Remembering Bobcat Cove Almost Getting Mauled In The Lotus Pose

Another Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day which I actually remember. And this memory did happen in the month of October. Which day in October, I have no idea. As for the year, it was either 1994 or 1995.

The location is Lake Powell.

That is me atop a red sandstone cliff, in the Lotus yoga pose, in a location we came to call Bobcat Cove. The first docking location on a four day houseboat float on Lake Powell. 

This docking location was erroneously named Bobcat Cove. It should have been called Cougar Cove. During the first night on Lake Powell, all the floaters, but me, slept on the roof of the houseboat. I slept inside.

The houseboat's sliding door was left open. In the middle of the night, I awoke to see the glowing eyes of a big cat. I let out a blood curdling scream which had the rooftop sleepers rush off the roof.

I was scorned for the bloodcurdling screaming. And it was suggested I imagined the big cat. Come morning, with sun illumination, cat tracks were clearly visible at the entry to the houseboat. Heartfelt apologies for doubting my veracity were forthcoming.

Here is photo documentation of the cat tracks.

At the point in time when I was nearly mauled by a giant cat I had never seen an actual bobcat. It was not til experiencing Texas that I had actual bobcat encounters. And thus realized bobcats are much smaller than that big cat that came onboard the houseboat.

And so, Bobcat Cove should be renamed Cougar Cove, or Panther Cover, or Mountain Lion Cove...

Roadblocked In Texas Remembering Roadtripping Monument Valley Etcetera

A Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day, that I do remember. And I do remember this memory happened in October. The exact day, I do not remember. Or the exact year. It was either 1997 or 1998.

That is me looking into the lens of my long gone antique Casio digital camera, with its selfie taking feature which was years ahead of its time.

The others in the photo were floaters with me on Lake Powell, living on a houseboat for four days. In the photo, from left to right, that is Danielle, then Wally, next to his twin, Big Ed, then the twin's little sister, Lydia, with Wally's first wife, Wanda on the right. Not in the photo were fellow floaters, Danielle's first husband, Ross, and Lydia's first husband, Keith.

The scenery in the photo likely looks familiar if you've ever watched a movie set in the Wild West, such as Stagecoach, and many others. That is a section of Monument Valley you are looking at. 

I am a bit confused as to the itinerary of this trip. I think our first destination was Moab, for a few days, exploring Arches National Park and the Fiery Furnace and Canyonlands National Park. And mountain biking the Slick Rock Trail.

From Moab we trekked to Bullfrog Basin on Lake Powell, from whence we houseboated. Getting off the houseboat we ferried across Lake Powell. I think the ferry was called Hall's Crossing. I may be wrong about that.

After the houseboat the destination was Mexican Hat and the San Juan Inn. The route to that Inn involved driving down the treacherous Moki Dugway. It was from Mexican Hat we crossed the San Juan River into the Navaho Nation and Monument Valley.

After Monument Valley it was back to Moab for a couple days. Then the group split up, my remaining group heading to Durango, overnighting in Silverton, then on to Taos, Alamogordo, White Sands National Park, Tombstone, Yuma, Algodones, Mexico, Las Vegas, then back to Washington.

This turned out to be the last long roadtrip I have tripped on. Well, unless you count the drives back and forth between Texas and Washington....

Remembering San Juan River Bridge Leaps To Many Memories

Another memory from Microsoft's OneDrive Memory from this Day that I remember fondly. Though this took place in October, not April.

Way back in the final days of 1993 I was on my way to Moab. The day before had been spent at the Grand Canyon, overnighting in Flagstaff.

On the way to Moab I drove into Monument Valley. Driving in Monument Valley one feels like one is in a movie.

Leaving Monument Valley, continuing north, you leave the Navajo Nation when you come to the border between Arizona and Utah, with the San Juan River marking the border, at the location where I left Arizona to cross into Utah.

Crossing that bridge upon which you see me standing atop the arch, to the left of the bridge, I saw this incredible looking lodging facility nestled against the cliff. I remarked that one day I want to come and stay there.

The next day, in Moab, was New Year's Day of 1994. That day I went to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. From Islands in the Sky in Canyonlands, I saw mountain bikers biking the valley, far below.

I vowed then that when I was back in Washington I would get a mountain bike and return to Moab to mountain bike.

