Stephan's Cool U.S. Destinations

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The Grand Canyon is one of the incredible natural wonders of the world (why it's a World Heritage site!). You can't understand the size of the canyon until you are actually there in person.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Grand Canyon National Park, 1997.

Tombstone, Arizona. Location of the infamous "Shootout" at the OK Corral with Wyatt Earp, Tombstone is a quaint little town in southeastern Arizona. Check out a piece of the Old West!
LINKS:
The official City of Tombstone website
Photo page of the City of Tombstone, 1997.

Angeles National Forest, California. Just north of Los Angeles, Angeles is composed primarily of the San Gabriel mountains that form the northern border of the Los Angeles basin. The most well-known of its peaks is Mt. Baldy (aka Mt. San Antonio). It has many good hiking trails and is accessed from CA route 2 (Angeles Crest Highway) which is often closed due to landslides.
LINKS:
The Official Forest Service website
Photo page of Angeles National Forest from Vincent Gap to Mt. Baden-Powell and Mt. Throop, 2005.

Channel Islands National Park, California. See my scuba stuff webpage.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Devils Postpile National Monument, California. Interesting rock formation from crystallized lava flow resulting in columns of hexagonal rock.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

El Dorado National Forest, California. East of Placerville in northern California, this is where you go to white-water raft the American River.
LINKS:
The Official Forest Service website
Photo page of El Dorado National Forest, White-water rafting trip, 2005.

Lassen Volcanic National Park, California. An active volcano in northern California? Along with Mt. Shasta (another "active" volcano in northern California), Lassen adds to the beauty of northern California.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Yosemite National Park, California. Made famous by Ansel Adam's photographs and the favorite haunt of John Muir, Yosemite is a special place. One of the jewels of the NPS, Yosemite even with the horrendous summer crowds in the Valley, is still a very beautiful place. The valley in the springtime, with its sheer cliffs and numerous waterfalls from snowmelt, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Who hasn't seen a photograph of Half Dome?
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Yosemite National Park, 1995 and 2005.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, Colorado, is home to some of the most impressive mountains in the lower 48 states, including Long's Peak (14,259 ft above sea level). It has an extremely scenic mountain road called the Trail Ridge Road, which crosses the continental divide and is usually surrounded by snow.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Rocky Mountain National Park, 1996.

Everglades National Park, Florida. Don't come here if you can't stand a few mosquitoes! The Everglades is a large, freshwater wetlands area, is that the home to the American alligator, crocodile, and multiple other creatures including 11 species of mosquitoes. Come well-protected with DEET.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Key Biscayne National Park, Florida. The park is mostly water, islands, and mangroves, so be prepared to rent a boat or else you won't see much.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Two separate activities located in the same geographic location...one involving the U.S. space program, and the other, the home to twenty-one different threathened or endangered species.
LINKS:
The Kennedy Space Center
The Official Fish and Wildlife Service website

Haleakala National Park, Hawaii. Haleakala is the eastern volcano on the island of Maui. An interesting place to visit, it has many indigeneous species only found in the Hawaiian islands including the nene and silversword.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i. Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island of Hawai'i, is the home of Kilauea, the site of the longest current volcanic eruption. Although the current eruption is occuring from a vent many miles away, you can drive around the main crater and visit a few interesting spots, including old lava tubes, and some sulpher vents. You can also walk by recent lava.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, 2000.

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. Mammoth cave is the largest and most famous cave system known in the world. Suhad and I went there for the first time in September of 1999. We stayed at a motel just north of Cave City. We went on two tours of the cave system--Introduction to Caving and the Historic Tour.
We highly recommend the Intro tour as it is very fun. The guides take you through several narrow passageways, some of which you have to crawl on your belly, for a total tour lasting 3 1/2 hours. Plan on getting dirty and reserve your spots early, as space is limited. All gear (lamps, helmets, knee pads) is provided and you keep your helmets. There is also a longer caving tour called the Wild Cave Tour, which is over 6 hours long. Below are some links to sites for more information and photos of our trip.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service Mammoth Cave Site
Mammoth Cave Online, the best site for tourist information about the Mammoth Cave area.
Photo page of Mammoth Cave, 1999.

Boston National Historical Park, Massachusetts. Formerly a national monument, the park encompasses the Freedom Trail from downtown Boston, over to Charlestown where the battle of Bunker Hill on Breed's Hill was fought.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Boston National Historic Park, 2005.

Glacier National Park, Montana. Glacier is another, extremely mountainous park in the Rocky Mountains....in some ways similar to Rocky Mountain National Park. However, it's Canadian partner (Waterton Lakes) across the border make it a special place.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Glacier National Park, 1996.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. Crater Lake is another special place in the world. It is a snowmelt-fed lake in the center of a volcano. The water is reportedly the clearest in the world, and the lake itself is incredibly deep. You can swim in the lake from the north (freezing cold!), but most people drive around the crater.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Crater Lake National Park, 1996.

Independenc Hall National Historic Park, Pennsylvania. The birthplace of our nation, and home to the cracked Liberty Bell. A must-see for the U.S. history buffs.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Badlands National Park, South Dakota. A very eerie, and desolate place; especially at dusk.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Arches National Park, Utah. Arches is home for the largest number of "natural arches" in the world, including Delicate Arch (seen on the Utah centennial license plate). Created by wind mostly, these rock formations are quite incredible to actually see. Some are very remote and require hours to hike to, but most of Arches is actually very accessible. Warning...extremely hot in the summer time and very busy!
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Arches, 1996.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. Bryce, another jewel of the NPS, is famous for its fantastical, pink and salmon-colored "hoodoos." Cooler in the summer time because of its altitude, it's also another busy spot in the summer.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Bryce Canyon, 1996.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Canyonlands, a less-known park in Utah, is home to some of the best 4-wheel driving in the lower 48. Don't attempt it unless you have some experience! The park is very rugged and most of it is very remote. Water is a commodity here!
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Canyonlands, 1996.

Capital Reef National Park, Utah. Capitol Reef is an island in the hot and dry Colorado plateau. Centered around the oasis of Fruita, it is an interesting place with alot of history.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Capitol Reef, 1996.

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. Unique erosion-made rock formations make Cedar Breaks different.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website

Zion National Park, Utah. Zion National Park, centered around the canyon of the Virgin River, is another one of Utah's great geological formations. A favorite is the hike through the river-carved canyon.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Zion, 1997.

Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington House, Virginia. The finally resting place to some of the greatest American men and women, which happened by no strange coincidence to land right on the Lee family property.
LINKS:
The Official cemetery website
The Official National Park Service website

Olympic National Park, Washington. Named for the Olympic peninsula that juts out from the rest of Washington state, Olympic National Park is the only rainforest in the lower 48. Incredibly lush and wet on the western side, it is an unique ecosystem.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Olympic National Park, 1996.

Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin. Devil's Lake is one of the few places in the upper Midwest where you can rock climb. Near Baraboo, Wisconsin, in central Wisconsin, it also is a great place to hike with interesting rock formations, and sheer glacier-cut cliffs.
LINKS:
Devil's Lake State Park Visitor Website
Photo page of Devil's Lake, 1999.

Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming. Devil's Tower, made famous by "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," is an incredible rock formation that stands out from the surrounding area. Once a sacred site for Native Americans, it's known now as a big rock-climbing hangout.
LINKS:
The Official National Park Service website
Photo page of Devils Tower National Monument, 1996.