Rites of Passage Summary, Part 2

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How do I summarize a trip of a lifetime in a few minutes?

Since I’ve been back, many people I’ve met have wanted to know exactly that.

It can’t be done; the range of experience and sights was just too varied.

In the end, I wrote up a bunch of lists.

The second half is below, with post references where appropriate.

See the previous blog for the first half.





Most Unexpected Surprises:

1. The incredible diversity of the United States. This country has an unbelievable variety of cultures, people, cities, landscapes, and histories; all of which manage to coexist, however uneasily.

2. How friendly people are in most of the country. Parts of the US have a reputation of being intolerant of people obviously from elsewhere. I found the exact opposite, friendly people willing to engage those who exhibited a similar level of respect. In some places, it became nearly overwhelming.

3. Incredible scenic beauty in many places. The United States is often described as a glorious natural paradise. I only realized what that means when I experienced the transcendent vistas, beautiful hiking trails, and exquisite silence for myself.

4. Road trip Resiliency. I had lots of issues on this trip, and I managed to solve all of them, relatively quickly, for little cash. Anything can be found on the road, and most things can be fixed far from home.

5. How fun it was to just hang out and relax on some days. On short trips, I always tried to cram in as much as possible, rushing from sight to sight. On this trip I was forced to take breaks by necessity, and the more I took the more I enjoyed them. Staying still became an experience by itself, not an interruption of one.

6. Working with only a loose itinerary and few advance reservations was incredibly freeing. Before now, I always had to know where I was going and what to do there. Letting go of much of it pared the advance planning to where it was needed, making the rest of the trip a succession of unanticipated wonders

7. Missing attractions ultimately meant very little. Certain things on any trip are absolute must sees. Fewer places fell in that category than I ever anticipated; for everything else I could replace what I couldn’t see with other things just as interesting and possibly more so.

8. Great weather for big parts of the trip. Between middle July and late November, I saw rain twelve times. The temperature also stayed above 50 for every month but March. For a convertible driver, this is like being a kid in a candy store with a credit card.

9. Seven double rainbows. Double rainbows are supposed to be quite rare. On this trip, I reached the point where after every big storm I went looking for one, because it was probably there.

10. Raging waterfalls after record rain and snow. Most waterfalls look much better in high water. Last winter had record breaking snow in the western half of the country, and the spring featured tons of rain, so they were raging close to flood stage. I saw Shoshone Falls (which is normally dry eleven months of the year) in July!





Iconic sights:

Certain places and things must be included on any US road trip, or questions like “What do you mean you have no pictures of ….. ?” will follow for years afterwards. These are some of them, ranked by their impressiveness:

1. Mount Rushmore (Places of Reverence) – The heads of four important Presidents carved on a mountain, a symbol of the country.

2. St. Louis Arch (Arch Madness) – Instantly recognizable monument so identified with its city that it’s on everything from highway signs to corporate logos.

3. Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley (The Lazy Hikers’ Scenic Viewfest) – The most famous viewpoint of one of the most impressive landscapes on earth.

4. Delicate Arch (Large Rocks With Holes) – Freestanding sandstone arch so iconic it’s pictured on Utah’s license plates.

5. White House (The Nation’s Attic) – One of the most famous residences in the world, now surrounded by layers of security barriers.

6. Arlington Cemetery (A Visit to Valhalla) – Poignant symbol of the ultimate sacrifice of generations of American soldiers.

7. Las Vegas Strip (That’s What You Get for Waking up in Vegas) – An alternate reality of hedonism; gaudy, over the top, bright as day in the middle of the night, often crass, expensive as heck, and unforgettable.

8. Old Faithful (Thar She Blows, Captain) – The most famous and photographed geyser in the world, thanks to its incredible predictability.

9. Alamo (Historic Texas Pride) – Humble church that witnessed events central to Texas history and identity.

10. Mount Rainer from Seattle (Paul Allen Wants to be Cool) – One of the most impressive vistas in the Pacific Northwest, partly iconic because it’s so hard to see.

