Home state sites to see ... The List

[knightfan26917]

A few months ago, I posed these queries:

What do YOU consider to be "should see" areas/places in your home state?

What would you tell travelers to check out, if they have the time, as they drive through your state?

What "obscure" and "out of the way" places in your home state come to mind?

Below is a compilation of the answers...ENJOY!

ALABAMA

Battleship Alabama

Huntsville ... NASA site

ALASKA

ARIZONA

Barringer Meteor Crater

Crown King

Grand Canyon (especially North Rim)

Hoover Dam (Colorado River)

Humphreys Peak, NW of Flagstaff

Lake Havasu ... London Bridge

Sedona

Supai ... Part 1 starts on Route 66, runs 60 miles through some of the most pristine country in AZ and ends in a parking lot perched high on a bluff overlooking a stunning series of colorful canyons

Supai ... Part 2 requires a hike of 8 miles, a rented horse or wild helicopter ride

ARKANSAS

Dig for diamonds

CALIFORNIA

6 Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia

Alcatraz

Barstow

Bishop ... Lone Pine ... Mono Lake (Owens Valley)

CA SR Highway 1

Coastline

Death Valley

Disneyland

GGNRA Nike Missle Site

Hearst Castle

Hollywood

Joshua Trees

Lake Tahoe

Magic Mountain

Monterrey Bay Kelp Forest

Monterrey Peninsula

Morro Bay

Mt Lassen

Mt Shasta

Napa Valley

Pebble Beach

Pinnacles National Park

Queen Mary / Long Beach

Redwood Highway, 101 North

Redwood National Park

Ronald Reagan Museum

San Diego / Sea World / Zoo

San Francisco / Fisherman's Wharf / Golden Gate Bridge

San Jose ... Winchester Mystery House

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Monica Pier

Sequoia National Park

Universal Studios

Venice Beach

White Mountains (oldest single living beings)

Yosemite / Yosemite Valley

COLORADO

Amanda's Fonda, Old Colorado City and/or Las Margaritas, Denver

Aspen

Casa Bonita

Cave of the Winds

Colorado Springs

Coors Brewery

Denver ... 16th Street Mall, Denver Mint

Eldorado Canyon

Flatirons (W of Boulder)

Garden of the Gods

Glenwood Hot Springs

Great Sand Dunes

mountain escapes

Mt Evans Rd (highest peak in CO and highest paved road in North America)

Rocky Mtn National Park

Royal Gorge

Sangre de Cristo Mts (Southern CO)

skiing

CONNECTICUT

Foxwoods

Mohegan Sun

Mystic Seaport

FLORIDA

Atlantic Ocean / Gulf of Mexico beaches

Bok Tower Gardens

Caverns, near Marianna

Cypress Gardens

Everglades

Key West

Lakeland Motorsports Dragway

Miami ... Greynolds Park

Overseas Highway (HW 1)

Pensacola ... Naval Aviation Museum

Ringling Museum

Sarasota ... Amish restaurants

Silver Springs

Spook Hill

St Augustine's Fort

sugarcane fields

Tenoroc Mine, state park

GEORGIA

Fort Jackson

Fort Pulaski

Lula Lake falls

N Georgia Mtns

Okefenokee Swamp

Savannah's river front area

Stone Mtn Park

Underground Atlanta

US Highway 41 (MI to FL)

White ... Old Car City USA

HAWAII

IDAHO

Craters of the moon

Shoshone Falls ("Niagra of the West"; taller than Niagra Falls, though not as wide or as much water volume)

Yellowstone

ILLINOIS

Cave in Rock State Park

Galena

Intersection of Lincoln Highway and Route 66

Lincoln Highway headquarters

Meadowdale International Raceway Park

Pontiac ... Route 66 Association of IL Hall of Fame and Museum

Route 20

Route 66

Schaumburg ... LEGOLAND

Southern tip ... Hardin County, Route 1

Union ... IL Railroad Museum

Volo Auto Museum

Wrigley Field

INDIANA

Dunes

Indianapolis

Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Lucas Oil Stadium

Manchester College

O'Reilly Raceway Park

IOWA

Amish around Kalona

Barges in Dubuque

Des Moines (current capital)

