QUOTE (ballpeen @ Apr 9 2010, 09:42 AM) *
We agree on quite a few, don't we:
Best Sunset: Indian Rocks Beach, Fla....west coast of Fla. right? Its OK, I still prefer a Pacific sunset.
How about right at home at Edgewater Park?
Best Sunrise: Duck, N.Carolina...I have not been to the Outer Banks at sunrise. Could be very nice.
Sorry, I don't get up before noon.
Best Beaches: St. John, US Virgin Islands.....no need to change your thought
I'm afraid of the water, and beaches in general.
Best Patriotic site: Arizona Memorial..this was a tough choice. AZ Memorial in my top 3, but I had to pick one.
Mount Rushmore
Best Trees: Magnoila in bloom...I am a little prejudiced against the magnolia simply because I have one in my yard and it won't bloom for me. But I planted it for the very reason that they are beautiful in bloom.
Crape Myrtle in bloom.
Best Single Vista: Death Vally in April when the wildflowers are in bloom....multiple spots...I was there in the fall, so I didn't get the wildflower bloom. Great vista though.
Top of Split Mountain, Wyoming. Sorry for us geriatric crowd- it's a 25 mile uphill hike, and then get to the top of a 13,500' mountain. Unforgettable view, even 30 years after the fact.
Most Fun Town: New Orleans. (Honorable mention: Chicago) No arguments there.
Love Chicago, never been to NO.
Best Small Town: Blowing Rock, N.C...have not been there
Talkeetna, Alaska.
Nicest College Campus...University of Alabama..most bigger schools suffer in the "nicest campus" category merely because of their size. Duke and Notre Dame are much smaller in student body size than people realize. Kenyon is only 1600 students.
Tossup: Wisconsin and University of Colorado
Gawdiest Display of Wealth: Newport, Rhode Island....I agree
Kennebunkport Maine has to be in the running....
Best Stadium: Wrigley Field
Never been.... I'll nominate Arrowhead for football.
Best hiking for the average person: Great Smoky Mts ...I stayed away from any true "mountainous" area in this category. I have no doubt that the Smokies and the Appalachian trail and many, many parts of the west are superior hiking than our local park...but they might be a bit rugged for an average person.....and I count as an average person a mid-50s overweight dude like me rolleyes.gif
Zion National Park, Utah. As adventurous or as flat as you like.
Best Lake: Lake George, NY...that is a very good one for sure. I took a boat tour on Lake George.
Crater Lake, hands down.
Best Mountain Range: The Grand Tetons
As a mountaineer, I'll qualify that as yeah FROM THE ROAD. Even so, when you hike the Lupine Meadows trail up to about the 9,000' level and break above the treeline, you don't even recognize the Tetons as being the same mountain range- whole 'nother world. You see all the details (like the Great Chimney on Middle Teton)-in case you're wondering- it's a tube of volcanic rock that got shot up 2,000' though granite way back when.
Details you miss even with binoculars from the Snake River overlook. That said IMHO, when you get off the road the Tetons aren't even the most spectacular mountain range in Wyoming. The Wind Rivers in the Gannett Peak area- most folks don't realize the Grand Teton isn't the highest mountain in the state- and further south the Cirque of the Towers region are every bit as spectacular- but you gotta do some serious hoofing to see the view.
And if you want to count Alaska as part of America, don't even get me started about the views you can get from a flightseeing tour of the Denali Wilderness. McKinley is such a huge mountain, it's visually bigger (from the nearest road outside the park 46 miles away) than the Grand Teton is from the Snake River overlook- you can see Denali from the Alpine Meadows overlook in Anchorage- 180 miles away on a clear day- I kid you not.
Best Casino: Bellagio ....I was going for the out of way, stuck in a corner, homey style casino. For the grandiose Las Vegas casino I hear Bellagio is the cat's meow. But I have not been to it or the Venetian which may be its main competition.
Been to Vegas once, and did a grand tour of all the Casinos- but I'm not the gambling type. If you're into betting on the Browns, the Sports Book at Harrah's may be of interest.
I'll throw in one extra that interests me- and that's Best Steakhouse. Tough Call, but I'll vote for Bern's in Tampa, Florida. I May be jaded because they have no competition when it comes to Best Wine list in America- actually, it's the best in the world. Honorable mention to the Heford House in Kansans City, and our local Pine Club here in Dayton.
