The Sea Ranch Chapel is a quick stop on Highway 1 and a place to see some beautiful architecture. The grounds and the chapel were funded by local Sea Ranch residents and took nine months to construct.
Russian Gulch State Park
Russian Gulch State Park has two attractions that you don’t want to miss in Mendocino. First one is the easy Fern Canyon Trail to the 36ft waterfall and the second one is the arched Highway 1 bridge beach.
Wildflowers at Manchester State Beach
Manchester State Beach has the most coastal wildflowers I’ve ever seen on a beach. I visited in May which is prime time for the flowers to bloom. The beach is quiet and wide which makes it great for long walks and has a ton of driftwood to form forts.
Devil’s Slide Trail at Pacifica
Devil’s Slide Trail is an old portion of Highway 1 that was decommissioned for auto travel after numerous landslides and accidents. A tunnel was built instead for cars and the old portion of Highway 1 was made into a 1.3 mile trail for foot and bike traffic.
Exploring Tidepools at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve
Fitzgerald Marine Reserve’s main attraction are the tide pools where you can see crabs, sea anemone, starfish, and more. The best time to go is during low tide so you can actually walk around and look for sea creatures. Because this is a protected reserve, nothing can be collected or harmed.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park in Moab, Utah is aptly named for the numerous sandstone arches found in this region. These arches are products of erosion and will fall over time while news one will be formed. The popular ones that I chose to visit were Delicate Arch, South and North Windows Arch, Turret Arch, Double Arch, and Landscape Arch.
Painted Hills at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is located in Oregon and has three units-Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock. I visited the Painted Hills and Sheep Rock area since I was looking for color. To do all three units, would require more than a day since they are all roughly an hour or more apart.
Secret Cove Beach
This is a cool spot in Lake Tahoe to take a dip and it is officially listed as a nude beach. Sadly, I didn’t see any nudity when I was there in the fall, perhaps the weather was too cold.
Goldwell Open Air Museum
Goldwell Open Air Museum is an intriguing place to stop at on a trip to Death Valley National Park. It’s an outdoor sculpture museum near the ghost town of Rhyolite featuring the works of Albert Szukalski.
Death Valley National Park
There are so many things to see at Death Valley National Park. You can easily spend a week exploring the whole park and constantly be amazed with all the desert views. Beware coming here in the summer because the temperature will burn you to a crisp!