Field House

fishing

Herbert Hoover Library

Iowa City (old capital)

John Wayne's birthplace, Winterset

Kinnick Stadium

Parkersburg EF-5 tornado (leaving some things untouched)

KENTUCKY

25E down through Cumberland Gap

Bardstown ... dinner train

Bardstown ... Makers Mark facility

Bowling Green ... Corvette Museum

caves (western)

horses

Paducah riverfront murals

LOUISIANA

D-Day Museum

False River

Festival international de Louisiane

French Quarter

Layton Castle

Mardi Gras ... Eunice, New Orleans, Mamou, New Roads, Baton Rouge, Lafayette

Myrtles Plantation

State Capitol

MAINE

Acadia

Mt Desert Island

Old Orchard Beach

Portland ... art museum

Portland ... Old Port

Route 1 ... all the way to Key West

MARYLAND

Air and Space Museum, Dulles Airport

Antietam National Battlefield (Sharpsburg)

Assateague State Park (Eastern shore)

Baltimore

Camden Yards

Chesapeake Bay

Continental Divide

Fort Federick

Garber facility (Suitland)

Garrett County, state parks

Hagerstown ... 1/2 mile dirt track

M&T Bank Stadium

Mason Dixon Dragway

MD International Raceway (Budds Creek)

Monocacey Battlefield

National Aquarium, Inner Harbor

Route 50 (originating in Ocean City) ... ends in CA

Smithsonian

USS Constellation, Inner Harbor

MICHIGAN

8 Milez Road

Ann Arbor

Automotive Hall of Fame

Beaver Island

Castle Rock

Crossroads Village

Davidson Freeway

Detroit ... The National Automotive Historic Collection

Detroit institute of Arts

Detroit Science Center

E Grand Rapids ... Yesterdog (restaurant)

Frankenmuth

Flint

Getty Drive-in - Muskegon, MI

Grand Haven ... Coast Guard Festival (August)

Green Field Village

Henry Ford Museum

Holland ... Tulip Festival

Kalamazoo ... Air Zoo at W MI University

Leelanau Peninsula

Mackinaw Bridge

Mackinaw City

Mackinaw Island

Maritime Museum

Marquette ... Peter White Library

Marquette ... Presque Isle

Petosky

Rockford

Rothbury ... Double J Ranch

Shoreline Drive ... Holland, Grand Haven, Muskegon, Ludington, Traverse City, Petosky, Mackinaw City

Silver Lake Dunes / Mears, MI

Soo Sault St Marie boat locks tour

St. Ingnes (car show)

Tahquamenon Falls

Traverse City ... MI Cherry Festival

Upper Peninsula

Woodward Avenue (first paved mile of roadway in the US)

Ypsilanti ... home of the Orphan Car Show and last Hudson Dealership (now museum)

MINNESOTA

Alexandria ... Kensington Runestone

Darwin ... bit ball of twine

Highway 61, North shore

Lake Superior Circle Drive

Vining ... metal statues (in a park next to a gas station) made by the father of NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg

MISSISSIPPI

Battle grounds

Cruzin' The Coast

Gulf of Mexico

Home of Jefferson Davis

Mardi Gras

NASA

Natchez Trace Parkway

Nortrup/Grumman navy shipyard

Oil rigs

Old Plantations

MONTANA

Bob Marshall Wilderness

Bozeman ... Museum of the Rockies

Dinosaur digs

Essex

Garnet ghost town

Glacier National Park

Great Falls ... Charlie Russel Museum

Lolo Hot Springs

Lost Trail Ski Area (no-frills skiier's mountain. US 93 at the Idaho line)

Moeise Buffalo Range

Museums

National Bison Range

Old mining sites

Welcome Creek Wilderness Area

Yellowstone National Park

NEBRASKA

Chimney Rock

Lincoln Monument (i-80)

Pioneer museums

Platte River

Sand hills (central)

Scottsbluff

Timberline / Beaver Dam

NEW JERSEY

Appalachian Mountains

Atco Raceway (south)

Atlantic City

Ben Franklin Bridge

Camden

Delaware Gap

Hoboken

Island Dragway (north)

