The House and Yard

Above, the house. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One more day remains in California. Tomorrow's the big move to Jamestown, New Mexico.

The best way to describe where I will located is Exit 39 from Interstate 40 in New Mexico. On the right at the exit is the slope where my home will be. On the left is the Flying J Travel Center and a refinery. The funny thing is that the community's post office (just a window and post office boxes) is inside the Flying J. There, my post office box is located. The community is too small (around 100 residences) to warrant a mail carrier.

Jamestown is roughly 17 miles east of downtown Gallup. It is a nice drive with views of Fort Wingate and Church Rock. One also passes Fire Rock Navajo Casino on the way.

It snowed a week ago and some still remained on the ground. Nearby, is the Warrior Women Gun Supply.

The house faces north towards Route 66 and Interstate 40. I have to figure out where I am going to put the new RV garage for The Beast. I have plenty of land to put it, just have to figure where.

Some photos from my trip there yesterday:

Above, a view from the driveway. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a view of my other acre looking west. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the deck and the east side of the house. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a view from the front porch. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the neighbor to the east. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, looking north. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a view from the street. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Gallup's Historic El Rancho Hotel & Motel

Above, the El Rancho Hotel & Motel in Gallup, New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After checking out of the Motel 6 in Gallup, New Mexico to take care of some business, I made my "headquarters" at the historic El Rancho Hotel & Motel in downtown Gallup. It is located on Route 66.

I heard about it several years ago (even the Nomadic Fanatic has a video of it) and there are hundreds of billboards along Interstate 40 advertising it and its historic significance with old Hollywood. Many movie stars have stayed at the El Rancho while filming in New Mexico, most notably John Wayne.

It is also said to be haunted! Go here.

I wandered around the hotel and took some photos.

Above, the fireplace in the main lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the front desk. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the main lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a view of the lobby from the second floor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the second floor is filled with photos of movie stars who stayed there. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, more movie star photos, some are autographed. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a giant geode on display in the lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a signed photo of President Ronald Reagan to the owner of the El Rancho. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the main entrance. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

All Done Successfully

Above, the house. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After a successful business trip to Gallup, New Mexico, I am now at the Albuquerque International Airport for my return trip home.

We closed the purchase of the home in Jamestown and I now have the keys.

Above, a view from the front yard.  Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

Also, got the electric taken care of and got a post office box. It seems that there is no mail delivery service in Jamestown and everyone gets their mail at the post office at the Flying J Travel Center down the hill. There's roughly 100 homes in the area, so it doesn't pay to have a carrier.

Everything went fine, including the flight, car rental and Motel 6 in Gallup.

Give A Plastic Straw, Go To Jail!

The Looney Left Report

The latest in "nanny state" proposals to come out of the People's Republic of California targets plastic straws. I kid you not!

While I agree that plastic straw usage should be limited (what's wrong with going back to bio-degradable paper straws?), but to fine or jail someone over them is going way overboard. Why not have a positive incentive (such as a tax break) instead?

According to the Redlands Patch:

CALIFORNIA -- A Los Angeles-area Assemblyman is proposing a bill that would reduce the use of plastic straws because of its "detrimental effects" on the environment. Anyone who violates the proposed law could get fined or be thrown in jail. 

Majority Leader Ian Calderon (D-Whittier) introduced a bill that would only allow restaurants to offer straws to dine-in customers if they ask for them. Assembly Bill 1884 would fine violators between $25 to $1,000. They could also be found guilty of a misdemeanor and be given a county jail sentence of less than six months.

It is these kinds of wacko proposals by the left-wing of the Democrat Party that is giving California a bad reputation.

To read more, go here. 

Hiking Through Sequoias and Redwoods

Above, the General Grant tree in Sequoia National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one likes to hike and who would also like to visit giant sequoias and redwood trees, a new article by the Mercury News may be enticing.

They write about the five epic hikes among California's redwoods and sequoias.

It begins with:

Giant sequoias and towering, ancient redwoods once covered California’s landscapes. Today, only a small fraction of those groves remain. 

