At Last, Moderately Priced Cultural Tours of Africa

Sooner or later, everyone coming to central New York sees cars with bumper stickers that read: "Ithaca is Gorges." Nature is the highlight of this budget-friendly, bucolic college town, whose vineyards and rolling hills resemble those of northern California. But beyond its natural wonders, this student-filled home of renowned Cornell University is full of cultural vibrancy and excitement. And no, I'm not partial just because I attended college here. An Ithaca view An hour by car from Syracuse, New York, Ithaca occupies the southern tip of 40-mile-long Cayuga Lake-one of New York's celebrated Finger Lakes, shaped by the imprint of the Great Spirit's digits, according to Native American lore. It's hard to break free of the beauty that surrounds you. This is prime waterfall country, and 150 of these natural wonders grace the area. The man-made attractions and the turbulent life of a great university are centered on a high-altitude campus crowning the hill east of Ithaca's modest downtown. Your first stop should be Day Hall, home to the Information and Referral Center (corner of East Ave. and Tower Rd., 607/254-4636, info.cornell.edu), which supplies vital free maps and lists of events. Student-led tours of the spacious 745-acre grounds depart daily at 1 p.m. (and more frequently in spring and summer) from the Day Hall lobby. While you're there, pick up a free Cornell Chronicle for its calendar of mostly gratis shows and seminars (also presented on the Web at news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/Chronicle.html) or access CUinfo (cuinfo.cornell.edu). Still another good event-filled publication distributed hereabouts is the Cornell Daily Sun. From Day Hall, a short stroll leads to the stone clock tower and the Arts Quad-the heart of Cornell. In my undergraduate years, as it is today, the Quad was an outdoor living room, a grassy spot for Frisbees and Hacky Sacks. Watch for bulletin-board notices of various a cappella performances-the all-male Hangovers are a standout. The Quad is a curious mishmash of architectural styles-from neoclassical to modern-and multiple libraries: the Carl A. Kroch Library, built completely underground (home to a signed copy of the Gettysburg Address and various outstanding, free, temporary exhibits); the Romanesque-style Uris Library topped by McGraw Tower-you can climb the 161 steps to view chimesmasters playing three times daily (schedule: 607/255-5350); and the A.D. White Library (within the Uris Library) with its wingback chairs and filigreed catwalks. The promenade behind Uris provides panoramic views of the valley below and is a highly romantic spot for watching the sunset. Across University Avenue from the Johnson Museum (see below), descend the steps and follow the forest trail. The roar of water announces the Suspension Bridge, which sways at a heartstopping elevation of 138 feet and leads to the mostly residential North Campus. If you're lucky enough to be there on a starry Friday night, you'll find that the Fuertes Observatory is open and active between nine and midnight (607/255-3557; free). I once saw Saturn through its powerful microscope, which befits an astronomy department where the late, great Carl Sagan taught. Lectures, screenings, concerts The campus itself is a dynamic scene of free, open lectures ("Politeness in the Iliad"), free exhibits ("Images of Brazilian Workers"), and nominally priced ($2 to $6) screenings of art films and documentaries at Cornell Cinema. Dozens of these weekly opportunities, open to students, visitors, and residents of Ithaca alike, are listed in the Chronicle. There are countless exhibits in associated museums, like the free-of-charge, I.M. Pei-designed Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, which is located at the corner of Central and University Avenues, just west of the Arts Quad and down Libe Slope (607/255-6464). Open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the museum boasts an extensive collection of Asian antiquities, while also offering stunning panoramas of the Ithaca area from its fifth-floor windows. As for the performing arts, we penny-pinching undergrads enjoyed concerts as colorful as those presented by the Indonesian Gamelan orchestra at little or no cost, thanks to the Department of Music's concert program. Another option is nearby Ithaca College's James J. Whalen Center for Music. We paid less than $10 for important plays and musicals at I.C.'s Dillingham Center for the Performing Arts, and Cornell's Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. You can enjoy the same opportunities at the same low prices. Off-Campus Cornellians without cars reach downtown in about 45 minutes via the leisurely Cascadilla Gorge Trail (pick it up next to the Schwartz Center), which meanders alongside a chain of cascades. The very center of the city is a pedestrian mall known as the Commons. On weekends, it seems like everyone is there, window-shopping