Best battlefield & military site: Shiloh in Tennessee. The battle road tour is easy to follow & understand, and the cemetery and monuments are moving. (Honorable mention goes to Little Bighorn for the native ranger’s description of the battle).

Best canyon: Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Strikingly beautiful, with Navajo guided tours available.

Best cave: Timpanogos in Utah. Carlsbad may be the largest and Mammoth the longest, but Timpanogos has the most features to see on its regular tour. Also, the hike up to the entrance is simply stunning.

Best Civil Rights site: MLK in Georgia. Grand in purpose, history and inspiration. (Honorable mention goes to Birmingham’s Civil Rights Institute.)

Best fossil site: Agate in Nebraska. I loved the diorama, the Native Art collection, and the lush natural setting.

Best national park: Teddy Roosevelt in North Dakota. Both north & south units have a great variety of natural features, scenic drives, hikes, views and more.

Best native ruins: Chaco in New Mexico. Well preserved in a remote location, the grand scale of the many pueblo structures here is awesome.

Best presidential home: Grant in Missouri. Excellent films, exhibits, and informative tour.

Best rangers: Fort Union Trading Post in North Dakota. Three different rangers here brought to life the personalities, ideas and history brilliantly. (Honorable mention to Organ Pipe for Ranger Kate’s provocative wilderness talk).

Best tragic site: Big Hole in Montana. The film, the setting, and the tipi-pole memorial all bring the painful story of the flight of the Nez Perce to heart and mind. (Honorable mention to Cane River for its haunting cotton plantation slave quarters).

Best volcanic site: Craters of the Moon in Idaho. Best camping, hiking, and volcanic features.

Best wildlife experience: Smoky in Tennessee. I loved the little bear there (no, not Smokey Bear) and the horses rolling and playing. (Whooping Cranes in TR just get an honorable mention, because I didn’t get a photo).

Shiloh National Military Park

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park

Agate Fossil Beds National Monument

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

Big Hole National Battlefield

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve

Great Smoky Mountains National Park