I’ve been to all 50 US states. Here are 10 things that surprised me most about traveling through the entire country.

As a travel writer, I’ve been to all 50 states. Katherine Parker-Magyar I’ve visited all 50 states, and my travels have led to countless surprises and adventures. The middle of the country was more beautiful than I expected, though it’s often overlooked.

I experienced different cultures in Hawaii and Alaska without having to leave the US. I’m a travel writer who’s been to all 50 states and faced countless surprises along the way. After visiting Alaska as a child, I returned for a fishing trip along the Inside Passage.

Katherine Parker-MagyarAs a travel writer, I’ve visited all 50 states multiple times. I first caught wind of America’s vastness on family road trips during my childhood and have continued exploring ever since. Even still, my trips across America never cease to amaze me.

 Here are the 10 things that surprised me most about traveling through the country. Many people don’t prioritize trips to the middle of the country, but the heartland is beautiful. I visited Idaho in the winter and saw the state covered in snow.

Katherine Parker-MagyarThe American heartland, the country’s centermost region, was the most surprising of all. Tourists often overlook these landlocked states. However, I’ve been mesmerized by their enormous blue skies and endless golden fields since I traversed from Ohio to North Dakota on road trips with my family.

I watched as a rainbow stretched across the Nebraska prairies, illuminating the pastoral landscape. But I also found it thrilling when the monotonous splendor of the grass was disrupted without warning. For example, when I was chasing tornadoes in Kansas, I got stuck behind a 100-car freight train winding its way across the tracks.

  Fast-food menus can vary based on their location, even if they’re from the same chain. Some McDonald’s restaurants have region-specific menus. Joe Giddens/Getty ImagesDuring my family’s cross-country road trips, McDonald’s meals were a special treat that my siblings and I always anticipated.

I was astounded to learn that McDonald’s menus can vary by region. For example, visitors can order a McLobster from McDonald’s locations in New England, and they can get biscuits and gravy from the ones in the South. Luckily, Happy Meal toys remained consistent.

Menus can be state-specific as well. You can only get the Hatch Green Chile Double Burger at McDonald’s locations in New Mexico, and only McDonald’s stores in Hawaii offer a special dessert called haupia pie. Some states and regions have fast-food chains that you can’t get anywhere else.

In-N-Out, a popular burger chain, is only found on the West Coast, and Runza, a sandwich chain, has only expanded to the states neighboring its native Nebraska. It’s enough to make discerning foodies consider visiting a drive-through on their culinary tour of the US. The American West still feels very wild, and cowboy culture is alive and well there.

My parents and I went horseback riding in Wyoming. Katherine Parker-MagyarI’m always humbled by the American West’s wide open spaces and find the region wild every time I visit. Plus, cowboy culture is very much alive and well there.

When I visited Wyoming during the summer, the Jackson Hole Rodeo was the hottest ticket in town. I spent many evenings admiring the sportsmanship of the bull-riders performing in the stadium. The rodeo isn’t Wyoming’s only Western-themed event.

As a child, I loved going to the Cheyenne Frontier Days, an outdoor rodeo celebration with a carnival and live music. South Dakota’s Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival, where cowboys and cowgirls round up a herd of more than 1,300 buffalo in Custer State Park, is next on my list. All 50 states have traffic.

It just looks different in some locations. I’m always surprised by how much traffic I run into on my cross-country trips. Mary Altaffer/Associated PressOn my family’s cross-country road trips, I always braced myself for our first overnight drive.

My parents wouldn’t stop until we made it past the Mississippi River, and even though we were leaving New Jersey, we didn’t leave the traffic behind. The gridlock on the New Jersey Turnpike was replaced by hundreds of cars waiting for buffalo herds to pass near Yellowstone. In Jackson Hole, idling moose trapped us in our car for hours, blocking the highway that led to our hotel or campsite.

One evening in Montana, wildlife closures thwarted our departure plans. I spent the afternoon playing with my siblings, racing through parked cars on the interstate. I learned to accept (and even appreciate) the delays and cancellations that inevitably come with travel.