Here are five spectacular hikes, where you can walk among these 2,000-year-old trees, drink in the sights and serenity, and offer up thanks to the conservationists who made this possible.

To read more, go here.

Busy 24+ Hours

Above, the Van Nuys Flyaway station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tomorrow's the day that the purchase of the home in Jamestown, New Mexico closes.

I have to put on a 24-hour hold on packing to fly to Albuquerque tonight, pick up a rental car and then drive the 125 miles to Gallup. I have a car reserved (and paid for) at the Albuquerque (much thanks to "Mustang Susie") Airport. Then, I have to find a motel room.

I am going to be rather busy once I get there. In the morning, I have to make sure that power is turned on so that I can use the electric heater in The Beast during the time I am waiting for the movers to bring my stuff. I bought a 30 amp extension cord for The Beast the other day at Niel's RV in North Hills.

Above, my new kitchen.

Following that, we will be making a final walk-through of the house to make sure everything's in order. Then, in the afternoon, the papers will be signed and the final payment is made.

Once that's all done, it is a drive back to the Albuquerque Airport to return the rental car and then catch my flight back to Los Angeles.

Above, the kitchen dining area.

Before I even head to LAX today, I have a dinner (more of a lunch) to attend. It is the annual FIDDC dinner. Last year, we held it at the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery in Northridge. We'd be back there again, but some jackass decided to set fire to the place and it is not reopening. So, we will be at Lulu's Restaurant in Van Nuys. This works out great for me as it is not too far from the Van Nuys Flyaway station. There, I will catch a bus to LAX.

It is currently 31° in Jamestown. It will get down into the teens tonight. Brrr!

The Best (And Worst) Times To Visit The Grand Canyon

Above, a South Rim view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one is planning to visit Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona (North or South Rims), they may want to read an article on the best (and worst) times to visit the park.

It is from Travel + Leisure. It provides information on the hottest, coldest, rainy and snowy times of the year.

They begin with:

Arguably the most well-known national park in the United States, the Grand Canyon now attracts some six million visitors every year. People travel from all over the globe to see the immense mile-deep canyon that stretches for 227 miles along northern Arizona.

Travelers planning to visit Grand Canyon National Park should decide whether they're interested in hiking, whitewater rafting, or camping — all of which are very weather dependent, and may be better suited for certain times of year.  

Whether you're looking for an adrenaline-pumping experience on the 70-foot Skywalk, or prefer to leisurely enjoy the ample views, these are the best (and worst) times to visit the Grand Canyon. 

To read more, go here.

Thor and Winnebago Stocks Plunge Over Inventory Concerns

Above, The Beast at Crater Lake National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Stocks plunged a bit for two of the big players in the RV industry, Winnebago Industries and Thor Industries.

According to Investor's Business Daily:

Iconic RV firms Winnebago (WGO) and Thor Industries (THO) plunged in heavy volume Friday, extending recent losses as an analyst raised concerns over dealer inventories. 

Northcoast Research lowered both stocks to a neutral rating from buy due to concerns that dealer inventory is at an "unsustainable level" for 2018. 

Winnebago fell 8.4% to 44.88 on the stock market today. On Thursday, shares tumbled more than 8%, losing sight of their 50-day moving average. Thor Industries plunged 7.7% to 139.81, joining Winnebago below its 50-day line.

To read more, go here. 

Winnebago Safety Recall Notice

Above, the recalled (left) and replacement fire extinguishers. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An envelope arrived in today's mail from Winnebago in Charlotte, North Carolina today marked, "Safety Recall Notice".

My immediate thought was, "What it is this time?" But then my concerns dissipated as there is a La Mesa dealership in Albuquerque that would be able to handle it.

It turns out that I already took care of the problem as it was for the Kidde fire extinguisher recall that I wrote about last November. I dealt directly with Kidde and a replacement fire extinguisher is in place in The Beast. The safety recall affects 2008 through 2018 model years of Winnebago RVs.

The letter from Winnebago provides the information people will need to contact Kidde to get a replacement fire extinguisher.