11. Old Growth Redwood Groves (Forest from Another Time) – A cathedral of living things, the place to be humble before nature

12. Grand Tetons (Those peaks) – Incredible range of sharply angled peaks without foothills behind mountain lakes.

13. Artists Point, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (So This is What A View Looks Like) – The most famous view of an impressive canyon of yellow stone with a tall waterfall at the end. Many visitors think (mistakenly) this is the source of the park name.

14. Monument Valley (Land of Iconic Dreams) – Broad desert plain filled with impressive buttes and arches. For many people, this landscape represents the entire west thanks to the movies filmed here.

15. French Quarter, New Orleans (After the Flood When All the Colors Came Out) – Very old historic neighborhood of narrow streets and unique Spanish architecture with a non-stop (and almost unavoidable) street party.

16. Times Square (The Heart of the Art World) – “The Crossroads of the World” in New York City; a place filled with tall buildings, glowing neon signs, impressive theaters, and huge billboards. Slowly becoming a theme park for suburban visitors.

17. Hoover Dam (A Dam Large Attraction) – Gigantic dam that launched a civil engineering revolution and changed the face of the west.

18. Bryce Canyon from Bryce Point (Hoodoo: a Weird Name for Weird Rocks) – The strangest landscape of a region filled with them, tall eroded sandstone columns standing in long rows in a huge amphitheatre.

19. Graceland (Walking in Memphis) – Gaudy former residence of Elvis Presley; pilgrimage site for millions of fans decades after his death.

20. Chicago Skyline (The Birth of The Modern City) – One of the three largest collections of skyscrapers in the world, and a showcase of over a century of urban architecture.

21. Zion Canyon (Parking Hell in Scenic Heaven) – Narrow canyon of striking red and white sandstone monoliths

22. Carlsbad Caverns (The Grand Canyon With a Roof) – Cave with the largest underground rooms in the United States, packed to the gills with formations, many huge.

23. Oak Alley Plantation (Holiday Tourists) – The most famous plantation picture in the South; an old mansion surrounded by Greek columns behind two rows of enormous old oak trees.

24. Custer Buffalo Herd (Places of Reverence) – A symbol of the American west, buffalo roam free in only two places currently; this is one of them.

25. Bixby Bridge (California Coast and Open Road) – The longest concrete arch bridge in California creates one of Big Sur’s most photographed views.

Honorable Mention:

1. Grand Canyon (A Dam Large Attraction) – A wide and deep desert canyon that many consider the most impressive landscape in the entire United States. I saw it near sunset on an overcast day, eliminating the sense of distance that makes it so compelling.

2. Golden Gate Bridge (Forest from Another Time) – Long suspension bridge between red ziggurat shaped towers that many consider a symbol of San Francisco. When I crossed it the fog was so thick I barely knew it was there.





Best Hikes:

1. Panorama Trail in Yosemite National Park (The Lazy Hikers’ Scenic Viewfest) – Mile after mile of jaw-dropping granite vistas, and three huge waterfalls. Plus, it’s nearly all downhill!

2. Angel’s Landing Trail in Zion National Park (To Reach Where Angels Land, Master Fear) – Legendary for both difficulty and views, it requires hiking less than a foot from thousand foot drop-offs for a half mile. The reward is an indescribable view from the middle of Zion Canyon.

3. Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton National Park (The Still of the Night) – Incredibly beautiful glacier carved canyon through the Grand Teton range, with picture perfect views every step of the way.

4. Rockefeller Grove Trail in Humboldt State Park (Forest from Another Time) – Feel humbled in the tallest and oldest forest on earth, surrounded by pure silence.

5. Chittenden Road in Yellowstone National Park (So This is What A View Looks Like) – Old roadway up Mount Washburn near the center of Yellowstone, with a huge view that just grows and grows until it covers nearly the entire park and the mountains beyond. Nice wildflowers in summer are a bonus.