or pausing at boutiques, restaurants, and galleries. The Sagan Planet Walk, both a scale model of the solar system and a memorial to the astronomer, begins at the Commons and ends at the Sciencenter (601 First St., 607/272-0600, sciencenter.org; $3.50 children 3 to 12, $4 seniors, $4.50 adults), where you can also study leafcutter ants or a man-size combination lock. North of town, the Paleontological Research Institution (1259 Trumansburg Rd., 607/273-6623; free), housed in a former orphanage, features one of the largest fossil collections in the nation. Within eight miles of downtown, the topography of three state parks taught me more about the movements of Ice Age glaciers than any geology class could. Take Route 89 to Taughannock Falls (607/387-6739), whose vertical drop of 215 feet surpasses that of Niagara's (only about 170 feet). Cascades froth into a basin at Buttermilk Falls (Route 13 south, 607/273-5761). And don't miss Robert H. Treman State Park (607/273-3440), on Route 327. Although Lower Treman's swimming hole is a warm-weather draw, Upper Treman possesses more grandeur, as footpaths wind across stone bridges and between towering chasms. During the spring thaw, the trails beside the falls are the perfect vantage point for observing the surging waters. (Park admission is $5 to $6 per vehicle.) Finally, Ithaca serves as a base for exploring the Cayuga Wine Trail (cayugawinetrail.com), whose 13 vineyards offer tastings and tours for nominal prices. One winery, Six Mile Creek Vineyard (1551 Slaterville Rd., 607/272-9463), is within the city limits. Pillows and provisions Low-cost lodgings for visitors are abundant within a short drive from the campus. At the foot of CU's West Campus, the no-frills Hillside Inn (518 Stewart Ave., 607/273-6864) offers doubles from $55, while at the Embassy Inn (1083 Dryden Rd., 607/272-3721), queens are $55 and up, and a room with two double beds starts at $59. The Elmshade Guest House (402 S. Albany St., 607/273-1707) is three blocks from the Commons and has doubles with shared bath for $60, with private bath for $70. For units with kitchen facilities, the Grayhaven Motel (657 Elmira Rd., 607/272-6434, grayhavenmotel.com) near Buttermilk Falls charges $38 to $110 per unit from December through March, and $65 to $150 April through November. Cheap eats? They're mainly at the ethnic restaurants of "Collegetown" along College Avenue, Eddy Street, and Dryden Road at the south side of the campus. For a special treat, try the Terrace Restaurant of the Statler Hotel off Campus Road, part of Cornell's renowned School of Hotel Administration. On weeknights, students do the cooking and serving, and entrees are as little as $4.25 to $6.75; reserve at 607/254-2500. Getting there and getting around Helpful Web sites:visitithaca.com, cornell.edu, cayugalake.com, and ithacatimes.com.

Distinguishing between indoors and outdoors is ingrained in Japanese culture, and wearing shoes into someone's house is tantamount to spitting on their living room floor. To avoid getting off on the wrong foot, here are some guidelines. Japanese homes and guesthouses usually have a foyer, called a genkan, specifically meant for changing in and out of shoes. Footwear that slips on and off easily is best. Leave your worn, holey socks at home to spare yourself embarrassment. In the genkan, take off one shoe and step with that foot into the main part of the house. Then remove your other shoe, never letting your bare feet touch the genkan floor. It's polite to align your shoes neatly off to one side, with toes facing outward. Guests are often offered slippers to wear around the house, although they're not required. In Japanese homes, the toilet--which is almost always separate from the bathroom--usually has its own set of slippers. Leave your regular slippers at the door and put on the special toilet ones. Switch slippers again when you exit the bathroom, or you will simultaneously amuse and horrify your hosts. Some homes and restaurants have rooms with traditional rice-straw flooring, known as tatami. Guests should remove their shoes or slippers and sit directly on the floor in tatami-mat rooms, which are furnished with low tables and cushions. Think of tatami as plush, white carpeting that you would only dare touch with stockings or bare feet. Many temples, shrines, historical buildings, and even museums require visitors to take off their shoes before they enter. If you see a basket filled with ugly plastic slippers near the entrance, that's your cue--which for many big-footed Westerners may mean flopping around with their heels hanging off the backs. When you dine out, what you do with your shoes depends largely on the type of restaurant. If there are Western-style tables and chairs, keep your shoes on. At traditional Japanese restaurants with tatami-mat floors, shoes are not allowed. The rules confuse many outsiders, so be patient. When all else fails, just follow the lead of locals or simply ask someone.

