My Best Summer Vacation: The Best of the West

I know I will remember my summer vacation in 2010 forever.

Here's the itinerary of our vacation, including main attractions:

Start July 22, 2010: We left Detroit Metro Airport flying into Seattle, Washington.

July 22: After arriving in Seattle, we rented a car and drove to Mt. Rainier.

July 23: Today we spent a day seeing the tourist sites of downtown Seattle , including the famous Pike Place Market where the employees toss huge fish back and forth to each other for the customer's amusement. We then went up in the Space Needle for a spectacular view of the city, the ocean, and Mt. Rainier. Later we went on the historic tour of the Seattle Underground.

July 25: Today we headed north, crossing the border with Canada on our way to Vancouver, where we saw an unusual Komondor dog . We spent the morning and early afternoon in Stanley Park and Chinatown, before heading out to the Capilano Bridge, which was recently named one of the world's greatest pedestrian bridges. Then we made our way east heading for the Canadian Rockies.

July 26: This morning we arrived at Lake Louise in Banff. This is a world famous site, with the grand Fairmont Chateau Hotel, the lake, and the surrounding mountains and glaciers providing scenery that may be unmatched anywhere in the world. From there we drove to the nearby Moraine Lake. While Lake Louise is a spectacular green, Moraine Lake is a deep blue color that must be seen to be appreciated. From here we made the short drive to Calgary to spend the night.

July 27: This morning we drove back to the USA, entering in Montana and making the drive through Glacier National Park . The night was spent in the capital, Helena.

July 28: This morning we drove to Yellowstone National Park, where I finally had the chance to see the geysers and boardwalk that make this park so famous. As we made our way through the park, we saw many bison and bears, and even Granite Gneiss rock formations dating back 3 billion years! After leaving the park we headed south, passing through the magnificent Grand Tetons and the touristy but scenic Jackson Hole.

July 29: Today we started making our way toward South Dakota, where we saw the nighttime illumination of Mount Rushmore. We decided to see Mount Rushmore at sunrise too, so we spent the night in nearby Deadwood, which is famous as the place where Will Bill Hickock was shot during a poker game. We also made a side trip to what was identified by our atlas as the geographic center of the nation.

July 30: After seeing sunrise at Mount Rushmore, we drove through Badlands National Park, and made a stop by Wall Drug Store (of course).On the way through South Dakota we saw a sign for "The Corn Palace" which is one of those unexpected attractions that you just have to stop and see.

July 31: Speaking of unexpected attractions, Minnesota has the Spam Museum, which obviously no one can resist, and we didn't even try. From there it was a speed course on the way home, with memories of a great vacation to last a lifetime.

I did not expect the trip to be out of the ordinary but it turned out to be the best trip I've ever had. The combination of world famous attractions and the peaceful scenic drive just filled your days with joy.