Montana is a western state defined by its diverse terrain ranging from the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains. Its wide-open spaces include Glacier National Park, a vast wilderness preserve that passes into Canada. The park’s many snow-capped peaks, lakes and alpine hiking trails are showcased along its famed Going-to-the-Sun Road, stretching 50 miles. Abbreviation: MT Capital: Helena Temperature: 64 degrees, mostly cloudy Time: 12:00 (MT, 2 hours behind us) Nickname: Big Sky Country Montana is known as "Big Sky Country"  because of its unobstructed skyline , which can sometimes seem to overwhelm the landscape.  The nickname originated in 1962 during a promotion for the Montana State Highway Department, and is credited to author A.B.  Guthrie, Jr.'s 1947 western novel The Big Sky.  The novel accurately depicted the state's untamed landscape, which helped Montana associate with the name "Big Sky".   Population: 1.1 million (PA 12.8m) Size: 147,040 squ...

  Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Missouri shares a border with 8 other states: it borders Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to the south and Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to the west. Abbreviation: MO Capital: Jefferson City Temperature: 76 degrees, thunderstorms Time: 1:00 (CST, 1 hour behind us) Nickname: The 'Show-Me State' Missouri  has long been known as the Show Me state, but the origins of that  nickname  aren’t entirely clear. Perhaps the best-known story involves a Missouri representative named Willard Duncan Vandiver. After a tour of the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1899, the congressman was invited to a meeting of  Philadelphia ’s Five O’Clock Club, a gathering place for the city’s political and business elite. Vandiver hadn’t packed formal attire for the trip, and, when it was his turn to address the tuxedo-clad crowd, he jokingly accused Rep. John Hull of  Iowa ...