I did so, but it was a couple years later that I made it back to Moab with my bike, to ride with a group called MudSluts.

Before returning to Moab, I went houseboating on Lake Powell. This was a group adventure involving six floaters in one boat and two vehicles. I made the reservations for the trip, the houseboats, North Rim Grand Canyon log cabins, the Lodge in Zion National Park, Excalibur in Vegas and a fun oasis called Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley.

But, the best reservation I made that trip was booking rooms at that lodging facility I'd seen when crossing the San Juan River, years previous, the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat.

Five years later the Lake Powell houseboat experience was repeated, with a larger group of floaters. That time we also stayed at the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat.

I forgot to make mention of the Moki Dugway.

Leaving Lake Powell, the route to Mexican Hat, well, the one I chose, both times, takes one to the brink of a precipice. A big warning sign tells you to stop and assess the risk. The Moki Dugway is a primitive road which steeply switchbacks back and forth to the valley floor.

The driver in the second vehicle had a panic attack, so a driver from my vehicle took over driving the other vehicle while the panicked driver put a pillowcase over his head and swilled vodka. His wife was also borderline hysterical.

The second time down the Moki Dugway three vehicles were involved. No one panicked that time. At least, no one panicked that I was aware of.

So, did the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat turn out to be as fun as I hoped?

Yes, it did. The San Juan Inn has a trading post attached. And a restaurant, where everyone running the place was Navajo. Our waitress was always a friendly Navajo beauty who greatly appreciated our interest in her people. This location was my first experience of having Indian Fry Bread. So good.

Our waitress told us several things, including the fact the Navajo refer to themselves as "Dine", which literally means "The People".

I used to go on roadtrips at least once a year. Sometimes real long roadtrips. Since moving to Texas, the only roadtrips have been driving back to Washington several times, once to Arizona.

I don't think roadtripping to Oklahoma and Louisiana count...

Madame McNutty Takes Me Back To Lake Powell Meditations

I was Facebook messaging with Madame McNutty this morning when somehow something about Seattle's Fremont Sunday Market led me to point MM to web pages I made a long long time ago about a Lake Powell Houseboat trip way back in 1994.

Madame McNutty then asked me who Homer was. I did not remember nicknaming anyone with the Homer name, so I had to go to Hell Houseboat: a Lake Powell Houseboat Adventure to remember that Homer is what I called Wally at that point in time. Wally and Big Ed are also known as the Goober Twins.

On the Bobcat Cove Hell Houseboat page I saw the photo you see above, which I had forgotten about.
That is me meditating atop a cliff overlooking Bobcat Cove and my temporary floating dwelling. There was a lot of skinny dipping in Lake Powell on that particular trip. I do not remember if I was in skinny dip mode whilst atop that cliff.

Two of my fellow floaters were seriously disturbing acrophobes. More than once while we were on Lake Powell I got yelled at for being too close to what they thought to be a dangerous precipice, including interrupting my peaceful, safe meditating whilst atop that redrock cliff.

I knew that in about four days I was going to subject the acrophobes to their scariest fear of heights episode ever when were off the houseboat, heading to the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, with the Moki Dugway our road to the San Juan River Valley below. 

When we reached the precipice which the Moki Dugway descends, with dire warning signs, the acrophobe van began flashing its headlights, signaling the need to stop. Neither acrophobe felt brave enough to drive down that precipice. So, I assigned that task to Homer/Wally. I learned later that when we began the descent one acrophobe put a pillow case over her head while the other laid on the floor of the van guzzling vodka.

I've driven down the Moki Dugway twice. It is a little scary, as in you would be toast if the brakes failed. The second time down the Moki Dugway was after the second Lake Powell Houseboat adventure. That second time I knew what to expect. It still was scary.

I wonder if and when I will ever drive down something like the Moki Dugway again?

Wall Calendar Triggers Grand Canyon Of COVID Torments

 

That which you see here is on the wall of my computer room.

Which would make that which you see here a wall calendar.

It has now been over a year since I have travelled further than 40 miles from my abode. 

I have not even been to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metromess for over a year. 

And this National Park themed wall calendar regularly torments me with reminders of scenic places I have been. 

For March it is Grand Canyon National Park.

