Places to See Before You Die: The North American Version

The view from the Aquarium in Seward, AK

A Navajo Hogan - New Mexico or Arizona??

The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

The Space Needle, Seattle, WA

Hearst Castle, CA

Sequoia National Park, CA

The Beach south of Carmel, CA

I was just reading through the book 1.000 Places to See Before You Die: USA & Canada, by Patricia Schultz and I decided to make lists of what I've seen and what I'd like to see.

You can tell from my lists that I'm a West coast girl and I have never even been to the Eastern half of the U.S. I'm missing a lot!! How I would love to get stationed in Virginia for a year or two so that I could do some traveling :)

I grew up in WA and since being married to the Army, we have lived in San Antonio and Copperas Cove, TX, Monterey and Seaside, CA, and now North Pole, Alaska. Andy's family is from Kansas, so I have traveled there many times also. Most of my travels have been driving to visit family from wherever we were stationed at the time - TX to KS, TX to WA, WA to CA, CA to KS etc.


I Have Seen:
1. Northwest Passage National Scenic Byway in Idaho
2. Lawrence, KS
3. Flathead Lake, Montana
4. Little Bighorn Battlefield, Montana
5. Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse, South Dakota
6. Devil's Tower, Wyoming
7. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
8. Jackson, Wyoming
9. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
10. Flagstaff, AZ
11. Grand Canyon, AZ
12. Lake Tahoe, Nevada & CA
13. Reno, NV
14. Gallup, New Mexico
15. Route 66
16. Fredericksburg, Texas
17. The Alamo & Missions Trail, San Antonio, TX
18. River Walk, San Antonio, TX
19. Texas Hill Country
20. Beverly Hills, CA
21. Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
22. Disneyland, CA
23. Hollywood, CA
24. Monterey Peninsula, CA
25. Pebble Beach, CA
26. Napa Valley, CA
27. Mount Shasta, CA
28. The Pacific Coast Highway & Big Sur, CA
29. Redwood National & State Parks, CA
30. San Diego Zoo, CA
31. Alcatraz Island, CA
32. Golden Gate Park & the Golden Gate Bridge, CA
33. San Luis Obispo & Morro Bay, CA
34. Hearst Castle, CA
35. Santa Cruz, CA
36. Sequoia National Park, CA
37. The Oregon Coast
38. Leavenworth, WA
39. Mt Rainier National Park & Mt. St. Helens
40. Olympic National Park, WA
41. Port Townsend, WA
42. Pike Place Market, WA
43. Seattle Center, WA
44. Denali, Alaska
45. Driving the Alaska Highway (not the entire route though)
46. Sailing the Inside Passage to AK
47. The Kenai Peninsula, AK

I Want to See:
1. The Lighthouse Trail in Maine
2. Cape Cod National Seashore
3. Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts
4. Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
5. Nantucket, Massachusetts
6. Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans, Vermont
7. The Adirondacks, New York
8. The Catskills, New York
9. The Erie Canal, New York
10. Central Park, New York
11. The Empire State Building, New York
12.The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, New York
13. U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York
14. Pennsylvania Dutch Country
15. Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, PA
16. Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Virginia
17. Arlington National Cemetery in VA
18. Monticello in Charlottesville, VA
19. Colonial Williamsburg, VA
20. Mount Vernon, VA
21. The National Archives, D.C.
22. The National Mall, D.C.
23. The Library of Congress, D.C.
24. The Smithsonian, D.C.
25. The White House, D.C.
26. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, WV
27. Kennedy Space Center, FL
28. Everglades National Park, FL
29. Key West, FL
30. Walt Disney World, FL
31. The Appalachian Trail (from GA to Maine)
32. Savannah's Historic District, GA
33. Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY
34. Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
35. The French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
36. St. Louis Arch, MO
37. The Great Smoky Mountains, TN & NC
38. Graceland, TN
39. The Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, TN
40. Nauvoo, Illinois
41. Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL
42. Ohio's Amish Country
43. Glacier National Park, MT
44. Laura Ingalls Wilder Country in DeSmet, South Dakota
45. Mesa Verde, Colorado
46. Pikes Peak, Colorado
47. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
48. Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
49. Space Center Houston, Texas
50. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
51. Zion National Park, Utah
52. Yosemite National Park, CA
53. Crater Lake National Park, OR
54. Cannon Beach, OR
55. The San Juan Islands, WA
56. Tillicum Village, WA
57. The Northern Lights, AK (I'm hoping to see them this winter!)
58. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
59. Niagara Falls
60. Prince Edward Island National Park

Now I'm interested in reading the world version. I can't see myself backpacking Europe or traveling to Africa with 5 kids though. Maybe when I'm old and gray :)

After looking for pictures of places that I have been, I have come to realize that a lot of my pics aren't on the computer yet. I sure wish I had the digital camera I have now - 1o or 20 years ago!