>To me, a coat of arms echoes everything about European royalty that the American revolution was intended to reject.

May I first just challenge what is a common American conception of coats of arms. These were never the exclusive property of royalty. In many parts of Europe they weren't even exclusive to nobility; for example, each member of a medieval Dutch town council or the equivalent of a chamber of commerce would be expected to have their own coat of arms by which they were identified. And some of the best coats of arms come out of Switzerland, somewhere that has been without royalty for longer than the US! :-)

>I'd rather see a flag that incorporates the state's physical wonders: mountains, trees, water.

That is completely fair enough. That message has been coming across from other commenters too.

>But hats off to you for taking a stab at anything that would replace our bland currrent flag.

Thank you. It was a fun exercise, if nothing else.