We stopped in Paducah on a roadtrip as well. I think I love the eastern half of KY much more than the western half. The countryside can’t be beat. Rolling pastureland trimmed with clapboard fencing … it has a softness to its light and color. ❤
Lots of fun book recs here! I kept thinking you were going to say Where the Red Fern Grows because so many people say that for OK. 😂 I should have known better. The other book they say is The Outsiders, which it sounds like you saw that side of Tulsa. 😂After living in different states and going to many cities(lived in Virginia, Texas, and Southern California), Tulsa is one of my favorite cities in the world! I under appreciated it until I lived elsewhere. It’s amazing how you see things with new eyes after seeing more of America.Amazing parks, gorgeous art museums, the arts scene(renowned ballet and opera companies), the gardens, the mansions, cherry street, Utica Square, I could go on. If you go back skip the nasty areas(there are many crime area nasty parts😢). Also, agree about New Mexico. Yuck….until I went to Santa Fe. That redeems the rest of the state!
Oh, Where the Red Fern Grows! 😭 I honestly had forgotten that was set in OK. But such a good book. If pressed, I would have thought it was set in Missouri or Arkansas. I've not read The Outsiders yet, although I want to. I will have to visit Tulsa again. Yes, I think we happened to be in the more seedy part. Definitely sketch. 😬
This is a REALLY neat video, Anne. Many of these books I've not heard of nor read, but I did think Caroline was very well written. I need to read A Cup of Dust. It sounds right up my alley. I'm looking forward to knowing which number will be Idaho. 😊
That whole trilogy by Finkbeiner was very good but the first book was the best. Such a fantastic coming-of-age story plus the whole dust bowl setting. A bit hard to read at times, but good!
I just spent about two weeks in Arkansas and I love it so much. I would like to move there. I visited several state parks (Petit Jean is my favorite). Also Hot Springs and some nice places along different rivers. And of course I'm from SC, so I quite like it. We have some beautiful places. And Kentucky is the horse place in my mind. The Kentucky Horse Park is pretty great and Lexington is beautiful. Sorry for so many comments, but it was easier to comment as I listened.
Yes, I do think of Kentucky as a horse place but I haven't actually visited the horse tourist places there so it's not a personal association for me. We all really loved Hot Springs so much. Such a beautiful area and I could totally live there. Even the storm was magnificent. 😁 I love all your comments! Keep 'em coming!
Visiting all 50 states is my bucket list goal, though I still have a long way to go (I'm at 28, I think). I was surprised Iowa was as high on the list as it was, considering it's mostly farmland. But if you like small towns with a nice downtown, I would recommend looking into Pella if you ever go through Iowa again. I've only been there once, but it's a Dutch town that has a tulip festival every year and I loved their downtown shops.
Yes! The good thing for you is you are a lot closer to it than I am. 😆 But still not very close, i know. But that's where I was 3 years ago - with those exact three states left. 2021 (or was it 22) we went to Hawaii, 2023 Alaska and then this year ND.
I am from I-oh-WAY.... We LOVE Casey, Illinois! Good food, too. I've been to most of the ones you mentioned--not Delaware or Washington, though. I'm missing three of the four corners plus our non-contiguous states
@@KAZHE63 I've never read that one, but I definitely was finding all kinds of books I WANT to read when I was looking up books for this video. But I was very careful to include only books I'd actually read.
@@insearchofwonderOh, gosh~ add it for this fall or winter! It’s like non-fiction, a novel, and history all rolled in to one. Way better than the movie!
Go for it! Even though I forgot it was set in the Revolutionary War rather than the Civil War. 🤦♀️The scene where she watches a battle raging at Fort Sumter from her rooftop is unforgettable.
@@insearchofwonder You did correct yourself in the video about which war it was. However, you did get wrong that it was Fort Sumter, which wasn't built until after the War of 1812. I'm interested in war novels, but the further you go back in history, the fewer novels there are about any particular war. I think _Drums Along the Mohawk_ may be the best novel about the American Revolution (although I haven't read it yet) because it was in the running for the Pulitzer Prize but lost out to _Gone with the Wind._
@@bigscarysteve Ah then maybe the fort that was there before Fort Sumter? I have never read Drums Along the Mohawk. I honestly don't generally love war or spy novels, but there are a few that stick out to me.
I've been in Utah recently (I've been there before) and the mountains really mess with my mind. A lot of them seem like they're fake and my mind is just filling in empty space. It's so strange. But I also went to Arches and it's so peaceful.
I've not been to Utah recently. I admit I don't have a strong desire to go there again because mostly I remember being a little scared driving through the mountains. 😆 We have baby mountains here on the East Coast. 😆
I've not been to the Wichita Reserve. I didn't mention it in the video but we also went to the town - forget the name - where the Pioneer Woman lives and the ranches her family owns. Beautiful country there and really cute downtown.
I visited Mississippi while traveling this year and really enjoyed the part I was in. It had a great state park with some fun hiking. How large is your family?
My mom is from Louisiana. I haven't been there in a very long time though. Well, that's not true, I drove through and spent one night last year. Out of the Easy is a good one set there.
My sister-in-law is from Louisiana and she loves New Orleans. It's definitely a very special and unique culture there, and I can appreciate that. I know - I really want to read Out of the Easy!
LOL it might have something to do with a roach experience at a hotel in Georgia a few years back. 😆😆😆 Of course, that could happen in ANY state, but for me it happened in Georgia and that fact is indelibly printed on my memory forever. 😆😆😆 But Tybee Island and Savannah are beautiful and I love both those places!
@insearchofwonder we visited the site when we visited Iowa so that's probably why it comes to mind quickly. I always think Indiana when I think of Music Man just because of one song 😅
I think 9/10 of the country (world) thinks the whole of WA is like Seattle when 3/4 of the state across the Cascades is sunshine, farmlands, rivers, canyons and orchards with some high desert in there too.
@@insearchofwonder I grew up on a ranch & hobby farm/orchard in eastern Washington. Most of my husband’s family is on the Olympic peninsula (Forks) and we have traveled back and forth between the two sides more times than I can remember. There isn’t anywhere quite like it. Maine’s coastline comes close to what the peninsula has but inland Maine is much more densely wooded. I’m partial, but I adore Washington.
I'm sure almost every state (except the ones I have more significant ties to) has much more to offer than the parts I was able to see. Probably if I spent more time in these lower-half states, they'd go up the ranks some. But then again.... somebody has to be at the bottom!
😂 well, it sounds like you really didn’t do much in Montana because Yellowstone is 97% in Wyoming! (Including old faithful) the north and west “gateways” into Yellowstone are in Montana and that is about all.
@@novelideea according to my siblings, when I was a young teen, we did spend some time in Montana. But nothing there sticks out to me other than Yellowstone and I already had memories of Wyoming to mention. So Yellowstone went to Montana. Honestly for me the landscape of those northwestern states really blurs together for me. I certainly wouldn't mind going back to Montana and Wyoming and Colorado!
@@insearchofwonder I would say Glacier National park or Bozeman/ Livingston (paradise valley) or even Whitefish/ Flathead would give you a better feel for Montana.
