5.1 National and Natural Attractions

WEALTH AS A VACATION

experience the location. Doing so was absolutely necessary so that I could communicate the experience through our marketing and in the sales training to the sales team. It provided substance to our message. Today, I make it a point to spend the days living the life that each of these locations has to off er. As a VRP owner, I encourage you to do the same.

Though this was a shorter gig of only six months as the project sold out very quickly, it remains in my memory as one many of my favorite “work” assignments in VRP.

Back to our discussion of the best locations for VRP. I have divided these into categories that may be helpful as you add to your portfolio of VRP. Diversifi cation can lower your risk fi nancially and increase your family’s enjoyment. This will guide you to both forms of profi t: fi nancial and personal enrichment.

5.1 National and Natural Attractions

The United States is a gorgeous country featuring spectacular biodiversity. Between the Atlantic and Pacifi c Oceans, you can fi nd deserts and plateaus, mountain ranges, glaciers, grasslands, tropical rain forests, active volcanic zones, and frigid tundra. Our country shines most of all, perhaps, in its prized national parks. Many of the country’s most magnifi cent natural wonders are protected today by the National Park Service (NPS), which celebrated its centennial in 2016.

These protected places also provide safe haven for a stunning array of wildlife. Visit these parks to meet tiny eyeless fi sh living in the dark haunts of Mammoth Cave or giant grizzly bears inside Denali National Park.

All of these natural wonders have communities surrounding them that contain VRP. You may live close, or travel to them often. You may have stayed in resorts or hotels in the area. You also may have actually stayed in a VRP close to one of these natural amenities. If so, how many times? Did or do you look to stay in the same Vacation

CHAPTER 5

Home each year? If so, take a good look at why you always return to that same home, and integrate that into your thinking while searching for your VRP purchase in that area.

Here is a quick overview of some of the most remarkable natural attractions in the United States:

• Grand Canyon National Park: The Grand Canyon is one mile deep, up to 18 miles wide at some points and more than 275 miles long. Some people enjoy the experience of simply looking over the edge of this natural wonder. In my opinion, to really appreciate the canyon’s sites, you must hike all the way down inside it to the rushing Colorado River—as long as you are in good shape. • Yosemite National Park: John Muir, the famed conservationist and wilderness writer, called Yosemite nature’s temple. It features incredible granite monoliths such as El Capitan and

Yosemite Falls, North America’s highest waterfall. Yosemite also sustains a variety of rare wildlife inhabiting California’s

Sierra Nevada mountain range. It was declared a UNESCO

World Heritage Site for its unique geological features carved by glaciers. • Redwood National & State Parks: The world’s tallest trees grow on the often-foggy Northern California coast. Redwoods can reach a height of 379 feet and live for up to two thousand years. About half of all the old-growth redwood trees remaining that have never been logged are protected by the chain of Redwood National and State parks. • Niagara Falls: Three waterfalls that fl ow along the US-Canada boundary between New York and Ontario are found here.

They are Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil

Falls. These three aren’t the country’s tallest waterfalls, but they have a bigger water fl ow than any others. • Denali National Park: The word Denali means “the high one,” in the indigenous Koyukon Athabaskan language. Located

WEALTH AS A VACATION

in Alaska, Denali is North America’s highest peak at 20,310 feet. It is actually taller than Mount Everest when measured from its base. More than a thousand people attempt to climb

Denali—which was once called Mount McKinley—every year. • Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano: On the Big Island of Hawaii,

Kilauea Volcano has been active since 1983. It is one of the world’s longest continuous volcano eruptions. You can explore

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and see new land being created. According to Hawaiian tradition, the lava lake in

Halema’uma’u Carter is the home of Pele, goddess of fi re and volcanoes. • Yellowstone National Park: This is the oldest national park in the United States. Located mainly in the state of Wyoming,

Yellowstone off ers so much unique geology and wildlife.

Visitors can see geysers and hydrothermal features, including hot springs, boiling mud pots and steaming fumaroles. Herds of bison roam along the park’s main roads. • Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest cave system, consisting of almost 400 miles of underground passageways in the state of

Kentucky, sculpted by subterranean rivers. Enjoy the sight of otherworldly stalactites, stalagmites, and other eye-catching formations. A lantern-lit cave tour is a good idea for visitors. • Monument Valley: The landscapes you see in classic

Hollywood Westerns were mostly shot in Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border. Sandstone formations rise up to 1000 feet above the desert fl oor. A Navajo tribal park,

Monument off ers visitors guided horseback tours. • Acadia National Park: On the wind-blown Maine coast,

Acadia is home to Cadillac Mountain, the tallest peak on the

Atlantic seaboard at over 1500 feet. You can be the fi rst person in the country to see the sunrise from its summit. This is also a good spot to appreciate the changing leaves during the fall season.