Jersey Shore beach towns

NJ Motorsports Park

NJ State Aquarium

Raceway Park (central)

Six Flags Great Adventure

Skiing areas

Wildwood boardwalk

NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque ... Kimo Theatre

Albuquerque ... old-fashioned diner on Central

Carlsbad Caverns

Santa Fe ... Plaza Cafe

White Sands

NEW YORK

1000 Islands

Albany

caverns

Central Park

Coney Island

Ellis Island

Empire State Building

falls

Fort Wadsworth

glens

Ground Zero

Harold Square

Ithaca ... Cornell University

Jericho Turnpike

Jones Beach

Kings Point ... Sands Point Castle

Lake Champlain

Lake George

Lake Ontario if you've never seen a Great Lake before

Lake Placid

Letchworth-Grand Canyon of the east

Long Island

Long Island beaches

Manhattan skyline

Meadowbrook

Montauk Point

Museums

New York City

Niagara Falls

North Fork

Ocean Parkway

Old Bethpage restoration

Orient Point

Prospect Mountain, Adirondack's

Raynham Hall

Richmond Town

Robert Moses Beach

Sag Harbor

Sagamore Hill

Saratoga Springs Horse Race Track

Staten Island

Statue of Liberty

Stock Exchange

Sunrise Highway

Tahawus/Adirondak

Times Square

Union Square

Varrazano Narrows Bridge

Wall Street

Watkins Glen

wineries

N CAROLINA

7 light houses

beaches

Biltmore

Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Parkway

Cape Hattaras

Charlotte

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Crystal Coast

Dale Earnhardt Museum

Grandfather Mountain

Great Smokey Mountain Railroad

Kill Devil Hills

Kitty Hawk

Linville Falls and Caverns

Lost Colony

Mooresville "Race City USA"

Raleigh

Richard Petty Museum

Rockingham

Wright Brothers Memorial

OHIO

7 presidential birthplaces

Amish country

Canton ... Football Hall of Fame

Carrollin Park

Cedar Point

Cincinnati Music Hall

Cincinnati Union Terminal Museum Center

Cincinnati Zoo

Cleveland ... Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland Zoo

Columbus Zoo

Dayton Air Force Museum

Erie Canal

Kelley's Island

Kilkare Dragway

King's Island

Leesville Lake

Mentor ... President Garfield's home

Mt Adams

Ohio Caverns

Ohio Stadium

Put-in-Bay

Riverboat ride

Serpent Mound, Adams County

Sidney ... Eldora Speedway

Toledo Zoo

Youngstown ... Mill Creek Park

OKLAHOMA

Arcadia ... Big Red Round Barn

Arcadia ... POPS

Bricktown

Edmond ... Boulevard Steak House

Indian Unmarked Grave

Midwest City ... Napoleon Deli

Norman ... Sam Noble Natural History Museum

Oklahoma City ... Nonna's

Oklahoma City ... Western Heritage Museum

Shoe Tree

Stroud ... Rock Cafe

Talequah

Tulsa ... Aquarium

Wichita Mountains Wild Life Preserve

OREGON

Columbia River Gorge

Crater Lake National Park

Forest Grove Concourse D'elegance

Lava Fields

McMinville Airport ... Spruce Goose

Mt Hood

Oregon Coast

Oregon Trail Rally

Painted Hills

Rose Cup

Silver Falls State Park

Trillum Lake

PENNSYLVANIA

Altoona Railroader's Memorial Museum

Andy Warhol Museum

Battleship Olympia

Boat House Row

Citizens Bank Park

Dorney Park

Erie ... Niagara

Falling Waters

Franklin Institute

Gettysburg National Park

Heinz Field

Hershey Park

Horseshoe Curve

Inclines

Independence Hall

Johnstown Flood Memorial

Kennywood

Kinzua Bridge

Lancaster County Amish country

Lincoln Highway

Museum of Sports

National Constitution Center

Penn's Caves

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Zoo

Pine Creek Gorge

Pittsburgh ... Mt Washington

PNC Park

Pottsville ... Yuengling Brewery

Primanti's

Railroad Museum of PA

SS United States

Steamtown National Historic Site

Strasburg Railroad

The Franklin

US 6

US Mint

Valley Forge National Park

S CAROLINA

Anderson

Belton

Cooker's Chateau

fun country roads

Hilton Head

Myrtle Beach

S DAKOTA

Badlands NP

Crazy Horse Monument

Custer State Park

Deadwood

Mitchell Corn Palace

Mt. Rushmore

Sturgis

The Engalls Homestead (Little House On The Prairie)

