My father who was a natural born traveler always said "The best part of the USA is Denver and West". He was born in Los Angeles. I was born in San Francisco and I agree with him. But what happens at Denver to make the western parts of the USA different than the eastern?
The change that takes place at Denver is that you come out of the Rocky Mountains and go into the Great Plains. A bit after you cross the 100th parallel the rain is more reliable and it becomes greener. You get States like Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio which are nice enough places with lots of people but almost no drama in the scenery at all. There is no Arches or Canyonland in Ohio. You do get lots of green small lakes like the one we are camped at now. But you cannot see past the trees opposite the lake. Few long distance vistas. Even in the eastern mountains they are almost entirely covered in dense forest. So driving down a highway in Maryland looks like driving down a highway in Ohio. You have a road and trees on either side.
I also like the deserts. There are no deserts in the east. If it does not rain once a week it is declared a drought. Automatic lawn sprinklers are slow sellers here.
There are plenty of nice places to go back here. I loved visiting Annapolis in the spring. Bucks County PA when the bushes and trees are blooming. The village of Newtown PA is completely in bloom the first week in April. And George Washington did sleep there. New England becomes a blase with color in October. Vermont is a wonderful small place to visit and see the small villages. Or ski or fly fish. And there are very nice beaches in Florida. A great seafood in New Orleans. I have been to all those places and still think the west is by far the more interesting place to live.
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