Page 15 - Volume 14 Issue 3

of monuments honoring the Union and Confederate units and soldiers who fought and died there can be overwhelming. However, for any history lover it is not to be missed. With more time, bus tours guided by well-informed park rangers can be taken in lieu of self-touring.
Park Loop Road, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming: Only a brief drive north of the popular Jackson Hole airport lies a scenic drive to rival any in the United States. The 42-mile loop drive offers many opportunities to see abundant wildlife with backdrops of majestic mountains, lush valley meadows and the Snake River. For longer layover excursions, Yellowstone National Park is only slightly further north, beyond Grand Teton.
Cades Cove Drive, Great Smokey Mountain Park, Tennessee: Heading to Tennessee’s Tri-Cities area, Knox- ville or possibly Chattanooga? If so, consider a quick drive to the most visited National Park in in the U.S.,
where the 11-mile Cades Cove Loop drive is popular by both car and bi- cycle for viewing wildlife, fall colors, and many adjacent historic buildings and trails.
Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive, Nevada: On the far west side of Las Vegas (only 17 miles from the Vegas “strip”), there is an impressive BLM site known at Red Rock Canyon. It is truly an area worth visiting when needing to escape the chaos that
Vegas is famous for. The 13-mile scenic loop drive is equally popular with drivers and cyclists for viewing the rock formations and the various desert plants and animals that live there. The visitor’s center is a great place to start your time at Red Rock. Once you’ve been there, you’ll be looking for ever-longer layovers in Vegas so that you can return and continue your explorations among the colorful Aztec Sandstone.
The author’s shadow precedes him as he tours the upper deck of the Castillo de San Marcos while making the most of downtime in St. Augustine, Florida. Protecting St. Augustine and the Matanzas Bay, the Castillo is the oldest and largest masonry fortification in the Continental United States. Built between 1672 and 1695, the fort is constructed of coquina (a stone similar to limestone) and is laid out in a four-point star shape.
A view of a small country church and a meadow within Great Smokey Mountain National Park, taken while driving the scenic Cades Cover Loop Road. This National Park is a gem, straddling the Tennessee/North Carolina border.
MARCH 2020
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 13