Our Top 10 Favorite Places...

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”― Henry David Thoreau

This list is long overdue. After living the city life in New Orleans for decades, and the beach life in the Florida panhandle for a few years, we purchased a camper van (more recently a Class C rv), and explored all 50 US states & the Canadian provinces. Since then, we always get asked where our favorite place is. While both New Orleans & Florida hold a special place in our hearts (let’s face it, Nola food & Florida beaches can't be beat), those southern locales do come with a fair share of heat, humidity, mosquitos, & hurricanes.  As a result, we found ourselves drawn to the West for the natural beauty, diverse landscapes, and cooler temps. We even moved to Utah in order to have easier access to the places we love.  Needless to say, out of our top 10 favorite spots, all but one of them are in the West.

Bear in mind, you will not find a large array of "big city life" type stores, bars, or restaurants in most of these spots.  It’s more about soaking up natures' unique landscape in its truest form, and observing wildlife in the wild (from a distance), which in turn leaves you, or at least us, feeling centered.  If you are able, we highly recommend renting an rv (ie. Cruise America, CanaDream, Roadsurfer, Indie) to see these places up close and personal.  There are surely many other beautiful places that are not listed here, but we are limited due to medical issues & therefore abstain from the longer hikes. All of the locations below and on our www.drznme.com site are more accessible - meaning, you can either drive by them or they don't involve strenuous hikes.  So here goes...

Top 10:

1.     Alberta, Canada

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  The lush green trees & ground cover, surreal blue & green lakes, and gargantuan rocky mountains leave you in awe at every turn, and easily make this our number one spot. Alberta can have light rain spurts, but the large tree coverage seems to act as an umbrella of sorts. Places not to be missed here are: Banff, Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Peyto Lake, Lake Minnewanka, Bow Valley Parkway, Bow Falls Viewpoint, Jasper NP, Icefields Parkway, Sunwapta & Athabasca Falls, Cascade Ponds, Mistaya Canyon, Canmore, Kananaskis, Waterton Lakes NP, & the list goes on.  To see more in detail view Road Trip 15  on the maps link, and the coinciding photos/videos from our July 2025 Canada trip.

2.    British Columbia, Canada

You can’t go wrong driving the Trans Canadian Highway between the east and west coasts of Canada. That said, some of the places that stand out to us in British Columbia are: Yoho NP, Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls, Whistler, Vancouver, Victoria Island, Muncho Lake, Alcan Hwy, Kootenay NP, Wapta Falls, Marble Canyon, Glacier NP, Revelstoke NP, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Granville Island, Stanley Park, and much more.  See Road Trips 1 & 15 on the maps link listing our BC stops, and their coinciding photos.

3.     California

This state has just about everything: lava caves, mountains, beaches, lakes, snow, desert, ocean, flowers, cliffs, ginormous trees, & then some.  We always experience something new and different in California’s diverse landscape. Though we have traveled to the larger cities here in the past, we try to avoid them due to traffic & congestion. Some of our top spots here are: Imperial Sand Dunes, Moonstone Beach, Elephant Seal Vista Point, Big Sur, Lassen Volcanic NP, Redwoods NP, Pinnacles NP, Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon NP, Death Valley NP, Anza-Borrego Desert, Saguaro NP, Joshua Tree NP, Yosemite NP, Solvang, Avenue of the Giants, Inyo National Forest, Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Half Moon Bay, Devil's Slide Military Bunker, Hwy 101/Hwy 1, Monterey, Carmel, Castello Di Amorosa in Calistoga, Lake Tahoe, Santa Barbara, Napa, Sonoma... the list is endless.  See the maps link for Road Trips 3, 5, 7, & 9 listing our CA stops, and their photos.

4.     Utah

Rockin’ best describes Utah due to its cool & unusual rock formations!  Winters are sunny with blue skies and the snow is manageable. Southern Utah can reach high temps in the summer, but the air is always dry which is nice. The Utah Mighty 5 (Zion NP, Bryce NP, Arches NP, Canyonlands NP, & Capital Reef NP) are a must see, along with some other interesting places: Belly of the Dragon, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Moqui Caves, Flaming Gorge, Lone Rock & Lake Powell, Deadhorse State Park, Grand Staircase Escalante, Monument Valley, Goosenecks SP, Goblin SP, Antelope Canyon, Cottonwood Canyon, Bonneville Salt Flats, Mount Timpanogos, Paria Rainbow Mountains, Bentonite Hills, Bear Lake, Logan Canyon, Four Corners Monument, and countless others I’m sure I’m forgetting.  See the maps link for Road Trips 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, & 14 for all UT stops, and the photos.

