Monday, October 11, 2010

My Top Five

Several bloggers have recently done posts on five places they are glad they haven't missed in their travels, and five places they still have on their "bucket list." I thought I'd give it a shot...

I'll start with 5 of my favorite places. These are places I have gone more than once, and would be happy going back to every year. Follow the links to my original posts on each place.


1. Southern Utah

I fell in love with the 5 National Parks in Southern Utah almost 20 years ago. Even before I started RVing, I used to fly there every year. The Devils Garden trail in Arches National Park, where you walk on top of fins, is the trail that got me hooked on hiking.


Canyonlands National Park is wide open. Just when I thought I'd seen everything, a friend took me to "False Kiva," a little-known, almost secret hike.


The trail to the top of Angel's Landing, in Zion National Park, goes up that ridge, and is quite an experience.


2. Highway 395

My last 8 posts have been about this favorite - Highway 395 between Bridgeport and Lone Pine in California. I still have one post left to do.


The area is chock full of beautiful hikes, fine hot springs, and natural wonders.


3. The East Side of Glacier National Park

Where the West side of Glacier is heavily wooded, the East side is wide open. This year I finally got to do the hike to Grinnell Glacier, certainly one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever done.


A few years ago I hiked to Iceberg Lake and saw grizzly bears along the way. What an experience! Both of these hikes leave from the Many Glacier section of the park.


4. The Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington

My favorite place here is on the Skyline Trail at Mount Ranier. A short-but-steep trail goes straight up the mountain. Wildflowers are everywhere!


And the Cascade Lakes auto loop outside of Bend, Oregon has some fantastic sights - volcanoes and volcanic rock among beautiful lakes.


5. The Wave

The Wave is a sandstone formation in northern Arizona that is very popular with photographers. To go there, you need to get a permit, and they are given out by lottery - only 10 per day on the internet, and 10 per day in person. I've been pretty lucky and have been able to go 4 times over the last 12 years, but I'd be ready to go again tomorrow.

Now, what about the top 5 places on my "bucket list." Hmmmmmmm..... I can think of a couple, Havasu Falls and Copper Canyon come to mind, but I can't come up with 5.

What's wrong with me? Have I seen everything? Is it time to get off the road?

No, I don't think so. I've been on the road a long time and have seen a lot. But maybe I need some new ideas. So, how about it, folks? Post your top 5 and maybe I'll find something to add to my list!

20 comments:

  1. Great list, since we have yet to vist any of these, we clearly need to keep traveling

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  2. Great choices in your top five. However, I never tire of southern Utah and the greater Four Corners area. There is always more to explore and -- for me -- the beauty is unmatched.

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  3. Hooray! Top 5 lives on! I love your list; I've gone and stolen a few of your ideas. ;)

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  4. Oh my goodness, I've never heard of the Wave, but your photo is magnificent! Guess I'll have to go there. It sounds like you prefer the West, but have you ever gone East? There are some great places there as well. :)

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  5. And who are those charming people walking through the wave? Good choices. I'll have think about this and come up with different choices. The beauty of southern Utah is tough to beat, though.

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  6. In Southern Utah...on my next adventure I hope to visit Grand SC of Escalante, and Capitol Reef and the Firehouse ruins at Cedar Mesa.
    In NM I want to see Chaco Canyon because I love to see the Ruins (I hate to call them ruins)..and the petroglyphs! Socorro NM the Bosche Apache Wildlife Refuge, I want to see Sunset Crater, in AZ THE WAVE is still on my list...that lotto thing is difficult to work into a schedule-- and Mt Hood is very high on my list & The Cascade Loop too!
    Norhtern California goes along with that one and then UP to Alberta!!! I think that is more than 5 I LOVED your top 5 hits..and your photos are proof that those are all MUST SEE Spots!!
    Happy trials-

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  7. I was so surprised by the Green River in Utah, and the many log cabins in that area too. The depth of it all.

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  8. Wonderful, wonderful choices. I've been thinking about what our top 5 would be ... will have to come up with a list from our pre-RV travel days since we've only had our motorhome for 5 mos :-)))

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  9. Our top 5 been to places, no paticular order

    1. Gros Morne Nat'l Park, Newfoundland, Cda
    2. Waterton lakes Nat'l Park, Alberta, Cda (Canadian Side of Glacier Lakes Nat'l Park)
    3. Banff and Jasper Nat'l Parks, Alberta, Cda
    4. Grand Canyon, Arizona
    5. Palanque, Chiapas, Mexico

    Top 5 places we would like to go to.

    1. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Afica
    2. Alaska, USA and Yukon and Northwest Territories, Cda
    3. Iceland
    4. Antartica
    5. All the western states, USA

    There are so many more...

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  10. Goodness those would be my favorite also, I loved the wavy place that is just so breathtaking. If I had to name five places I would say:

    Saratoga, NY
    Carolina Beach, NC
    Myrtle Beach, SC
    Gatlingburg, TN
    Boone, NC
    Asheville, NC

    Those are places I have been, not as fancy as yours but Its away from home LOL

    Hope you are having a good week :o)

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  11. Agree about the Wave. Love the Moab area and really all of the NP in Utah. Newfoundland is fantastic as is BC and going to Alaska but the #1 has to be rafting through the Grand Canyon. Have done it twice and will do it again for our anniversary....

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  12. The Wave photo is great - I'd love to see it in person. You DO seem to favor the West, which I'm happy about, because when I get on the road, I'm going to go North from San Diego first and see some of the places you've posted about.
    Great list of favorites!
    Barbara

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  13. I've wanted to get to The Wave for years! Great list, lovely places.

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  14. Great list... Mine would include Yosemite NP, Yellowstone NP, Toroweap (North Rim of Grand Canyon), the beaches on the North shore of Kauai and almost anywhere in Italy. My top bucket list destination is Machu Picchu. Navajo Falls in Havasupai (AKA Havasu Falls) were beautiful. Unfortunately I believe they are now dry following a flash flood which occurred in 2008. Happy trails...

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  15. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge south of Eureka Springs Arkansas........... We had a full grown Siberian Tiger no more than 50 feet from our Pod!!!! It was an amazing experience!!!

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  16. Very cool list! Some of those we've seen, and some we definitely haven't. Gotta add 'em to the list!

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  17. I'm a litte late to the party butin no particular order, here's some of my favorite places...

    Sequoia National Park - Three Rivers California

    White Mountains region - New Hampshire

    Moosehead Lake region - Greenville Maine

    Griffith Park - Hollywood Ca.

    Mount Washington - North Conway NH

    Banff and Jasper - B.C. Canada

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  18. A fewof the top places would be Crater Lake NP in southern Oregon, the Green River in Wyoming and and the Snake River in Wyoming.

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