  

My Leaf Rx From Seasons Past:

Two Little Leaf Ideas:

Preserved Gardens: Pressed Leaf Instructions
Garden Guides: Autumn Leaf Crafts

Click ~ K0GMB

Nebraska (27) ~ a state that I’ve driven through, but never really stopped to check out. I know about Nebraska from the work they do at a place called Girls & Boys Town that used to be an orphanage for boys, but now helps at-risk-children. It was founded by Father, Edward J. Flanagan. There was a movie, starring, Spencer Tracey as the priest, and Mickey Rooney, as an orphaned boy.

Oh by the way, does anyone know what those fuzzy little plants are called in the photo on the right, above? I love the way they seem to bask in the orange glow of the setting sun. I look at those and they remind me of having fun with them when I was a child. It’s neat the angle the photographer took the photo — looks like the vantage point of a child. Click the photo and be transported back to being a child again. Lovely photo.

Click ~ walking along

Nevada (28) ~ is a state that has trees, but not many. So I found this interesting spot called the Black Rock plaza, where the ground was ablaze in fall activities. The state is also the location of a place that has an unofficial but well known name of, Loss Wages, Nevada, besides others. It also is home to a place called Area 51.

And if you’re wondering, have I been there before? Yes, I have and I’ve played the slots, but not with kids — just a little. I didn’t find any fun in feeding the slots or gorging on mountains of food. I’d rather sit and play Monopoly with my family, which is what we actually ended up doing the last time going there, back in the, supposedly, families with kids friendly days.

Click ~ wynd

New Jersey (29) ~ is a state that I have visited and actually stayed there, while visiting one of my brothers, who used to live there. What I remember, was that it was very green ~ it’s known as the “Garden State”. It also has a place on the Alantic Ocean, where you can feed the slots, called what else, Atlantic City, which was the inspiration for my favorite board game, Monopoly. It was, supposedly, had been created by, Charles Darrow, but maybe not.

Click ~ jwoodphoto

New Mexico (30) ~ is a state that I’ve driven through, while riding a Greyhound bus in the middle of the night. So I didn’t actually get to see what the state looked like, but I know they have some great adobe architecture, a city called Santa Fe, that’s supposed to have great atmospheric lighting, a little town called Taos, and a place with white sand.

Now, we’re getting ready to make a big shift moving back up towards the east coast where there’s heavier populated areas, like:

Click ~ Lida Rose

New York (31) ~ The Adirondacks is where the photo shows, a place that I’ve highlighted before on other tours. Never been there, but I’d like to check it out, because they’ve got a lot of fabulous trees with leaves.

However, I have been to, New York City, and what a wacky and wild place it was, to a small town girl like me, or I suppose, probably to most people. My sister and I took a Greyhound bus trip there to visit my brother who lived in Morristown, New Jersey, at the time. This was back around circa 1967 or ‘68.

Our luggage was put on another bus, which meant we had to wait around the station all day. The place we arrived at looked like this place. I’m thinking maybe they had Greyhound bus connections there too at the time. Anyway, when 5:00 p.m. hit, there were these throngs of people that could have trampled us, if we hadn’t moved out of the way. We were experiencing the commuters “rush hour” home traffic.

We didn’t get to go to the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center was still being built. We got to ride with a New York “cabbie”. They had reputations of being coarse, but the one we had was a real sweetie, speaking with a Brooklyn, accent, I think.

Click photo ~ Wikipedia

We saw Times Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue, and we rode over the Brooklyn Bridge. We went to Jones Beach and ate at a swanky restaurant there. But the highlight of our trip, other than seeing my brother, was actually taking a ferry boat out to see the Statue of Liberty, where we actually got to climb up to the top. I was surprised at how small it was in there. But it was worth the effort to see the landmark that greeted and still greets visitors and new citizens to this country, who used to be processed at Ellis Island. As we were leaving, we stopped to eat a kraut dog from one of the push cart vendors at Battery Park. Ummmm — delish!

