In the East are the scenic green hills and distant blue and purple vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains which run through several states. Between these breathtaking mountains are many picturesque rivers, streams, waterfalls and whitewater rapids.

The winding Rio Grande river in Big Bend, Texas offers towering cliffs, massive canyons, and vast dessert expanses. There is an incredible variety of geologic activity from uplifted limestone in the Sierra del Carmen range, thick mud shales at Hot Springs, and volcanic craters of the Chisos Mountains.

Then, in Northern New Mexico, the mountain roads twist through time and terrain, contrasting vermilion desert cliffs and snowy alpine peaks, 13th century stone dwellings, and the birth of the Atomic Age at Los Alamos. The area around Abiquiu is often called "O'Keefe Country" in honor of Georgia O'Keefe. This area is the setting for many if not most of her paintings. It is a ruggedly beautiful Southwest landscape including Echo Canyon, Ghost Ranch, and countless other rock formations.

Surrounded by red-rock monoliths named Coffeepot, Cathedral and Bell, is Sedona, Arizona. Also near the city is a chasm cut through by Oak Creek, with wildly wonderful rapids, and towering high above them is the geologically dominating Mogollon Rim, formed from ancient deposits of limestone, mudstone and sandstone. This awesome rim constitutes the southwestern boundary of the vast Colorado Plateau which extends into parts of five other states.

And, of course, there is the famed Grand Canyon, a very colorful, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon is about 277 miles long, ranges in width from 0.25 to 15 miles and attains a depth of more than a mile. Nearly two billion years of the Earth 's history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut through layer after layer of varicolored rock.

Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon Dam, is 186 miles long with more than 1,986 miles of shoreline. It wends its way through a desert paradise with excellent vistas of multi-colored, towering rocks, pinnacles, buttes, arches and amphitheaters. Blue water, clear skies, sandy beaches complete the picture.

Monument Valley in Utah is an area of free standing sandstone rock forms that rise majestically from the desert floor. Up to 1,000 feet tall, they create a truly magical desert landscape that looks surreal, like mountains on the moon. Also, in Utah, are many spectacular sights in various state and national parks.

A complete contrast to the desertscapes of the Southwest, California and the far west present fertile, lush green hillsides punctuated by brilliantly colored flowering plants. Below the hillsides, on the coast, are the crashing and pounding surf, blue expanses, golden beaches, rocky coves, and fantastic sunsets, of the Pacific ocean.