First thing you think of for each state (farms, cities)

[mjlo]

Alright everybody time to get back to the thread theme.

[pikabike]

I’m excluding states that I passed through but did not experience other than that because otherwise they would be impressions such as “Alabama: I-10.” I don’t want to imply that’s all those states are. I just didn’t do much in them except pass through.

The states where something other than the highway made an impression:

Alaska: Enormous raw natural beauty: bald eagles galore; gunmetal blue-gray skies and sea.
Arizona: Saguaro and organ pipe cacti.
California: The faint but tantalizing perfume of oranges and moister (but not humid) air as I drove up from the Mojave Desert and west over the mountains.
Colorado: The Rocky Mountains.
Connecticut: Insurance companies.
DC: The FBI Museum.
Florida: Humid heat and year-‘round greenery.
Georgia: The Tybee Triangle; brilliant stars looking east over the ocean, in an exceptionally cold winter.
Hawaii: Volcanoes!
Idaho: A sudden violent, frigid hailstorm pouring down while hiking in Craters of the Moon.
Louisiana: Cypress “knees” jutting up from swamps.
Maine: Rocky shoreline and cold ocean; dense forests thick with biting, flying insects.
Massachusetts: The arm—you know, the curled arm that gives the state its distinctive shape.
Montana: Big sky, seriously, just like the nickname.
Nevada: Great expanses of sagebrush on the Great Basin Desert, threaded with brown lines of mountains running north-south.
New Hampshire: The White Mountains.
New Jersey: The rest stop where my parents’ little VW Bug was parked, suddenly coming alive with what I thought was popcorn raining down and bouncing on the asphalt! First hail I ever saw.
New Mexico: Blueblueblue sky with red dirt, and chili both red and green; adobe.
New York: NYC (sorry, it is where my parents took us first as young kids)
North Carolina: The Outer Banks.
Oregon: Dry brown Great Basin Desert giving over to deep, dark, damp evergreen forests heading west from The Dalles.
Rhode Island: Pawtucket; mills.
South Carolina: Walled communities (Hilton Head area).
South Dakota: Uncrowded, mellow trails in the Custer State Park/Black Hills area; looooong Rail Trails.
Tennessee: The Smoky Mountains; kudzu at Natchez Trace State Park.
Texas: The big change from lush, moist greenery to dry, flat Permian Basin (and pumpjacks all over, plunging up and down), to isolated mountain clusters.
Utah: Mountains right next to the big city.
Vermont: Green-ensconced, steep, winding roads; old-fashioned country fairs (this was a long time ago).
Washington: Wet and always green on the west side; the everpresent influence of the sea anywhere in the state.
Wyoming: The daggerlike Grand Tetons poking up from a flat matrix. WIND, WIND, WIND!

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by jennifat

Coastalites in general don't really think about anything west of the Appalachians or east of the Sierra Nevada, frankly.

You stole my thunder lol . Agree 100%.

[Foamposite]

Originally Posted by jennifat

Coastalites in general don't really think about anything west of the Appalachians or east of the Sierra Nevada, frankly.

I'm in New York and people here talk about Texas all the tine

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by Foamposite

I'm in New York and people here talk about Texas all the tine

The poster was referring to the Midwest (outside of Chicago), not the South. The Midwest is constantly joked on, dissed, dismissed and disrespected by a lot of your folks on the Coasts as if there's no civilization in these states.

[FalstaffBlues]