Wall Drug Store

TENNESSEE

Bristol Motor Speedway

Cades Cove

Chattanooga ... TN Aquarium

Clingmans Dome

Gatlinburg

Graceland

Grand Ole Opry

Great Smokey Mountains National Park

Highway 11E

Highway 25W

Jackson

Lake City ... Cove Lake State Park

Lookout Mountain

Lynchburg ... Jack Daniels Distillery

Maryville ... Foothills Fall Festival

Memphis

Music Row

Nashville

Opryland Hotel (especially around Christmas)

Reelfoot Lake

Rock City

Ryman Auditorium

Sweetwater ... The Lost Sea

Townsend ... Tuckalechee Caverns

US 411 (Newport to Anniston AL)

US 441 (Gatlinburg to Cherokee)

US 70 (parallel to I-40, Knoxville to Nashville)

TEXAS

Alamo

Amarillo

Austin

Big Bend

Cavalla

College Station

Corpus Christi ... USS Lexington

Dyer's Barbecue

Enchanted Rock

Fredericksburg

Galveston

Gruene Hall, oldest dancehall

Hill Country

Lubbock ... Canyon Lakes

Palo Duro Canyon

Pampa ... Woody Guthrie's home

Pelican Island

Route 66

San Antonio

San Jacinto Monument and Battleground

Ship Channel

Waco

UTAH

Bend in The Road:

http://chevyasylum.com/bsf2008/sw/20080818...07r8r8_jpg.html

Big Cottonwood Canyon, picnic at Storm Mountain

City Creek Canyon (lovely drive) ... breakfast at Ruth's diner midway up the canyon

Hidden Peak (via Snowbird tram)

Land's End

Park City, Alpine Slide

Rainbrow Bridge

Salt Flats, during Speed Week

Salt Lake City downtown library

Snowbird

Stoneground Pizza, SLC

Timpanonos Cave

Truckstop, Exit 2, I-80, Utah

Wendover

VERMONT

dirt roads with old-fashioned covered bridges

farms with dairy cows and sugar houses for making maple syrup

scenic drives

small, out-of-the-way hikes with gorgeous views

villages with craft stores

VIRGINIA

Blue Ridge Parkway

Chincoteague Island

Luray Caverns

Shenandoah Valley

Skyline Drive

WASHINGTON

Boring Lava Fields

Bruce Lee's grave

Chuckanut Drive

Columbia River Gorge

Deception Pass

Dry Falls

Dunes Wilderness

Experience Music Project

Friday Harbor

George

Grand Coulee Dam

HIghway 101

Hoh Rain Forest

Kettle River (flows backwards)

Leavenworth

Mt Rainier

Mt St Helens

N Cascades Highway

Olympic Mountains/Rain Forest

Olympic Peninsula Loop

Seattle ... Pike Place Market

Snake River Canyon

Space Needle

Tacoma Glass Museum

Takhlakh Lake

WISCONSIN

Door County

House On The Rock

Lake Geneva

Lambeau Field

Miller Brewery

Milwaukee Domes

natural beauty

Road America

WI Dells

WYOMING

Aspen Alley

Big Horn Mountains

Canyon between Shoshoni and Thermopolis

Centennial/Snowy Range

Cheyenne

Chimney Rock

Devils Gate

Devils Tower

Flaming Gorge

Grand Tetons

Green River

Independence Rock

Jackson Hole

Laramie

Shirley Basin

Sybille Canyon

The Summit (E of Laramie, beautiful stretch of I-80)