I first saw Grand Canyon when I was 19. I had been to Yellowstone, and seeing the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and thinking it quite impressive, I suggested heading south a few hundred miles to see the more famous Grand Canyon.

Before getting to Grand Canyon we visited Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon, vowing to return, soon, with proper hiking gear.

After Bryce and Zion it was on to Grand Canyon. The North Rim. This truly was one of the more overwhelming shockingly scenic things I had ever seen. I was already in scenic wonder overload due to Bryce and Zion.

Ironically, it was just a brief visit to several of the North Rim overlooks, and then on to Las Vegas, then Los Angeles and Disneyland, vowing to return, soon, to Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon.

It was just a few years later, in, I think, 1979, that I drove the longest roadtrip I ever drove, visiting places like Colorado and New Mexico and Texas for the first time. Just a little bit of Texas, after caving at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 

Eventually made it to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and hiked the Bright Angel Trail all the way to the Colorado. Going down was easy, going back to the top was brutal, and did not make it there til an hour after dark.

I don't remember for sure what came after Grand Canyon, that time. Probably Vegas and then on to Los Angeles. I think this was the time I stayed in San Diego for a few days and went to both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, or whatever it was called. I recollect going to a Sir George's buffet in a suburb of San Diego and driving around in Tijuana for a few miles. 

I did not make it back to Zion National Park til 1992, also visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, before heading to Vegas. I never have managed to hike the Angel's Landing trail in Zion which I vowed to hike some day, after seeing a Ranger presentation in the Zion campground on that first visit to Zion.

I was back at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon the last day of 1993, staying overnight in Flagstaff. There was snow at the top of the canyon and the trails were ice covered at that elevation, so no hiking.

But, that same trip had me seeing this cool looking location on the San Juan River, north of Monument Valley. The San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, Utah.

That following year I organized a group roadtrip, from which my Internet nickname came. As I made various reservations I would mail out itinerary info to my fellow roadtrippers, calling the mailing "Durango Dean's Wild West Adventure Tour" or something like that.

This trip began with four days of houseboating on Lake Powell, cruising all the way to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, then off the houseboat to the treacherous descent down the Moki Dugway, to the aforementioned town of Mexican Hat to stay at the San Juan Inn. Which had a wonderful restaurant, owned and operated by Navajo, where I learned I like Indian fry bread.

After Mexican Hat it was on to Monument Valley and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where I had booked us log cabins. This was in mid October of that year. During the night a blizzard blew in. By morning we were trapped, awaiting snow plows to clear the road. It was wonderful, one of my favorite experiences ever.

When we were able to leave it was on to Zion where we had rooms booked in the National Park lodge. We did a lot of hiking at Zion, but still no hike to Angel's Landing. After Zion it was on to Vegas for four days, then an overnight stay in cabins at Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. That was also one special night. Best swimming pool ever.

I got a flat tire in Death Valley. That turned out to be added fun. After Death Valley it was time to head north, towards home, with a night in Mammoth Lakes, a quick detour into Yosemite, an overnight in Redding, and then home.

That was one fun roadtrip, slightly repeated five years later with a different cast of characters, though some were the same. Did not enjoy the houseboat so much that time. But the Moki Dugway and Mexican Hat were again fun. As was staying several days in Moab, mountain biking. After Moab part of the group headed back to Washington, whilst two vehicles, including mine, headed to Durango, then overnighting in the Imperial Hotel ( I think that was the name ) in Silverton. The high elevation was taxing. Enjoyed it immensely, particularly imbibing in the hotel's saloon. The next day the other vehicle, after heading north on the Million Dollar Highway, began its return to Washington, while I continued on through Colorado, eventually coming to the headwaters of the Rio Grande.

Overnighted that night in Taos. I want to go back to Taos. And would have by now if it were not for the COVID intervention which mucked up a Taos visit plan. After Taos it was south to Alamogordo, overnight. An event there at the National Space Museum turned highly entertaining. 

After Alamogordo is was on to White Sands National Monument, eventually overnighting in a scary border town called Douglas, across the border from Agua Preita in Mexico. Next day discovered Bisbee. Loved it. Then happened upon Tombstone when they were having their annual Hellorado Days Celebration. Weirdest parade I have ever seen. Loved it.

