I like to road trip. Every few years my traveling bone gets to itching, and I take a few weeks off work and hit the road. It all started when I was just weeks fresh out of college and the first job I could find in forestry was doing forest inventory on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana.
Since that trip I've visited virtually every state in the country with the exception of California and the New England states.
If you go to the Blackfeet reservation, You'll be in a culture shock, especially if you've only ever lived on the east coast. Its big, and empty out there. Not passing another car for 1-2 hours on some of the state roads is perfectly normal. You won't find any of your usual chain restaurants, and unless things have changed, the closest Walmart to Browning, MT was 112 miles away in Kalispell. Culturally different too. The Blackfeet have their own way of doing things. Kids play outside in the street, and everyone's dogs are loose (the whole town shares the dogs, it seems) While I was out there, I got to attend the big yearly tribal powwow, and Also got to see one of the sacred sites where some of the more traditional men still do the sun dance. Alcoholism and drug use is sadly high on the res, and its common for folks to panhandle for money near the package store.
Devil's Tower, Wyoming is neat to see. Big Sky Brewing makes excellent beer. Moose Drool is a great brown ale.
Go to Glacier NP some time if you haven't. Beautiful place. Stop in the Glacier lodge too. Huge timber building that uses massive tree trunks to support the roof. The early 1930's busses they use for tours are a treat to see too. As part of ford's 100th anniversary, Ford modernised the whole fleet with modern engines and drivelines, and restored the bodies back to original condition.
Mt. Rushmore is really neat, but the observation deck is a lot further from the mountain than it looks in photos. First thing you notice is that all photos of Rushmore have been taken with zoom lenses. Still, its a great part of American history to see.
After my father died, my mother told me about how she'd always wanted to see the US, but my father had always been reluctant to travel. More than anything, she wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so last year, I took 2 weeks off work and drove her out there. Mom had no idea how big the US really was. When we got to Oklahoma, she was starting to get mad, and wondered why we hadn't "seen anything" yet. I had to break out the US interstate map and show her just how big the US was.
We saw meteor crater, and several smaller canyon systems before making it to the Grand Canyon. Its breathtaking to see. I'm really hoping to go see it again in the next few years.
I took mom on a drive through both old and new vegas too. She's got no interest in gambling, but she liked seeing all the lights. I pointed out Gold and Silver Pawn, where pawn stars takes place.
Zion National park is beautiful, but due to the terrain, its kinda cramped feeling, compared to a lot of the "big, open" west.
Haven't been to Arches yet, but want to go there soon.
The badlands of South Dakota are a special place to me. Anytime I'm passing through SD, I try and take at least a half day to park and just walk out into the badlands. If you like star gazing, its a great place to spend a clear night.
Since this is a gun board, I'll mention that I always travel with a gun. Usually with a handgun, and sometimes a carbine as well. The one time I drove into Canada I didn't bring one, but you didn't need a passport back then either. Should I go back, I'll have to find somewhere to leave my gun for safe keeping for the day.
Washington State is a beautiful place. Love the coastal rainforest, and getting to watch the sun set over the pacific ocean. The people in the small towns are very nice too, despite being fairly liberal. I can tolerate the nice liberals. Thankfully they're not all screaming moonbats.
Coastal Washington is a nice place to visit during the winter here. It stays green there year round, and the winter temps rarely drop below the mid 50's.
I'll think on it, and if I can come up with any unique stories about any of my travels to all these places, I'll try and share them. Perhaps I can tell ya'll about chasing a grizzly bear across open prairie with a Jeep. Or getting knocked out when hitting a boulder hidden in grass with said jeep.