US 16 through Buffalo, over Big Horns, to Yellowstone

Vedauwoo

Wind River Range

Yellowstone

CANADA

Butterfly Conservatory

Clifton Hill

Fort Erie

Fort George

Kingston

Maid of the Mist

Niagara Falls

Niagara Gorge

Niagara River Parkway

Nova Scotia

Ontario - Hamilton ... Webster's Falls

Oshawa ... GM complex and Canadian Automotive Museum

Point Pelee

Queenston

Sandbanks Provincial Park

St Lawrence Seaway

The Rideau

Toronto ... Wonderland

Trent Canal hydraulic lift lock

Trent/Severn Waterways

Welland Canal

Wolfe Island

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"There was something in the country that he said he couldn't leave" ... John Denver & Emmylou Harris ... 'Wild Montana Skies'

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I'll think about this some more, but here are a few right off the top of my head for NC:

Asheville:

Grove Arcade

Grove Park Inn

Seely Castle (private residence -- can only be seen from a distance)

Helens Bridge

The Flat Iron Building and Sky Bar

All of those are around downtown Asheville, and Asheville itself has a lot of old and interesting buildings.

Mt. Mitchell (the highest point east of the Mississippi)

Charlotte:

Lots of 100 year old Textile Mills

Billy Graham Library

Charlotte Museum of Aviation

NC Transportation Museum

Charlotte Motor Speedway

RCR Museum (better than the Dale Earnhardt Museum, but it's closer to Winston Salem than Charlotte)

The Dale Trail

Reeds Gold Mine (the first goldmine in America)

Mooresville "Race City USA" (downtown Concord and Albemarle are cool as well, but not anything specific)

Oh, and DEFINITELY add Charleston and it's lighthouses (speciallcally Morris Island) to your SC list.

Edited August 8, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[Blake Noble]

KENTUCKY

25E down through Cumberland Gap

Bardstown ... dinner train

Bardstown ... Makers Mark facility

Bowling Green ... Corvette Museum

caves (western)

horses

Paducah riverfront murals

I have a little more traveling to do ...

[Intrepidation]

How long did it take to type that list out?

[cletus8269]

kings mountain is a good one for SC too. Revolutionary war site. pendleton sc is cool as well, established in the 1700's. we have a lot of history here in anderson sc.

also add this to the tennessee list

ruby falls

[loki]

Missouri

St louis-

city museum-bigger kids playground

Zoo- it's free

the arch, duh

others-

tower rock, when the river is really low

jesse james museum

ozark scenic driving.

ROUTE 66 MOTORS & NOSTALGIA GIFT SHOP

sure there are more, but i might not be thinking of them.

[Satty]

The only thing I like to see in Missouri is the "You are now leaving Missouri" signs. This state sucks hard.

[mustang84]

Iowa in pictures

NE Iowa

Effegy Mounds National Monument

McGregor/Marquette (scenic river towns on the Mississippi)

Guttenburg (another river town on the Miss)

Field of Dreams in Dyersville

Quad Cities

Figge Art Museum (designed by David Chipperfield)

Davenport sky bridge

Des Moines

East Village

State Capitol complex

Central Park & Des Moines Central Library (another Chipperfield building)

Principal Riverwalk & pedestrian bridge (under construction)

Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens

Grays Lake Park

Living History Farms (recreation of 1750s-1900s indian/pioneer farms and towns)

Iowa State Fair (one of the biggest in the nation)

Cedar Rapids

Czech Village

Quaker Oats (largest cereal plant in the world)

Not too much more to recommend since the flood took out a lot of our attractions, but by the time the new federal courthouse is finished in 2012 downtown should be hopping again

Iowa City

U of I campus & architecture

Ped mall area & dowtown (where most of Iowa City's nightlife is)

Dubuque (oldest city in Iowa, very scenic and hilly with buildings dating to the early 1800s)

Other:

Bridges of Madison County & Winterset

Danish Windmill & Museum in Elk Horn

Pella & Orange City (two big Danish/Dutch settlements that hold annual festivals)

The world's largest truck stop off I-80 near Walcott (buy your fuel across the street at the BP because it'll be .20 cheaper)

Burlington, IA & snake alley (another historic river city)

Frank Lloyd Wright homes & Park Hotel in Mason City

Merchant's Bank in Grinnell by Louis Sullivan

[Croc]

CALIFORNIA

6 Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia -- 6 Flags is 6 Flags...this one isn't anything special IMO

Alcatraz

Barstow

Bishop ... Lone Pine ... Mono Lake (Owens Valley)

CA SR Highway 1

Coastline

Death Valley

Disneyland -- DisneyWorld is better.