After Tombstone it was on to Yuma, a couple years before my mom and dad moved there. Had a mighty fine time crossing the border to Algadones, Mexico. And then it was time to head north, to Vegas, again, then Tonopah, then Reno, then back to Washington.

I miss taking a good long roadtrip. Some days I get feeling doing such things will never happen again.

I probably should take that wall calendar off the wall, what with its reminders of places seen and in need of being seen. So far, though only in March, I've been to the National Parks on the calendar. those being January was Grand Tetons National Park, February was Sequoia National Park.

Let me sneak a peak at April.

Yosemite National Park. 

I've only been to Yosemite three times. And have only overnighted there once, staying three days in a cabin at Camp Curry. Would love to do that again. Maybe not Camp Curry, but the National Park lodge instead. I forget its name, but it's a famous one, Ahwahnee, that's it...

Linda Lou Leads Us Back To Lake Powell Houseboating

The past couple days Linda Lou has brought us back to the previous century, as in the 20th century, after being the catalyst which brought about the finding of photos long forgotten, on a computer long not on.

Due to this, Linda Lou has reminded us of blueberry picking in the wild followed by remembering some delicate islands in the sky.

Oh, and many of these long lost photos turned out to be a primitive form of what the 21st century calls "selfies".

But, in the 20th century a phone did not take "selfies". It was my now long gone antique Casio digital camera which took these oldie "selfies".

In the photo above the year was 1998, The location was Lake Powell, in Utah. The transportation vehicle was the houseboat you see floating in a location we named Bobcat Cove.

You would need to go to my webpaged Lake Powell Houseboat tale to learn why Bobcat Cove was so named.

I do not remember why I am looking so consternated whilst looking at the camera which was aimed at me and the houseboat. But, that is not unusual for cameras to consternate me, even when I am the one taking a photo.

The consternated Lake Powell selfie was taken the second time I was stuck on a Lake Powell houseboat. The first time I was so stuck, in 1994, was when the bobcat/cougar/panther incident occurred. And so the webpaged multi-page Lake Powell tale is of the 1994 version of houseboating.

On that 1994 excursion on Lake Powell we made it all the way to Rainbow Bridge. No digital camera existed on that trip. But many old-fashioned photos were taken, and later scanned digitally. I think the originals are in a box in my closet which I have not seen in years.

Over 20 years after that first Lake Powell houseboat float I found myself telling the tale again, in blogging form, on another of my many blogs, with that blogging titled Houseboating on Utah's Lake Powell.

I think today is likely the last of these selfie trails down memory lane. Unless I find another one...

Look At A Snowy Mountain On Way To Check Aging Arizona Relatives

You are looking out a window here at something I do not see out of any of the windows I look out of at my current location.

The closest such thing to my current location is Mount Wichita, about 3 miles to my southwest.

So, what is this fluffy mound of white we are looking at here?

The text accompanying the photo is explanatory...

Attached photos taken this evening of a snowy Mount Rainier and Glen Canyon Dam with Lake Powell in the distance. I am currently in the Phoenix zone for a couple nights. Tomorrow's plans may include a welfare check on aging relatives who reside in Arizona year round.

The emailed photos are from Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew, Jason.

The last time I saw Mount Rainier out of a window was way back in 2008, on July 20 and August 20 of that year, coming and going from the Puget Sound zone. Since my last look at Mount Rainier was in summer, it was not quite as white as Jason's view from yesterday.

If I remember right the last time I saw Lake Powell was in October of 1997. The last time I saw Glen Canyon Dam and the section of Lake Powell we see in Jason's photo was back in October of 1994, which was the first time I Houseboated on Lake Powell, from much further east, launching from Bullfrog Basin, floating as far west as Rainbow Bridge, before careening down the Moki Dugway on the way to the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat and Monument Valley.

The aging Arizona relatives who live in Arizona year round, on whom Jason may do a welfare check, would be Spencer Jack's grandpa, who is also Jason's dad, and my brother, plus Spencer Jack's great grandma and grandpa, who also are Jason's grandma and grandpa and my mom and dad.

I assume Jason conveniently flew south from Bellingham International Airport. This airport has full sized commercial jets operated by entities such as Alaskan Airlines flying out of town. Bellingham is about 30 miles north of Mount Vernon.

