THE 10 MOST VISITED NATIONAL PARKS IN 2007

1. Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee/North Carolina) — 9.3 million visitors

2. Grand Canyon (Arizona) — 4.4 million visitors

3. Yosemite (California) — 3.5 million visitors

4. Yellowstone (Wyoming/Montana/Idaho) — 3.1 million visitors

5. Olympic (Washington) — 2.9 million visitors

6. Rocky Mountain (Colorado) — 2.8 million visitors

7. Zion (Utah) — 2.6 million visitors

8. Grand Teton (Wyoming) — 2.5 million visitors

9. Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) — 2.4 million visitors

10. Acadia (Maine) — 2.2 million visitors

THE 10 LEAST VISITED NATIONAL PARKS IN 2007

10. Congaree (South Carolina) — 115,524 visitors

9. Katmai (Alaska) — 82,634 visitors

8. Great Basin (Nevada) — 81,364 visitors

7. Dry Tortugas (Florida) — 60,895 visitors

6. North Cascades (Washington) — 19,534 visitors

5. Isle Royale (Michigan) — 15,975 visitors

4. Gates of the Arctic (Alaska) — 10.942 visitors

3. National Park of American Samoa (American Samoa) — 6,774 visitors

2. Lake Clark (Alaska) — 5,549 visitors

1. Kobuk Valley (Alaska) — 847 visitors

HALLS FULL OF FAMOUS PEOPLE

1. National Baseball Hall of Fame; Cooperstown, N.Y.; opened in 1939.

2. Pro Football Hall of Fame; Canton, Ohio; opened 1963.

3. International Tennis Hall of Fame; Newport, R.I.; opened 1954.

4. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Springfield, Mass., opened 1959.

5. Women's Basketball Hall of Fame; Knoxville, Tenn.; opened 1999.

6. Little League Baseball Hall of Fame; Williamsport, Penn.; opened 1982.

7. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Cleveland, Ohio; opened 1995.

8. International Bowling Hall of Fame, St. Louis, Mo.; opened 1939.

9. National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Okla.; opened 1955.

10. National Inventors Hall of Fame, Akron, Ohio; established 1973.

11. National Women's Hall of Fame, Seneca Falls, N.Y.; founded 1969.

12. National Teachers Hall of Fame, Emporia, Kan.; established 1989.

10 MAN-MADE MARVELS

1. Brooklyn Bridge, New York; finished in 1883, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the U.S., stretching 5,989 feet over the East River.

2. Washington Monument, Washington, D.C.; built 1848-84; stands 555 feet 5 1/8 inches tall.

3. Gateway Arch, St. Louis, Mo.; at 630 feet the tallest monument in the U.S.; finished 1965.

4. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, Calif.; was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1937.

5. Statue of Liberty, New York; a gift from France, it was dedicated Oct. 28, 1886.

6. The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas; construction started in 1724; a critical battle in the Texas Revolution took place on March 6, 1836.

7. Hearst Castle, San Simeon, Calif.; the palatial home of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, built between 1919 and 1947.

8. Hoover Dam, Nev.; when finished in 1935, it was the world's largest electric power producing facility and the world's largest concrete structure.

9. Sears Tower, Chicago; the tallest building in the U.S.; finished in 1973. With TV towers it is 1,705 feet tall.

10. Mesa Verde, Colo.; the home of Ancestral Pueblo people from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Contains some 600 cliff dwellings.

10 PRESIDENTIAL PLACES

1. New Salem, Ill.; Lincoln's formative years.

2. The Hermitage; Nashville, Tenn.; home of Andrew Jackson.

3. Monticello; Charlottesville, Va.; home of Thomas Jefferson.

4. Mt. Vernon, Va.; home of George Washington.

5. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum; Independence, Mo.; home of a "people's president."

