10450 Best Sights in USA

Chiefly a place for the community to gather for calligraphy and tai chi workshops, the center operates a gallery with interesting temporary exhibits by Chinese and Chinese American artists. Excellent political, historical, and food-focused private walking tours of Chinatown depart from the gallery.

Route 410, the highway to Yakima, follows the eastern edge of the park to Chinook Pass, where it climbs the steep 5,432-foot pass via a series of switchbacks. At its top, take in broad views of Rainier and the east slope of the Cascades. The pass usually closes for the winter in November and reopens by late May. During that time, it's not possible to drive a loop around the park.

Anchoring this square is Daniel Chester French's imposing bronze statue of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of both the city of Savannah and the state of Georgia. The bus-stop scenes of Forrest Gump were filmed on the northern end of the square. The historic Savannah Theatre, on the corner of Bull and McDonough Streets, claims to be the oldest continuously operated theater site in North America and offers a variety of family-friendly shows.

Learn about the fierce Chiricahua Apaches and the fearless leaders Cochise and Geronimo at this research center, located in downtown Willcox. Other interesting tidbits about the area can be found in displays featuring the U.S. Cavalry, a nice collection of rocks and minerals, and relics of the famed Butterfield Overland Stage Route. One oddity the museum points out is that the memoirs of Civil War general Orlando Willcox, for whom the town was named, don't even mention a visit to Arizona.

This forested 1.9-mile round-trip romp that begins at 5,400-foot elevation affords sweeping views of the lower desert and distant volcanic mountains. The loop intersects with a few longer trails but offers a good sense of the basin if you have only an hour or so. The trail is closed due to construction until mid-2027. Easy–moderate, elevation gain 300 feet.

The small but informative center is one of the better equipped, with interactive exhibits and a bookstore. An adjacent general store has camping supplies and basic groceries. There are nods to the wild, with natural resource and geology exhibits, a map of bear and mountain lion sightings, and a larger-than-life representation of a mountain lion. The center sponsors educational activities here and at the nearby Chisos Basin Amphitheater.

The ghost town of Chloride, Arizona's oldest silver-mining camp, takes its name from a type of silver ore mined here. During its heyday from 1900 to 1920, some 60 mines operated in the area: silver, gold, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and even turquoise were mined in the rugged terrain. Around 300 folks live in and around Chloride today; there's a restaurant, historic inn, saloon, convenience store, RV park, and a smattering of old buildings.

Western artist Roy Purcell painted the large murals on the rocks on the eastern edge of town—10 feet high and almost 30 feet across, they depict a goddess figure, intertwined snakes, and Eastern and Native American symbols. To reach the murals, follow signs from the eastern end of Highway 125 along the unpaved road—it's a slow, twisting drive best attempted with four-wheel-drive vehicles. Outdoors enthusiasts can take advantage of the miles of hiking trails and explore the mineral-rich hills with excellent rockhounding opportunities.

Mock gunfights in the streets mark high noon on the first and second Saturdays of the month. In October, the entire town turns out for Old Miner's Day—the biggest event of the year, featuring a parade, bazaar, bake sale, and family-friendly contests (St. Patrick's Day is also a big to-do here).

The marked turnoff on Highway 125 for Chloride is about 12 miles north of Kingman on U.S. 93.

Give wide berth to abandoned mine entrances and shafts, which are often unstable and can cave in without warning.

Experts believe there are more than 200,000 abandoned mines in Arizona, many in the rich mineral regions such as the one surrounding Chloride.

NM 52 leads about 40 miles west from I–25, near Truth or Consequences, to Winston and Chloride, two fascinating mining towns just east of the Gila National Forest. Prospectors searching for silver in the nearby ore-rich mountains founded the towns in the late 1800s; abandoned saloons and false-front buildings, and pioneer relics still remain. Though the communities are designated ghost towns, the moniker is belied by the 50 or so residents currently living in each place, and Chloride has several businesses in operation.

This stand of thousands of teddy-bear cholla (sometimes called jumping cholla because its hooked spines seem to jump at you) is best seen and photographed in the late afternoon, when the backlit spiky stalks stand out against a colorful sky, and in spring when they're most likely to bloom. Stay on the ¼-mile boardwalk, as the minuscule barbs easily detach and latch on, and they are very painful to remove.

This 1,700-square-foot display of Lancaster County in miniature has 22 model trains, mainly O-gauge, with 150 animated figures in scenes such as an Amish barn raising, a three-ring circus, and a blazing house fire with fire engines. Periodically, the overhead lights dim and the scene turns to night, with streetlights and locomotive headlights glowing in the darkness.

