Travel Tips

I've divided the list into states because it's hard to do a list with a definitive ranking.

- Las Vegas:
One of the few remaining "real" towns in Northern New Mexico, Las Vegas is, as the creepy billboard at the center of town states, "Where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains." The plains stretch off to the east from I-25 in rolling, green hills, often accented by summer storms. Pronghorns can often be seen grazing in the distance and, often, jumping in front of your car on the interstate. Those mountains are the Sangre de Cristos, the Rockies chain's last real push before swallowed up by the Rio Grande. There are so many fascinating things about Las Vegas that it's frustrating to me, personally, that it gets confused with the town in Nevada of the same name, because it's just so much better here.

- Tucson:
My adopted hometown is such because it has almost everything that I could want. A progressive corner of Arizona, the economy here has never allowed it to become the megalopolis that the state capital city has, but that's also kept the city, as well as its residents, much more down to earth.

- Gunnison:
Its reputation for horrible weather (regarded as the coldest town in the state) and relative difficulty to reach has kept Gunnison a bit of an undiscovered gem. It's a college town at heart, probably much more like how Colorado used to be than Colorado itself even knows.

- Bishop:
The "other side" of California is often seen as its Central Valley. Centered on agriculture and much more conservative than the rest of the state, the area is a striking contrast from the coastline just 100 or so miles to the west. But, on the other side of the naturally divisive Sierra Nevada range, lies yet another California where things seem to slow down and start to merge together. Bishop is how towns like Tonopah, NV would have turned out had gambling remained illegal. It's a quiet town where, during the summer, residents come out to tramp around the short stretch of US 395 and enjoy the twilight crispness. It's a place where you could easily forget which state you're in exactly.
- Palo Alto:
Although few can afford to live in San Mateo County on San Francisco's "Peninsula" region, it still remains a great place to visit, whether or not you're a computer geek. The mix of high-tech company and university have given Palo Alto, particularly its Downtown area, a bold and diverse flavor. Just outside of the CalTrain station you'll find a string of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants on beautiful little streets. You can also take the free shuttle bus to the Stanford campus. Maybe even visit their shopping mall. But Palo Alto is worth a short trip on the train from San Francisco.
- Solana Beach:
Sure, it's a bit snobby, but Solana Beach is a really great place to spend an afternoon. And, like all good towns, it's well-connected via public transit (San Diego's Coaster train system). The first place you'll have to hit, of course, is the beach. A block from the train station, there's an access ramp (for the beach patrol vehicles, I assume) and a fairly nice, public changing room right by the entrance to the beach. Across from the train station is Port Brewing's southernmost Pizza Port location, where you can get a great beer, a great slice of pizza, and one of the largest salads in history, for about $5 at lunch (including weekends).

- Bellingham:

- Spokane:

- Port Angeles:

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- Pittsburgh:

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