- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii
- Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point, Louisiana
- Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois
- Chaco Culture, New Mexico
- Kluand/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek, Alaska and Canada
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, Montana and Canada
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
- Taos Pueblo, New Mexico
- La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico
- Olympic National Park, Washington State
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia
- Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
- San Antonia Missions, Texas
- Statue of Liberty, New York
- Redwood National and State Parks, California
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Yosemite National Park, California
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montano and Idaho
And, the following sites are places that my wife and I have been fortunate to visit during our lifetime and can see why they were all added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. The view of the flaming lava and pitch-black volcanic field is spectacular and to be able to walk on the lava is exciting. The park is located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The park is truly stunning and where else can you watch lava flow to the sea and stand face to face with glowing volcanic craters. You can also find native birds and a meat-eating caterpillar, lava-loving cricket and the world's rarest goose. One of my favorite souvenirs from Hawaii is the small hand-made bird's nest that we bought near the park.
Click on images to enlarge them. - Everglades National Park in Florida. The Everglades National Park is a massive and critical breeding ground for wading bird in North America. It covers 1.5 millions acres. There are many places you can visit in the Everglades, but we managed to take an airboat ride which is probably the best way to see the park. Most of the park is inaccessible and is patrolled by panthers, hordes of American alligators and countless snakes. The region protects the largest mangrove swamp in the Western Hemisphere and all the endangered wildlife that call it home. I must admit that the alligators that came next to our airboat looked as if they were trained when they begged for food.
The mouth of an alligator can be seen as we were riding in out airboat. - Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This site is only about 80 miles from my home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It's not the same "Wow" factor you get from a national park, but it oozes history. It was in this same building that America's Founding Fathers debated, adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. To think that you can stand in the same places in the building that our founding fathers stood is amazing. The Georgian-style building is in the heart of the city and just one of the many other historical buildings.
- Fallingwater in Pennsylvania. This unbelievable building that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is remarkable and is one of the newest sites to be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Fallingwater is one of eight separate buildings designed by Mr. Wright that were grouped together into one World Heritage Site. Another one you may have heard of is the Guggenheim Museum in New York (Yes, it wasn't designed by George Costanza as he said on Seinfeld).
I wish I could someday visit a few other sites. If they are all as remarkable as the four I already have visited, they will most certainly be impressive. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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