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13. Time TravelMillersburg and Berlin, Ohio
In Amish Country, you can experience the past and future simultaneously: Sit in a coffee shop with free wireless access while watching a Mennonite or Amish family tie horses to a hitching post. Picnic in a field and see the hot-air balloons soar overhead, or attend the Amish Flea Market on Saturdays from April through December.
14. Urban Enjoyment
Chicago
A self-guided tour of this city's architecture, a bike ride along Lake Michigan, and tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show -- requested a year in advance -- cost nothing. Thursday evenings, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Children's Museum waive their fees; the Museum of Contemporary Art is free on Tuesdays. There's never a charge for entry to the National Museum of Mexican Art or for the hourly water and light shows at Buckingham Fountain.
15. Cycling Spectacle
LeClaire, Iowa
Cheer on cyclists doing the RAGBRAI. The what? RAGBRAI (the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) is a seven-day bike ride-not a race-that started 35 years ago as a challenge between two friends at the Des Moines Register. It costs $125 to ride but nothing to applaud the thousands of riders on the last day (this year, July 26) amid a giant party along the Mississippi River in LeClaire.
16. Mountain Picnic
Boulder, Colorado
As you drive into Boulder on U.S. Highway 36, the backdrop of the Rockies resembles a postcard of the Alps. Drive up Flagstaff Road, park your car, and walk a few yards to picnic tables amid the trees. After lunch, take every scrap with you. Littering is illegal everywhere in the States, but in Boulder it's also considered a sin.
17. Native History
Southwestern Montana
Head north, to Big Hole National Battlefield, on State Route 43. This site commemorates an event in U.S. history that's tempting to forget: the brutal treatment of the Nez Perce-the very people who helped Lewis and Clark on their expedition of discovery. The Park Service charges no admission to this site, which re-creates the Nez Perce village on the Big Hole River that was attacked at dawn on August 9, 1877.
18. Shopping Experience
Seattle
Downtown's Pike Place Market claims to be the nation's oldest continuously running farmers' market. Don't miss the fishmongers tossing salmon and other “flying” fish to clerks at the counter. You have to pay for your fish, of course, but not to see this cheerful ritual played out all day long.
19. Tree Gazing
Humboldt County, California
Don't miss a glimpse of the very tall trees in Redwood National Park on California's northern coast (Hyperion is the world's tallest, at 379 feet). These redwood ecosystems, which constitute America's rain forests, are hard to traverse but worth the effort.
20. Seals and Swimming
San Diego
At the southern end of the Golden State, in the village of La Jolla, you'll find a small, sandy cove called the Children's Pool. Its dilapidated seawall, constructed in the 1930s, still provides protection for swimmers, although recently it's been taken over by seals and sea lions who come here to rest. A court battle rages over whom the beach rightfully belongs to-people or seals-but regardless of who wins, both the water and creature watching are exhilarating.
21. Red Rock Climbing
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona's Coconino National Forest includes the famous red-rock formations Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock. Entry to the forest is free, but you'll pay $5 a day to leave your car. A few miles away, visit the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Designed by Marguerite Brunswig Staude, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright's, the modern structure complements the surrounding buttes and big blue skies.
22. Siege Site
San Antonio
Remember the Alamo? You will after visiting San Antonio and learning about its watershed moment in 1836. The rebels who defended this place died -- but, spurred by the famous battle cry, the revolutionaries later won their fight for independence against a much larger Mexican army. The former mission and fort defended during the 13-day siege is now a museum.
23. Diamond discovery
Murfreesboro, Arkansas
This town claims the world's only public diamond mine. At Crater of Diamonds State Park, visitors can dig for the precious gems themselves. Since the first diamonds were discovered here, in 1906, more than 75,000 have been found. Entrance to the park is free, but digging costs $6.50 for teens and adults and $3.50 for kids. You keep any gems you unearth.
24. Music Appreciation
New Orleans
Much has changed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but the sights and sounds of the French Quarter remain eclectic. As you people-watch your way down Bourbon Street, listen for the mix of zydeco, rhythm and blues, and jazz that makes this city famous. Amid the revelers, you'll see groups of people who haven't forgotten that this is still a place very much in need: volunteers, taking a night off from building houses in the city or along the Gulf Coast.
25. Historical Hike
Mountain Park, Georgia
Your last stop could be the first stop on a very long hike: the Appalachian Trail. Even if you aren't up for the entire 2,100-mile trek, just setting foot on the famous footpath gives you bragging rights. Start at the beginning, 30 miles north of Atlanta, at Springer Mountain. Follow the well-trod trail into pristine areas of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Walk for a few hours and turn around-or plan ahead and take six months to hike all the way to Maine, a state you didn't get to visit on this trip. Maybe next year.
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