Charlie and I are not ones for relaxing vacations. We've already covered most of the Northeast, some of the Southwest, some of the Northwest and Canada for some vacations, so this year we're looking for something a little different. We thought about a resort/beach/tropical vacation, but thought we could wait a few more years before we "settle down" with vacations. Here's what we're looking at so far:
Buying one-way tickets to either Seattle, Portland or San Fran and driving back across the country stopping at all of those little places that you wouldn't really make a full vacation out of (ie: Mt. Rushmore). Seeing as I've never even been to most of these states, we're looking for places to stop. Off the beaten path would be best, but also national or state parks that you'd recommend, bodies of water, major cities, ball parks... anything!
We're planning on sticking to the upper half of the country, but have no set route yet, so everything is fair game. We have about 12 days to spend driving back and would love to incorporate hiking, swimming, site-seeing and maybe a little relaxing (if there's time left over!)
Post a comment if you've been anywhere of note that we should check out.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Seeking Suggestions
Posted by Beth at 11:56 AM
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Here's a list (probably too long) of places I've been and recommend (from west to east). Mostly scenic places with opportuities for relaxing and hiking. A Google Images search will help visualize most of them. Apologies for the lack of complete sentences.
- Seattle Mariners ball park (fairly new)
- Southern Washington and North-central Oregon have great scenery, hiking, and whitewater rafting (see www.wetplanetwhitewater.com)
- Multnomah Falls, Mt. Hood...and I-84 East of Portland, OR
- Crater Lake National Park
- Lake Tahoe - you might be able to ski and swim the same day
- Not much in Salt Lake - great mountains to the east, and you could float yourself in the Great Salt Lake (way saltier than the oceans)
- I hear Coeur D'Alene Idaho is nice, but haven't been there
- Same goes for most of Montana
- Yellowstone Nat'l Park and the Tetons are a must-see in my book.
- Cody Wyoming has a rodeo every night...haven't seen it personally though
- Devil's Tower in eastern Wyoming is cool
- Half of Colorado is mountains - go anywhere and you'll probably be satisfied
- Great Sand Dunes National Monument in South-central CO has a nice campground and it's fun to hike up to the top of the tallest dune and either run down (in 15-foot strides, or take a sled and go that way)
- Black Hills, SD are beautiful (Mt. Rushmore is nice for a drive-by photo shoot as far as I'm concerned)
- Badlands are a fun sight to see
- ND, SD, and Neb. are a 5-8 hour drive...'nuff said
- Mall of America in MN will satisfy any shopping need you might have
- Valley Fair (roller coaster theme park) is a good one in MN
- Boundary Waters Canoe area in Northern Minn. is a gem - imagine canoeing 3-5 lakes in one day and hauling your canoe just a few hundred yards between each...it might be too much time/effort for a whirlwind trip
- Field of Dreams is in Dyersville, IA - "Go the distance..."
- KC and St. Louis are good for a baseball game, some BBQ ribs (KC) and an arch
- Notre Dame's campus is nice, and you can see "touchdown Jesus" and the Irish FB stadium (note the near-absence of advertising within the stadium)
- The hotly debated "Creation Museum" might be a good stop near Cincinnati
- Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH is a great (huge) museum
- Whew, that's all I've got...I hear Pittsburgh is nice. :)
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