Alabama - College Football
Alaska - Oil
Arizona - Desert
Arkansas - Ozarks
California - Lots of things
Colorado - South Park
Connecticut - Jim worked there in season 3
Delaware - Bankruptcies
Florida - Spring Training
Georgia - New Brunswick Stew
Hawaii - Paradise
Idaho - Potatos
Illinois - Corn/Beans
Indiana - the 500
Iowa - The caucus
Kansas - Aviation
Kentucky - Bourbon
Louisiana - Cracklin
Maine - Lobster
Maryland - Baltimore and its potential
Massachusetts - Just the worst
Michigan - Cars and Cereal
Minnesota - Lakes and giant insects
Mississippi - William Faulkner
Missouri - The state without an indentity
Montana - Copper mines
Nebraska - Omaha Steaks
Nevada - Useless heap of rocks
New Hampshire - Conservative New Englanders
New Jersey - Way underrated/Tomatoes
New Mexico - Ugh the west is all the same, arid and rocks.
New York - NYC
North Carolina - Duke v. UNC and Tobacco
North Dakota - fracking
Ohio - Automotive OEM
Oklahoma - Tornadoes
Oregon - State created to exclude AAs
Penn - Two great cities separated by beautiful country
Rhode Island - Italian Food
South Carolina - Birthplace of the confederacy
South Dakota - Pine Ridge
Tennessee - BBQ, the blues, birthplace of rock n roll and country. Memphis > Nashvile.
Texas - Lots of stuff
Utah - Mormons and constantly being told how great their snow is as if anyone gives af
Vermont - Syrup
Virginia - Powerhouse of the confederacy
Washington - Amazon
West Virginia - Coal
Wisconsin - Cheese
Wyoming - smallest population

[knke0204]

I guess I'll do this.. I probably did this years ago, but here I go..

Alabama - Roll Tide
Alaska - Beautiful
Arizona - Desert, Nature
Arkansas - Nothing
California - Great state
Colorado - Mountains, weed, active people
Connecticut - Rich Manhattan-working people
Delaware - 1st state
Florida - Sunshine
Georgia - South, ATL
Hawaii - Paradise
Idaho - Mountains
Illinois - Chicago
Indiana - Basketball
Iowa - Good people
Kansas - Middle-America
Kentucky - Calapari
Louisiana - NO
Maine - Lobster and lumer
Maryland - Baltimore and crab cakes
Massachusetts - Boston
Michigan - Minnesota's Twin
Minnesota - The best state in the country, hands down, fight me.
Mississippi - ?
Missouri - Kansas City BBQ
Montana - Beautiful
Nebraska - Omaha and football
Nevada - Vegas and Reno
New Hampshire - ?
New Jersey - Sopranos
New Mexico - Breaking Bad
New York - NYC
North Carolina - Duke v. UNC and Tobacco
North Dakota - NDSU
Ohio - Midwest and East in one
Oklahoma - OKC
Oregon - Prefontaine
Penn - Philly, Pittsburgh
Rhode Island - ?
South Carolina - Beaches
South Dakota - Mount Rushmore
Tennessee - Nashville
Texas - Big state
Utah - Mormons
Vermont - ?
Virginia - DC
Washington - Pac NW
West Virginia - Randy Moss
Wisconsin - The worst state ever
Wyoming - beautiful

I had fun with this, don't get offended.

[VA All Day]

Alabama – Bama football
Alaska – eskimos riding around in snowmobiles
Arizona - desert
Arkansas – Bill Clinton
California –LA/the Bay
Colorado – the Rockies (mountains, not baseball)
Connecticut – hedge fund managers
Delaware – best rest stop in the land
Florida – Miami/Disney World
Georgia – brothers on the DL
Hawaii – island resort paradise
Idaho – Napoleon Dynamite
Illinois - Chicago
Indiana - hicks
Iowa – whitest place ever
Kansas – Richard Christy
Kentucky – the Derby
Louisiana – New Orleans
Maine - lobster
Maryland – obnoxious people with chips implanted in shoulders
Massachusetts – the most obnoxious people
Michigan - Detroit
Minnesota – passive-aggressiveness with dreadful accents
Mississippi – crushing poverty
Missouri – odd sense of exceptionalism
Montana – lots of wide open space
Nebraska – Hype Gotti
Nevada - Vegas
New Hampshire – bigger lobsters than Maine according to some guy I talked to in Boston 20 years ago
New Jersey – the Sopranos
New Mexico – Breaking Bad
New York – 4/5 boroughs
North Carolina – college basketball
North Dakota – Fargo (the movie), even though much of it took place elsewhere
Ohio – deindustrialization and its crippling economic effects
Oklahoma – oil money used for ultraconservative advocacy/activism
Oregon – low-key racist hipsters
Pennsylvania – Eagles fans/Wing Bowl
Rhode Island – first part of Dumb and Dumber
South Carolina – the Gullah
South Dakota - Deadwood
Tennessee – Triple Six
Texas – the Cowboys
Utah - Mormons
Vermont – Bernie Sanders
Virginia – government/military
Washington – Kurt Cobain
West Virginia - hillbillies
Wisconsin – obesity with dreadful accents
Wyoming – grizzly bears