GGNRA Nike Missle Site

Hearst Castle

Hollywood

Joshua Trees

Lake Tahoe

Monterrey Bay Kelp Forest

Monterrey Peninsula

Morro Bay

Mt Lassen

Mt Shasta

Napa Valley

Pebble Beach

Pinnacles National Park

Queen Mary / Long Beach

Redwood Highway, 101 North

Redwood National Park

Ronald Reagan Museum

San Diego / Sea World / Zoo

San Francisco / Fisherman's Wharf / Golden Gate Bridge

San Jose ... Winchester Mystery House

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Monica Pier

Sequoia National Park

Universal Studios

Venice Beach

White Mountains (oldest single living beings)

Yosemite / Yosemite Valley

Palos Verdes should make the cut--simply some of the most beautiful landscape in the region, even though it's mostly just suburban, residential homes. Portuguese Bend, part of the PV peninsula, is the fastest moving land in the world, a continuous slumping landslide since 1956. That portion of PV Dr. S. is undergoing near-constant roadwork.

Hollywood Riviera is another good area--subdistrict of Redondo Beach, the signs call it "Riviera Village," but it's where the Hollywood elite used to have a lot of beach houses, like back in the 1920s through the 1940s.

Can't forget LA's Chinatown--so famous, and the first master-planned "Chinatown" in the world. The district was originally designed by a Hollywood set designer in the late 1930s, and it shows. Too cool at night.

The Valley...San Fernando Valley. Yes, it's suburbia, but you have to see Roscoe and Ventura Blvds. for yourself. Mulholland Drive snakes through the Santa Monica Mountains bordering The Valley.

Griffith Observatory needs to be on the list.

Huntington Beach, CA--aka Surf City USA.

And Beverly Hills is the ultimate tourist destination, though I personally don't think it's all that special.

INDIANA

Dunes

Indianapolis

Indianapolis Indians

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Lucas Oil Stadium

Manchester College

O'Reilly Raceway Park

I have to ask...what about Indianapolis is really worth seeing? There's maybe enough to do to occupy a weekend, but that's about it.

[Satty]

I went to Indianapolis once. Ate at a steak place (Sizzler I believe) and spent the next two days vomiting. Still better than a weekend in Cincinnati.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

kings mountain is a good one for SC too. Revolutionary war site. pendleton sc is cool as well, established in the 1700's. we have a lot of history here in anderson sc.

Kings Mountain is cool.

There also seems to be a lot of history in both Camden and Rock Hill. I've just passed through those two, but I plan to go back and investigate further.

[Croc]

I went to Indianapolis once. Ate at a steak place (Sizzler I believe) and spent the next two days vomiting. Still better than a weekend in Cincinnati.

I don't know if Sizzler is even still around. Indy does have a good steak place, called Peterson's, up in the Castleton area off 82nd St. and I-69.

[knightfan26917]

How long did it take to type that list out?

LOL!

A few days, at least an hour or so a day ... he he. But, I LOVED doing it. It was really cool to go through all of the replies and see what others had mentioned.

AND ... it seems like I have a few more to add, eh? VERY COOL.... Since I'm trying to get ready for the Route 66 trip, I doubt I'll have time to put the revised list together before then ... but later this year, I will put out a new list .

Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09

WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"If you fall, I will catch you" ... Cindy Lauper ... 'Time After Time'

[PONTIAC06]

I really hope I didn't suggest all of those places in Wyoming. Most of the towns, listed don't have anything too special other than the fact that there are hotels, and many of the mountain passes and scenic byways end up in them. I suppose Cheyenne has the capitol, Laramie has the university. Green River doesn't have much of anything...but if you like small town charm, you could check out Saratoga, and Thermopolis has (I believe) the worlds largest natural hot springs. Everything else sounds pretty good as long as you like the outdoors. If you were to stop and check out Vedauwoo, you should also check out the Pole Mountain area (they're pretty much the same thing). Ames monument is also near there if you want to see a random pyramid built in the middle of nowhere...