Scenic Road Trips
Vacation Ideas

This could be done in a day but to fully enjoy it all you could easily make it a leisurely 2 or 3 day vacation trip. Follow I-16 to I-95 South. Visit the Fort McAllister museum just east of Richmond Hill.

Darien, The Marches of Glynn, and Brunswick are all great stops along the way. The historical and beautiful Golden Isles are made up of St. Simons Island, Sea Island and Jekyll Island.

Sights I saw included museums such as the Museum of the Prairie in Colby, Kansas; parks such as Donner Pass; and tourist traps such as Wall Drug in South Dakota. By the time you have seen ten or fifteen billboards and as many bumper stickers advertising Wall Drug you simply have to stop to see what the big deal is.

Another interesting aspect of this trip is the opportunity to watch the changes in landscape. Ohio is flat (the western part, that is) and we have a lot of corn and soy beans. That is very different from, say, the salt flats outside of Salt Lake City or the badlands or the Rocky Mountains.

Whether breathing hard because of altitude in the Rockies or becoming concerned about having enough gasoline to get to the next station in Nevada, it is always interesting to have these new experiences and to contemplate the lives of the locals for whom Ohio would be exotic.

It was also fun to have kids remark about my Ohio license plate as if that were strange and unusual! It's so easy to fly and get from one place to another as quickly as possible, but I prefer driving the long road and the gradual adjustment from one place to another, the slow road to the exotic.

We spent two days at the Canyon and had a great time. My sister is a photographer and like many in her profession, she considers the Grand Canyon to be Mecca. From sun up to sun down we hiked the trails looking for the perfect photo opportunity (thank God our hotel had a hot tub).

After our visit at the Canyon, we cut across the state, heading for Canyon de Chelly. Somehow and quite by accident (so I got lost) we ended up in the small town of Kayenta, which is notable for the gateway to Monument Valley, in the Navajo Reservation.

So, as long as we were there, we decided to check out the sights and stay the night. Our timing at Monument Valley couldn't have been more perfect as we hit it right at sunset.

It was a perfect sunset to say the least. The plateaus and mesas were absolutely breathtaking with the hues from the setting sun. We couldn't have planned it any better.

Our next stop was Canyon de Chelly just outside of Chinle Arizona. It was a two-hour hike to the bottom and the views from the trail provide my sister with many splendid photos. At the bottom of there are ruins from the Anasazi people and it is a must see for anyone who appreciates ancient dwellings. Finally it was time to head back to Tucson.

We turned south and headed toward the Petrified Forest for a quick stop before driving through the White Mountains and the Apache Reservation.

Once again, the scenery was spectacular and the ponderosa pines and flowing streams was quite the contrast from the desert we had been traveling through. My sister and I have vacationed together frequently since then, but we both agree that this Arizona road trip was the best vacation ever.

You will see spectacular scenery including icy blue glaciers, saltwater bays, spruce forests, alpine meadows and valleys, crystal lakes, fast rushing rivers and a lot more.

The Beluga Point Scenic Overlook is an excellent place to spot whales. Along the way there are plenty of places where you can stop to enjoy fishing, hunting, backpacking, camping or skiing.

The most fabulous adventure that we went on was a visit to a historical park close to downtown Nashville. We explored houses from the 1900's and ate frozen pops from a local vendor. Some members of our family had the opportunity to drive by some famous country singers' houses. The road trip to Nashville TN had something for everyone.

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