As the saying goes, "Been there, done that!"

If you are a Winnebago owner whose RV is affected by the recall and are reading this, you'd best get on the ball and get your fire extinguisher replaced (if you haven't done so already).

Making Progress

Above, empty bookcase and racks. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It appears that progress is being made as I am now living in rooms with walls of boxes.

Above, Sierra. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Sierra is having a ball. She likes climbing to the tops of stacked boxes and jumping from one stack to another.

Joshua Tree National Park To Get Shuttles

Above, the South Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yosemite National Park has them. So does Grand Canyon National Park. Joshua Tree National Park will be getting them soon.

Above, a Yosemite National Park shuttle in Yosemite Village. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What are they getting?

Shuttles! Joshua Tree National Park will be providing a shuttle service for visitors to get around the park.

The Press-Enterprise reported:

Visitors to Joshua Tree National Park will soon have another way to get around the iconic desert park — by shuttle. 

The pilot shuttle service program will be starting Friday, Feb. 2. 

It will offer rides to campgrounds and trailheads in the park from morning until late afternoon. Rides are free to anyone with a park pass. 

The shuttles aim to reduce congestion at Joshua Tree, which has seen annual visitors jump from 1.3 million to 2.8 million over the past seven years, said George Land, a ranger and spokesman for the National Park Service. 

“We’re hoping that certain segments of the population will leave their vehicles outside the border of the park and use the shuttle to go into the campgrounds and go in and out of different areas of the park, different day use areas,” he said. 

The shuttles will depart every two hours, with one leaving from the Joshua Tree visitor center and another from the Oasis visitor center in Twentynine Palms. There is also a shuttle from Palm Springs that connects to the two visitor centers. Another shuttle in the park will run every 30 minutes from Jumbo Rocks to Barker Dam.

Above, visitors exiting a Grand Canyon National Park shuttle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Tuolumne Meadows Snow Report

Above, a lake view along Tioga Road in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What a difference a year makes!

Last year, Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada mountain range saw record snowfall. This year, there has been much less snow in the Sierras.

The Sierra Sun Times has posted the latest snow report:

New snow: 6 inches

Total settled snow depth: 10 inches (at 8,600 feet)

High temperature: 45°F (January 23)

Low temperature:  -5°F (January 21)

January 25, 2018 -  - Yosemite National Park Tuolumne Meadows Winter Conditions Update for January 24, 2018.  

Ski Conditions and Weather: This was the first week that actually felt like winter in the Yosemite high country this season.  Cold temperatures and a little bit of snow made things look more wintry as well. The snowpack is still shallow at 8,600 feet yosemite unicorn creek blog(10-16 inches), but as one ascends from this elevation the snow becomes progressively deeper. South aspects at most elevations are mostly bare and north aspects continue to hold the whole winter’s worth of snow.  

The best opportunity for making turns is on north aspects above 9,500 feet. We found some very good skiing this week while out on our daily patrols. The Unicorn Creek and Rafferty drainages, and the surrounding high country, are skiing quite well. Coverage is good along the Tioga Road between the Warren Fork in Lee Vining Canyon and Tuolumne Meadows. The touring in Dana Meadows and Tuolumne Meadows is also good as there is presently 4 inches of low density snow on top of a hard supportable layer beneath.

To read more, go here. 

5 Best Buddhist Temples In Kansai

Above, the stage of Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you are fascinated by Japan's Buddhist heritage and would like to see some of the best Buddhist temples, Japan Info Swap has a list of the five best ones in Kansai.

They begin with:

If you fancy spending a day or two checking out the beauty and serenity of some of Japan’s finest Buddhist temples, it’s worth heading to the Kansai region. There are over 2000 temples in Kansai, many of them UNESCO listed heritage sites attracting yearly visitors from across the globe. 

The oldest part of Japan, Kansai is rich in history and culture. The earliest people arrived in the region around 10,000 years ago. Buddhism was introduced by Chinese travellers in the 6th century and spread throughout the country. It’s Japan’s second most popular religion after Shinto. 