Bellingham is a smaller town than the Texas town I currently live in. Bellingham is way closer to Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, Washington than Wichita Falls is to Dallas/Fort Worth, Oklahoma City or Amarilla.

But, Wichita Falls does not have an International Airport with full sized commercial jets operated by entities like Alaskan Airlines. Not even Texas-based Southwest Airlines operates out of this town.

This town's lack of a real airport perplexes me. When I moved here such a primitive possibility did not occur to me. American Airlines is the only commercial airline way out of this town. And that is via an American Airlines off shoot called American Eagle, which flies you to D/FW International Airport, where you then get on an American Airlines plane to get to where you want to go.

I am eagerly awaiting Jason's report on the welfare check on his aging relatives...

Was Utah's Shooting Star The Inspiration For The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Drive-In Movie Theater?

No. That above is not an artist's rendering of the upcoming Grand Opening of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Drive-In Movie Theater. What you are looking at above is a screencap from the Shooting Star Drive-In website.

The Shooting Star Drive-In is in Escalante, Utah. The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Drive-In will be in Fort Worth, Texas.

My #1 researcher, CatsPaw, discovered the Shooting Star Drive-In in her quest to discover what was the inspiration behind J.D. Granger adding a drive-in movie theater to the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, after expanding the TRVB into wakeboarding with the world's premiere artificial urban wakeboard lake and into the restaurant business with the Woodshed Smokehouse.

I suspect J.D. Granger took his gang of hard drinking junketeers on a fact finding mission on Highway 12, in Utah. Known to be one of the most scenic highways in America. And, though this area may be dry desert country, there are some water features to inspect, like Calf Creek Falls and Lake Powell.

Lake Powell was the result of a slightly bigger lake vision than the pond that may result from the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and was a more legitimate use of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Lake Powell Vision saw no signature bridges, though, which the TRVB saw, til it went blind in that area. The only signature bridge on Lake Powell is a natural one called Rainbow Bridge.

If J.D. Granger was inspired by the Shooting Star Drive-In to open the first drive-in movie theater in a big American city, in decades, he sort of toned down the inspiration from what he saw at the Shooting Star Drive-In.

The Shooting Star Drive-In, in addition to showing movies, is a destination resort, sort of. You can stay in one of eight vintage Airstream trailers, with movie viewing decks, for bargain prices that start at only $149 a night. Or you can watch the movies from one of seven vintage convertibles. If you have your own RV, the Shooting Star also has a spot for you.

I can not imagine why J.D. Granger chose not to add an overnight camping option to the Trinity River Vision  Boondoggle Drive-In Movie Theater.

It could be Texas themed.

Maybe tepees, since the drive-in will be by the location of an old Indian camp near where Marine Creek runs into the Trinity River.

The Stars Shine Bright This Friday Deep In The Heart Of Texas

The really early view from my patio this Friday morning of July 16 shows a starry starry night.

But not in this picture. In the full size version stars could be seen. Including one very big one that I assume was not a star, but was a planet. Most likely Venus. I think Venus is known as the Morning Star.

I don't often see stars twinkling brightly in this somewhat polluted, both by light and toxins, zone of Texas I currently inhabit.

The fact that the stars are twinkling brightly this morning would seem to be a good indicator that our air here is temporarily cleaner than the norm.

The best night sky I have ever been under was on Lake Powell. I'd never seen the Milky Way look so milky or the moon glow so brightly white. When the moon set behind the canyon walls a spectacular purple glow lit up the canyon edge. And then the glow was gone followed by a much darker sky absent the moonlight, with the stars twinkling way brighter.

I have been told, a time or two, that the Fort Davis zone, where the McDonald's Observatory is located nearby, and which is one of the highest, if not the highest, elevation above sea level-wise, towns in Texas, that the air is very clear, with the stars very bright.

I really think I should see the Fort Davis zone with my own eyes and see those bright stars.

But, not today.

Port Aransas Sunrises, Alma & the Puget Sound

That is sunrise at Port Aransas, this morning, sent by Alma, the Songbird of the South Texas Gulf Coast.

I have not seen the sun rise or set on saltwater in a long time. I do not remember the last time. I did see saltwater last summer, that being Puget Sound, but you do not see the sun rise or set on Puget Sound.