George Washington was a parishoner in this Episcopal church, which remains in nearly original condition. (Washington paid quite a lot of money for pew 5—today's pews 59 and 60). Completed in 1773, it's a fine example of an English Georgian country-style church with its Palladian chancel window, interior balcony, and English wrought-brass-and-crystal chandelier. Docents give tours during visiting hours, during which visitors are invited to sit in Washington's box pew.

The Anglicans of the Church of England built a wooden church on this site in 1697. When they outgrew it, they erected a new church, the most sumptuous in the colonies, probably designed by Dr. John Kearsley and modeled on the work of famed English architect Sir Christopher Wren. The symmetrical, classical facade with arched windows, completed in 1754, is a fine example of Georgian architecture; the church is one of the city's treasures. The congregation included 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence. The bells and the soaring 196-foot steeple, the tallest in the colonies, were financed by lotteries run by Benjamin Franklin. Brass plaques mark the pews of George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, and others. Two blocks west of the church is Christ Church Burial Ground. Guided tours are available throughout the day.

Tracings its origins to 1672, when a log-cabin church stood at the site, Christ Church received a brick replacement in 1772, coated with plaster, is notable for its biblical garden, planted with species mentioned in the scriptures. Port Republic School No. 7 is on the church's property. Since immediately after the Civil War the grounds have been a venue for jousting (Maryland's state sport) on the last Saturday in August.

Weathered gravestones fill the resting place of five signers of the Declaration of Independence and other Colonial patriots. The best known is Benjamin Franklin; he lies alongside his wife, Deborah, and their son, Francis, who died at age four. According to local legend, throwing a penny onto Franklin's grave will bring you good luck. The burial ground is open to the public—except in January and February—for regular visits.

This modest yet beautiful gray clapboard structure was designed in 1761 by Peter Harrison, the first architect of note in the colonies (he designed King's Chapel). During the Revolution, members of its mostly Tory congregation fled for their lives. The organ was melted down for bullets and the building was used as a barracks during the Siege of Boston. (Step into the vestibule to look for the bullet hole left during the skirmish.) Today, the organ facade takes inspiration from the original 1762 gallery organ.

Martha Washington requested that the church reopen for services on New Year's Eve in 1775. The church's historical significance extends to the 20th century: Teddy Roosevelt was a Sunday-school teacher here (and famously fired because he remained Dutch Reformed rather than becoming an Episcopalian), and Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the pulpit to announce his opposition to the Vietnam War.

The present-day English Gothic church, completed in 1887, has pitched gables, an architectural detail that prefigured the New Orleans Victorian style. Its congregation was actually established in 1805, however, making it the first non–Roman Catholic church in the Louisiana Purchase territory.

This was the first church—then Anglican—established in the Georgia colony in 1733. It is often called the "Mother Church of Georgia." George Washington attended services here when he visited the city in 1791 (although in the building prior to the current 1838 structure), as did Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. From its location on Johnson Square, an 1819 Revere & Son bell still chimes today in the imposing white-columned steeple.

Surrounded by moss-draped live oaks, dogwoods, and azaleas, this picturesque white-frame, Gothic-style church was built by shipwrights and consecrated in 1884 following an earlier structure's desecration by Union troops. The interior has beautiful stained-glass windows and several handmade pews. The congregation itself dates back to 1808 and is the second oldest Episcopal Church in the diocese of Georgia. In the adjacent cemetery grounds, you'll find the final resting place for Golden Isles historical fiction writer Eugenia Price.

If you look north toward Anvil Mountain, you'll see the Christ of the Mines Shrine, the centerpiece of which is a 12-ton statue of Jesus carved out of Italian marble. The shrine was erected in 1959 and has been credited with a handful of miracles over the subsequent years. A moderately strenuous 1-mile hike leads to the shrine, which has memorable views of the surrounding San Juan Mountains.

At the New York outpost of this famous auction house, you could easily spend an hour or more wandering the free, museumlike galleries filled with impressive works of art, estate jewelry, furniture, and other rarely displayed objects that are usually housed in (and, most likely, soon to be returned to) private collections. One of the first items to be auctioned here, when it opened in 2000, was the \"Happy Birthday\" dress worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang to President Kennedy (it sold for more than $1.2 million). Yes, the auction house has come a long way since James Christie launched his business in England by selling two chamber pots, among other household goods, in 1766. The lobby's abstract Sol LeWitt mural alone makes it worth visiting the 310,000-square-foot space. Hours vary by sale, so call ahead to confirm.

These two-tiered falls were named in honor of Christine Louise Van Trump, who climbed to the 10,000-foot level on Mt. Rainier in 1889 at the age of nine, despite having a disabling nervous-system disorder.