I went with one of my older sisters (I have three and two brothers with one who’s past on), and we stayed in a place called the Barbizon Hotel. It was an all women hotel back then, where actresses and models would stay. I found it from an ad in a magazine I’d read, called Seventeen. The bathrooms were communal, which was not a problem — they were clean. What I remember most about staying there were the beds. It was like sleeping in a fluffy cloud. They had the fluffiest down mattresses on those beds. Plus, they had a little cozy cafe downstairs that fixed a really good affordable breakfast.

New York is a place I like to visit, but it would be too much for me to live there. I’m talking about serious overload! However, I would like to visit there again one day.

Click ~ Wikipedia

It’s also where the place, called, Wall Street, is located, and is at the center of the financial crisis, also known as the “credit crunch”, that is going on today in our country. The politicians have decided on a Bail-out plan. Hopefully, it will include holding those accountable, who were the prime instigators of this mess. I just got news that the “Plan” has failed in Congress. We don’t know where all this leads, but I do know we all may need to spend some time at a place like the Adirondacks, after dealing with this debacle.

This article is getting rather long, so I’ve decided to break it off right here. These are the first five of the eight states starting with the letter “N”. I’ll leave it up for a few days. Afterwards, on October 1st, I’ll continue on with my Leaf Rx Remedy Tour. Come back to join me then. Plus you’re always welcome to chime in.

Now, if you’re just starting to join me and my little avatar, on our Rx tour, you can go back and check out where we’ve been:

• The Soft Glow of Autumn
• Picking Up the Pace
• What?! Leaves But No B’s!
• Leaf Peeping North to South
• G: Is for GollyGeeGorgeous Leaves…
• H: Is for Hoopin&Hollerin’ Leaves…
• I: Is for Irresistible Leaves Detour to Route 66 & Lincoln Highway
• J: Is for Jazzy Leaf Break
• M: Is for Magnificent Leaves States & I Got to Visit the White House
  

My Leaf Rx From Seasons Past:

Click ~ eightylbs ~ Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana

Will you look at this!  I totally leaped over the state of Louisiana (18). Here again is an example of the Founding Fathers just not too enthused about using certain letters.  But “L” is being represented, so who’s arguing.  This post is out of order, but that’s all right — it’s the blogosphere.

And look at that swamp will ya’! There may be a number of big lizards floating around in those mirky waters. It looks like the Creature of the Black Lagoon might be hanging out there, but this place has it’s own story of a creepy inhabitant, called the Honey Island Swamp Monster! Oh no!!! That’s what some of the folks around these parts say, and others say not so.   Anyway, it is an example of autumn… shriek… gulp! Let me move on to others…

Click ~ Mr. Greenjeans ~ Louisiana

…this is more like it.  Look at the luscious contrasting colors of the leaves against the backdrop of the green grass, and then add the luscious sunset down by the Bayou.  Since I forgot to put this state up before the “M’s”, I just have to make up by having three photos.  They don’t have many examples of fall color, probably due to the humidity factor down there, but the specimens above and below are both oh so loverly.

Click ~ eightylbs ~ Louisiana Bayou

While here, I wanted to check to see how things are faring in New Orleans since  the Hurricane Katrina devastation.  That was some disaster, but things are slowly improving.  Hopefully they have learned some preventive methods to keep something like that from happening again.

I haven’t been to the “The Big Easy”, but what about you?

This Year’s Journey to Sooth the Frazzled Senses:

• The Soft Glow of Autumn
• Picking Up the Pace
• What?! Leaves But No B’s!
• Leaf Peeping North to South
• G: Is for GollyGeeGorgeous Leaves…
• H: Is for Hoopin&Hollerin’ Leaves…
• I: Is for Irresistible Leaves Detour to Route 66 & Lincoln Highway
• J: Is for Jazzy Leaf Break
• M: Is for Magnificent Leaves States

My Leaf Rx From Seasons Past:

Click ~ pfly ~ Maine

Starting with the letter “M”, there happens to be seven all together, and I’m going to put them all in one post to discover what’s so marvelous about the leaf peeping in these states.