6. Hurricane Hill Trail in Olympia National Park (Wildflower View Fest) – The long views of the central Olympic Mountains compete with the carpets of wildflowers for which provides the better vistas. Plus, it’s relatively flat and easy to hike.

7. Willis Creek in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (Few People Can Go Here, and We Like it That Way) – Incredible slot canyon less than a yard wide and over a mile long. The beauty is sublime and the sense of solitude profound. Very difficult to reach, part of what makes it such an experience.

8. Harney’s Peak Trail in Custer State Park (Sacred Peaks) - Hike past classic western scenery and isolated mountain valleys to a vista overlooking the entire Black Hills range.

9. Shulman Trail in Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (The Ancients) – Hike through grotesquely beautiful trees that happen to be the oldest living things on earth.

10. General Sherman/Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park (Wide Trees) – Another place to feel like an ant in an old growth sequoia forest, including the largest tree on earth.

11. Horsepasture River Trail in Nantahala National Forest (Beauty Must be Earned) – Long hike past four of the prettiest big waterfalls in North Carolina, plus lots of blooming mountain laurel in the spring.

12. Van Campen Creek Trail in Mount Rainier National Park (The Great Mountain) – Classic mountain brook hike up a narrow valley to one of the tallest waterfalls in Washington State.

13. Cove Forest Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (The Majesty of Trees) – Rare hike through an eastern old growth forest, filled with dozens of tree species and carpets of ferns.

14. Horseshoe Canyon Trail in Canyonlands National Park (Indiana Jones Meets Southern Utah) – Pretend to be Indiana Jones on a long hike through an isolated canyon to the largest collection of ancient rock art in the United States.

15. Old Man Cave Trail in Hocking Hills (The Most Fascinating Trails in Ohio) – Wonderful sandstone gorge in Ohio with surprises around every turn, including three waterfalls.

16. Point Lobos Trail in Point Lobos Reserve (California Coast and Open Road) – The Pacific Ocean surges against rocky cliffs covered in one of the few remaining old growth cypress forests in the world.

17. Natural Entrance and Big Room in Carlsbad Cavern National Park (The Grand Canyon With a Roof) – Who says hikes need to be above ground? This trail weaves through some of the largest cave rooms in the world and an unbelievable variety of formations.

18. Natural Bridge Loop Trail in Natural Bridge State Park (Riot of Carved Rock) – A trail to and through beautiful eroded sandstone formations in eastern Kentucky, including a natural bridge.

19. McKitrick Canyon Trail in Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Most Beautiful Spot In Texas) – Long hike through a beautiful limestone canyon, with fall foliage worthy of the Appalachians.

20. Upper Calf Creek Falls Trail in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (Desert River Walks) – Steep sandstone slickwalk with amazing long views, followed by tricky navigation by cairns, to a tall waterfall in the middle of the desert.

21. Fossil Forest Trail in Yellowstone National Park (Welcome to Wonderland) – Incredibly steep trail with long mountain vistas to a collection of petrified stumps that look just like actual wood.

22. Hall of Mosses Trail in Olympic National Park (The Hall of Mosses) – Amazingly lush trail through a temperate rainforest covered in hanging moss.

23. Sol Duc River Trail in Olympic National Park (Waterfalls and Trees) – Path through old growth pine forests to an unusual waterfall.

24. Hammock Trail in Myakka River State Park (Jungle Paradise) – Nature trail through a side of Florida most people never see, lush forests, culminating in a bridge through the treetops.

25. Grotto Falls Trail in Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Roaring Forest) – Old growth forests and mountain vistas leads to a pretty waterfall.





Best Viewpoints

1. Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park (The Lazy Hikers’ Scenic Viewfest) – The granite monoliths of Yosemite Valley from above, with High Sierra peaks beyond stretching to the horizon.

2. Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park (Wildflower View Fest) – The central peaks of the Olympics fill half the view, and carpets of wildflowers fill the rest.

3. Mount Washburn, Yellowstone National Park (So This is What A View Looks Like) – Over three quarters of Yellowstone National Park, plus the Teton Mountains, Absaroka Range, and Beartooth Range in one view. If you have time for only one long hike in Yellowstone, make it the Chittenden Road to this vista.

4. Muley Point, Cedar Mesa (Cedar Mesa: Southeast Utah’s Wonderland) – Vast hundred mile plus vista of the Four Corners stretching from southwest Colorado to Monument Valley.

5. Angel’s Landing, Zion National Park (To Reach Where Angels Land, Master Fear) – Awesome 360 degree vista of Zion Canyon from a high spire in the middle. The hike here will test anyone’s comfort with heights though.

6. Foundation Room in the John Hancock Tower, Chicago (The Skyline) – Amazing view of Chicago’s skyscrapers, Lake Michigan, and the surrounding area from the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city.

7. Dead Horse Point, Dead Horse State Park (Big View to Big Arch) – Vast vista of hundreds of canyons twisting to the horizon on one side, and exposed rocks leading to the LaSal Mountains on the other.

8. Harney’s Peak, Custer State Park (Sacred Peaks) – Incredible view of much of the Black Hills, including the exposed rock spires of the Needles and the back side of Mount Rushmore.

9. Mount Walker, Olympic National Park (The Biggest Port that Never Was) – Low mountain with an amazing view of Puget Sound and Seattle. If the weather REALLY cooperates, it also includes the Cascade Mountains and Mount Rainier!

10. Clingman’s Dome, Great Smokey Mountains National Park (The Majesty of Trees) – The highest point in Tennessee, with a vast view over the southern Appalachians when the weather cooperates.





Best Waterfalls:

1. Lower Yellowstone falls (So This is What A View Looks Like) – Big tall waterfall pouring into a striking yellow canyon. Many people think (mistakenly) it gave the park its name.

2. Rainbow Falls (North Carolina) (Beauty Must be Earned) – A tall wide ledge covered in a mesmerizing, ever changing curtain of feathery rivulets.

3. Multnomah Falls (Grand Gorge) – Incredibly tall waterfall in the Columbia Gorge drops into a pond, and then drops some more, surrounded by basalt cliffs.

4. Nevada Falls (The Lazy Hikers’ Scenic Viewfest) – Incredibly tall waterfall where the Merced River drops over a granite cliff, and then slides down. Very popular given the steep hike required to see it.

5. Comet Falls (The Great Mountain) – One of the tallest waterfalls in Washington State, where a brook drops over, and away from, a tall cliff of basalt to produce a hanging curtain.

6. Yahoo Falls (The Cumberland) – Kentucky’s highest waterfall, where a brook freefalls in front of a huge dramatic grotto. In the right lighting, the waterfall becomes a sideshow to its setting.

7. Bridal Veil Falls (Yosemite) (A Symphony in Granite) - High waterfall in Yosemite Valley that flows year round. In spring, the wind blows the mist around; the rest of the year it blows the entire waterfall around!

8. Upper Whitewater Falls (The Land of Falling Water) – Tall and steep cascading waterfall in a nice mountain valley that some call the tallest east of the Mississippi.

9. Snoqualmie Falls (Welcome to Sunrise) – Big waterfall into a dramatic gorge, where the flow breaks into jets on the way down. It’s marred by the built up areas around it, though.

10. Vernal Falls (The Great Mountain) – Tall curtain waterfall on the Merced River whose mist soaks the trail. The most popular waterfall in the country located away from a road.

11. Cumberland Falls (The Cumberland) – Wide drop off a cliff in eastern Kentucky that in high water becomes a dramatic pour over.

12. Upper Yellowstone falls (So This is What A View Looks Like) – High volume pour over into a gorge that in very high water becomes downright violent with huge explosion jets.

