We have been here before, but it still takes my breath away. With an attempt at variety, we decide to take a new way in to Badlands National Park, a massive expanse with many different sub-climates and landscapes. This turns out to be a happy accident as we find ourselves in Longhorn, SD, a completely abandoned town almost literally in the middle of nowhere. Not a soul in sight, but evidence lingers of a bar, an outdoor jail and a single strip of road overlooking the beautiful painted landscape in the distance.
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Orcas Island, WA: Secluded Pacific Northwest Paradise /
No matter where I travel, I want to see what makes each place unique, to get away from the tourists and to have time to soak in the local vibe. I had heard about the San Juan Islands in Washington State almost immediately after moving to Seattle, WA in mid 1997. Through some meteorological aberration, this area gets about 255 days of sun a year in a part of the country justifiably famous for being perpetually damp. Western Washington State has the only rainforest in the entire US, and it's constant mist is beautiful but can be challenging to those affected by the Vitamin D deficit caused from infrequent exposure to regular sunlight.
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