Here are five of the best temples to visit in Kansai…

Of the five, the first one was also featured in a Godzilla movie in 1993.

To read more, go here. 

Tokyo Experiences Coldest Day In 48 Years

Above, snow in Tokyo four years ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If Tokyo was cold enough four years ago when I was in the city during two big snowstorms, then today's temperatures has that beat.

Japan Today reported:

TOKYO - Tokyo experienced its coldest day in 48 years on Thursday when the temperature fell to minus 4 degrees in the morning. 

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the mercury dropped to minus 4 degrees in central Tokyo at 6:20 a.m., Fuji TV reported. The last time the temperature was minus 4 was on Jan 17, 1970, according to the agency.

To read more, go here. 

Visit California's National Parks...From Your Couch

Above, Upper Yosemite Fall. Photo by ArmandVaquer.

There will be a special marathon of episodes of travelogues by the late Huell Howser on President's Day.

According to KCET:

Burbank, Calif. – Jan. 24, 2018 – KCET, the nation’s largest independent public television station, announced today that on Mon., Feb. 19, beloved KCET host Huell Howser will return with a special “National Parks and Monuments” Presidents’ Day Marathon highlighting the best of Huell Howser’s CALIFORNIA’S GOLD and VISITING WITH HUELL HOWSER. The marathon will follow Howser up and down the California coast visiting popular locations such as Nixon’s birthplace, Reagan Ranch, Yosemite National Park and many more.  The marathon will air on Presidents’ Day from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT only on KCET in Southern California. 

Additionally, KCET announced that starting on Feb. 19, its primetime schedule will feature some of the most rare and seldom-seen episodes of both CALIFORNIA’S GOLD and VISITING WITH HUELL HOWSER in the 7 p.m. weekdays timeslot.

To read more, go here. 

Miscellaneous

Today wasn't as productive as I hoped, from a moving standpoint.

I had to take Jess to a couple of appointments today and while she was there, I, at least was able to pick up more boxes at U-Haul and a fifty foot 30 amp extension cord for the RV so I would have power to run the electric heater inside. Jess is flying to her father's in Iowa tomorrow, so all has to be ready for her flight.

It was enjoyable for me to see Asya in Santa Monica yesterday. Since then, I have been hearing from other friends today including Dawn, J. D. Lees (yes, of G-FAN) and Deanna Carola (a fitness model friend in Las Vegas). I'll have to make sure I respond to them all.

The physical work in packing stuff, as well as lifting full boxes, is beginning to take its toll. I will be glad when this is all over. There is where ones feels his age!

I did order a rental car in Albuquerque for next week, when I am in Gallup to sign the closing papers and pay the title company in full. I also bought my round-trip flight to Albuquerque. The whole trip will just be for 24 hours.

Reunion In Santa Monica

Above, Asya and yours truly today at Cafe Crepe.

For the first time in a year and half I was down at the 3rd Street Promenade shopping area of Santa Monica.

Artist Asya is in town and we decided to meet up in Santa Monica today. Since I will be moving out of Los Angeles next week, this was the only chance we had for a get-together.

The last time we met was in October 2016 at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills for the portrait unveiling.

We caught up on the things going on in our lives. We had lunch at the Cafe Crepe at the 3rd Street Promenade. I'm not one for crepes, so I had a Caesar salad.

Found Comic Book During Packing

Today was spent packing more stuff in preparation for next week's move to New Mexico.

I came across stacks of comic books. These were bagged and boarded but not in a storage box. I believe they were ones my late father bought in the aftermath of the 1993 "Death of Superman" storyline. He would buy up all kinds of comic books. Most of what were in the stacks were from the 1990s (he passed away in 1999).

There were a few gems in the stacks, one of which was an issue of Superboy with a cover date of April 1961. It is issue number 88 with a Curt Swan cover and Al Plastino interiors. The cover price was ten cents. A nice Silver Age gem from the early 1960s, if I say so myself!

Here's the cover:

I had no idea that I even possessed this issue! Amazing what one finds during packing for a move!

