Top Ten Best States

Have you ever took the time and thought about your favorite and least favorite state in the US? Yeah neither did I until I had to think of a new blog topic. Anyway, It took me a while to conclude my thoughts and decide of my favorite.

1. My favorite state in the United States of America is...COLORADO! I love colorado so much and I have spent lots of time there and I have explored almost every large and petite town.  Everything about Colorado pleases me, nothing ever bad happens in Colorado! The rest on this list go in order from my top ten favorites. 

Telluride!
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/12/24/western.ski.towns/

2. Vermont- How can you not absolutely love Vermont? Well, if you have never visited Vermont then I can understand. Any destination in Vermont is just purely beautiful with it's green trees and crystal clear waters. One awesome fun fact is that in 1968, the star of Vermont banned billboards! I love that law because ugly, obnoxious billboards can really distract from Vermont's nature. 

Home of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream!
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/may/25/healthcare-vermont

3. Oregon- In Oregon you can get the best of both worlds; the city nightlife, and the outdoors, ski bum life. Also, there are amazing food options surrounding Portland. 

4. Washington- I have already expressed to you my love for Washington. I think that I just really like Douglas fir tress and they surround the area. And the crisp clean Pacific Northwest air really is refreshing. 

5. California- What can't you do in California? Thats right basically nothing! You can ski, surf, swim, sunbathe, shop, rome the city, star search, and play every recreational sport known to man. The palm trees that cover California are some site to see. 

6. New York- New York City just really excites me and most likely many others too. There no city like it. It's so big and uniform, pretty much a human rat-race.  

7. Hawaii- Oh Hawaii! Hawaii is the dream vacation for anyone because of the super chill, natural, healthy lifestyle. All the islands are magnificent because of the white beaches, blue water, and green rolling hills.  

8. North Carolina- North Carolina is much like California in which you can do everything. The outer-banks are a big attraction, but also the agricultural lifestyle and pastures and beautiful as well. It's also home to UNC, the best women's college lacrosse team known to women! 

9. Rhode Island- Rhode Island is where I'm planning on raising my family. The coast is very charming and sailing is big. I can never really find places that are into sailing, so woo!

10. Montana- Montana has a low population so it makes an awesome get away. The lakes that occupy Montana are breathtaking. You can also see one of the last standing glaciers in the U.S. at Glacier National Park. 

Sadly, my list doesn't contain Utah because, to be honest...I don't really love it here, if you know what I mean. But you always want what you can't have. 

Park City Skiing Makes Top 25 List

Park City made the National Geographic list of top 25 ski resorts in the world. The magazine states “Best for: Cinephile families with a range of abilities.” The article contains information concerning the U.S. Ski Team, and how Park City is home to the Ski Team.  Also, it includes information about Park City’s three world class resorts in one little town!  “A tourist boomtown!” they call it.

“Better snow, dry and fluffy powder, easy access, and good restaurants” Brad Bess (a local) cheerfully reports. “Park City is easily towards the top 5 of the top 25 ski towns in the world.” Brad most frequently skis at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort. Brad loves Park City Mountain Resort for its easy access to Main Street. “Davanzas is my favorite place to eat after skiing at PCMR.” Brad also likes Deer Valley for its amazing food choices on the mountain, and the option of not skiing with snowboarders. “At Deer Valley you can ski without snowboarders around. It’s nice to have that option.” Brad states. 

“Impressively, each of Park City’s areas offer a hundred or more runs, bevies of high-speed lifts, and around 3,000 feet of base-to-summit vertical.” the article confesses. Amazing skiing happens here.

PCMR
http://skiingbusiness.com/12513/newswire/attorney-sheds-light-on-pcmr-talisker-lawsuit/

I mostly ski at the canyons but PCMR is great too! Both of the resorts have their own unique characteristics that are fabulous. 99-90 at the canyons gives you access to some of the best back country/out of bounds skiing ever known to man! PCMR gives you access to Jupiter peak, which services the best blacks and double blacks in the game! I ski frequently every weekend with my friends and I completely love it. Our snow is so dry and fresh, I'm so lucky to ski on it 24/7.  

Canyons Resort
http://www.utah.com/ski/resorts/canyons_map.htm

In conclusion, Park City easily is the best ski town in the world. Whoever has access to any of Park City’s three majestic mountains are pretty darn lucky. 

