One of the most beautiful national parks in the United States just happens to be one of the least known (and least visited). But the beauty of North Cascades National Park in the northern part of Washington state should not be underestimated, as the views are really tough to beat. One nice thing about this national park is that some of the greatest scenes can be found right along the main road through the park (Route 20), as can be seen in this photo taken on a spring day in the early 1990s.For a larger version of this photo, go to the North Cascades National Park, WA photo on the Travel Guide of America site.
Lexington, MA, is an interesting place; it is a town that attracts tourists from all over the world for its historic significance, but it also happens to be a bedroom community of Boston. It also happens to have one of the most beautiful village greens in all of New England, as this picture, which was taken in the winter of 2006, shows.
To some, the state of Connecticut might seem like one huge bedroom community serving New York City. But some of the most remote sections of New England can be found in this tiny state. And while the little town of Roxbury isn't quite in the middle of nowhere (it is maybe 15 miles west of the city of Waterbury), much of it remains unspoiled. This photo, which was taken in October 2006, shows a meandering river that goes alongside Route 67, a beautiful road that leads west to the classic New England town of New Milford.
It seems a bit ironic that with all the traveling I have done, one of the most stunning views I have ever seen was not from high up on a mountaintop or way out on a rocky shore, but from the sidewalk of a small town's main street. This photo, from June of 2000, was actually taken from the downtown area of Port Orford, a quiet little town on the southern Oregon coast. I had read before the trip that Port Orford was blessed with one of the greatest views from the center of any town in America, and I can't really argue with that.
New Hampshire is a popular state with tourist, photographers, and outdoors lovers, but relatively few people go further north than Franconia Notch, Crawford Notch, and the Presidential Range. This is a shame, as some of the best scenery in New England can be found in the northern part of New Hampshire. The photo shown here, which was taken in September of 2006, gives just a taste of the beauty of this part of the state. Taken from a rise above the main road through the tiny village of Stark, this photo shows a scene that is often used for calendars of New England, complete with a covered bridge and church surrounded by steep cliffs.
Cape Cod is a very scenic place in spots, but not all of the scenery is along the coast. The inland sections of the Cape (including areas around the Cape Cod Rail Trail) have a beauty all their own. This photo, which was taken on a late-fall day from the rail trail in Harwich, shows some of the beauty of the mostly unspoiled interior of the Cape. It shows Long Pond at sunset, with the moon high up in the sky and just starting to get bright. 
The areas east of Phoenix should be familiar to folks who watch Westerns. Indeed, places such as the foreboding Superstition Mountain, which can be seen in this photo taken in the fall of 1999, feel almost like stage sets for movies of the American West. There is good reason for this, as many Westerns were filmed in and around this area. I took this photo from the beautiful (and historic) Apache Trail on a bright November day that reached about 90 degrees.
The landscapes around Woodstock, VT (one of the most charming towns in New England) are classic Vermont, with endless farmland and fields, low mountains that come ablaze with color in the fall, roaring streams and rivers, serene ponds, and quiet hamlets with village greens. Barnard, which sits high on a hill a few minutes north of Woodstock, has about all of these features, including a town center that consists of a church, a general store, and a pond that comes right up to the main street. This picture, which was taken in October, 2007, gives just a small taste of the beauty of this tiny village.
When people think of scenic areas in New Hampshire, they often think of the Kancamagus Highway that cuts through the middle of the White Mountains. But to me, the scenes around Franconia Notch (just north of the western end of the Kancamagus) are every bit as jaw-dropping, if not more so. The picture here, which shows part of the spectacular Franconia Ridge, was taken on a cool summer day in 2005 from a parking area off Routes 3 and 93.
This photo, which was taken around dusk on a cold November day in 2008, shows the absolute beauty of some of Chicago's neighborhoods. Chicago is a dream spot for lovers of historic architecture, and the exclusive Gold Coast neighborhood (just north of downtown) is one of the best areas for looking at homes and buildings. The photo was one of many I took around the Astor Street and Division Street area that evening, a neighborhood that is one of the wealthiest in America.
There are a number of areas just west of Boston that tend to be popular with peepers, as many of the towns in this region are unspoiled and serene. Lincoln is a fine example of this, as the photo shown here (which was taken in the late 1980s) demonstrates. This shot was taken on an old lane only a few hundred yards from the center of Lincoln, just 1 mile from busy Route 2 and less than 15 miles from Boston.
This photo, which was taken in the early 1990s on a road trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains, almost didn't happen, as the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to the Tennessee border was completely fogged in except for a couple of minutes at this overlook near the town of Balsam. The mountains shown here are all around 6,000 feet high, and was taken from a similar elevation on the parkway.
Taken back in the mid-1990s, this photo shows in dramatic fashion where the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains meet. We drove east of the town of East Glacier Park for a few miles, constantly looking in our rear view mirrors until we found this vantage point. At least some of mountains to the right are actually within Glacier National Park.
This is one of my personal favorites, not because it is a terrific photo, but because it reminds me of how unique the northwestern part of Connecticut is. Deep wooded valleys, rushing streams, quaint towns, and rugged hills made this an area right out of Currier and Ives. And West Cornwall, with its covered bridge right in the center of town, makes up one of the most memorable parts of this region. 
This photo, which dates back to the early 1990s, was taken in the charming town of Leavenworth, Washington, in the mountainous west-central part of the state. Leavenworth felt a bit tacky and cheesy in some ways, as it seemed to try hard to make itself look like a Bavarian village, and in many ways it succeeded. This was one of many pictures I took while walking around town on a late spring day.
Cadillac Mountain in Maine's Acadia National Park is famous for its magnificent sunsets, but while most folks go to the top to watch the scene unfold, some of the best sunset views are along Cadillac Mountain Road itself. This photo, which was taken in May, 2008, shows the contrast between the darkness of the fir and spruce trees and the brilliant colors of the sky just as the sun was setting.
Taken in October, 2007, from near Route 108 just outside of Jeffersonville, Vermont, this photo shows what Mount Mansfield (Vermont's highest peak) often looks like from north of Smugglers' Notch in the early morning hours. Because Jeffersonville is in such a deep valley, fog often forms in the morning, sometimes giving the rugged Mount Mansfield an eerie, haunting profile. The use of the black and white setting for this photo seemed to add to the moodiness of the shot.
This picture of Mendocino was taking in November, 2004, from a small rise above the village center of Mendocino, California, on the Northern California coast. Mendocino has the feel of a New England fishing town, with quaint homes, narrow lanes, and bucolic ocean views from a number of vantage points. The photo shown here was taken just as the fog was lifting from the town center on a surprisingly mild and windless day.
This photo was taken in August, 2005, at the tip of Hull, Massachusetts (also known as "Hull Gut"). Hull is surrounded by water, affording tremendous views in almost every direction, but as you approach the tip of the peninsula where Hull Gut is, the views get especially dramatic. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the Boston skyline in the background.