California To Register Illegal Aliens To Vote - Automatically!

The Looney Left Report

If you thought things couldn't get any nuttier in California, guess again!

From WND.com:

WASHINGTON – California will take the next step in blurring the lines between citizens and non-citizens beginning April Fool’s Day when the state complies with a court order to begin automatically registering to vote all those who are granted driver’s licenses. 

The state has long provided driver’s licenses to all who simply claimed, without proof, that they were citizens of in the country legally. There were no checks made or documentation required. 

But beginning April 1 every person who gets a California driver’s license will be automatically entitled to vote. 

“We are very pleased that Californians will have easier access to voter registration,” said Jeremiah Levine, an attorney with Morrison Foerster who represented the voting-rights groups. “We are especially satisfied that changes will be made before California’s statewide and federal primary elections.” 

The state complied with the order under a program dubbed the California New Motor Voter Act. Signed into law in October 2015, the new statute requires the DMV to forward records for all eligible applicants to the Secretary of State’s Office for registration unless those applicants elect not to register to vote.

To read more, go here.

5 REASONS TO NOT VISIT NATIONAL PARKS DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Some nationals parks may be open, but services within them will be very limited to none at all.

Above, the Grand Canyon and the Watchtower on a nearby ridge. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As such, it may not be a good idea to visit a national park during this period of the #SchumerShutdown.

Michael Bonocore at Resources Magazine gives five reasons why it is best not to visit the national parks now.

He starts with:

At midnight, Saturday January 20th, 2017 the United States government shut down. A government shutdown essentially means, at a high level, most non-critical aspects of the United States government are not operating. Government employees will be furloughed and active-duty military may not get paid. Many of those furloughed are National Park employees, including Park Rangers. But unlike the government shutdown in 2013, this time, National Park gates will remain open, essentially creating a free for all in many of the 278 sites across the country, including every National Park. While this sounds like a victory for those of us who love visiting National Parks, Zion Park Ranger and incredible photographer Christina Adele has reminded people on her Facebook posts that this is actually a very bad, and potentially very dangerous, idea. So I decided to list the reasons why you should do your part to help conserve our National Park Land by avoiding the parks during this shutdown.

To see the five reasons, go here. 

#ShumerShutdown

Some National Parks Open, Some Not During #ShumerShutdown

Above, Lower Yellowstone Fall. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During the 2013 government shutdown, President Obama vowed to make the shutdown "as painful as possible." 

However, during this year's #SchumerShutdown, President Trump is trying to keep open as many national parks and monuments as possible. We are seeing mixed results.

According to the Detroit News:

Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. – Visitors could still ride snowmobiles and ski into Yellowstone National Park Saturday to marvel at the geysers and buffalo herds, despite the federal government shutdown. 

But across the country in New York, the nation’s most famous monuments to immigration — the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island — were closed. 

The Interior Department had vowed to keep open as many parks, monuments and public lands as possible during the shutdown, which began at midnight Friday on the East Coast. 

By mid-day Saturday, the pattern was spotty, and some visitors were frustrated. 

“My initial reaction is, they really kind of screwed up our day. We had a great day planned,” said Dan O’Meara, a California firefighter who wanted to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 

“But the next thing is, you know — it’s troubling that the people we voted in are not doing the job that they’re supposed to be doing. So, it’s very frustrating,” he said.

To read more, go here. 

The New Poverty Capital: California

The "Golden State" under Democrat rule, is now the socialist "Garbage State" in America. 

It has surpassed Mississippi as the poorest state in America. This did not come from some right-wing blog, but from the pages of the Los Angeles Times.

In an Op-Ed of January 14, writer Kerry Jackson spelled it out.

She wrote:

Guess which state has the highest poverty rate in the country? Not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia, but California, where nearly one out of five residents is poor. That’s according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the cost of housing, food, utilities and clothing, and which includes noncash government assistance as a form of income. 

Given robust job growth and the prosperity generated by several industries, it’s worth asking why California has fallen behind, especially when the state’s per-capita GDP increased approximately twice as much as the U.S. average over the five years ending in 2016 (12.5%, compared with 6.27%). 

