I read where the Travel Industry Association of America just listed the “top 10 American treasures” after an extensive survey. Here’s the list of “must-sees”:
1. The Grand Canyon
2. The Statue of Liberty
3. Yellowstone National Park
4. White House/monuments of Washington, D.C.
5. Niagara Falls
6. Hawaiian islands
7. Mount Rushmore
8. Redwood forests
9. Glaciers/fjords of Alaska
10. Rocky Mountains
Having been to 9 of the 10 (all but Niagara Falls), I have no problem with any being there. Well, I don’t know that I’d put Rushmore in the the top 10, though it’s very impressive. But doesn’t Yosemite have to be there somewhere? What about the trees and mountains of VT/NH? Or the Florida Keys?
Let’s expand the list a couple more. What should be added to the list of “top 12 must-sees in the USA”?
The exit sign to Possum Grape, Arkansas.
Continuing along the same lines, Bee Rock. And how could they leave Romance, Arkansas off the list. Get real!
What did you expect from this crowd?
BUSCH STADIUM!!!
Let me add two Eden-like places I’ve visited this season:
Acadia National Park in Maine, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Bald Knob, Arkansas.
Just kidding.
Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Traverse City, Michigan.
Historic Boston, Massachusetts, for sure.
The white sands of the Gulf Coast!
I have to agree that Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Traverse City, MI are a must!
Napa/Sonoma - so rich in beauty, culinary delights and romance!
The Swedlund’s back yard.
Folly Beach, Hilton Head Island, SC at sundown
Big Sur, CA and high Sierra and northern CA’s giant trees.
The coastal Torrey Pines, again, CA, and the Joshua Trees of CA’s desert, the Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco and San Diego bays,… Oh well, why not just say CALIFORNIA, and get it over with. LOL
And Dusty, I’d have to say
PETCO Park SD,CA!!
Hell’s Canyon, Idaho.
Mississippi River
Big Sur
Pete the Mule in Muleshoe, TX
i’d have to put the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake down. it’s pretty, and it’s weird. i guess you could say it’s pretty weird.
Number 11 has got to be COLLEGE FOOTBALL !!!
The Boll Weavel Monument in Enterprise, AL.
It is a must see, hahahaha!
Yankee Stadium - The House that Ruth Built!
Central Illinois…a few miles out of town…surrounded by corn gently waving in the wind, the sun warm on your head, inhaling the scents of warm earth and clover.
I can’t think of a more beautiful place!
Most of Alaska, including the Northern Lights.
The Painted Desert
Mesa Verde National Park
The coast of Washington State
I don’t know, but my husband is British, and the first place most of his mates want to drive to in the US is Lubbock in the state of Texas, home of Buddy Holly. I think that’s pretty weird, actually not very pretty. Go figure.
But then maybe the TIAA’s extensive survey didn’t ask foreigners for their view point.
If you have ever stood on the Golden Gate Bridge at Sunset you would know that should be in the top 5. I totally agree with you about Yosemite! Because I’ve never been the to the Hawaiian islands I am asking any blog reader to send me and my family there strictly for the purposes of researching and thus establishing its deservance of the #6 spot. In fact, I’ll cover the flight - I just need someone who truly loves this blog to cover the hotel, food, and rental car costs.
Please keep in mind that I’m willing to “go through this” only because I care about the credibility of Mike Cope and his blog.
Definitely Hawaiian islands, definitely Florida Keys. Definitely Yosemite.
Wrigley Field
Kona, Hawaii
Check my addition to this list on my blog…
http://dontcallmetaj.blogspot.com
Definitely Big Sur and Muir Woods in California, the Smokey Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Hawaii, beautiful countryside in Great Britain and Canada . . . hmmm . . . It’s an incredibly beautiful, awe-inspiring world God created for us, huh?!
(Lubbock, TX???)
Fenway
Lake Placid, New York
None of these are probably well enough known to make the “Top 12″ but they are amazing natural treasures!
-Multnomah Falls in Oregon
-Baxter State Park in Maine(the beginning of the Appalachian Trail)
- Underhill State Park in Vermont-If you REALLY want to get away, I suggest Underhill in the fall. It’s up a hill on a winding dirt road and they only allow tent camping. The foliage will leave you speechless!
- Morro Rock in Morro Bay, CA
- Seven Falls in Colorado Springs
- The Rusty Barrel (steakhouse) in Ponca City, OK (where I live!)
- The Driller statue at the Tulsa Fairgrounds!
South Padre Island
Lubbock, TX……
It’s the inner beauty — gotta be! Of course, if you travel 38 miles southeast, you will find Post, TX which has a little more outer beauty.
Any snow capped mountain in Colorado during ski season. Love being on the lift and breathing the air about as much as skiing down the mountain. Virgin snow as far as the eye can see.
Keith
Any West Texas town on Friday nights for high school football.
The Oregon coastline.
This is a little wierd, (not as wierd as BugTussle Texas) but Carlsbad Caverns is really something to see!
And Mike, you really ought to take your bride to Niagara falls. Spend a day getting soaked by the mist. Pretty nice on a hot day.
Flint Hills of Kansas (Kansas Turnpike)
The Great Smokey Mountains and even though it is man-made and incredibly commercial, walking under the train station into Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom gives me goose bumps. That is truly a magical place.
The flat plains of Texas during a thunderstorm!
Prairie Dog Town, Lubbock, Texas
Beaches of Destin, Florida
I walked the Freedom Trail in Boston in early November, when the leaves were still pretty. Very cool. And something I’ll be forcing my kids to do when they start getting bored with history classes.
I’d have to agree with the TIAA’s #6 choice of Hawaii. My family and I spent about ten days there last summer, and it was amazing. God’s creation is so beautiful. My favorite sights were the thousands of brightly colored fish that we viewed through our snorkel masks and the amazing waterfalls and lush canyons carved by the water in Kauai that we viewed from a helicopter.
Also, I’m not necessarily a big city girl in that I would want to live there, but I am always incredibly impressed by the view across the water of the skylines of New York City and Chicago.
I’d have to say…besides Disney World of course!…Paducah, KY…which, might I add, is right in the middle of Possum Trot and Monkey’s Eyebrow…how sad is that?!?
Dang it, I have only made it to 4 out of the 10…I will have to work on that.
I second all of the Lubbock, Texas ones-and the football games in any West Texas town! HA!
I am definitely going to have to plan a road trip to see Pete the Mule in Muleshoe-thanks Val!! I’ll remember to bring my nose pinchers with me, too…
Lake Placid, NY and White Sands, NM…those are about as opposite one another as Odessa & Seattle.
I almost said White Sands!
Top 10 - American (Blank)
10. Houston
9. Dallas
8. Tyler
7. Amarillo
6. Lubbock
5. San Angelo
4. Laredo
3. Midland
2. Odessa
1. Abilene
God has a sense of humor….
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