13. Falls Creek Falls (Tennessee) (Winding Roads and Falling Water) – Small slide followed by a long drop into a deep gorge. The freefall portion is the tallest single drop east of the Mississippi. After a hard rain a second waterfall appears right next to it!

14. Dry Falls (North Carolina) (The Land of Falling Water) – Walk directly behind a wide roaring wall of water in a pretty ravine.

15. Ozone Falls (The Nation’s Longest Truck Convoy) – Tall waterfall pours from a ledge into a mountain grotto only ten minutes from an Interstate exit.

16. McWay Falls (California Coast and Open Road) – Thin ribbon of water falls onto a Pacific beach in Big Sur. This is one of the most photographed waterfalls in California.

17. Narada Falls (Rainier is Shorthand for “Rains All Year”, Right?) – A long and very steep slide near a roadway, with picturesque views. Watch out for the ice cold spray, though.

18. Toketee Falls (A Day of Cascades) - Long pour over into a grotto surrounded by hexagonal basalt columns, surrounded by old growth pine trees, in the Oregon Cascades.

19. Rocky Brook Falls (The Biggest Port that Never Was) – Tall and narrow feathery waterfall where a brook slides down a steep cliff on the east side of the Olympic Mountains. Difficult to find, which makes seeing it all the more rewarding.

20. Marymere Falls (Waterfalls and Trees) – Tall and thin drop falls surrounded by lush old growth forest and moss.

21. Lower Calf Creek Falls (Desert River Walks) – Tall waterfall over a sandstone cliff that breaks into feathery fans on the way down. Located in otherwise dry desert, this waterfall forms a welcome oasis.

22. Patterson Falls (The Birthplace of Modern America) – Large waterfall where a river splits and falls over the side of a ravine. It’s surrounded by Patterson New Jersey, the first planned industrial city in the United States.

23. South Silver Creek Falls (Waterfall Jackpot) – Tall waterfall into a grotto with a large cave behind threaded by the hiking trail.

24. Second Glenn Creek Falls (The Land of Falling Water) – Steep cascading waterfall over dozens of short wide ledges.

25. Bridal Veil Falls (Telluride) (Mountain Majesty) – Long single drop waterfall located off a jeep road. In fall, the waterfall is outshined by its surroundings, mountains covered in millions of yellow aspen trees.

Honorable Mention:

1. Shoshone Falls (Hell’s Acre) - When it flows, it’s a very tall, very wide waterfall that is one of the most impressive in the country. Unfortunately, it’s bypassed by a power dam and typically flows less than two weeks a year (and some years it doesn’t flow at all).

2. Upper Yosemite Falls (A Symphony in Granite) - At the right time of year, this waterfall is stupendous, a long tail of water falling down a really tall rock wall. When I visited it was a tiny trickle dribbling down the rock; I’m lucky it was there at all.

3. Bridal Veil Falls (North Carolina) (The Land of Falling Water) - The waterfall itself is unimpressive, a drippy curtain falling from a cliff with a cave underneath. The cave is large enough to drive a car behind the waterfall, and the kitsch factor makes it unmissable.





Best Big Cities to Visit:

1. Chicago (The Birth of The Modern City) – Intense urban experience without the hectic pace of New York or the sprawl of Los Angeles, plus amazing architecture and museums.

2. San Francisco (The World’s Craziest Streets) – One of the world’s most beautiful and diverse cities with a wide variety of culture sites and art. Pity it’s all shrouded in fog.

3. Portland (Chilling In Hipsterland) – The ultimate hipster paradise: great culture, better beer, and an irresistible desire to just hang out.

4. Savannah (Trees and romance) – Beautiful old Southern gem, where three century old houses surround garden squares lined with ancient oak trees and hanging moss.

5. Vancouver BC (The Most Scenic Lunch in Vancouver) – Modern culture filled metropolis with great museums in an unbelievable natural setting.