These days, Beijing changes in the blink of an eye. One night, you're at a fantastic restaurant on a street jammed with fantastic restaurants. They're rubble by the next afternoon. That's progress, Chinese style. So go now -- before many of the ancient neighborhoods are destroyed to make way for the 2008 Olympics, and before the costs of visiting, already on the rise, start to approach those of Shanghai and Hong Kong. The "don't miss" attractions What to skip The low-down on hotels Recommended restaurants Where to buy Red China kitsch The attractions you really must see Mao's Mausoleum at Tiananmen Square: Out front, watch the locals buy silk flowers for 12¢, genuflecting--and even weeping--as they lay them at the foot of a Mao statue. (Guards gather the flowers and take them out on carts to resell.) You'll be rushed by the corpse too fast to know whether it's real or wax, then spit out the back among hawkers selling Mao watches, pins, and all manner of doodads. 8:30-11:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday, 2-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; free. The Great Wall: As awesome as advertised--a technological and architectural wonder providing sensational views. Tours often pair the Badaling section with a visit to the Ming Tombs, but resist both. Badaling is reconstructed, overrun, and commercialized, and the tombs waste a half day. You're better off at Simatai (8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily), a more authentic and unspoiled part that costs $3.75 to get into and has a $7.25 lift for those who can't handle the rugged climb. The round-trip ride--with your cabbie waiting at the Wall--should cost about $36. Forbidden City: Wander the halls and temples where emperors lived for five centuries (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, $4.75-$7.25 depending on the season). The $3.75 audio tour, Roger Moore's finest performance, is more informative than most of the guides for hire at the entrance. Pay the extra $1.50 to see the Hall of Clocks, a quirky collection of ancient timepieces. After you leave the north end of the Forbidden City, walk to Jingshan Park and climb the hill for a stunning overview. Lama Temple: The lamasery--in recent decades a monastery for Buddhist monks but for centuries a royal-family residence--is one of the city's most peaceful locations, with five major prayer halls and lots of chanting and burning incense. It's also a terrific example of Chinese propaganda; the museum displays offer an accurate history of Tibetan Buddhism up until the 1950s, when the Communists rolled into the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, exiled the Dalai Lama, and hijacked the faith. Now they call it a "peaceful liberation." Take the subway to the Yonghegong stop and follow the signs. 12 Yonghegong Dajie, 011-86/10-6404-3769, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., $3. What to skip and what to do instead Skip the tours of the Great Hall of the People and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. They're dullsville. Instead: Hop the Line 1 subway west to the Junshibowuguan stop for the little-visited but more entertaining Military Museum, which charges $1.25 to enter (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.). Unfortunately, much of the collection lacks English explanations; then again, what you see--the history of Chinese artillery and war machinery--is what you get, and you can fire a sling-bow gun at an arcade target (24¢ for four shots). Afterward, walk five minutes west to the free Millennium Monument, a mammoth rotating sundial propped up on 200-odd steps. Climb it for something rare in Beijing: a view. Skip full performances of puppet, acrobat, or Beijing opera shows. They're often in high school-quality auditoriums, and most Westerners can't bear the indecipherable screeching of the opera for long anyway. Instead: Take in a 70-minute sampler of all three arts, 7:30 p.m. nightly at the Liyuan Theatre, inside the Jianguo Hotel Qianmen (175 Yongan Lu, 011-86/10-8315-7297). It will only cost you one evening and $4.75 to $16, depending on where you sit and whether you order dessert. Skip the pedicab tours of Beijing's ancient alley neighborhoods, known as hutong. The tours cost at least $30, your guide will stick to a script that you could have gotten off the Internet, and those pedicabs are only romantic until your butt starts aching from the bumpy ride. Instead, all you really need to know is that this style of housing--the courtyard house leading out into narrow alleys--is hundreds of years old, has no indoor plumbing, and is in danger of disappearing as bulldozers make way for thoroughfares. Keep walking south from Tiananmen Square or take the subway to the Qianmen stop, and then meander in the winding maze until you've shot enough quaint photos of old women sitting on milk crates and picking their teeth or diaperless babies chasing chickens. Hotels: How much will you spend? The hotels listed below are relatively inexpensive, near subway stops, and with some staff who can speak English. There are far cheaper ones, but a non-Chinese-speaking tourist definitely needs easy subway access and/or reliable concierge help. Prices are baseline for doubles, and