I think the Gulf Coast gets much less praise than the Pacific Coast, but it’s just as enchanting. I didn’t expect the Florida wetlands to be so beautiful. ShutterstockWhen it comes to coastal states, California gets the majority of the accolades and respect.

The Pacific’s beauty can’t be overstated, but I was surprised to find myself enchanted by swamps in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. I first visited Florida’s Everglades National Park as a child and returned in 2018. Both times, I was amazed by the sunset over the marshlands and the swamp noises that echoed onto the dirt road.

More recently, I spent a summer afternoon on the bayou outside of New Orleans, where I cruised around looking for alligators. I’ve found it hard to find the type of classic diners I’m used to outside of the mid-Atlantic region. My favorite diners are in the New Jersey area.

Getty ImagesNew Jersey, the diner capital of the world, is home to over 500 of the classic restaurants, many of which are open 24 hours per day. As a New Jersey native, I’ve spent countless early mornings huddled beneath fluorescent lighting in a corner booth, poring over 12-page laminated menus and ordering milkshakes and french fries with high-school friends. Restaurants outside of New Jersey may call themselves diners, but I have yet to find any with the same ambiance, attitude, and flavor as the ones in my home state.

 The South may have barbecue joints and New England may have lobster shacks, but in my opinion, New Jersey has the best diners.   The Southwestern deserts feel untouched, even to this day. The Southwest is filled with hidden gems and incredible landscapes.

Katherine Parker-MagyarI’ve traveled to the Southwest many times, and I’m always shocked that the landscape remains so wild and untouched. My introduction to the Southwest occurred during a family road trip. Our car’s air-conditioning broke as we drove across the Mojave Desert in the summertime heat.

When we pulled over for gas, I saw people frying eggs on the pavement and watching the yolks sizzle. The desert has a transformative beauty as well. I recently spent time in Sedona’s Red Rocks, immersing myself in nature among other travelers who were drawn to the region’s spiritual vortexes.

By the time I left, I was purchasing crystals, too. Some of America’s lesser-known national parks are my favorites. Mount Rainier in Washington is one of my favorite spots to hike.

bradwetli photography/Getty ImagesI’m always startled by the sense of wonder I feel when I visit America’s national parks. In particular, I still remember diving in the icy waters at Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park, floating on glacial currents while watching a hawk swooping overhead.  Most people have heard of the Grand Canyon, but I’m always struck by the spectacular, lesser-known national parks and wilderness sites — like Oregon’s Crater Lake, South Dakota’s Badlands, and Washington’s Mount Rainier.

 Growing up, I even collected national-park trading cards from each one I visited.    Visiting Alaska and Hawaii introduced me to different cultures without the hassle of international travel. I tried my hand at surfing at Waikiki Beach in Oahu, Hawaii.

Katherine Parker-MagyarAmerica’s diverse landscapes and people make it special, and that’s especially apparent in Alaska and Hawaii.  The first time I visited Alaska, I was only 19 months old, but when I returned on a fishing trip along the Inside Passage, I took in the jaw-dropping scenery and understood why it’s called “The Last Frontier. ” I was similarly in awe of Hawaii, arriving as a middle-schooler on a spring break vacation and departing as a devout conservationist and aspiring marine biologist (the last bit didn’t quite work out).

Once I was exposed to the beauty of the Polynesian culture and the breathtaking nature, I knew I had to return. You don’t need a passport to immerse yourself in a different culture. Just book a flight to Hawaii or Alaska.

The best way to experience America is on the open road. I drove a Jeep through Teton National Park. Katherine Parker-MagyarI believe the US was designed to be traversed on wheels.

America unfolds in front of you while you’re looking out your car window, and you’ll miss some of the best parts if you take a plane across “flyover states. “There’s no better way to appreciate the country’s vast landscapes as they transform from the East Coast skyscrapers into the Midwest grasslands, or from the Rocky Mountain peaks into the Pacific Coast shoreline. Read the original article on Insider.