6. Seattle (Paul Allen Wants to be Cool) – Another city with culture of all types and great art, plus long vistas when the weather cooperates.

7. New Orleans (After the Flood When All the Colors Came Out) – One third cultural melting pot, one third unlimited debauchery, one third disaster site (still), and totally unmissable.

8. Fort Worth (Unexpected Art) – Texas without pretense, this old cow town celebrates its past; plus an unexpected cluster of the best art museums in the state.d

9. San Antonio (Historic Texas Pride) – The most Hispanic big city in the United States with amazing history and a beautiful downtown park along a river.

10. Charleston (Heart of Darkness in the Holy City) – Beautiful culture filled city with a dark past people are still coming to terms with.

Honorable Mention:

1. New York City (The Heart of the Art World) – One of the world’s great cities, with every urban experience a visitor could want. On this trip I only saw a tiny fraction of it, focused on one particular event. It was spectacular.

2. Las Vegas (The Other Autonomous World) – For visitors, this place is less a normal city than a series of huge self contained pleasure palaces, arranged along the legendary strip. Exhilarating and exhausting for those with money to burn (and a vision of hell otherwise).

3. Detroit (A Place for Wonder in a City of Ruins) – A city for the adventurous only, its underground art scene and museums reward those willing to brave the devastation all around.





Best Festivals:

1. Burning Man (The Rites of Passage) – Less a traditional festival than a self-contained world, where everyone participates and expresses themselves as they wish. Being here is a boundary pushing, mind expanding, often spiritual experience.

2. Movement Detroit (Children of the Night, Step Into the Light) – Huge festival of underground dance music featuring some of the best DJs in the United States, with relatively low pretense and expense.

3. NASCAR Martinsville (Racin’ With the Good Ole Boys) - The premiere stock car racing series at its oldest and most traditional track.

4. Kentucky Derby Festival (Racing Insanity) – Incredible smorgasbord of competitions, concerts, and events, ending with two famous horse races. To avoid the worst of the crowds and high priced lodging, leave town by Thursday afternoon.

5. St. Patricks Day in Savannah (When Irish Eyes are Smiling) – A celebration of Irish culture that completely takes over the city, featuring a huge parade, live bands, and green everywhere (including the fountains in Forsyth Park)

6. Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (Is Ballooning Just a Bunch of Hot Air?) – In the morning, hundreds of colorful balloons lift off all at once. At night, they light up on the ground, followed by fireworks. A photographer’s dream and late riser’s nightmare.

7. Thunder over Louisville (The Few, The Proud, The Freezing to Death) - Big air show followed by the largest fireworks display in the United States. Unless the weather is horrible, expect to feel like a sardine for hours on end and it’s still worth it.

8. Azalea Festival (Flowers and Queens) – Concentrated showcase of Southern culture: blooming flowers, Victorian houses, southern belles, and beauty queens.

9. Chicago Blues Festival (Chicago Gives me the Blues) – The largest free music festival in the country; a showcase for blues of all types. Unfortunately, cold rain all day made me quite blue before it finally lifted near the end.

10. Northern Navaho Fair (Old Traditions in a Modern World) – Traditional Native American event that offers a window into another world, with a powwow and rodeo.





Best Places to Relax in the Sun All Day:

1. Rainbow Springs Florida (Almost Paradise) – The ultimate swimming hole, a spring with warm crystal clear water

2. Hot Spring Pool in Eastern Sierra (The Ancients) – Anyone fortunate enough to find one in the backcountry bypassed by other visitors will learn what heaven must feel like.

3. Myakka River State Park Florida (Jungle Paradise) – A visit in the spring months features thick jungle, warm air, low humidity, relatively few bugs, and great wildlife.

4. Fort DeSoto Beach Florida (Jungle Paradise) – One of the best beaches in the United States; warm water and sparkling sand, minus the crowds and development that mar so many other beaches in Florida.

