The Top Fifty Best Places in the American West (Part 3)

There are many choices but our fall trip to Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon was very impressive. The presence of oak assures lots of fiery red. The high country of northern New Mexico also rates a mention. The predominant color there is the gold of aspens.

• Shao-Ying Low: Autumn is the best time for photos with all the colours.
• Carolyn Wise: Never been, but one of these days...
• J. Meyer: The fall foliage through Oak Creek Canyon reminds me of "the good old days"...
• Norman DeRose: Went here often when I lived in Az. Could not take enough pictures!
• Ron Kruse: I thought the colors on the North Rim were great but here it was much better.

The Getty Center in Los Angeles has one of the nation's best collections of fine arts. But there is much more, including the spectacular mountain top setting with views of city, ocean, and mountains. The architecture and landscaping is astonishing, designed with elaborate metaphors to its environment and the world of fine art. In a few hundred years the Getty may be considered one of the man-made wonders of the world. The oil tycoon, J. Paul Getty, left his entire fortune to the museum. It's amazing what a first-rate institution can do when it has no financial worries.

• Marty Bloomenthal: As with Wright's Guggneheim Museum in New York, it's hard to tell where the art ends and the architecture begins.
• Iskander Makhmudov: The Ermitage in St. Petersburg (Russia) has an immensely beautiful collection...

While many mountain and seacoast locales have gorgeous wildflowers, nothing beats the spring wildflower bloom in the deserts of the American southwest. During a good year, the profusion of color provides a spectacular contrast to the normally arid landscape. To get the best displays, there must be sufficient winter rain at the right time for a great spring show, and this happens only on occasion. The best we've ever seen was the "Once-in-a-Century" year (1979) at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona, the last banner year for wildflowers!

• Carol Gloriosa: I have traveled a good deal...nothing equals the desert in bloom.
• Dave Bakehouse: Similar to Gothic, CO, home of the Rocky Mt. Biological Labratory.
• Paul P: Cactus, rock ... and the colors provide heavenly beauty and mystery...

The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad offers great scenery and a great destination. It is one of the country's most popular old-time rides. The train climbs from Durango, Colorado, up the beautiful canyon of the Animas River to the "Old West" mining town of Silverton, nestled at 9,300 feet in the San Juan Mountains. Many of the town's fine old buildings are well-preserved, and there are plenty of relics of its mining history.

• Mark Henderson: The Grand Canyon Railroad (runs from Williams, Az, to the South Rim).
• R. F. Niemann: An historic trail and you are traveling on it.
• Lora Barlow: Been interested in this trip for many years...that's how I found your site.
• Mary Coak: ...the Algoma River train in Canada will always be my favorite.
• V. Bridges: Brings history alive. Kids and young at heart will enjoy...
• Toniann Carbone: Sounds wonderful. A great vacation idea.
• Karen Traxmor: We really wanted to take this train ride, but didn't have the time.
• Barry Hazelwood: A real adventure, beautiful scenery and ride.
• Norman DeRose: ...thrilled by the views, realistic ride, ash in your face, beautiful scenes.

The ghost town of Bodie, California, now Bodie State Historic Park, is considered the best preserved of all true western ghost towns. During its heyday from 1878 to 1882, the town was as mean and tough and wild as any in the west. The famous quote by a little girl in her diary, upon learning her family was moving there, was "Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie." Runner-up is Rhyolite, Nevada, an especially fascinating ghost town. Located just outside of Death Valley National Park, this large town had 10,000 residents during its gold rush heyday. The town was planned to become a metropolis, and there are remnants of large masonry buildings. The handful of modern day residents adds color to a visit here. You will see some very peculiar art work here as well as the famous "bottle house".

• Dave Bakehouse: Best REAL Ghost Town is Bodie, California...
• Catherine Skinner: Had to laugh at this. I took the same shot when I was there!
• Mark Holloway: I live near Rhyolite, but am more fascinated by Bodie, Ca...

During the latter part of the 18th century, the Franciscan missionaries established a series of missions throughout the American southwest. Their elaborate and beautiful construction was meant to impress the natives with the power of Spain and the Church. Our choice is the Mission San Xavier del Bac, south of Tucson, Arizona. Also known as the "White Dove of the Desert", the mission stands out like a beacon with its bright color. The murals and decorations inside the sanctuary have been refurbished in recent years and restored to their original beauty.

• William Luke: Have seen the missions of Texas up close. Would love to see this one.
• M. Clayton: Go on sunny day. White dome on blue sky excellent. Best early in day.

The Going to the Sun Highway in Montana's Glacier National Park is one of the world's great scenic drives. The road traverses the park climbing up to the continental divide at always snowy Logan Pass. West of the divide, much of the road is built right into the rocky cliffs. This makes for some hair-raising driving and unbelievable views. Many people compare it to the Alps. There are more waterfalls alongside this road than any other you will ever drive!

• George: The Million Dollar Highway between Silverton and Ouray, Colorado, is unmatched in any season!

The Great Gallery in Canyonland's Horseshoe Canyon is the best known and most spectacular. This well-preserved site includes both pictographs (painted figures) and petroglyphs (figures etched in the rock with a sharp stone) painted in a style known as "Barrier Canyon". Our runner-up is the Grand Gulch Primitive Area in southeast Utah which offers a profusion of prehistoric rock art. You will find many pictograph panels such as photo, right. Also, paintings in multiple colors. Grand Gulch winds for almost fifty miles before reaching the San Juan River. The rock art plus the remains of many cliffing dwellings are scattered in the upper half of the canyon.

• M. Clayton: The Great Gallery is equal or better than Grand Gulch.

Balboa Park in central San Diego tops my list. The complex of Moorish and Spanish Renaissance-style exhibition halls originally housed the International Exhibition of 1915-6. Today they house an assortment of museums and other cultural venues. The famed San Diego Zoo is adjacent. Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, with its museums, cultural exhibits, and beautiful gardens is equally outstanding.

• Lois Mcginley: A treasure. Plants and architecture in balance. Beautiful.

While there are more interesting sand dunes, like at Death Valley or White Sands in New Mexico, Utah's Coral Pink Sand Dunes is certainly the strangest. Coral Pink is the only major dune area on the Colorado Plateau. The bizarre red-colored sand comes from the erosion of the famed red rocks in the area.