Americas

None

Points of Interest

This month's guide to notable American destinations and happenings

"It used to be said that Yankees knew of only two places in Georgia—the Coca-Cola factory and Tara—and one of those was fictional," notes Greene (Atlanta's Olympic Park).

Some Don't Like It Hot

Atlantans regard summer—and the overheated tourists it spawns—woefully

The top of the Great Pyramid is flat, providing a truly panoramic view. From this spot, visitors can also hear the wails of howler monkeys in the jungle that separates the Grand Plaza and the "Lost World."

Snapshot: Tikal

A virtual vacation to Tikal National Park in Guatemala

Last November, the three acres of land that makes up Astroland were sold to development company Thor Equities. It will close for good in September 2007.

Goodbye My Coney Island?

A new development plan may alter the face of New York's famous amusement park

This summer, one of Jackson Hole's most sublime wilderness parcels will finally open to the public.

Jewel of the Tetons

This summer, the Rockefellers are donating a final 1,106 acres, a spectacular parcel to be open to the public for the first time in 75 years

None

Ghosts in the Sagebrush

Tumbledown structures recall dude ranching's heyday

Pheasants on the Prairie

Fields of Dreams

To help revive his North Dakota hometown, a former high-school principal created giant sculptures to grace a stretch of prairie highway

The site covers some 80,000 acres. UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 1983.

Saving Machu Picchu

Will the opening of a bridge give new life to the surrounding community or further encroach upon the World Heritage Site?

A sailboat floats at the dock. From the Annapolis harbor, it's only a couple of miles to the wide open Chesapeake Bay.

Life Aquatic

The sailing world docks in Annapolis

The first Chicago Blues Festival was held in 1984. Today it draws hundreds of thousands of listeners and is the largest free blues festival in the world.

Blues Alley

How Chicago became the blues capital of the world

"During Derby Week, Louisville is the capital of the world," wrote John Steinbeck in 1956.

Derby Days

Thoroughbreds, mint juleps, big hats—the Kentucky Derby's place in American history

Grant moved to Galena in 1860. The town, known as the "outdoor museum of the Victorian Midwest," boasts landmarks including Grant's post-Civil War mansion and Main Street.

Galena, Illinois

Ulysses S. Grant's postwar retreat is not the only reason to visit this restored Victorian showcase

In 1851, Herman Melville completed his opus, Moby-Dick, in the shadow of Mount Greylock (the view from his study); some see the form of a white whale in the winter contours of the peak--"like a snow hill in the air," as Melville put it.

The Berkshires

The hills are alive with the sounds of Tanglewood plus modern dance, the art of Norman Rockwell and a tradition that goes back to Nathaniel Hawthorne

At Café Des Amis in Breaux Bridge, breakfast comes with zydeco music and dancing on the side, a tradition begun in 1998. Melding "pragmatism and adaptability," says historian Carl Brasseaux, is typically Cajun.

Cajun Country

Zydeco and étouffée still reign in western Louisiana, where the zesty gumbo known as Acadian culture has simmered since 1764

"It caught the public's imagination," says Heaney. "We will be dead and gone for years, and people will still be saying, coming off the boat: 'That's Alcatraz.'"

Breaking into Alcatraz

A former guard's inside look at America's most famous prison

The British colonists who settled a bit of land they soon named Jamestown (depicted in a 19th-century engraving) gave England its first enduring encampment in the New World--and, not incidentally, began our national narrative.

Beyond Jamestown

After the colony was founded, 400 years ago this month, Capt. John Smith set out to explore the riches of Chesapeake Bay

None

Cajun Country Highlights & Hotspots

The question doesn't rank up there with, say, What is gravity? But where was the hamburger invented? To promote its claim, Akron, Ohio, hosts the National Hamburger Festival on July 21 and 22. Over 20,000 people served, including competitive eater Dave "Coondog" O'Karma.

Highlights & Hotspots

A selection of the season's noteworthy events

The first thing Terry Smith did after moving to Washington in 1977 was buy a boat and sail it on the Bay.

A Great Adventure

Terry Smith, author of "Beyond Jamestown," sailed in the 400-year-old wake of colonial explorer Capt. John Smith

Conspiracists try to decode Masonic symbols, like those in the temple's stained-glass window.

The Lost Symbol's Masonic Temple

Conspiracy buffs, including author Dan Brown, tour the lavish Washington, D.C. temple of the Freemasons

Page 29 of 35