Hi, friends!
How is your week going so far? Normally my Mondays are crummy but I took today off.
Topic of the night if you don’t have anything else rattling around your brain – hidden gems – surprisingly impressive places in regions you wouldn’t expect.
I’ll start. If ever find yourself in Hot Springs, Arkansas? Definitely go to Garvan Woodland Gardens. Fucking gorgeous! Beautiful to walk around and enjoy nature.
Believe it or not, the Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH is absolutely incredible.
Sigh…indicative of my Monday, I thought the headline was “Hidden Germs”.
They took out the bridge to get to this place a few winters ago but it was one of the coolest places if you were smart enough to only go when safe. After a bunch of people died NOT doing that, we all lost access.
https://rove.me/to/seattle/big-four-ice-caves
Pandapas Pond by the Washington & Jefferson National Forest in my neck of the woods is a pretty sweet spot. The acoustics there are remarkable.
At Natural Bridges State Beach in California there is a nice main beach whch you can see in this photo:
https://www.besttime2travel.com/sites/default/files/styles/width_1000px/public/inline-images/Natural%20Bridges-0704.JPG
But at low tide if you time things right when the waves rush out, you can run around the cliff on the left and come to a second little hidden beach, which you can see on the left side of this photo.
https://www.besttime2travel.com/sites/default/files/styles/width_1000px/public/inline-images/Natural%20Bridges-0702.JPG
I went there as a kid and it was completely cool being there surrounded on all sides by the cliffs and the water. But you have to be sure to get out before the tide rises later on or you’ll get cut off.
Ecola beach in Oregon is very similar & if you get trapped you are in serious trouble with the water temps. I may need to do a photo tour of it some time soon. It is spectacular.
https://stateparks.oregon.gov/index.cfm?do=park.profile&parkId=136
I wouldn’t call it hidden, and I’d be curious to hear @SplinterRIP‘s opinion, but York is my favorite city in England. Tons of history, but tons of other stuff to do there both in town and outside of it.
Most tourists seem to visit for the day to see York Minster, and then leave. We stayed for a couple days there and loved it. Beautiful river running through town. Great brewery there. Lots of fun shops, restaurants, and markets.
…it’s been a long time since last I was in york…so a lot could have changed…although the minster is quite something if you like that sort of thing…which many do
…the thing I mostly think of when I think of york, though, is a bit less of a visible attraction & more by way of a curiosity I was told of…as is probably traditional…by a bloke in a pub
…as with a lot of these things…people kind of enjoy leaving the law in place…it’s more fun that way…& mostly harmless?
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/in_york_it_is_perfectly_legal_to
The Red River Gorge is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. It has hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, it’s incredibly beautiful
Mammoth Cave National Park is one of the underappreciated parks and worth a visit.
Rock City in Olean, NY
This is in the vicinity of where my dad is from/grew up. So I spent summers going to visit my grandmother in rural NY and we would go visit this place sometimes. It has a ton of natural rock formations and is just generally very beautiful. And last time I went I remember the gift shop had a lot of neat stuff.