In Western Washington, the sun rises over the Cascade Mountains, not Puget Sound. And when the sun sets, it sets over the Olympic Mountains, not Puget Sound.

It is still spectacularly scenic, though. I remember being in a bar/restaurant in Pike Place Market in Seattle, while the sun was setting over the Olympics, with the barkeeper leading the bar patrons in a series of ooooohs, awwwhs and the sunset becoming ever more spectacular.

My best sunset ever was not a sunset. It was a moonset. On Lake Powell. The night is very dark on Lake Powell, the stars very bright. My first night on Lake Powell the moon slowly set, dropping behind the canyon wall. The instant it totally disappeared an eerie purple glow lit up the top of the canyon. It lasted for at least a minute. I had never seen anything like it.

I am hoping to go down to Port Aransas this spring, to see Alma and a sunrise or two. And to have some real seafood. I have never been further down the Texas Gulf Coast than Galveston. I loved Galveston, pre-Hurricane Ike.

Gas Prices. What Are You Going To Do?

A cottage industry seems to have sprouted up giving people advice about what to do, travel-wise, what with gas costing a little more than last summer. Like here in the D/FW Metroplex, in the local papers and on the radio, I've heard advice to stay close to home and visit the local attractions.

And then a few days ago in the New York Times I saw a pretty goofy variant under the title, "The 31 Places to Go This Summer." The article starts off with, "Traveling this summer may sound like a cruel joke: airlines are getting worse, gas prices are creeping toward $5 a gallon and the euro continues to go up, up, up. It's almost enough to make you stay home. Almost."

And then proceeded to offer 31 suggestions. I'd been to quite a few of the suggestions, so I slightly know whereof I speak. One suggestion that made sense, yet oddly named, as in the label was "Pacific Northwest." The suggestion was to ride AmTrak and stay in Glacier National Park.

Another suggestion that sort of made sense, if you were already in Washington, was to take the ferry to the San Juan Islands. I have not done that since the summer before I moved to Texas. Walked onboard in Anacortes and for only 4 bucks you could ride to all the islands. Lulu informed me yesterday that it now costs something like 60 bucks to take your car and one passenger out to Friday Harbor in the San Juans. She did not know how much a walk on now costs.

As for goofy gas and money saving suggestions, one was houseboating on Lake Powell. I've done this twice. No matter which marina you find your boat, it is gonna be a long drive to get there, even if you fly into the nearest airport and rent a car. And renting a houseboat is not cheap, as in over a couple thousand bucks for 4 days. And you pay for the gas. The houseboats do not get good gas mileage.

That is a Lake Powell pic at the top. Me in the lotus position high atop a redrock bluff in a place we called Bobcat Cove, misnamed because it was a Mountain Lion, not a Bobcat, that I heroically saved everyone from in the middle of the night. You can read all about that trauma here. That is me being the Captain of what I came to call Hell Houseboat in the photo on the left.

Another goofy suggestion was to go to Monument Valley. Now, Monument Valley is very cool. And the drive there goes through some great scenery, like the Painted Desert. But once more, there is driving involved. Monument Valley is in a rather isolated location.

One of the suggestions was to go to Las Vegas. I can get behind this. Easily flown to and once there you don't have to drive. Lulu would suggest you fly to Vegas and then rent a car to drive to Lake Powell. Or Monument Valley. I think I make mention of why Lulu would suggest this in the Lake Powell link above. Or just click here.

# 1 on the NY Times list is Texas Hill Country. Been there done that. I wouldn't suggest it. Unless you've not seen hills before. I believe Texas Hill Country is #1 on the list due to the list being arranged in no particular order, not due to it being in order of supposed merit.

The Western Road Trip suggestion goes through some nice scenery, starting in Vegas and having you go to Bryce Canyon NP en route to Capitol Reef NP. Why it has you skipping the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or Zion NP, I do not know. But, once more, a lot of driving would be involved.

I can get behind the suggestion to visit Portland, Oregon. But it makes no mention of nearby Mt. St. Helens. Another suggestion is to drive Highway 101 along the Oregon Coast. I've not done that in a long time and would love to.

Anyway, go here to check out the rest of the list in the New York Times.