Machu Picchu, Peru -Majestic Mountain

My expertise of a mother booked an exciting trip to Machu Picchu this spring break of 2015! I first I wasn't so excited to go, but I'm most definitely coming around! When I heard about taking a 4 day hike on the Inca trail...thats when I got hyped!Machu Picchu is an exotic Inca city on the top of the Andes mountains. The site stretches about five miles across. The little town was a secret that was only known to peasants living in the area. It is made up of about 150 stone building from houses to grand temples. 

The Top!
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu

My family and I will be hiking for 3-4ish days, sleeping in tents on the side of the trail. Donkeys carry our luggage (which consists of clothes, toiletries, and other stuff) and we hike along with a guide, and chef, and other friends. While on the big mountain, we still get breakfast, lunch, and dinner which is cooked in front of us! Since we will be "intense hiking" with not a lot of time for rest, we have to soak our feet in hot water every night. Sounds crazy right! My mom purchased my family brand new hiking boots for this trip...so it better be a good, tough hike. I find it funny that my family has never camped in a tent together, EVER! This will be interesting. We get thin mattresses so that will be a major plus! 

If you were wondering… Machu Picchu is located in the Cusco Region in Urubamba. We will fly into Lima (the capital of Peru) then explore around there for a bit! That section of the trip will be kinda short because we have to fly in to Cusco early due to "adjusting to the elevation." Lots of people when they hike the Inca trail, they suffer from elevation/mountain sickness; so to prevent that, were flying into Cusco early. I honestly think we will be just fine...we live in Park City, UT anyways. 

Lima
http://www.ccisabroad.org/program.php?link=peru_lima

After our gnarly hike, we are planning on going back to Lima and lounge on the coast. That will be a good time to practice my spanish speaking skills! 

Kauai, HI- Adventurous Paradise

"What island or part Hawaii should I plan a trip to?" the famous words of a confused traveler. There is Maui, Oahu, Hawaii, Niihau, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, or Kauai? I would honestly recommend Kauai in a heartbeat.The cliché activities such as surfing and sunbathing wont disappoint, but also the hippie lifestyle is fun to adjust to. 

Hanalei Bay
http://car-memes.com/kauai-helicopter-hanalei-bay-wallpaper/hdwallpappers.com*images*wallpapers*kauai_helicopter_Hanalei-Bay-Wallpaper.jpg/hdwallpappers.com*kauaihelicopterhanaleibaywallpaper/

In the northern upper most tip of Kauai, you may find a cute little town known as Hanalei. In Hanalei there is a bay that is home to many of world renown surfers such as Laird Hamilton, Bethany Hamilton, Alana Blanchard, and many more. 

One trip my family and I planned in 2013, was to Hanalei Bay. We stayed in a condo with close access to the beach. My brother and I are somewhat experienced surfers, so we gave it a go at the worlds famous bay of waves. I guess you could say we surfed okay. As we were walking out of the water in conclusion of our "surf day" we just happened to run into Rob Hamilton, the man who caught the shark that bit Bethany Hamilton's arm off! Your probably a bit frightened by reading this, but at the time it was super cool. 

We decided to go on a long hike up Hanakapiai's Falls on the Na Pali Coast. On our ascending part of the hike, views our eyes could capture were quite extraordinary. As we kept hiking, we had to cross a few streams which wasn't too bad, then we crossed a bunch of rocks which wasn't completely joyful, until we came across a mini secluded beach. We couldn't swim of course because the rip curls were too strong at the time. We were enjoying our lunch, planning to head forward onto the hike to reach the waterfalls, until a major rainstorm came upon us! We had to leave the site before floods could initiate through the beach and the small trails. As the waves grew larger and started crashing down on our feet, we scurried up to the trail, and quickly out of the beach area. The hike back we didn't worry ourselves that much because, you know... we're troopers! Our shoes were soaked by the time we reached the trailhead, but it was totally worth it! 

Hanakapiai Falls Hike
http://www.alohafrom808.com/2013/01/hanakapiai-falls-na-pali-coast-kauai-trip-2013/

Im completely sure that there are other exciting places to visit in other parts of Kauai, maybe in the southern parts. But, I had the pleasure to visit the lovable community of Hanalei.  The major bonus to Kauai is it's not very touristy compared to the big island. I found my self blending in with the locals. The situation of where I live, I get super annoyed with tourists taking over MY town! So its nice to not run into people from your home town, even though we live in a "small world."  

All the beaches surrounding Kauai are spectacular for all purposes. So if your still conflicted on where to venture off to in Hawaii, take my word and scrutinize Kauai.