5. Torrey Utah (A Rare Place to Relax) – Small picturesque town in southern Utah with great lodging and creative restaurants.

6. Portland Oregon (Chilling In Hipsterland) – A relaxed lifestyle raised to an art form: great food, fantastic beer, lots of public art, and one of the largest bookstores in the United States.

7. Santa Fe New Mexico (Santa Fe Relaxation) – Away from the tourist hubbub, an old city respectful of its past with incredible food.

8. Fredericksburg Texas (Germany meets Texas) – A slice of Germany in the Texas hill country, with the highest concentration of Bed and Breakfasts in the state.

9. Oconee State Park South Carolina (The Best Laid Plans) – Park in the Appalachian foothills with great facilities and rustic cabins.

10. Manchester State Park, Washington (Galloping Gertie) – Pretty park close to a small town on Puget Sound with an incredible view.





Best Places Burning Man Attendees Should Visit (other than Burning Man):

1. City Museum St. Louis (The Joys of Childhood) – Funhouse, amazing jungle gym, and immersive art installation rolled into one. Every corner holds a new surprise and wonder to explore.

2. Heidelberg Project Detroit (A Place for Wonder in a City of Ruins) – Artists turned a nearly abandoned street into a showcase of human creativity; one of the largest folk art installations in the United States.

3. International Museum of Folk Art (Santa Fe, Art Magnet) – One of the largest collections of folk art in the country, featuring pieces from around the world.

4. Ryolite Nevada (It Can Never Happen Here…And Already Has) – Collection of abstract sculpture in a haunting ghost town near Death Valley

5. Butler Museum Youngstown (New Creativity in New Media) – The largest collection of New Media artwork in the United States

6. Orange Show (Surreal Houston) – One man’s devotion to oranges turned into an installation that must be seen to be believed.

7. Carhenge (The Long and Lonely Road) – Collection of artwork made with old cars, including a copy of Stonehenge.

8. Museum of Appalachia (Mountain Ingenuity) – Showcase for the incredible ingenuity of the isolated settlers of the Appalachian Mountains.

9. Foamhenge (Almost Home) – Replica of Stonehenge made with huge foam blocks on a hill.

10. Tecopa (Desert Solitare) – Middle of nowhere town in the Mojave Desert that grew up around a set of hot springs, populated by aging hippies.





Craziest Roads:

These are roads to make a driver question their survival skills. They are still worth it:

1. Moki Dugway (Cedar Mesa: Southeast Utah’s Wonderland) – Drop down (or climb) the side of a tall mesa: dirt surface, one lane, tight U turns, steep grades, constant curves, long drop offs, huge views, and no guardrails!

2. Old Coast Road, Big Sur (California Coast and Open Road) – Often steep one lane dirt road through redwood forests and mountains with long views, in a part of Big Sur few visitors see.

3. Any street in San Francisco (The World’s Craziest Streets) – Often steep, always crowded, and few left turns allowed. Enjoy the views and smell of brake smoke.

4. Skutumpah Road (Few People Can Go Here, and We Like it That Way) – Isolated dirt road through the southern Utah desert that requires climbing steep hills on gravel and fording a brook just above a six foot ledge, to reach one of the best hikes in the state.

5. Any expressway near New York City (Almost Home) – Crowded with traffic all hours of the day and night and always needing repair, they are a vision of automotive hell on earth.

6. Hells Backbone Road, Utah (Incredible Foliage and a Big Red Fold) – Twisty dirt road that runs right next to the edge of canyons and across a ridge just wider than the road itself, through mountains covered in aspen trees.

7. Stevens Canyon in Mount Rainier National Park (The Great Mountain) – Steep highway that weaves down the side of a glacial canyon through the sites of old landslides.

8. Medicine Wheel Scenic Byway – (The Highway in the Sky) A long steep descent that routinely destroys transmissions and brakes, through unbelievable scenery.

