Friday, November 4, 2011

Best Of Gigantor and The Whale

Here it is, my list of lists, the best stuff experienced on our grand tour. Each category has a top five, in no particular order. Some categories were easy, and some, like Landscapes, was really hard. So hard, in fact, that I had to divide the country into five sections and then put our five favorites in each region. So...here they are:

Top Five...

Landscapes

in the Northeast:

Mount Desert Island
Monhegan Island
Hopewell Rocks New Brunswick
Peggy’s Cove Nova Scotia
Cape Breton Nova Scotia

in the Southeast:

Outer Banks
Cataloochee Valley, Smoky Mtn NP
Cades Cove, Smoky Mtn NP
Blue Ridge Pkwy
Manatee Springs

in the Southwest:

White Sands NM
Arches NP
Bryce NP
Sedona, AZ
Mesa Verde, NP

in the Northwest:

Northern CA (Trinidad)
Oregon coast (Boardman & Harris)
Olympic NP coastal
Bend, OR
Banff NP (Lake Moraine)

in the Central states:

Glacier NP
Yellowstone NP (caldera)
Grand Tetons
Black Hills
Badlands


Top Five Best Communities - places we'd consider living

Durango, Colorado (favorite)
Asheville, North Carolina
Astoria, Washington
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
Bend, Oregon


Top Five Campgrounds - the ones we remember most fondly

Frisco Campground, Hatteras National Seashore, Hatteras Island, NC
Whale Cove Campground, Digby Neck, Nova Scotia
Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Beach, SC
Leasburg Dam State Park, Radium Springs, NM
Custer State Park, Black Hills, SD


Top Five Mountain Bike Rides - flowy singletrack, adrenaline fueled downhill runs...

Kingdom Trails, Burke, VT
Kokopelli & 18 Road Trails, Fruita, CO
Slickrock & Porcupine Rim Singletrack, Moab, UT
Sandy Ridge Trail System, Sandy, OR
Whistler singletrack & downhill, Whistler, BC


Top Five Hikes


Cadillac Mountain, Mount Desert Island, ME
White Point, Cape Breton, NS
Cathedral Trail, Sedona, AZ
Angel's Landing, Zion NP, UT
Castle Trail, Badlands NP, SD


Top Five Kayak Paddles


Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick
Glen Margaret, Nova Scotia
Manatee Springs, Florida
Rio Grande River, Big Bend NP, Texas/Mexico
Clackamus River, Estacada, OR


Top Five Dining Experiences

Kitiyama (sushi), Newport Beach, CA
Elote Cafe (mexican), Sedona, AZ
The Salt Lick (barbeque), Austin, TX
Fresh oranges & strawberries, grove country, CA
Tie: Bowpicker (fish & chips), Astoria, OR - Matthew
......Brit's Pub (fish & chips), Minneapolis, MN - Nancy