The Rockies rate high on my list. There is something magestic about the mountains that can not be ound anywhere else. The drive up Rocky Mountian National Park is breathtaking - literally! I had the best lack-of-oxygen buzz as we reached the high point at 12,200 feet. You pass through so many climate belts on the way up.
The clouds crossing the Grand Canyon make it surreal looking. You see the Colorado river slowly making its way through the canyon, continuing to cut into rock layers that are upwards of 2 billion years old. The Pluto telescope is open to the public over near Flagstaff. A grad student will stay with you and let you watch the stars in all their glory.
The Great Plains shows you what it means to have Big Sky! Out away from the towns and cities, you can easily see stars that are barely visible her in the NE part of the United States. The people are friendly - just slow your speech down a little and add a bit of a drawl. And you have not seen a thunderstorm until you have seen a Midwest thunderstorm! I rmember a series of three seperate boomers marching side-by-side across the plains. You could watch the lightning flicker up and down the sides of all three storms. Magnificent!
I would love to see Mt. Everest, though I know that my body is in no condition to ever climb it. Seeing it would be fine. I would love to go explore my birth home of Saskatoon. Ayres Rock and the Outback in Australia would be fun. Seeing the great ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica would be a thrill.
The ultimate vacation would have to be getting a ride on Burt Rutan's "Tier Two" spacecraft. I think Virgin Galactic is charging about $20,000 per person for a suborbital hop. Is it worth it? For me, abolutely!
Chaunte