Finding happiness is easier than you might think. Happiness is all around us, and all we have to do is hop in
car and hit road to find it. Actually, there is more to true happiness than just jumping in car, but for many people, self-actualization does involve discovering new places, new cultures, beautiful nature and secret little hideaways. Kathleen Walls, publisher of American Roads Magazine, and David Leonhardt, publisher of Your Daily Dose of Happiness share a few of their favorite "Happy Trails," hoping you, too, will find happiness there. MOJAVE DESERT
For a Canadian, snow is no big deal. This year, we've been shoveling it since early November. But to find snow in a desert, that really made my eyes pop. It was noon, and it had rained in Palm Springs, California, previous evening. But famous Mojave Desert is actually quite high up in mountains, and rain fell there as snow. Just how amazing was it to see snow tucked up against north side of a cactus? Amazing enough that, through my jetlag, I delivered a mostly impromptu speech on sighting at my Toastmasters club.
If you want to see snow sidling up to a cactus - what a photo op! - head for desert in January or February, and make sure to choose a desert with a high altitude. The Mojave Desert proved most effective for this. Now, should I mention Joshua trees?
YELLOWKNIFE
It really is hard to fill one's eyes with wonder, what with Star Wars and The Lord of The Rings and so many special effects that make a person just want to yawn. Then, every now and then, one comes across something truly unique, something that actually does make your eyes pop with wonder. Such is Yellowknife, a town built on a peninsula of rock in Arctic. What is unique about this town are houses in old city. There are some amazing mansions hoisted up on rock. Well, at least some corners are on rock. Others are on stilts one or two stories high. Each house is unique, and so are various contraptions to keep them level on this uneven land. (Why would anybody choose this spot to settle in first place, with so much flat land all around?)
The second amazing feature is shanty-town shacks scattered among mansions. In every other city, slums and ritzy parts of town are separate, but not in Yellowknife. I found that a truly stereotype- shattering sight.
LUSK CAVERNS, GATINEAU PARK
Happiness is spelunking. Let's face it, you've done a million vacations on road and in air and on water. How many have you done underground? Two, in my case. Once in Pennsylvania on a boat, and once in Gatineau Park, in Quebec. If you think of a cave as something cavernous, these don't qualify. The two caves are merely a passage for a stream that flows underground for a few yards. The first cave is just right for little children, who can wade in gently-flowing water.
The second cave is a little more challenging, as water pools into a miniature underground lake. In spring, when water is high, there's not much room for a head to pass between water and roof of cave. Of course, you have to be daring to brave cold spring water. June is a great time to visit; by August there's not as much water. And can there be anything happier than splashing in water while exploring a cave? Happiness is watching sunrise over Mobile Bay. And what better time to visit city by bay than Mardi Gras, when historic city puts on it's party face. This traditional celebration was brought to Mobile by French even before it was established in New Orleans. That history is preserved at Mardi Gras Cottage Museum located on grounds of Oakleigh, an antebellum mansion located in historic section of this fun city. Centuries of Mardi Gras history are packed into this little cottage. Be sure to visit Oakleigh while you are there. In fact Mobile is packed with great historic sites from French Fort Conte to U.S.S Alabama, These sites have been carefully preserved or restored
