Tierre Sanford Stowaway Magazine, “Away for a Weekend” Word Count: 1000
5 States Away: 5 Travel Spots Just 5 Hours from Home Picking the ideal vacation spot: nearly impossible. And finding the time to travel: a hassle. Here are 5 states to visit within 5 hours of Utah Valley. These destinations will make determining your trip easier. One of them—or possibly all of them—is sure to be your ideal vacation.
1. Primm, Nevada—The Desperado Nevada isn’t just the home to casinos and gambling. Primm, Nevada, only one hour outside of Las Vegas, is home to one of the tallest and fastest wooden roller coasters in the world: the Desperado. Aptly named, the Desperado has a 225-foot drop and flies at 80 miles per
Lexi Devenport 12/16/13 8:56 PM Comment [1]: These two sentences wouldn’t sound so abrupt if you added another sentence in between. Try something like, “If you’re ready for vacation, but don’t want to deal with complications, try looking for fun places closer to home.” A sentence like this would be a good transition.
Lexi Devenport 12/16/13 8:56 PM Comment [2]: Try to avoid repeating words.
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hour. In fact, just after its completion, the roller coaster was recorded in the Guinness Book of
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Records as the world’s tallest roller coaster. A two minute and forty-three second thrill is easily
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worth a five-hour drive.
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After a gut-wrenching thrill, Desperado riders recommend cooling down at the nearby luxurious hotel, Buffalo Bills. An affordable stay, only an hour outside of the Las Vegas strip, Buffalo Bills satisfies all customers with its buffet (a necessary part of every trip to Nevada) and steakhouse, theater, log ride, arcade, and pool. In fact, sunbathing at the poolside will not only
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Lexi Devenport 6/11/13 11:01 AM Comment [4]: I assume the Desperado is in an amusement park. Maybe you could talk about that as well.
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improve your tan, but also improve your mood. And just one more ingredient to make this the perfect weekend: a buffalo-shaped pool.
2. Kimberley, Idaho—Fright Night Ghost Tours of Old Twin The tour starts at 7 p.m. However, as you strain to hear the tour guide’s raspy whisper against the incessant wind, it feels like 3 a.m. That’s what folks have come to expect at Fright
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Night Ghost Tours of Old Twin. This seemingly regular town just isn’t what it appears to be as you ride through the center of town in a horse-drawn carriage. Town local and tour owner Terri
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Adams gives private tours, stopping by local businesses and homes to tell tourists the truth: Old
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Twin, Idaho, is haunted.
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The ghost tour starts at the local cemetery, just outside of Old Towne Twin and situated at the gravesite of the deceased serial killer, Lady Bluebeard. Next on the tour will be a stop at Stricker Ranch and a sneak peek into a long-standing investigation of ongoing paranormal
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activity. A thorough, hands-on inspection of every room and of all the grounds may lead you to
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unravel this so-far-unsolvable mystery. The tour ends with a trip down a small portion of the
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Oregon Trail, the haunted portion. With ghost stories told along a trail where so many died, you are sure to go home with goose bumps.
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3. Jackson, Wyoming—Grand Teton National Park This next stop, Jackson, Wyoming, spans 310,000 acres. With that much land, there are many activities to choose from, the most obvious being climb up Grand Teton itself. At 13,775 feet, Grand Teton provides a challenging, but doable ascent that 4,000 climbers make each year.
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Additionally, you can snowshoe and go cross-country skiing in the winter. And the skiing is not restricted to any specific trails. Grand Teton National Park is pure freedom and blue skies. What Nathan Singer remembers most about his trips to Jackson are the many incredible views. Nate explained that his parents honeymooned in Jackson Hole. It’s a place that they have gone back to visit as a family. When asked about the wildlife, Nate responded, “We did see a
Lexi Devenport 6/11/13 11:01 AM Comment [5]: To avoid confusion, briefly explain who Nathan Singer is (even if he’s just an avid hiker).
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bear.” He further explained, “At night you have to tie your stuff up in a tree. All the stuff called
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‘smellables’ goes up in the bear bag.” That way you get to see bears without losing all of your food to them. At least, it worked for Nate and his family.
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Lexi Devenport 6/11/13 11:01 AM Comment [6]: Tell me more about Jackson Hole!
Lexi Devenport 6/11/13 11:01 AM Comment [7]: I might take this part out. It sounds choppy between the two quotes.
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4. Dinosaur, Colorado—Dinosaur National Monument Sandstone. It’s one thing that every Utahn recognizes. It’s familiar. However, common as sandstone may seem, a dinosaur skull fossil embedded into the sandstone makes it much more exciting. At Dinosaur National Monument, just south of the Utah border, you can get to know Allosaurus, Abydosaurus, long-tail sauropods, and even a few longnecks. And if the 1,500
dinosaur fossils in Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall aren’t enough for you, then there is always camping, whitewater rafting, and the Fremont petroglyphs to explore. The petroglyphs at Dinosaur National Monument will call to you if you are looking for
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something even more adventurous than dinosaurs alone. And they had better call you. Otherwise,
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it is very unlikely that you will be able to find even half of them. While many of the Fremont
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petroglyphs are easy to locate, the majority of them remain unmapped in order to avoid
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vandalism. So if you are looking to discover prehistoric carvings on your own, take a trip to Dinosaur, Colorado. You may even unearth dinosaur bones.
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5. Page, Arizona—Lake Powell The west coast of the United States: 1,293 miles long. Lake Powell’s shoreline: 1,960 miles! In such a large space, it’s easy to feel secluded, even though Lake Powell draws up to three million vacationers a year. You can slip into one of 96 canyons or float away on a houseboat. As the second largest man-made lake in the United States, it is also the ideal location for boating, fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, water-skiing, swimming, hiking, and sightseeing.
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Lexi Devenport 6/11/13 11:01 AM Comment [8]: I’m interested in Lake Powell. You could spend a little bit more time describing what it is or even how it was made.
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When asked to describe what kinds of activities are available at Lake Powell, David Hyer, a frequent vacationer, said, “Everything! What didn’t I do when I was there? I slalom skied, wake boarded, knee boarded, [and competed in] tube wars. Tube wars are the best. Hikes,
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cliff-jumping, and water-skiing all in one location. It doesn’t get much better than this.” While all these adventures could have been exhausting, David also made sure to relax at the end of each day. He described his Lake Powell experience in one word: “serenity.” A weekend away from home. It’s what everyone is looking for. And your excuses have
Lexi Devenport 12/16/13 9:08 PM Comment [9]: Spend some time describing how you can relax at the end of the day. I know I would be interested.
just run out. You have the options—everything from dinosaurs to roller coasters, majestic beauty to ghost-haunted cemeteries—so take a trip. Explore the world . . . Or at least all these places within a five-hour radius from your home.
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Lexi Devenport 12/16/13 9:07 PM Comment [10]: This is very fun and interesting, Tierre. Now I want to go on a trip! I tried to let you know what places you could spend more time on. Since it’s a feature article, it should be a bit longer. I think the subheadings are fine, but it would be cool to have creative subheadings, and then use the text to introduce each site (Before, you’ve been introducing each site in the subheading). I think it’s fine that you have two people, but it would be good to describe who they are. Great job!