My Top 10 Favorite Places to Visit

I have been blessed in my life to travel across much of the United States. I have been to 36 of 50 states, not including the states I have only been to airports in. Many of the states I have been to were in my childhood, but they were still amazing and memorable. In my adult life, I have also been to some glorious places.

Out of all these great states, I have ten places I have most enjoyed visiting and have some of my fondest memories at.

1) The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, NM & CO

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is by far my favorite place. First, the historic steam train is super cool. Second, the landscape and scenery are gorgeous. The first time I was there I was in kindergarten and we saw the Indiana Jones train cars on the tracks. We visited the railroad almost every year after that until I graduated high school. I have been blessed to go back several times as an adult and love it just as much if not more now.

2) The Alamo & Missions, San Antonio, TX

The Alamo and the missions in San Antonio will always have a special place in my heart. First, they are an amazing part of Texas history. They have a sad story that is also filled with hope and joy. They are also a place of beauty and peace. I can wander these missions for hours or sit and enjoy the peace that I feel in these places.

3) Shenandoah National Park, VA

Shenandoah National Park has a special place in my heart. It is one of the first places we took Little Bear hiking. We also went camping there once and saw more bears than I had ever seen. We saw 11 bears on our trip including three bear cubs. It was amazing. Skyline Drive is an amazing drive through the mountains, whether it is spring, summer, winter, or fall.  

4) Echo Amphitheater, NM 

Echo Amphitheater is an interesting and beautiful rock formation found in New Mexico. It is a lovely spot stuck between the mountains and the High Desert. The landscape is stunning. So stunning in fact that many famous artists such as Georgia O'Keefe have used the scenery for inspiration for their work.

5) Cass Scenic Railroad, WV

The Cass Scenic Railroad is a really neat place in West Virginia. When Popeye came home from his first deployment. While the Cass will never take the place of the Cumbres and Toltec it is a truly beautiful railroad. It is in the middle of nowhere, which gives it a really nice relaxing atmosphere. The Cass Scenic Railroad and the wonderful bed and breakfast we stayed at made a perfect getaway after months apart.

6) Top of the Rock, NYC, NY 

When we visited New York City it was a really neat trip. We did a lot of cool stuff including seeing the Statue of Liberty, but I felt overwhelmed by the crowds everywhere. I was thrilled with the views from The Top of the Rock. Top of the Rock was amazing. We could see all of New York City from up there. It was a special moment in time that I will never forget. 

7) Yellowstone National Park 

Yellowstone National Park is a really stunning place. We went when I was in middle school. I don't think my family planned to go there on vacation, but we ended up there. It was one of the coolest vacations we ever went on. We saw wildlife galore, but even cooler than the wildlife are the geysers, springs, and mud pots. The bubbling ground is so interesting. The science and nature combined to make bubbling mud pots, water that has so much acid it can dissolve almost anything, and water that shoots through the crust of the earth rising high into the sky at regular intervals is a feat that only God could perfect. 

8) Colonial Williamsburg Williamsburg, VA 

Colonial Williamsburg is a beautiful historic area. It has more history than almost anywhere I have ever been. The Revolutionary War and Colonial history here give you opportunities to learn so many stories. Besides learning about all the history you can enjoy the stunning gardens. During Christmastime, the Colonial style decorations are interesting and have inspired lots of craft projects for me. 

9) Fort Washington National Park, Fort Washington, MD 

Fort Washington National Park can be found tucked away along the Potomac River just outside of Washington D.C. It is a quiet park with an amazing historic fort that served our country from 1809 until 1939. The historic fort has a beautiful view across the river. It is filled with historic batteries, cannons, and more history than most of us can imagine. When you walk down from the fort to the shores of the Potomac you can fish and find sea glass or river glass as the case may be.  

10) The Blue Ridge Parkway, NC and VA

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the first place Popeye and I went camping. It is also where we rode the first train together of our married life. We made several trips up and down parts of The Blue Ridge Parkway in the early years of our marriage. It will always be one of my favorite places. The Scenery is lovely.

Cemeteries, Crows, and Curanderos

Growing up we camped a lot. We camped on vacations and weekend trips. My brother was a Boy Scout. My dad had been an Eagle Scout. I thought I knew basically everything I needed to know about the wilderness and camping. 

My family and I when I was in high school

One winter when I was in high school my family and this lady and her husband went camping in Big Bend National Park. It's on the border of West TX and Mexico. The man was a game warden and he knew all kinds of things I had never heard of.

He taught us about this white fuzzy thing on prickly pear cactus. When you touched it, it was red underneath and could be used to dye your skin. We had a lot of fun sneaking up on people and smearing it on their faces. We also learned about using long cactus thorns and reeds or thick grass to make spears. Then, we all threw these spears at each other.

One day we were driving around the park and stopped at an old cemetery. The cemetery had graves that were covered with pebbles and small rocks of all different types, agates, quartz, and some other beautiful rocks. They were stacked along graves and near and on headstones. Our friend saw some rocks she thought were pretty on someone's grave and put them in her pocket.

As we drove and walked around the rest of the day, we gave our friend grief for being a grave robber and stealing from the dead. There was a single crow nearly everywhere we went that day. Her husband and my dad lovingly convinced her the crow was a curandero or witch doctor, and it was going to curse her for stealing from the dead.

Later that day we drove past a different small cemetery. She hollered for us to stop. My dad backed up so we could get out there. She jumped out of the car and everyone sent me out with her. She put her rocks on the graves there although this cemetery did not have rocks. It had coins.... Lots of really OLD coins.

She thought the coins were neat, and so did I. She wanted to stop to look at them, but I refused to pause long enough to let her ponder robbing the dead again. The crows still were everywhere we went. We told her it was because now the curanderos were after her because she stole from the first grave and then put the rocks on the grave of the dead that wanted coins.

We had a chance of snow that night so we packed up camp and went to check into the lodge that night because none of us wanted to freeze. The men checked in and when they got into their room she was scared and yelped. There was a crow feather on laid upon her pillow.

I found out later that night her husband had found it and sneakily gave it to my brother, who quickly snuck in and out of their hotel room there while her husband distracted her unloading the car.