Horseback riding in Wyoming
Every year since I moved to the United States—now 11 years ago—I have made mental plans to go horseback riding through Wyoming. Specifically through Teton Canyon and all the way up to the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Every year, I have failed to make it happen. But the dream remains intact: to clip-clop my way through the wilderness, ride through pebbled creeks, into forests, up the mountains, and across meadows filled with a spread of wildflowers that would make Klimt gasp, stopping only to set up camp, refuel, and swap stories by campfires. Throw in a few herds of roaming bison and that fantasy would be complete. —Arati Menon, global digital director
Taking an airboat ride through the Florida Everglades
Florida’s two biggest tourist draws are arguably Orlando, with its endless sprawl of theme parks, and Miami. If you’re visiting the latter, tack on a trip to Everglades National Park (it’s also a good add-on if you’re headed to the Keys). Growing up in south Florida, it was a place where we often brought out-of-town visitors, and visited on school field trips. Described as the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States by the National Park Service, the Everglades is home to alligators, flamingos, egrets, manatees, and the Florida panther. You’re all but guaranteed to see some alligators on an airboat ride through the marshy wetlands—and if you go to the Everglades Alligator Farm, you can even hold a small one (or at least see some up close and out of the water). There are expansive biking and walking trails throughout the park, too. I haven’t been anywhere else quite like it in the US; it feels worlds away from Florida’s urban areas. —Madison Flager, senior commerce editor
A winter expedition cruise in Alaska
Having become, as a result of my work, an unexpected cruiser over the course of the last year or so, I’m quite keen to get on a boat and go someplace where the cruise actually heightens one’s experience of and access to a destination. The first that comes to mind, of course, is the Galapagos. But stateside, from what I’ve gathered, cruising gets you the furthest in Alaska during winter, when the conditions are brutal and the seaside cities that dot the coast feel especially far to move between—not to mention the glaciers and other gems of natural majesty. —Charlie Hobbs, associate editor
Seeing Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty in Utah
For years I’ve wanted to put my road-tripping prowess to the test by driving out to the Spiral Jetty. The jetty is a 1,500-foot earthwork coil of basalt rock and mud that sprawls into the mirror-like expanse of the Great Salt Lake. Robert Smithson sculpted the piece in 1970, though it was submerged under the lake for over 30 years until it surfaced again due to drought in 2004. The journey there is a scenic montage through rural Utah benchmarked by cattle guards and artifacts from long-abandoned oil-drilling ventures. I can’t imagine a better place to stretch my legs and perch after a long drive than the jetty’s rugged banks with the lake’s surreal magenta waters surrounding me. —Kat Chen, editorial assistant