5.     Wyoming

No matter where we travel in Wyoming it’s beautiful, though there are some spots with crazy winds (which is tough on rv travel) and the winters can be a bit cold. Some of our favorite stops have been: Jackson Hole, Grand Teton NP, Jenny Lake, Yellowstone NP, Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, Teton Village, Mormon Row, Artists Point, Upper Falls, Thermopolis Hot Springs, Wind River Canyon, Boysen State Park, Shoshone Forest, Moose Falls, Gibbon Falls, Beartooth Highway, Oxbow Bend, Moose Wilson Road, & Lamar Valley.  See the maps link for Road Trips 1, 10, 13, & 14 including more WY stops, and coinciding photos.

6.     Colorado

Although best known for its snow, our favorite time to be in Colorado is during the warmer months. Places we’ve enjoyed include: Rocky Mountain NP, Great Sand Dunes NP, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Telluride, Ouray, Box Canon, Switzerland of America Lookout Point, Million Dollar Highway, Estes Park, Breckinridge, Paradox Valley, Maroon Bells, Garden of the Gods, Grand Lake, Mesa Verde NP, Vail, Beaver Creek, Frisco, Dillon, & Silverthorne.  See the maps link for Road Trips 1, 7, 9, & 14 of our CO stops and photos.

7.     Montana

Montana is another spot we prefer in the warmer months due to bitter cold & snowy winters. That said, Glacier National Park is by far our favorite spot in Montana including: Going to the Sun Road, Lake McDonald, Trail of the Cedars, Many Glacier, Avalanche Lake, Grinnell Glacier view, Sacred Dancing Cascade, & Apgar Village; but there are also beautiful stretches of rolling hills, farmland, and other special spots including: Flathead Lake, Kootenai Suspension Bridge, Big Sky, & Whitefish.  See the maps link for Road Trips 1, 6, 12, & 15 of our Wyoming stops, and their coinciding photos.

8.     Washington

The lush landscapes and pretty lakes in Washington are a draw to places like: Mount Rainier NP, North Cascades NP, Leavenworth, Mt St. Helens, Olympic National Park, Rialto Beach Hole in the Wall, Tree of Life, Hoh Rainforest, Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park, Colchuk Lake, Marblemount, Winthrop, Palouse Falls State Park, North Cascades Scenic Highway, Washington Pass Observation Site, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, Diablo Lake Vista Point, Thunder Knob, and then some. See the maps link for Road Trips 1, 7, & 12 for our WA stops, and their coinciding photos.

9.     Quebec, Canada

Quebec City is a fantastic and quaint little European looking town. North of Quebec City takes you through a series of tiny towns with lots of whale watching such as: Gaspe Peninsula (the most beautiful fall color we’ve ever seen), Montmorency Falls, Tedoussac, Baie St. Catherine, La Mauricie National Park, Sanctuaire Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, La Malbaie, Saint Simeon, Trois-Pistoles, Parc National de Bic, Mont St Pierre, Gros Morne, Forllion National park, Cap Bon Ami, Perce, Saint Simeon, and more. See Road Trip 8 which lists our Quebec stops and the photos.

10.  Oregon

The Oregon coast consists of a rocky landscape set against a beautiful blue ocean, and inland there are some great waterfalls and nice drives including: Crater Lake NP, Painted Hills, Harris Beach, The Dalles, Oregon Scenic Highway, Klamath Falls, Devils Punchbowl, Depoe Bay Scenic View, Watson Falls, Toketee Falls, Cascade National Scenic Highway, Pelton Dam, Dechutes River, Mt Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Multnomah falls, Thor’s Well, Yaquina Head Lighthouse, & so much more. See Road Trips 3, 7, & 9 on the maps link for our Oregon stops, and photos on the photos link.

*Bonus- The Yukon, Canada to Alaska stretch also has some great views.

If you have the time please explore our videos & photos  links to see some of the cool things that exist. There’s a world of wonder out there, get outside and enjoy!