may rise depending upon arrival and departure dates. For $58 per night: Hademen Hotel Small, adequate rooms with hard beds and ugly pink-and-gold bedspreads. But you do get cable television (for free) and in-room broadband Internet access (6¢ per minute). The Hademen Hotel is an excellent value especially for its location, kitty-corner from the Chongwenmen subway stop. 2A Chongwenmenwai Dajie, 011-86/10-6711-2244, hademenhotel.com. For $60: Novotel Xin Qiao Beijing A standard chain hotel with clean, basic rooms and excellent light. Two Western and two Chinese restaurants. Bonus: You can rent a bicycle for $4.75 per day. At the Chongwenmen subway stop. 2 Dong Jiao Min Xiang, 011-86/10-6513-3366, novotel.com. For $65:Capital Hotel Rooms have white-and-taupe bedding and draperies and large windows that let in lots of light. Seven restaurants, one with a karaoke bar, as per the Asian obsession with lipsynching to Celine Dion. Near Qianmen subway stop; within walking distance from Tiananmen Square. 3 Qianmen Dong Dajie, 011-86/10-6512-9988. Reserve via beijing-hotels.net. For $90:Jianguo Hotel The airy lobby is often a heartwarming scene--the hotel is frequented by Western parents adopting babies. Rooms are spacious, and you're a block from a Starbucks and Xiushui Market. At Yonganli subway stop. 5 Jianguomenwai Dajie, 011-86/10-6500-2233. Reserve via beijing-hotels.net. If you need a fork, bring your own Liqun Roast Duck Restaurant: The traditional Beijing duck restaurant that foreign correspondents once agreed never to write about. Tough secret to keep, and the owner now has a big sign outside welcoming foreigners. You're greeted as you walk through the narrow, dusty entryway into the Chinese courtyard by a coal hearth and several ducks roasting before you. From $2 a dish. At $7.75, the duck is an incredible bargain, since it can feed at least two. 11 Beixiangfeng, Zhengyi Lu, near Qianmen. It's a bit tricky to find, so taking a taxi may be wise. Xinjiang Red Rose Restaurant: The Red Rose is charmingly reminiscent of a mosque, which befits a place serving Uygur cuisine, the Middle Eastern-inspired style from China's far northwest (where Muslims are a large minority). Unlike a mosque, the restaurant gets rowdy at night, with live music and belly dancers. Lamb kebabs, or "string of roast mutton," cost 60¢ each; hand-pulled-noodle dishes start at $2.25. 7 Xingfu Yicun, the alley across the street from the north gate of the Workers' Stadium, 011-86/10-6415-5741. FuKu Restaurant: Looking out over Houhai Lake, FuKu is a typical restaurant with plastic-covered wood tables. The food is Dongbei, or northeast Chinese. Don't miss the fried green beans. 4 Binhai Hutong, north bank of Houhai Lake in Xicheng District, 011-86/10-6403-7311. Walk 10 minutes north from the footbridge at Houhai, where most taxi drivers will drop you off. Gourmet Garden Sichuan Restaurant: A terrific place for Sichuan, the hyperspicy style from the southwestern province. Look for mala xia, referred to on the menu as "hot-pepper lobsterlings," for $2.75. 12-1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, next to the Yonganli subway stop and across from Xiushui Market, 011-86/10-6568-1607. Where to buy Red China kitsch Panjiayuan Market: Known as the "ghost market" because of the hours--4:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday--and the "dirt market" because it's China's largest garage sale. Vendors line up along dusty aisles, spreading their wares on blankets or hanging them in makeshift galleries. It's a great place to buy Chinese scrolls, sculptures, ceramics, and Mao stuff. Hiding among the junk are valuable antiques, especially the cameras. Take a taxi, after asking your concierge to write the address in Chinese. Xiushui Market: Also called the Silk Alley market, Xiushui is a colossal bazaar of clothes, watches, bags, and trinkets. Most are knockoffs of famous Western brands, but that doesn't mean anyone back home will know the difference. The market is located immediately west of the Yonganli subway stop. Wanfujing Street: A sprawling shopping street an easy walk east of Tiananmen Square, Wanfujing Street is abuzz well into the evening with browsers inside and out of the row of malls that surround the pedestrian plaza. The area is a fascinating study in contrasts between the upscale--Nine West to Louis Vuitton--and a bustling street-food market, where vendors hock everything from tasty Inner Mongolian cheeses to fried swallows on a stick. Partying with the expat community Sanlitun: A longtime expat hangout, which is actually two separate bar streets branching north and south from Gongrentiyuchang Beilu. The north end is pricier but better lit, and home to several handsome cafés. The south-end bars are so small that folks usually just mill around in the alley. Walk 15 minutes east from the Dongsishitiao subway stop or grab a taxi. Houhai: Lake Once a quaint residential area around a picturesque lake--small enough that folks ice-skate on it during winter--Houhai has burgeoned in the past year into a bustling mishmash of cafés and bars, up and down both sides of the lake. Some are expensive, some aren't. Cheapest drinks: $1.25 beers at No. 2 Café, on the lake's east side, near the footbridge.

