There are just too many amazing places for me to pick just my favorite five. There's even too many for me to narrow it down to the top ten, really.
Someone once asked me what my favorite National Park/Monument/Historic place was. I never really thought much about which was my favorite because there could be so many different "favorites."
Favorite getaway?
Favorite adventure?
Most scenic?
Most awe-inspiring?
Most unexpected?
Here's my list of can't-miss locations that are just beyond a Top Five.
Friendship Hill National Historic Site:
A few hours outside of Pittsburgh, the country estate of Albert Gallatin is perched peacefully on a beautiful hillside. Gallatin was instrumental in the early years of the United States as the Secretary of the Treasury. Friendship Hill is wonderfully preserved and gently requires the visitor - unbeknownst to that visitor - to slow down and contemplate life. I really didn't want to leave. Of all of the old-fashioned country estates I have been to, this one made me really get what they're all about. Getting away, exploring, relaxing and enjoying the simple things like family and nature.
Great Basin National Park
So... Nevada. There's Las Vegas, Reno and a whole lotta desert. Right? I mean US-50 is dubbed "the loneliest road in America" for a reason! One mid-October weekend, we decided to go and see why the heck some random President would even consider preserving a tiny patch of far east-central Nevada.
Here's the part where you forget everything you thought you knew about the great state of Nevada.
Great Basin is home to an amazing array of forest, field and even caves! Because it is so remote, light pollution is at a minimum so exploring the night sky is a premium here. It gets pretty cold at night, as the base elevation is around 6800 feet. The Lehman cave tour is excellent.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
There's a trend within this post. Most of the Honorable Mention sites were happened upon sort of by accident. We went to Black Canyon (of the Gunnison) National Park as a stop over on our way from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs. We drove in on an unimpressive, narrow road on the way to the visitor center. I even exclaimed to my husband while he was driving, "boooooooooring!" It was all scrub oak and puny trees. Then, we turned the slight curve and I gasped while gripping with some white-knuckle action the door handle of the truck. A black granite (my husband is a geologist and he is telling me that calling it granite is too simple of an explanation and it's actually a metamorphosed granite rock called gnise... so, there ya go...) that is stunningly beautiful and entirely unexpected. The canyon walls are frighteningly steep and descend into a picturesque river canyon some 1800 feet below. Once again, it was hardly populated at all, making our short visit even more pleasant. We will be returning asap to hike and explore!
Grand Teton National Park
Directly south of Yellowstone National Park lies, in my opinion, one of the world's best kept secrets. Grand Teton is breathtaking. Barely any foothills exist and then out of the earth juts amazing mountains that peak to nearly 14,000 feet. Think about that for a second. Fourteen-thousand feet. And there isn't just one mountain peak. There are 12 peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation. Wildlife is everywhere here and so are the hiking opportunities. A hiker can stay in the Teton valley and experience mile after mile of flat, paved bike trail or head up in elevation and pick any one of hundreds of miles of trails just waiting for you. The 11,000 foot peak adjacent to the most recent hike we did is called Disappointment Peak, as the explorers thought they got to the highest peak when they saw Disappointment Peak, only to realize Grand Teton was looming just in the distance.
Watch out for bears. They like exploring the trails here, too.
Someone once asked me what my favorite National Park/Monument/Historic place was. I never really thought much about which was my favorite because there could be so many different "favorites."
Favorite getaway?
Favorite adventure?
Most scenic?
Most awe-inspiring?
Most unexpected?
Here's my list of can't-miss locations that are just beyond a Top Five.
Friendship Hill National Historic Site:
A few hours outside of Pittsburgh, the country estate of Albert Gallatin is perched peacefully on a beautiful hillside. Gallatin was instrumental in the early years of the United States as the Secretary of the Treasury. Friendship Hill is wonderfully preserved and gently requires the visitor - unbeknownst to that visitor - to slow down and contemplate life. I really didn't want to leave. Of all of the old-fashioned country estates I have been to, this one made me really get what they're all about. Getting away, exploring, relaxing and enjoying the simple things like family and nature.
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| Friendship Hill National Historic Site - Pennsylvania (Photo Credit: Lisa Miller) |
Great Basin National Park
So... Nevada. There's Las Vegas, Reno and a whole lotta desert. Right? I mean US-50 is dubbed "the loneliest road in America" for a reason! One mid-October weekend, we decided to go and see why the heck some random President would even consider preserving a tiny patch of far east-central Nevada.
Here's the part where you forget everything you thought you knew about the great state of Nevada.
Great Basin is home to an amazing array of forest, field and even caves! Because it is so remote, light pollution is at a minimum so exploring the night sky is a premium here. It gets pretty cold at night, as the base elevation is around 6800 feet. The Lehman cave tour is excellent.
 |
| Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park - Nevada (Photo Credit: Lisa Miller) |
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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
There's a trend within this post. Most of the Honorable Mention sites were happened upon sort of by accident. We went to Black Canyon (of the Gunnison) National Park as a stop over on our way from Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs. We drove in on an unimpressive, narrow road on the way to the visitor center. I even exclaimed to my husband while he was driving, "boooooooooring!" It was all scrub oak and puny trees. Then, we turned the slight curve and I gasped while gripping with some white-knuckle action the door handle of the truck. A black granite (my husband is a geologist and he is telling me that calling it granite is too simple of an explanation and it's actually a metamorphosed granite rock called gnise... so, there ya go...) that is stunningly beautiful and entirely unexpected. The canyon walls are frighteningly steep and descend into a picturesque river canyon some 1800 feet below. Once again, it was hardly populated at all, making our short visit even more pleasant. We will be returning asap to hike and explore!
 |
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado (Photo Credit: Lisa Miller) |
 |
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - Colorado (Photo Credit: Lisa Miller) |
Directly south of Yellowstone National Park lies, in my opinion, one of the world's best kept secrets. Grand Teton is breathtaking. Barely any foothills exist and then out of the earth juts amazing mountains that peak to nearly 14,000 feet. Think about that for a second. Fourteen-thousand feet. And there isn't just one mountain peak. There are 12 peaks over 12,000 feet in elevation. Wildlife is everywhere here and so are the hiking opportunities. A hiker can stay in the Teton valley and experience mile after mile of flat, paved bike trail or head up in elevation and pick any one of hundreds of miles of trails just waiting for you. The 11,000 foot peak adjacent to the most recent hike we did is called Disappointment Peak, as the explorers thought they got to the highest peak when they saw Disappointment Peak, only to realize Grand Teton was looming just in the distance.
Watch out for bears. They like exploring the trails here, too.
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| Ampitheater Lake, Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming (Photo Credit: Lisa Miller) |
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