Photo Credit Deb Neumann

What Wonders Await When You Dare to Explore

National Geographic has named seven Natural Wonders of America. It made me pause for a moment and ask myself: Have I explored any of them? As it turns out, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience many of these extraordinary places firsthand.

On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

1. The Grand Canyon — “The Big Ditch”

This destination of a lifetime cannot be fully described. It can be photographed, painted, and praised by poets, but nothing prepares you for the awe of seeing it in person — whether for the first time or the fifth. Eighteen miles wide and over a mile deep, its scale is almost more than the mind can grasp.

I’ve seen it. I’ve stood at the edge and felt that dizzying thrill of peering into the vastness. It takes your breath away every single time.

2. Coastal Redwoods

I have not yet explored the giant sequoias and redwood forests that stretch along the misty northern California coast. I’ve seen enormous trees in other places — including the sprawling banyan trees of Hawaiʻi — but a trip to California’s Redwood forests still waits on my list.

3. Niagara Falls

Truly one of the Wonders of America, Niagara Falls straddles the border between Canada and the USA — a cathedral carved by water and time. The Maid of the Mist heroically plunges into the wild waters at the base of the falls, where the world becomes wind and spray. Down there, the air itself is alive, whipped into motion by the thunderous plunge of millions of gallons of water. Gusts rise and swirl like invisible wings, tugging at your clothes and reminding you that nature still knows how to roar.

If this sounds like I’ve been there, it’s because I have. I’ve seen and felt the power of the falls up close and personal. It is truly a Natural Wonder and one not to be missed.

4. Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains stretch roughly 2,000 miles from Alabama to Canada. I grew up in the Adirondack Park, on the shores of Lake George, never realizing that the mountains around me were part of a story far older and wider than my childhood. The Appalachians form a quiet backbone across the eastern states — through the soft Berkshires, the misty Catskills, the deep greens of the Smokies, and the sharp granite of the White Mountains.

The Appalachian Trail threads through many of these ranges, a long wandering line that eventually reaches Maine. When you grow up surrounded by mountains, you don’t always see them as wonders. They’re just there — the shape of your horizon, the backdrop of your summers, the steady presence behind every memory. Only later do you understand that you were living inside an ancient world without ever needing to look for it.

People travel from all over to experience these unspoiled mountain parks. But I grew up in them.

5. The Everglades

The Everglades is a slow — very slow — moving river in subtropical Florida. It’s a mix of fresh and salt water and home to an astonishing diversity of wildlife: wading birds with enormous wingspans, prehistoric reptiles like alligators and crocodiles, and rare creatures such as sea turtles, the Miami-blue butterfly, and the elusive Florida panther.

What most people don’t realize is that the Everglades is not just a national park — this ecosystem covers one-third of the entire state. It encompasses nine distinct habitats, from mangroves to sawgrass prairies.

Today, the Everglades faces threats from invasive species like Burmese pythons, which thrive in the warm climate and have no natural predators. Still, I’ve been there. I love it — even in the heat and humidity — and I would go back in a heartbeat. It’s wild and beautiful.

6. Yellowstone National Park

Another of my favorite places. When you realize you are walking, hiking, and driving inside the caldera of an enormous volcano, it can boggle the mind. Hot springs, bubbling mud pots, steaming geysers — everywhere you turn, you’re surrounded by nature’s raw power.

And then there’s the wildlife: deer, elk, bison, pronghorn, wolves, bears, coyotes, and foxes. If you love wild creatures, you are in the right place.

I’ve been to Yellowstone, and even after a week of exploring, I only scratched the surface of its wonders.

7. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes

I love all the places on National Geographic’s list, but Hawaiʻi’s volcanoes hold a special place in my heart. From Haleakalā — the House of the Sun — to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park with the very active Kīlauea, these landscapes take my breath away.

Haleakalā is a beautiful moonscape of ochre and red cinder cones. Often a shifting layer of clouds lies between you and the valley floor.

Kīlauea erupted almost continuously for 35 years, reshaping the island with lava flows and glowing lakes of molten rock. I’ve missed most of her dramatic displays — she’s been quiet during my visits — but I’ve walked through a lava tube and seen the red glow from the crater. Maybe someday Pele will show herself when I’m there.

A Grateful Journey

And that’s the list, according to National Geographic. Writing about these places has been a wonderful trip down memory lane. I have so much to be thankful for — to have visited so many of America’s most wondrous landscapes.

Egret, Florida