Travel Budget for Cities inUnited States of America

An interesting place to visit is the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It's sort of looks like a biosphere. It's part zoo, part natural history museum and part botanical garden. They have tarantulas, bears, coyotes, and scorpions - all the things that live and grow in the Sonoran desert. The Museum is also on the fringes of Saguaro National Park, home to the world's largest forests of Saguaro cacti. You can stop by on your way out to the park.

Eugene has some great hiking and biking trails, such as:

Spencer's Butte is a large butte (hill) south of downtown. The trail head is about 1.5 miles south of the post office on Willimette street. It's easy to miss, but it's on the top of a crest in the road on the left. Look for the parking lot signs and restrooms. The trail up to the summit is about 2 miles each way and about 700 feet in elevation game. The trail is well marked, but towards the summit you'll have to scramble a little.

Skinner's Butte is another hill just north of downtown. It's the original site of Eugene Skinner's cabin (where the name of the town comes from). From the top there's a great view of Eugene as well as the Cascade mountains. A scene from Animal House was also filmed here. Go north on Pearl until you pass the a retirement home on your left, turn left at the next street (between 3rd St. and 2nd St., unmarked) and after about 1/4 of a mile make a right (unmarked). To get there on foot, you can walk up a trail that leaves opposite the train station and next to a Victorian styled house.

The Ridgeline trail system is an extensive set of hiking trails to the south. To get there, drive south on Willamette St. about one mile south of the post office. After 52nd street make a left at the trail head parking lot.

I grew up sort of near this park, and it's one of the most beautiful places in the country. The park has miles of hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail which passes through the park. In some places you can get a ranger-guided tours. The allure of this place is the mountains and the forest, and it is best experienced by hiking off away from the road.

It is highly recommended to talk the path to the top of Clingmans Dome, the highest point in the park, highest point in Tennessee, and it's also the third highest point east of the Mississippi. To get there from the Sugarlands Visitors Center, go south about 13 miles on Newfound Gap Road (to the Morton Overlook - worth a stop) and then go west 7 miles to the parking lot. Then you must hike up a fairly steep path about half a mile to the overlook. There are somedead trees at the top which died of bug diseases. Visibility at the top has been greatly reduced because of pollution. Morton Overlook (on the route to Clingmans dome) is close to a mile above sea level. It offers some amazing views, plus a sign displaying the Tennessee-North Carolina state border. Also, the Appalachian Trail crosses here and if you sit around for a few days in the summer you might see some hikers pass through. Morton Overlook is one of the best locations in the Smokies to watch the sunset. The easiest waterfall to get to is a 2.5 mile hike, round trip, to Laurel Falls. The trail is paved and fully accessible even to strollers. Inquire at the visitor's center.

US Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) travels north to south through the park and links Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina. This road has some very steep grades and some tunnels as it weaves its way through the mountains. There are many viewing spots and side-of-the-road parking areas offering various views of the park, including the road to Clingmans Dome. Traffic on this road can be fairly heavy during the park's busiest seasons. Timing the leaves changing in the fall can be tricky depending on the weather, but it's worth it if you can see the autumn in the park.

If you're interested in flight (and have already seen some of the Wright Brother's sights), check out the National Museum of the US Air Force. Admission is free! It's the world's largest military aviation museum and contains more than 300 airplanes and aircraft that are on display from the beginning of aviation to super modern prototypes. Everything is well maintained and interesting even for non aviation buffs. Amazing highlights include the Stealth bomber and a Mercury era space capsule.

This is a beautiful town. US 101 between Gold Beach and Brookings to the south is considered one of the most scenic roads in the area, and has less traffic than up north. Look for turn offs; there are many picnic spots and hiking trails. But turn off the main highway and you’ll find even more things to see. For example, Floras Lake County Park, off 101 just north of Port Orford. Also check out Cape Blanco State Park, the westernmost point in the continental United States, from here you can sometimes see whales migrating out in the ocean. Also there's the Elk River, also marked along US 101. (See Goldbeach.org for more info)

Storm watching is also very popular. Many visitors come to the coast during winter to see the storms, high winds and horizontal rain. Weather in Gold Beach is dramatic, beautiful, and unpredictable. November through February brings the biggest surf, and the most excitement for storm watchers. There are many overlooks, viewpoints and state parks north and south of Gold Beach on Highway 101 that are excellent locations to watch the storms. (Be safe!)

Even the winter is is a good season for the Oregon coast. Beach combing is best when tumultuous seas leave a variety of interesting items on local beaches. Gold Beach enjoys a very temperate climate allowing for outdoor activities even in mid-winter. It's normal to have a storm that is followed by a series of warm, bright and sunny days, with blue skies following. Also, you can whale watch, hike, crab and ride horses. Try the dungeness crabs for a great meal.

There are also lots of art galleries in the town, which is well worth a stroll.

If you've got kids, go see the Buell Children’s Museum. It was ranked the Number 2 art museum for kids in the nation. They have interactive exhibits centering around art, history, and science for people of all ages. It's family friendly, fun, and really big.