[Kerguelen]

If I've never been to the state, I colored it this color
Alaska: Tundra
Arizona: Cooking eggs on pavement
Arkansas: diamonds, the Ozarks, beautiful fall scenery, elk
California: Rob Zombie's "Go To California" song
Colorado: the first time I saw snow covered gigantic mountains
Connecticut: connect? I CUT. I actually don't know.
Delaware: ok technically I've been there but only to pass through...uh...it was the first official state?
Florida: hurricanes, humidity, heat, anhinga trail
Georgia: the film industry
Hawaii: Mauna Kea
Idaho: Craters of the Moon
Illinois: this one college event I went to there, O'Hare airport
Indiana: I forget that it exists
Iowa: caucuses
Kansas: sunflowers and the band Kansas
Kentucky: the Kentucky Derby, KFC, getting lost at 4 AM and being confronted by a whole herd of deer
Louisiana: really good food
Maine: lobsters and Stephen King
Maryland: crabs and cool flag
Massachusetts: Boston
Michigan: the fact that it's surrounded by gigantic lakes
Minnesota: the town Cormorant, the fact that they elected a dog mayor, the fact that they could have elected a cormorant but nO THEY HAD TO WASTE THEIR OPPORTUNI
Missouri: tornadoes, brown recluse spiders, best cashew chicken
Montana: Glacier National Park
Nebraska: it's between here and Wyoming, runzas
Nevada: deserts and casinos
New Hampshire: live free or die
New Jersey: there's pine forests there
New Mexico: green chile
New York: the thousand islands, NYC, Buffalo
North Carolina: Kitty Hawk
North Dakota: it's north alright
Ohio: Cincinnati
Oklahoma: it looks like a giant pot
Oregon: Sea Lion caves!
Pennsylvania: yinz
Rhode Island: it's not a frickin island!
South Carolina: Myrtle Beach
South Dakota: Rapid City
Tennessee: Nashville
Texas: Galveston, also really good food, bugs
Utah: really cool rock formations
Vermont: Bernie Sanders
Virginia: not to be confused with West Virginia
Washington: rain
West Virginia: Appalachians, coal
Wisconsin: cheese
Wyoming: mountains, wild horses, holds many "female firsts," Yellowstone
A lot of these answers are boring because the first thing I think of really is just cities.

[AtkinsonDan]

Alabama – the Bible Belt
Alaska – ruggedness
Arizona - dry heat
Arkansas – Walmart
California –Bay Area smugness
Colorado – legalized marijuana pioneers
Connecticut – extreme arrogance, self-entitlement and left lane hogs
Delaware – where corporations incorporate
Florida – gators, giant insects and humidity
Georgia – Atlanta
Hawaii – water
Idaho – fleeing Californians
Illinois - government corruption
Indiana - Peyton Manning
Iowa – insurance in the 21st century
Kansas – social conservatism
Kentucky – bluegrass
Louisiana – New Orleans
Maine - forests
Maryland – snobbishness
Massachusetts – overconfidence
Michigan - history of the automobile
Minnesota – winter
Mississippi – redneck
Missouri – St. Louis
Montana – self sufficiency
Nebraska – wheat
Nevada - gambling & brothels
New Hampshire – small government principles
New Jersey – grime and astronomical taxes
New Mexico – often forgotten
New York – low speed limits
North Carolina – Bank of America
North Dakota – shale oil
Ohio – Cleveland Rocks/Drew Carey
Oklahoma – rivalry with Texas
Oregon – euthanasia
Pennsylvania – Three Mile Island
Rhode Island – inept government
South Carolina – Myrtle Beach
South Dakota - Mount Rushmore
Tennessee – BBQ
Texas – firepower
Utah - Mormons
Vermont – liberals who appreciate guns
Virginia – Federal government workers
Washington – Space Needle
West Virginia - coal & economic malaise
Wisconsin – cheese farmers
Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park