Looking to help poor and low-income residents, California lawmakers recently passed a measure raising the minimum wage from $10 an hour to $15 an hour by 2022 — but a higher minimum wage will do nothing for the 60% of Californians who live in poverty and don’t have jobs. And research indicates that it could cause many who do have jobs to lose them. A Harvard University study found evidence that “higher minimum wages increase overall exit rates for restaurants” in the Bay Area, where more than a dozen cities and counties, including San Francisco, have changed their minimum-wage ordinances in the last five years. “Estimates suggest that a one-dollar increase in the minimum wage leads to a 14% increase in the likelihood of exit for a 3.5-star restaurant (which is the median rating),” the report says. These restaurants are a significant source of employment for low-skilled and entry-level workers.

The Conservative Tribune noted in their analysis of the Jackson article:

“Unfortunately, California, with 12 percent of the American population, is home today to roughly one in three of the nation’s welfare recipients. The generous spending, then, has not only failed to decrease poverty; it actually seems to have made it worse,” Jackson continued. 

“It’s as though welfare reform passed California by, leaving a dependency trap in place. Immigrants are falling into it: 55% of immigrant families in the state get some kind of means-tested benefits, compared with just 30% of natives.” 

Other reasons for California being the new capital of poverty? Californians spent 30 percent of their income on housing in 2015, in part because of government regulations around land use and the environment. 

“Counties and local governments have imposed restrictive land-use regulations that drove up the price of land and dwellings,” analyst Wendell Cox said. “Middle-income households have been forced to accept lower standards of living while the less fortunate have been driven into poverty by the high cost of housing.” 

That’s not the only place where the state’s exigent environmental regulations have hurt the middle class and poor. Some estimates have energy prices at 50 percent more than the national average due mostly to regulations. 

The great irony at work here is that this has been the Democrat playbook for decades now. We’re told that if we give the poorest among us welfare, it will spark the economy more than tax cuts because the impoverished will put that money back into the economy. Green energy — adopted in expedited fashion due to environmental regulations — was supposed to create new industries and economic growth as far as the windmill-trained eye could see. 

Instead, what we’ve seen is homelessness, shantytowns, extreme income inequality, joblessness, deficits, and all without discernible benefit to the state and the nation at large. Which raises the question: isn’t this what they said the conservative agenda would lead to?

This is what happens when you have only one political party, filled with lunatic socialists, running a state. There is no effective opposition to stop them from turning California into another Venezuela.

To read more, go here.

Yosemite National Park Is Open, But...

Above, the Visitor Center is closed, even though the park is open. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those who made plans to visit Yosemite National Park, there's some good news.

According to SF Gate (San Francisco Chronicle):

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on how the government shutdown is affecting national parks (all times local): 

10:30 a.m. 

Yosemite National Park in California is open to visitors despite the government shutdown but there'll be nobody to greet them, help them navigate the trails or even make sure they're in the right campground.

To read more on Yosemite and other #SchumerShutdown-affected national parks, go here. 

Graceland Named Best Tennessee Attraction

Above, the front entrance of Graceland. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The votes are in and counted and Elvis Presley's Graceland was named "Best Attraction In Tennessee".

According to Graceland.com:

Elvis Presley’s Graceland was voted #1 “Best Attraction in Tennessee” in USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, it was announced today by 10Best.com.  Graceland was voted into the top spot by the general public and readers of USA Today’s popular 10Best online travel site, who were asked to cast their online ballot for their favorite attraction from a pool of 20 state attractions nominated by a panel of esteemed Tennessee travel writers and photographers.  Voting began on December 18, 2017 and ran through noon on January 15, 2018. 

This marks an impressive fourth USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Award win for Elvis Presley’s legendary home, which was previously voted the world’s “Best Musical Attraction” and “Best Historic Southern Attraction” in 2015, and the #1 “Iconic American Attraction” in 2013 by USA Today 10Best readers.

To read more, go here.