State oddities

This morning I was going thru my email and I had some time to read some of the various newsletters that clog up my inbox. I have no idea from where some of these unsolicited repetitive emails come, nor how I have ended up somehow subscribing to them. Some do have interesting content, assuming I have the time to look them over, which isn’t always the case. Anyway, almost daily I get a travel related newsletter that showcases places of interest in the US and around the world. It is one of those “ten best” or best out of every state or country formats. Today’s newsletter was a list of the most iconic landmarks in every state, as ranked by this particular site. Some are quite obvious and evident, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Las Vegas in Nevada, and Yosemite in Wyoming. For Maryland, they picked Fort McHenry, which also has connections to Francis Scott Key and the Star Spangled Banner. And, in the style of the old Kevin Bacon game of connections, this also relates it to that other fallen landmark that was named after Key, the Key Bridge. Which was so named because it is believed that location on the Patapsco River was where Key penned the Star Spangled Banner while he was imprisoned on a British ship.

Other states on the list had some landmarks I’d heard of before and a few I knew nothing of. For Florida, Disney World was chosen, and for Minnesota the Mall of America, both places I’ve been before. Apparently this ranking is based upon how well known and how well visited each site is. Some sites were historical, such as Fort McHenry, but others were not. Disney World was also the only amusement park to make any state’s top of the list. But what really surprised me was that three states had a bridge listed as their most iconic landmark. Actually, the Golden Gate Bridge in California wasn’t so unusual, as that is perhaps one of the first things people think of with regards to the state. So much so that me and my once innocent mind sought it out on a trip to San Francisco so many years ago when my mom had come to visit me. It was one of several well known places we visited that weekend. But it was the other two states that floored me. For Michigan they chose the Mackinac Bridge. I had never even heard of this bridge until recently. That wasn’t something I though of when thinking of Michigan. That’s a state that hasn’t many roller coasters so it’s not some place I’ve been planning on visiting. However, if I ever have reason to travel that far north, I do think I’d want to include the Mackinac Bridge as something to see. And then, for West Virginia, the site listed is the hidden metal monster of the New River Gorge of all places! Personally, I’d think more of Harper’s Ferry with regards to West Virginia as a landmark. But then again, it is close to me and I went there often with my family as a child. So, a bridge that I had never heard of until early last year, just after the fall of the Key Bridge, takes the top spot in West Virginia. And I only found out about it because my husband’s recounting of a childhood school field trip to the construction site.

But here’s the thing – the naming of two of these bridges as the top spot in its respective state is ironic as those structures are notorious for another reason. I’ve not heard much about the Mackinac Bridge being a site of death and self destruction. Either it has somehow escaped that curse, or any such history it has is very well hidden. Which would not surprise me, as the Key Bridge’s morbid past has been almost completely memory holed. The Golden Gate and New River Gorge bridges, however, are quire notable for all the wrong reasons. Most of these places on this list aren’t deadly, and those few that do present dangers are national and some state parks. In these locations it is logical to see that visitors can perish from being unprepared for harsh environmental conditions and from deadly encounters with wildlife. Essentially, it is not unexpected that some people will be injured or killed in such locations. But people have also been killed at Disney World, although this happens with far less frequency than at many national parks. But few would see a bridge, especially a world famous one, as being dangerous or deadly, save for perhaps those who fear crossing such structures. So there you have it. California and West Virginia’s (according to this particular ranking) most iconic landmarks are perhaps some of the deadliest on this list.