Christmas Tree Pass Road is a dirt road that provides a gorgeous drive through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area to an extensive petroglyph site in Grapevine Canyon. This side route runs 16 miles through a desert landscape sacred to several historical and modern native tribes. The pass cuts through the rough-cut Newberry Range near legendary Spirit Mountain, with several turnouts (but no designated hiking trails) before the Grapevine Canyon trail. It's the kind of drive you imagined when you bought your SUV, one that also should make sedan drivers extremely wary. Sedans can take a shorter, easier route to the Grapevine Canyon trail by instead approaching from the Laughlin side (U.S. 163), which reduces the dirt-and-gravel drive to two of its easier miles. The Grapevine trail has a parking lot with latrines (no running water) and a ¼-mile walk to the springs, which served as the central gathering point for Yuman- and Numic-speaking tribes, whose messages are etched on the canyon boulders. It's a more pleasant walk in the winter, when water is often channeling through the canyon. The trail around the springs also offers a chance to see desert wildflowers and blooming cacti in spring and early summer. The drive reconnects with U.S. 163 15 miles northwest of Laughlin.

You might have to share a bench in this tiny park with George Segal's life-size sculptures of a lesbian couple: titled Gay Liberation, the white-painted bronzes were cast in 1980 but not installed until 1992. Standing next to them is a gay male couple, captured mid-chat.

Two miles east of Middleburg is the Chrysalis Vineyard, a 412-acre-and-growing vineyard dedicated to producing both old- and new-world varieties of wine and hoping to revive interest in the fabled Norton, a grape native to Virginia. The owner maintains she'd rather grow the world's best Norton than the 400th best cabernet. Wine tastings here emphasize the educational experience, as volunteers present each wine in detail to tasters. The entire experience takes about 45 minutes. Afterward, buy a bottle of wine and snag a picnic table near the tasting tents. Grills are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Chrysalis is also host to a number of music festivals throughout the year, including a jazz festival in May and the Norton Wine & Bluegrass Festival the first weekend in October.

By any standard, the Chrysler Museum of Art downtown qualifies as one of America's major art museums. The permanent collection includes works by Rubens, Gainsborough, Renoir, Picasso, Cézanne, Matisse, Warhol, and Pollock—a list that suggests the breadth available here. Classical and pre-Columbian civilizations are also represented. The decorative-arts collection includes exquisite English porcelain and art nouveau furnishings. The Chrysler is home to one of the most important glass collections in America, with objects from the 6th century BC to the present and particularly strong holdings in Tiffany, French art glass, and English cameo, as well as artifacts from ancient Rome and the Near and Far East.

East of Cold Spring, in Carmel, the largest indoor statue of the Buddha in the Western Hemisphere resides at the Chuang Yen Monastery. Standing 37 feet tall, it is surrounded by 10,000 Buddha figurines on a lotus terrace in Great Buddha Hall.

Chucalissa Archaeological Museum is a reconstruction of a Native American village that existed from AD 1000 to AD 1500. Skilled Choctaw craftspeople fashion jewelry, weapons, and pottery outside the C. H. Nash Museum, which houses historic originals of the same articles.

Informative tours and tastings are offered at this celebrated downtown distillery that's garnered dozens of awards for its botanical-infused gin, sweet whiskey, and Krampus herbal liqueur. The distillery's bi-level Penny Farthing Bar & Restaurant is open from mid-afternoon through dinner and serves well-crafted cocktails and Spanish-inspired tapas. 

Sprawling east of Chugach State Park, the Chugach National Forest encompasses nearly 6 million acres. The forest covers most of the Kenai Peninsula and parts of Prince William Sound and is the second-largest national forest in the United States, exceeded in size only by the Tongass in Southeast Alaska. The forest has abundant recreational opportunities: hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, boating, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, and flightseeing. Southcentral Alaska is not the best terrain for rock climbing (aside from Denali), as the rock is predominantly composed of hardened ocean sediments that are weak and crumbly. There are, however, some places for great bouldering, and in the wintertime ice climbing is quite popular, as are snowshoeing, skiing, snowmachining, and dog mushing. Hiking trails offer easy access into the heart of the forest. You can spend a day hiking or looking for wildlife, or you can embark on a multi-day backpacking excursion. At all but the most popular trailheads, a five-minute stroll down a wooded trail can introduce you to the sights, smells, and tranquility of backcountry Alaska.

Be prepared to be self-sufficient when entering the Chugach Forest. Trailheads typically offer nothing more than a place to park and perhaps an outhouse. Running water, trail maps, and other amenities are not available. Also, be "bear aware" whenever you travel in bear country—and all of Alaska is bear country.