5 Amazing Places to Visit

CAMPFIRE
DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska

The park covers about 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of land and is home to a diversity of mammals, buds, fish, and plants. Today more than five hundred thousand people visit the park each year and seeing bears, caribou, and other Alaskan wildlife in the midst of incredibly beautiful landscapes is part of the Denali experience. When it is not too cloudy, visitors may be able to view Denali (also known as Mount McKinley), which at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters) is the highest mountain peak in North America. Around one thousand mountain climbers come to the park each year to climb to the summit, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

LONGHOUSE SONG
ONEIDA NATION MUSEUM, near Green Bay, Wisconsin

A typical longhouse had a framework of stripped saplings that was covered with elm bark. A large longhouse measured as much as 300 feet (91 meters) long, 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 meters) wide, and 30 feet (9 meters) tall, and housed twelve or more families, usually of the same clan. The number of families was indicated by the number of smoke holes in the roof. A few miles from Green Bay, Wisconsin, outside the Oneida Nation Museum, stands a replica of a longhouse. Inside the museum, in a smaller replica longhouse, visitors are encouraged to handle the wooden utensils, musical Instruments, animal skins, clothing, and other traditional items on display.

MIDWAY MAGIC
STATE FAIR OF TEXAS, Dallas, Texas

The fair runs for twenty-four days, starting in late September. Attractions include pig races, mock rodeo events where children ride stick horses, marching bands, livestock exhibits and events, an auto show, shops, and unique foods. The midway features numerous games and more than seventy rides, including a 1914 carousel and a 212-foot-(65-meter-) tail Ferris wheel. The fair's mascot, Big Tex, a huge cowboy figure, has welcomed visitors since 1952. It was destroyed in a fire in October 2012 but was restored in time for the opening of the 2013 season.

A SUNDAY TRIP TO CHINATOWN
CHINATOWN, San Francisco, California

San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Established in 1848, Chinatown is still an active сеnter of Chinese culture and traditions and is one of top attractions for visitors to the city. Located in downtown San Francisco, the neighborhood is entered through the Gateway Arch (Dragon Gate), a pagoda-style structure with sculptures of dragons, fish, and two elaborately-carved lions. Portsmouth Square, known as the Heat of Chinatown, is a popular outdoor spot for residents to socialize. While wandering the crowded and noisy streets of Chinatown, visitors encounter people practicing traditional crafts, children playing in alleyways, authentic food markets, busy restaurants, herbal shops, and a variety of other stores selling a wide array of inexpensive trinkets as well as more expensive items.

TREE SPEAKS
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona

Established in 1919, Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most important geologic areas in the world, containing rocks and fossils that date back billions of years. The park covers 1.2 million acres (485,623 hectares), and close to five million people visit the 1-mile- (1.6-kilometer-) deep canyon each year. In addition to breathtaking rock formations, there are approximately two hundred species of trees and shrubs in the park, among them ponderosa pine, five species of juniper, and quaking aspen. Ravens, hawks, California condors, ospreys, and peregrine falcons are among the hundreds of bird species in the canyon region. The mighty Colorado River that runs through the canyon is home to eight native fish species, while the river's rapids offer thrills for Whitewater rafters.