There are a few relatively unique and obvious places in the United States that I’ve yet to visit, but seem like a ‘DOH!’ when I tell people such. I’ve never been to New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, or anywhere in Texas. Silly, isn’t it? For a travel writer from the USA to have never visited some of the most famous places in the country definitely sounds a bit silly to me. But I digress – mostly. If you’re an avid reader here on Eye & Pen, then you know that I’m gearing up for my upcoming USA road trip. So, basically, everyday I am scouring the internet for interesting attractions and ‘must see’ things to do along this road trip. I’ve already researched nearly half of the trip so far, but I have so much more to plan out. I have to research all possible stops, and important places, and then plot each thing on a map, planning out each and every possibility, so that I’m not wasting a ton of time by backtracking along the routing, or potentially show up and have no idea of what to do or where I should go. I at least want to have a large list planned out, just in case.
With that said, I’ve started researching some of the stops and my possible routing for the Southwest USA region. You know, places like New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California. While I’m super stoked to roam around the Smokey Mountains, the Florida Keys, and all along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to Florida, I’m even more excited to experience the amazing desert formations and beautiful areas in Arizona, Colorado, and of course, the Sierra Nevada range in California. Sure, there are other places that top my list of what ‘I HAVE TO SEE” along this road trip, like Glacier & Yellowstone National Park’s, and Canada’s famous Rockies and Banff regions. Though, I could talk all day about the amazing places I will be checking out and exploring throughout this upcoming trip, I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of my ABSOLUTE favorite places that I SERIOUSLY can’t wait to see…
Northern Arizona
To be honest, I didn’t know that Arizona was SO crazy-beautiful. I knew there were areas out West that were rather breathtaking and amazing, but Arizona takes the cake – or rather, Arizona created the recipe, baked the cake, and scarfed it all down, and again! With treasures like Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon, and Monument Valley, among many others across the state (and across the state lines of Utah and Colorado), you really can’t pick a more beautiful place to experience the great American desert.
Las Vegas
Although Las Vegas is famous for its ‘Sin City’ dark side, with casino gambling, legal prostitution, and a history of crime syndication, I find Las Vegas most intriguing for its wealth of theater shows – where many of best shows are permanent installments, which can’t be seen anywhere else in the world. Las Vegas has an (almost) endless amount of shows to choose from, and throughout my research I’ve found that BestofVegas.com has some of the best deals, because some of the theater shows (especially the higher end, more famous performances) can be quite pricey.
Sierra Nevadas
I’m a nature lover. I would trade away years in any given city around the world so that I could spend my final days in the wilderness. I’m in love with the feeling of being in touch with the Earth, nothing beats breathing in fresh woodland air and a mesmerizing natural landscape – but perhaps, that’s simply the inner-photographer in me, lusting for gorgeous scenes to shoot. California’s Sierra Nevada region has made this list because of its expansive and seemingly endless terrain – it oozes nature, and raw, untouched beauty! If you’re not quite familiar with this region of Cali, you will likely recognize these National Park titles: Yosemite, Sequoia, and King’s Canyon. Basically, the Sierra Nevada region stretches along the eastern half of the state – and I CAN NOT WAIT!
(Photo by quinet via Flickr)
Northern Arizona
To be honest, I didn’t know that Arizona was SO crazy-beautiful. I knew there were areas out West that were rather breathtaking and amazing, but Arizona takes the cake – or rather, Arizona created the recipe, baked the cake, and scarfed it all down, and again! With treasures like Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon, and Monument Valley, among many others across the state (and across the state lines of Utah and Colorado), you really can’t pick a more beautiful place to experience the great American desert.
Las Vegas
Although Las Vegas is famous for its ‘Sin City’ dark side, with casino gambling, legal prostitution, and a history of crime syndication, I find Las Vegas most intriguing for its wealth of theater shows – where many of best shows are permanent installments, which can’t be seen anywhere else in the world. Las Vegas has an (almost) endless amount of shows to choose from, and throughout my research I’ve found that BestofVegas.com has some of the best deals, because some of the theater shows (especially the higher end, more famous performances) can be quite pricey.
Sierra Nevadas
I’m a nature lover. I would trade away years in any given city around the world so that I could spend my final days in the wilderness. I’m in love with the feeling of being in touch with the Earth, nothing beats breathing in fresh woodland air and a mesmerizing natural landscape – but perhaps, that’s simply the inner-photographer in me, lusting for gorgeous scenes to shoot. California’s Sierra Nevada region has made this list because of its expansive and seemingly endless terrain – it oozes nature, and raw, untouched beauty! If you’re not quite familiar with this region of Cali, you will likely recognize these National Park titles: Yosemite, Sequoia, and King’s Canyon. Basically, the Sierra Nevada region stretches along the eastern half of the state – and I CAN NOT WAIT!
(Photo by quinet via Flickr)
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