Hi I am a Californian that has lived in Sydney, Australia for 30 years. I have 4 weeks and car to hit this state and others. I am looking for beautiful spots such as forests, lakes, if possible 'far from the maddening crowd'. I am also interested in Frank Lloyd Wright buildings that can be viewed internally. Also are there decent places to stay under US$65.00 for 1 person (that darn exchange rate!). It is a big ask but please help if you can! Ever grateful, Sooz

The correct literary reference is "far from the madding crowd." Sorry, just couldn't pass up such a gaffe.

Shucks, I knew I should have used 'off the beaten track'!

If it's isolation you're looking for, you're not going to get much more isolated than Designated Wilderness Areas. By law, these areas must not have any evidence of human use: no buildings (not even outhouses!), no roads, no specified campgrounds. Go to

http://www.gorp.com/gorp/resource/US..._Area/main.htm

for a listing of these by state.

In response to your question about Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, you could tour a good part of this country just by visiting some of the best of his work:
*Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin
*Taliesin West, Scottsdale, Arizona
*Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania
*Unity Temple and his home and studio, Oak Park, Illinois
*S.C. Johnson & Son Adminstrative Building, Racine, Wisconsin
*The Guggenheim Museum, New York City
Just do a search on your computer under Frank Lloyd Wright and you'll get a wealth of information.
As for beautiful spots off the beaten track (!), a good place to start would be some of our national parks--off season, of course!
Try these websites for starters:
www.nps.gov
www.fodors.com/parks
Your $65 a night room rate will be a problem in some places. However, some of the national parks do have accommodations well below that rate. (At Yosemite, for example, has accommodadtions below the $40 mark.)

maybe 'far from the maddening crowd' was a joke. the crowds can certainly be maddening. anyway, getting away AND to the beautiful places is very dependent on when you go. and if the crowds you are attempting to escape include insects then June can be a tough month.

my choices for best places in maine include:

Cobscook state park - uncrowded coastal area
Baxter State Park - lakes and mountains
Grafton Notch State park - white mountains
Acadia National Park (very crowded in summer, for a really remote escape look into Isle Au Haut campground, accessible by mail boat)

Camping available in all areas listed, other accomodations are limited near baxter or cobscook.

There is a lovely Frank Lloyd Wright home completely refurbished along with some of the original furniture in Springfield, Illinois. It is called the Dana Thomas House. Springfield is the capitol of Illinois and has over 100,000 population. While Springfield is in the middle of cornfields, it is also the city where Abraham Lincoln lived, practiced law and is buried -- all of course have appropriate sites to tell his story. Good Luck.

The only civil building designed by FLW is the Marin County Civil Center in California. You can view the inside weekdays 8-5 and later on library nights. There is a free tour Wednesdays at 10:30 too. It is worth seeing if you are in California. (Marin County is immediately north of San Francisco which you will likely want to avoid, but there are other places in Marin to check out such as Point Reyes National Seashore (which has a great small hostel in a light house.)

I suspect you'll be best off visiting the Chicago/Madison, WI area -- to see Oak Park and then Taliesen (East). But if for some reason you were interested in Florida, be aware that Florida Southern Univ. has 6 FLW buildings -- the only cluster of FLW buildings designed with reference to each other. I can't say the school is entirely aware of the treasure they have (have not kept up FLW's idea of landscaping, etc.), but it is a little-known but nonetheless significant FLW site. The Univ. is located in Lakeland (or near it), about half-way between Tampa and Orlando.

Hi Sue,

By all means, if you are looking for Frank Lloyd Wright, come to Wisconsin. You can stay in or near Spring Green, WI and tour Taliesin. It's amazing to see the natural beauty of this area with its rolling hills and Wisconsin River valley. You really get the feel for how his designs relate to the natural landscapes.

Many nice bed and breakfasts in the Spring Green area that should meet your price range. Also, check out the American Players Theatre in Spring Green - great Shakespeare and other classics offered in an outdoor repertory theatre under the stars all summer long. Can camp or canoe on Wisconsin River.

Madison is a great place to visit, and you can see Wright's Unitarian Church. In Madison, there is a great farmer's market every Saturday around the state capitol grounds. You could easily spend a week in this area - on your way to reach here, consider the Great River Roads, along the bluffs of the Mississippi in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Fantastic natural beauty and you won't be overrun by the national park crowds.

Agree with Howard, that you might swing down through Chicago to Oak Park. Stop by Galena, Illinois for a great turn of the century downtown with many shops and antique stores. Glad to give more details if you wish to e-mail me.

Folks, Thank you so much for your input. It is very helpful. I neglected to mention that I will be driving in September/October, presumably some bugs will be gone by then. I will look at the websites suggested. You have mentioned some FLW sites I didn't know about. Unfortunately time won't allow Florida or California, another trip...
Thanks and Cheers! Sue
PS Keep em coming! Beautiful and peaceful places to see that is! A week in NYC will be my hustle bustle time at the beginning of the trip then peace...

Sue: since you will be in the East, I would concur with Steve. And since it will be in September and October, New England just might be the place. The drive up from NYC can be lovely (come up Rt. 91 in western New England, then head west through southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire); there is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Manchester, New Hampshire, quite near (and owned by I think) the Currier Art Museum, a little-known gem. Then you could go on from there to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the coast of Maine.

Sue,

One of FLW houses is located in Grand Rapids Michigan. It is called The Meyer May House and is open for tours.

Grand Rapids , MI is also very close to Lake Michigan. Sometimes very crowded but also very beautiful.

Good Luck and hope you have fun.

If you will be near western Pennsylvania, the FLW house Fallingwater, about an hour south of Pittsburgh, is pretty amazing. It is in a beautiful woodland setting, cantilevered out over a waterfall.
I agree that New England in the Fall is spectacular, but if you're not going there, another area for consideration is the Blue Ridge and/or Smoky Mountains. Sky Line Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway are really beautiful drives, with interesting sidetrips nearby.

If you decide to drive the Great River Road you might want to scoot over to Quasqueton in east central Iowa to see the Frank Lloyd Wright house there. It's run by the county parks system and includes a guided walk-through. It's terrific. Mason City has the last standing Frank Lloyd Wright designed hotel and a couple of FLW houses. It's also home to Meredith Willson and close to Clear Lake, the last place Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper played before their plane crash. The site is appropriately marked.