I turned onto a narrow back road at Custer State Park in South Dakota's Black Hills, following it for miles through scattered woods and rolling grasslands. After an early afternoon rainsquall, the land gleamed fresh and clean. Rounding a curve, I suddenly caught sight of a large bison herd crossing in front of me. On they came by the dozens, these massive beasts, kicking up a cloud of dust and blocking my path. They traveled almost at a run-an ungainly stride, not quite a stampede-hastened perhaps by the thunder and crackling lightning of another approaching storm. I counted 100, and then maybe another, and then I gave up counting. For almost 15 minutes they passed directly in front of the car, occasionally scuffling among themselves at a momentary irritation. I felt as awed as the early explorers when they first spotted the huge bison herds of the Great Plains. Finally, a trailing calf scurried by to catch up with its mother, and I drove on. Scenes like this, unplanned but always plentiful, keep me returning to America's state and national parks. They are my favorite places to vacation, each offering an unbeatable package. You get spectacular scenery-these are the country's most beautiful landscapes; you get lots of fun and real adventure and challenge; wild life abounds (1,500 bison roam freely at Custer); and to top it all, this is one of the cheapest vacations that you can take. You definitely get value for your money. My as yet unrealized goal is to visit every national parkland-all 388 of them. The problem is that I keep going back to many of the same parks, the extraordinary ones-America's best. They are the parks that everybody ought to make an effort to see at least once. To get you started, I've put together a list of five that should not be missed. The names are legendary: Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Great Smoky Mountains. To that list I've added two great state parks, including Custer, that provide a similarly rewarding and inexpensive vacation. Let's take a quick look here at costs. Twenty bucks is the most expensive entrance fee charged at any national park-and this covers everybody in the car for a week. Good family lodging within the parks or just outside charge from $60 to $100 or a litt le more a night. Share a bath, or camp, and the price drops sharply. Many parks operate budget-priced cafeterias, and family-friendly restaurants can be found nearby. All seven parks are open to camping, and reservations are advisable in the summer. At most of the national parks (the exception is Yellowstone) you can book online at the National Park Service reservation desk: http://reservations.nps.gov/index.cfm. Call or check the Web site of each park for more camping details and reservation contacts. At the major parks, expect to pay $15 to $18 a night for a campsite. As for fun and adventure: Hike into the rocky depths of the Grand Canyon. Swim in a clear Yosemite river. Watch the geysers spout at Yellowstone. Peer into ancient Native American cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. You won't pay a penny extra. Far west Sierra Grandeur: California's Yosemite As a travel writer, I've explored the world for years. Whenever asked, I tell folks that I think Yosemite is the most beautiful pla ce I've seen anywhere. I'm awed over and over by its towering, 4,000-foot-high granite walls, cascading waterfalls, and majestic groves of giant redwoods. True, Yosemite Valley-the hub of the park-gets congested in summer. To escape the crowds, take Tioga Road into the Sierra high country, where brilliant wildflowers fill the meadows and polished-granite peaks soar above sparkling lakes. Picnic at Lake Tenaya, which may be the prettiest spot in the park. If you've got strong legs, climb Yosemite National Park's Mist Trail-a spectacular day hike. The three-mile (round trip) trail out of Yosemite Valley ascends countless steep stone steps alongside thundering Vernal Falls, which plunges 317 feet. As you climb, the powerful falls seem almost near enough to touch; its roar drowns out any conversation. But watch your step-a stumble could tumble you over the precipice. Often a rainbow forms at Vernal's base, created by the billowing cloud-like mist that gives the trail its name. If a breeze is blowing, you're apt to get drenched. The reward is nonstop vistas all the way to the top. Back in the valley, cool off with a plunge in the Merced River. Details: Fly into Fresno or the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area. Stay in the park in Yosemite Valley. The cheapest accommodations are the canvas-tent cabins at Curry Village. There