9. Red Mountain Pass, Colorado (Rocky Mountain Highs) – Twist up a glacial river gorge, cross one of the highest mountain passes in Colorado, and twist down the gorge on the other side. Naturally, it has no guardrails.

10. I-40 through Pigeon Gorge (Winding Roads and Falling Water) – Proof that not all interstates are easy, this one features tight curves, endless hills, narrow lanes, lots of trucks, and great scenery.





Most Unpleasant Surprises:

On a long trip, something is guaranteed to go wrong eventually:

1. Having my car hit in a parking lot – Someone backed up without looking. The damage looked cosmetic but actually required two days to fix.

2. Losing my ATM card – budget discipline became extreme for a week to avoid a pricy credit card cash advance until the replacement arrived.

3. Getting a stomach virus the day of a raft trip – Thankfully, I found out BEFORE the trip started.

4. Lodging that give my room away because I didn’t reconfirm my reservation – a half hour of panic until the manager found me a room somewhere else.

5. Losing my backpacking tent right after a long hike - I have no idea how this one happened, and it was expensive to replace.

6. Locking my keys in my car during my last bathroom break before leaving Burning Man – People misplace things every year at Burning Man; few have more irony value than this one.

7. Cracking my camera case - It’s supposed to be shockproof, and has weathered all sorts of dings, but finally had one too many.

8. Finding most hotel rooms sold out due to an unanticipated festival (twice!) – A bane of flexible travel.

9. Almost dropping my camera in a river – It fell out of my pocket crossing a wire trail bridge. Ten minutes of pure panic until I found it hanging on a bush on the riverbank.

10. Attractions whose hours were much shorter than what my guidebook listed – I missed several due to this issue.

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Photos

Smile for the Camera
Having fun underneath the Cloud Gate in Chicago

Mount Rushmore
The famous sculpture from the monument entrance

St. Louis Arch
Symbol of the city

Tunnel View
The view of Yosemite Valley photographed by every visitor to the park ever, including Ansel Adams

Delicate Arch at Sunset
The picture that every visitor to Arches National Park wants, and usually gets

Panorama Trail View
On the Panorama Trail, this picture is average.

Steps of Faith on Angels Landing Trail
Two feet wide, 1200 feet down on both sides, thrills and anxiety unlimited

Cascade Canyon
On the Cascade Canyon Trail, a BAD photo requires effort

Rockefeller Grove Trail
The largest grove of old-growth redwoods in the world

Glacier Point
A small slice of the high Sierra majesty viewable from Glacier Point

Hurricane Ridge
A carpet of wildflowers leads to the Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge

Lower Yellowstone Falls
The waterfall from Artist's Point, one of the most popular views in Yellowstone

Rainbow Falls
This waterfall requires a multi-hour hike, and is worth every step

Multnomah Falls
High falls in the Columbia Gorge, one of Oregon's most famous sights

Nevada Falls
Tall waterfall in the Yellowstone backcountry

Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Called the "Miracle Mile" for its shopping, but the view is worth it too

Downtown San Francisco
From the top of the Coit Tower on a rare low fog summer day

Savannah
One of the city's famous garden squares

Movement Detroit
Feel the EDM bliss at the festival main stage.

Martinsville Opening Ceremonies
Racing at NASCAR's oldest track

Rainbow Springs
Amazing swimming home in a natural spring. Look at the clarity of that water!

Myakka River Campground
Relaxing in a part of Florida few non-natives have ever seen.

City Museum
A tiny portion of the art installation/fun house/wonderland.

Heidelberg Project
A small sampling of a folk art installation covering multiple blocks

Big Sur
Where does the sea end and sky begin, along the Old Coast Road in Big Sur

If You're Going to San Francisco
Check your brakes. Lombard Street, heading for the famous switchbacks at the top of the next hill.

Comments

[Home and Away]

Wow! What a compendium...
a must read for anyone who wants to visit the US. Thanks for your effort.