STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Trying to think of a good place to visit this summer?
Just stay home.
USA Today, the nation’s newspaper, has concocted its list of the top 10 best places to visit in the United States. And Sun Valley and Ketchum are on it.
“Everyone knows that skiing is amazing in Sun Valley; fewer people know the valley is an official International Dark Sky Community, one of only 11 in the nation,” explained the newspaper.
“What's more, Sun Valley and Ketchum are in America’s first-ever Dark Sky Reserve, awarded to Central Idaho. Don't even think of using a flashlight after dark--it's taboo. But do find a place beside a fire pit for appreciating the Milky Way. The Hangout at Hotel Ketchum is the place to share the experience with locals and visitors alike.”
Others on the list:
Alaska is the last American frontier where you can check out Mother Nature’s show of mighty glaciers calving and falling into the sea.
Hawaii offers sunny skies and sandy beaches where you can check out a bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modern surfing on Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.
New York—“It’s a Helluva Town,” where you can use the subway to travel from a jazz club in Harlem to dim sum in Chinatown.
“Mighty, Majestic Yosemite” is standout in a nation blessed with spectacular national parks.
The Florida Keys and Key West can be accessed on a legendary road trip from Key Largo to Key West on a 120-mile Overseas Highway across 42 bridges.
The Northern California Wine Country sports the Napa Valley Wine Train for a gourmet dining experience in a plush restored vintage Pullman carriage, stopping for winery visits and tastings along route.
New Orleans, the Big Easy, which boasts an original, rich multicultural mix made up of Southern, Cajun, Creole, French and Spanish, German and Latino, Irish and African.
Disney in Orlando offers a different theme park for every day of a weeklong vacation.
And the Capitol of Free in Washington, D.C., sports more than a hundred museums, monuments, memorial and festivals with no admission fee.