are 427 tents set in a pine forest. Each is furnished with two to five cots; an electric light dangles from the ceiling; and rest rooms and bathhouses are nearby, $59. Camp Curry cabins with bath begin at $87. Also in the park, a standard room at Yosemite Lodge is $112. Book all park accommodations through Yosemite Reservations (559/252-4848, yosemitepark.com). Outside the park, stay in the old mining town of Mariposa at the 27-room E.C. Lodge Yosemite (209/742-6800), $69; or the 78-room Miner's Inn Motel (888/646-2244), $70. Both Camp Curry and Yosemite Lodge operate well-priced cafeterias. As you might expect, camping is ver y popular at Yosemite, and tent and recreational vehicle campsites book quickly. Campsites are $18 a night. To reserve: 800/436-7275, http://reservations.nps.gov. Park information: 209/372-0200, nps.gov/yose. Thermal Hijinks: Wyoming's Yellowstone Throngs gather at Yellowstone National Park's Old Faithful Geyser to watch its hourly (more or less; rangers can give you an estimated schedule) eruption-jets of boiling water shooting more than 130 feet into the air. But that's only a part of the park's geo-thermal goings-on. All around you even bigger geysers blow their tops, hot springs froth wildly, smoke holes spout noisily, mud cauldrons bubble ominously, and steaming rivers, flowing through water-scalded valleys, appear on fire. These are nature's fireworks, and there are few shows like it anywhere else on the planet. While the effect is rather scary-you think Yellowstone may explode at any moment-there is also great beauty. The hot-spring pools rival one another in the radiance of their color. The prettiest, I think, is Abyss Pool, an uncommonly deep pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin. The sides of the pool are a porcelain-like white, and the water is a clear emerald green, highlighted by wispy threads of steam dancing on the surface. Lake Yellowstone is one of America's largest mountain lakes. In another park, it would be the starring attraction. The Yellowstone River, a fisherman's dream, pours over two grand waterfalls before dashing through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, an awesome chasm of red and yellow rocks. The park claims 950 miles of hiking trails; one of the most scenic is the 1.5-mile (round trip) descent into the canyon. Keep alert for bison, black bears, and-in the backcountry-fearsome grizzlies. And don't miss the dramatic peaks of Grand Teton National Park, just to the south. Details: Fly into Jackson Hole, Wyoming (relatively nearby), or into Bozeman, Montana (a few hours away). But Salt Lake City, five hours distant yet doable, may be much cheaper for airfare and car rental. For geyser viewing, stay in the park at the 327-room Old Faithful Inn. Rooms without bath, $71; with bath, $94. Less glamorous, Old Faithful Lodge offers 97 cabins. Without bath, $46; with bath, $72. For all park lodging: Yellowstone Central Reservations Office (307/344-7311, travelyellowstone.com). Or stay outside the park in West Yellowstone, Montana, where motel rooms are generally available even on the park's busiest weekends. Try first at 40-room Al's Westward Ho Motel (888/646-7331), $60. Eat at the Old Faithful Lodge Cafeteria. Park information: 307/344-7381, nps.gov/yell. Colorful Chasm: Arizona's Grand Canyon You've seen Grand Canyon National Park in photos, so your expectations as a first-timer are probably high. And the canyon delivers. I've returned a dozen times and I still get misty-eyed, my spirits lifted by the views. The chasm's soaring, multicolor walls, carved by the Colorado River, dazzle the eyes, and its massive size leaves you stunned in wonder. It's a fantastical landscape, unique in the world. Most visitors come to gaze in awe and snap photos from the South Rim. But to really see the canyon you ought to join the relative few who descend into its depths. Hardy day hikers (with water bottles) might tackle the nine-mile round trip on Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden, easily visible from the South Rim. At the very least, drop into the canyon a hundred yards or so to experience it looking from the inside out. Even on a short hike down, you can see the abrupt changes in geological strata as you edge past some of the planet's oldest exposed rock. I've hiked to the canyon's bottom at the Colorado River. But this is a strenuous trip, especially in the summer months, requiring overnight reservations at Bright Angel Campground or the Phantom Ranch hiker's dorm. Like Yosemite Valley, the South Rim can get crowded on a summer afternoon. To savor the canyon alone , stroll