I have a confession to make: about a year ago, I was ready to leave New York. For some reason, all the negatives of city living had really gotten to me: the high rent, the go-go-go mentality, the lack of space, the traffic, the noise…

Luckily, my fiancee talked me off the ledge, and instead suggested we make a goal to visit as many places that were the opposite of New York City over the next year as possible. And so we did. Our travels included day trips upstate, weekend trips to New England, a nearly month-long roadtrip around the western US, and more – all with an emphasis on getting back to nature. We saw some unbelievable sights, and I’ve been trying to figure out an excuse for sharing some of my pictures with you. So it’s time for a contest!

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All you have to do is guess what STATE each of the following 18 pictures was taken in! You can submit your guesses in the comments below. Don’t worry if you don’t know all of them – anyone who makes a valiant effort will be put into the running for the top secret but very cool prize.

Ready? Good luck!

1) Region: New England | Hint: Nothing like a plate of pancakes covered in maple syrup fresh from the farm where you were just taking pictures. 

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2) Region: Pacific-Northwest | Hint: These trees are older than the United States.

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3) Region: Southeast | Hint: Funny, I was expecting to see a mouse or two.

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4) Region: Western US | Hint: In NYC, the idea of a tunnel view is the ugly tiling in the Holland Tunnel.

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5) Region: Mountain Time Zone | Hint: A monumental place to hang out (just watch out for the kissing couple!).

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6) Region: North of the USA | Hint: And they say there are only five Great Lakes…

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7) Region: Tri-state area | Busy beavers

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8) Region: Southwest | Hint: At a National Park named after these guys…

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9) Region: Northeast | Hint: Close to home.

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10) Region: Western US| Hint: Can’t get much higher in the continental USA

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11) Region: The ocean. Guess which one!

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12) Region: South-west | Hint: What a grand view!

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13) Region: Northeast | Hint: Wonder if he took the Jitney?

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14) Region: Cold | Hint: Can’t believe I was able to climb this high. Forgot to look for Russia…

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15) Region: Midwest| Hint: I assume the other 9,999 lakes are also frozen.

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16) Region: Chilly | Hint: Seeing moose fighting right outside your car window is apparently typical in this state.

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17) Region: Midwest | Hint: Amazing these grizzlies let us get so close. Perhaps they’re smarter than the average bear?

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18) Region: Midwest | Hint: Life finds a way.

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As you can see, we had a pretty incredible set of adventures across the United States. In fact, looking back on these pictures, I’m amazed we survived some of these encounters.

Good luck with the contest! There is indeed a prize, which will be announced with the winner next Monday. And if you happen to think there are two ways to answer the main question, bonus points will be awarded to those who take the more difficult route.

-SCOUT

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  1. Dorothy Packard Avatar

    That is a lot of places but the thing is, they look more like portraits to me so I’m guessing that this was all taken at a museum. Wonderful blog though. It kept people guessing. 🙂