Maine (19) ~ Is one of those states on the east coast that is synonymous with leaf peeping. I found out that this state is the largest blueberry producer in the world. Ummmm good…making me hungry…

Click ~ Baab1 ~ Maryland

Maryland (20) ~ The rain is making these leaves look so vibrant. Lots of rich, rich colors. What a pretty pallet.

I can’t talk about Maryland without discussing Washington D.C., which is located physically in the state, but not actually part of it. It’s sort of like “being in the world, but not of it”. Knowing a little about history and social studies, reminds me that it’s the capital of the United States as a whole, and therefore remains a separate entity.

I actually got to visit the state and Washington D. C. for my senior class trip.  It was the farthest I had been away from home on my own.  Definitely one of those “pinch yourself” moments, to actually have been where the country is run. My family was able to scrape together the funds to get me there. That was a really nice thing for my parents to do.

Click ~ Washington Monument

We visited the Lincoln Memorial, climbed to the top of the Washington Monument (a lot of hard work), went to Arlington National Cemetery to visit, former President, John F. Kennedy’s gravesite, and of course, we actually got to tour a few roped off spaces at the White House.

Also, on our itinerary, was a chance to take a group picture and go into the Capitol Building (where they’ve been putting together the Bail-out Plan), a visit to Gettysburg, and to Mount Vernon, the home and burial grounds of the first President of the United States, George Washington and his wife, Martha. It was quite frankly, a trip that I hadn’t anticipated, and turned out to be the highlight of all my years in public school.

Click ~ digitant ~ Mass.

Massachusetts (21) ~ If one wants trees with leaves that fall, well this state definitely has them. The striking specimens to the left would be a fine example. It’s actually in a place called Newburyport. The state recently finished building the so called “Big Dig” in Boston.

The “M” states are definitely helping to quell me and my little avatar to get through autumn in fine style.

Click ~ LindaB ~ Mich.

Moving on to Michigan (22) ~ Autumn overlooking Lake Superior as opposed to Lake Michigan, which borders the state at some point. For whatever reason, the Forefathers, really liked using the letter “M”. This was close to Illinois, so I did get to venture over that way on a few occasions.

Click ~ JoanMN ~ Minn.

Minnesota (25) ~ Moose Lake State Park — It looks like a small island, but I’m not sure that it is.

Matter of fact, Minnesota has lots and lots of lakes, it’s nickname is “The Land of 10,000 Lakes” and yes, I’ve visited this state. My husband and I stopped there overnight on the way back to California.

Click ~ Roger Smith ~ Miss.

Mississippi (24) ~ Is one of those words that would show up on spelling tests from time to time. The way I learned to spell it was by saying this little ditty: “M — I– crooked letter, crooked letter — I — crooked letter, crooked letter — I — humpback, humpback — I” — Phew! Did anyone else learn to spell it like that? As far as trees go, pine trees are predominant in the state. I like pine trees a lot, too. They smell good and have a lot of uses.

Also, the first of the presidential debates is slated to be held this Friday, the 26th of September, 2008, at “Ole Miss”. That is, if both cadidates show up. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Click ~ bitterroot ~ Mont.

Montana (26) ~ Is another one of those wide open country states. Another state that I have only seen from pictures, but never set foot in the state. This one on the left has lovely contrasting colors. I understand that this is where Glacier National Park is located.

Has anyone been to any of the “M” states leaf peeping or otherwise? Well, that’s it for them on this leaf tour. I’m moving on…

This Year’s Journey to Sooth the Frazzled Senses:

• The Soft Glow of Autumn
• Picking Up the Pace
• What?! Leaves But No B’s!
• Leaf Peeping North to South
• G: Is for GollyGeeGorgeous Leaves…
• H: Is for Hoopin&Hollerin’ Leaves…
• I: Is for Irresistible Leaves Detour to Route 66 & Lincoln Highway
• J: Is for Jazzy Leaf Break

My Leaf Rx From Seasons Past:

• Falling Into Fall
• The Colors of the Seasons

Update:  Very lively debate at the Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, last night.

Leave a Reply