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6 Stories on Olympic National Park
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West Coast solo trip opens driver's soul

Taking a road trip by yourself can be good for the soul. The freedom and beauty of the open road on a recent trip in the Pacific Northwest and California brought me back to what is really important in life.

Summer escape: Isle Royale, Michigan

By national park standards, Isle Royale's tourist tally of 23,000 is small. In June, July or August, you'll likely find manageable "crowds," as well as great weather. North of Michigan's Upper Peninsula lies this lesser-known getaway -- a favorite of backpackers, kayakers and world-weary jet-setters who seek unspoiled splendor.

Summer escape: Olympic National Park, Washington

Under blue skies in mild summer temperatures you reap the benefits of months of rain and dampness -- lush moss gardens, towering cedar groves, warm beaches crazy wildflowers. Olympic National Park also offers the variety-pack of life zones: wilderness beaches wild with salt spray, rocky headlands and scattered sea stacks; temperate rain forests with more shades of green than a Crayola factory; high mountain spines at Hurricane Ridge; and even glaciers in the high alpine zone.

Summer escape: Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota

This remote, relatively unknown region hides a fascinating, unique landscape. In "Travels with Charley," novelist John Steinbeck says of the area: "It was so beautiful that I stopped near a thicket of dwarfed and wind-warped cedars and junipers, and once stopped I was caught, trapped in color and dazzled by the clarity of the light."

Summer escape: Glacier National Park, Montana

Yellowstone got the hot springs, geysers, bison, more central location and crowds. That left Glacier -- tucked into Montana's temperate, remote northwest corner and spilling into Canada -- with majestic mountains, sapphire rivers and long, valley-filling lakes. In early summer, the vivid green bases of the mountains erupt in flowers every color of the rainbow.

Warm days and crisp nights

Experience the northern tier of jaw-dropping national parks this summer. Spend days in the sunshine and cool nights in a cottage rental.

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