one of the reasonably level rim trails. From Bright Angel Lodge, the Rim Trail heading west traces the canyon's precipitous ledge for eight miles; the Rim Trail heading east clings to the rim for about six miles. Either way, you will see exciting new views at every twist in the path. In a half hour, you'll likely have the trail to yourself. Details: Fly into Phoenix. First choice for lodging at the South Rim is the 89-room Bright Angel Lodge. Lodge rooms without bath, $51 to $68; cabins with bath, $81 to $109. Set back a quarter mile from the rim, the 288-room Maswik Lodge is a good second choice at $76 with bath. Book all South Rim accommodations at Xanterra Parks & Resorts (888/297-2757, grandcanyonlodges.com). Or stay in Tusayan, a village at the park's entrance. Try Rodeway Inn's 231-room Red Feather Lodge (800/538-2345), $94. Eat at the Maswick Lodge cafeteria. Campsites are available at both the North and South Rims. Cost is $15 a night per site. To reserv e: 800/365-2267, http://reservations.nps.gov. Park information: 928/638-7888, nps.gov/grca. Mountains and prairies Rolling Grasslands: South Dakota's Custer Almost eerie in its vast emptiness, the Great Plains is a sea of wild grassland that reaches north from Texas through both Dakotas into Canada. In spring, the grass is a thick and beautiful green, varying in tone from light to dark depending on the play of sun and clouds overhead. Knee-high in summer, it is scorched yellow and brown by the sun. When breezes sweep the Dakota hills, the dry grass is tossed like waves in a squall. Behind the wheel of your car, you feel like a sailor navigating solo across an endless ocean. Rising from the grassland are the pine-draped Black Hills, a cool sanctuary of alpine lakes, rugged peaks, and rushing streams. Draped across both is Custer State Park, partly an open range for the large bison herds but also offering one of the region's most spectacular mountain settings. This is one of the country's most scenic state parks. Narrow Needles Highway treats you to the best of the views-and throws in a couple of thrills along the way. So twisting is the route as the road climbs up and down over high ridges that at least a couple of spiraling curves are called "pigtails." Tunnels cut through solid rock are only wide enough for one car. When I'm in the Black Hills, I make Custer State Park my headquarters for easy exploring. Nearby are two national parks-Wind Cave and Badlands-and popular Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The town of Deadwood, once home to Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, retains its boomtown flavor with legalized gambling. Near the town of Custer, you can watch the huge sculpture of Crazy Horse, the Sioux chief, being carved from Thunderhead Mountain. Details: Fly into Rapid City. Stay in Custer State Park, which offers four lodges totaling 188 rooms or cabins. At the 68-room State Game Lodge, the cheapest, room rates begin at $80. For pa rk lodging: Custer State Park Resort Company (800/658-3530, custerresorts.com). Stay outside the park at the 48-room Super 8 in Hot Springs, site of a giant hot springs swimming pool (800/800-8000), $79; or the 35-room Super 8 in Hill City, close to Mount Rushmore (800/800-8000), $96. Eat at the state park lodges. Park information: 605/255-4515, custerstatepark.info/index.htm. Ancient Cliff Dwellings: Colorado's Mesa Verde Skirting the cliff's edge, the winding road climbs steeply from the Montezuma Valley floor. In a matter of minutes you are lifted from the world of today into the ancient realm of the Anasazi Ancestral Puebloans at Mesa Verde National Park. Carved into the 8,000-foot-high plateau are the largest and best-preserved cliff dwellings in North America. To protect themselves from attack, the Anasazi made their homes hard to reach. Centuries later, it's still something of an adventure to get to them. The two most impressive ruins, the ones everyone shoul d visit-if you've got the stomach for it-are Cliff Palace and Balcony House. A guide leads the way on hour-long tours, for which reservations are required and a modest fee of $2.50 per person is charged. At Cliff Palace, stone steps cut into the side of a canyon wall descend through a narrow crevice to the floor of the ruin. The Anasazi once entered in much the same way. The dwelling, which once housed more than 100 people in 150 rooms, occupies a deep, cave-like ledge beneath the canyon rim. The Anasazi lived here for less than 100 years, abandoning it by the beginning of the fourteenth century, perhaps because of a lengthy drought. Exiting is another scramble. First, you