6. Sixth Floor Museum; Dallas, Texas; where John F. Kennedy was shot.

7. Lawnfield; Mentor, Ohio; home of James A. Garfield.

8. General Grant National Memorial, New York City; aka Grant's Tomb.

9. William J. Clinton Library; Little Rock, Ark.; newest presidential library.

10. National First Ladies Library, Canton, Ohio; information on all first ladies.

A YEAR OF QUIRKY FESTIVALS

1. Winter Festival, St. Paul, Minn.; January/February; hey, there's all this snow here, anyway.

2. Faux Film Festival, Portland, Ore.; March; who says they don't make weird movies anymore?

3. Vermont Maple Festival, St. Albans, Vt.; April; where the sap runs.

4. National Storytelling Festival, Jonesborough, Tenn.; April; you won't believe your ears.

5. Rattlesnake Roundup, Freer, Texas; May; more snakes that you can shake a stick at.

6. Duct Tape Festival, Avon, Ohio; June; wear it, sculpt it, craft it, imagine it.

7. Oldtime Fiddlers Contest & Festival, Weiser, Idaho; June; get those heels a-kickin'.

8. Garlic Festival, Gilroy, Calif.; July; not a vampire in sight.

9. Wild Mushroom Festival, Crested Butte, Colo; August; there's fungus among us.

10. BugFest, Raleigh, N.C.; September; creepy crawlies everywhere.

11. BeanFest & Championship Outhouse Races, Mountain View, Ark.; October; when ya gotta go ...

12. Thanksgiving at Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth, Mass.; November; eat like a Pilgrim.

ODDLY ENDEARING ATTRACTIONS

1. Corn Palace; Mitchell, S.D.; corn-y? Yes. But also art deco-ish.

2. Jell-O Museum; LeRoy, N.Y.; there's always room for everything Jell-O.

3. Paul Bunyan Statue; Bemidji, Minn.; a 1930s Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe.

4. Charles Schulz Museum; Santa Rosa, Calif; all things wonderful from the Peanuts gallery.

5. Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum; Arcola, Ill.; honoring the life and times of author and illustrator Johnny Gruelle.

6. Wall Drug; Wall, S.D.; drugstore turned mall, complete with a dinosaur — and the only attraction for miles and miles.

7. L. Frank Baum Oz Museum; Chittenango, N.Y.; memorabilia and more in the author's birthplace.

8. Mustard Museum; Mt. Horeb, Wis.; every kind of mustard ever made and pots to put them in.

9. Salem Witch Museum; Salem, Mass.; hysteria and mayhem from 1692.

10. Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum; Mansfield, Mo.; a "little house on the prairie."

CLASSIC CULTURAL CENTERS

1. Polynesian Cultural Center; Oahu, Hawaii; Hawaii's No. 1 paid attraction.

2. Greenfield Village; Dearborn, Mich.; a tribute to American life built by Henry Ford.

3. Shelburne Farms; Shelburne, Vt.; farm life the way it used to be.

4. Canyon de Chelly, Arizona; one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America.

5. Genessee County Village & Museum; Mumford, N.Y.; "Where 19th Century America Comes to Life."

6. Colonial Williamsburg; Williamsburg, Va.; the one everyone else wants to be like.

7. Old Nauvoo; Nauvoo, Ill.; an up-close look at faithful pioneering.

8. Cahokia Mounds; St. Clair County, Ill.; oldest and largest archaeological site in North America.

9. African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; history, contributions, celebrations and more.

10. French Quarter; New Orleans, La.; a jumble of cajun, creole and jazz.

10 GORGEOUS GARDENS

1. Winterthur; Wilmington, Del.; the Du Pont estate done in flowers.

2. Missouri Botanical Gardens; St. Louis, Mo.; America's oldest botanical garden.

3. Arnold Arboretum; Cambridge, Mass.; Harvard's contribution to the "Emerald Necklace."

4. United States Botanic Garden; Washington, D.C.; the nation's garden.

5. Silver Springs, Fla.; glass-bottom boats, alligators and other natural wonders.

6. Allerton and McBryde Garden, Kauai; tropical plants in all their glory.

7. Bellingrath Gardens; Mobile, Ala.; color, fragrance, scenic vistas Southern-style.

8. Garvan Woodland Gardens; Hot Springs, Ark.; breathtaking views on a 210-acre peninsula on Lake Hamilton.

9. New York Botanical Garden; Bronx, N.Y.; 50 gardens including the new Darwin's Evolutionary Adventure.

10. Desert Botanical Garden; Phoenix, Ariz.; showcasing rare and endangered desert plants.

DISCOVER SCIENCE AND NATURE

1. National Aquarium; Baltimore, Md.; connect with all things aquatic.

2. Museum Campus; Chicago; Ill.; lakefront complex including the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium.

3. Smithsonian Institution; Washington, D.C.; Air and Space and Natural History museums are about as good as it gets.

4. Liberty Science Center; Jersey City, N.J.; largest IMAX dome in the country.

5. Exploratorium; San Francisco, Calif.; experimental and hands-on sparks to the imagination.

6. U.S. Space & Rocket Center; Huntsville, Ala.; moon missions and a whole lot more.

7. The Franklin Institute Science Museum; Philadelphia, Penn.; ee what Ben started.

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8. American Museum of Natural History; New York City, N.Y.; one of the biggest and best — since 1869.

9. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; Los Angeles, Calif.; third largest in the country.

10. Explorers Hall National Geographic Museum; Washington, D.C.; science and research comes to life.


SOURCES: "100 Places to See Before You Die: United States and Canada," by Patricia Schultz; "Top 10 of Everything," by Russell Ash; National Park Service; www.google.com.

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