Scott Hill

The restaurants on 3rd are reason enough to visit San Mateo.

The only reason I go to Folsom is to visit a friend who lives there. There’s a lake there, but it’s nothing special enough to make this a destination.

The only positive thing I have to say about Grand Junction is that it’s close to Fruita. Other than that, drive on through.

Most of the entries here are about skiing, but CB is a decent mountain biking destination too. It has a fairly short season, since it has such a long cold season, but it’s got some great stuff. The MTB Hall of Fame is here, too (although it’s not as fancy as the title might make it out to seem).

It’s home to a big mountain bike race, but I didn’t go with any ambition that big. It was a great place to ride.

Just down the road from the loud, Shantytown-like Camp Richardson, Fallen Leaf Lake Campground is quiet and peaceful. A short walk leads to Fallen Leaf Lake, where you can swim, boat, etc. There’s a small beach, suitable for sunbathing and lunching. Angora Lakes are a solid 11 mile hike (we biked it), featuring a small waterfall and perch for diving into the lake.

The campground is just about 5 miles from South Lake Tahoe and its gambling and dining, if that’s your cup of tea.

The campground site we stayed in featured a firepit, picnic table and charcoal barbecue. The site was long enough to fit our 27’ RV (no hookups available), and had plenty of space between us and the adjacent sites.

I did the “mountain biking” tour back before I knew better. The cool part is that you get shuttled up to the observatory on the top of Haleakala to see sunrise—very nice. The bad part is that the mountain biking down is on these crappy bikes and you have to wear these goofy plastic suits. You end up on roads the whole way, and can’t go faster than the slowest person in your group. Avoid the tour at all costs, but do go see Haleakala.

The only reason I can tell why Council Bluffs still exists is as a place for Nebraskans to gamble. Iowa doesn’t have gambling in general, but it is allowed on the riverboats. So, some hotels are connected to mostly docked riverboat casinos, just on the other side of the river from Omaha. They’re cheesy and worth checking out once to say you’ve done it.

There’s a steak buffet that has edible, if not great, all-you-can-eat steak. Might as well go there while you’re in CB, too.

It always looks so grand in the pics, but it’s really not as big as you think it is. Post-9/11, it’s a pain to get into, and kind of a disappointment.

Sedona is absolutely beautiful! The mountain biking here is great, and the local atmosphere is a hoot.