edge up stone steps through another tight crevice, and then you must climb a series of three ten-foot ladders placed one atop the other up the canyon wall. Words of advice: Don't look down. Balcony House, also tucked inside a canyon wall, is another test. To reach it, you must climb a dizzying 32-foot ladd er. Following the ranger's advice, I hastened up looking into the canyon wall. Those who looked backward down into the canyon's depth-700 feet below-often faltered. But don't let any of this stop you from visiting. Other fine cliff dwellings, among them Spruce Tree House, have been made more accessible. Details: Fly into nearby Durango, Colorado, or Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stay in the park at the 150-room Far View Lodge, which offers a view that seems to stretch forever (800/449-2288, visitmesaverde.com), $93 to $135. Outside the park, stay in Cortez at the foot of the mesa. Try the 77-room Days Inn (970/565-8577), $69. Eat at Far View Lodge or the Far View Terrace, a cafeteria at the visitors center. Park information: 970/529-4465, nps.gov/meve. In the east Lofty Ridges: Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina/Tennessee The lofty green ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park roll across the horizon in giant waves that lap gently at the soul. In these wild w oodlands, you are wrapped in the spirit-invigorating beauty of misty peaks, idyllic coves, and tumbling streams. On my first visit, I sat on a stump for a half hour, or perhaps it was an hour, drinking in the view as if it were a tonic. Once, the park's deep valleys were home to rugged subsistence farmers and their families, the now legendary Appalachian folk who were forced to move from their old homesteads when Great Smoky was created in 1934. Many of their weathered old structures-the wood-frame cabins, barns, corncribs, and outhouses-are preserved in the form of open-air museums. Much of the park's rugged interior, where peaks climb above 6,000 feet, can be reached only on foot. Eight hundred miles of trails lace this formidable wilderness-prime black-bear habitat. And yet the lush interior is surprisingly accessible, even to the less adventurous. Short paved roads make deep cuts into the backwoods; other unpaved roads probe even farther. Easy, well-marked nature trails extend beyond. The paved trail to Laurel Falls, 2.5 miles round trip, is popular-though I had it almost to myself on a stormy day. The hike took me alongside damp ravines and over rocky ridges. The reward was a sprightly little falls cascading in two giant steps down a steep ledge. Details: Fly into Knoxville or Chattanooga, Tennessee. There are no park accommodations accessible by car; stay just outside in Gatlinburg. Try the 63-room Super 8 (800/800-8000), $60; or the 217-room Glenstone Lodge (865/436-9361), $81. Eat at the Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant. Gatlinburg information: 800/900-4148, gatlinburg.com. Park information: 865/436-1200, nps.gov/grsm. Allegheny Highlands: West Virginia's Canaan Valley Among the East Coast's best travel bargains are West Virginia's inviting resort state parks. The premier park among them is Canaan Valley Resort State Park, close to Davis. Covering 6,000 acres, it is tucked into the prettiest, most mountainous part of West Vir ginia: the Potomac Highlands near the state's northeastern reaches. Here are combined the attractions of an untamed region (forested slopes, rocky cliffs, splashing streams) as well as amenities one would expect of any fine resort (18 holes of golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor pools, lodge, lounge, and restaurant). The valley, about 15 miles long and three miles wide, has become a year-round center for both rugged outdoor recreation and the resort life. Surrounding it are 909,000-acre Monongahela National Forest and the Dolly Sods and Otter Creek wilderness areas. In summer, those of us who live in the mid-Atlantic states flock to the valley to hike, climb, canoe, fish, raft, cave, horseback ride, and mountain bike on miles of old Forest Service roads. I've always stayed at the Canaan Valley State Park Lodge, perched high on a hilltop overlooking this domain. Details: Fly into Baltimore, Washington, D.C., or Pittsburgh. Stay at the 250-room Canaan Valley Resort Lodge (800/622 -4121), $86 weekdays/$99 weekends. An alternate choice is the nearby 54-room State Park Lodge at Blackwater Falls (800/225-5982), $80. Eat at either lodge. The greens fee at Canaan Valley's golf course is $30 weekdays/$35 weekends. Park information: 800/225-5982, canaanresort.com and wvparks.com.