Western USA

The first dude ranch was established in the South Dakota Badlands during the late 1800s. The concept was such a hit that these ranches began popping up across the West, allowing wealthy city folk to recreate frontier life for themselves and partake in simple pleasures like horseback riding, fishing and fresh air.

The American writer Wallace Stegner famously called national parks “the best idea we ever had.” He was right. Across the United States, 63 national parks preserve some of the continent’s wildest places and most spectacular landscapes, from soaring mountains and fantastically sculpted canyons to rugged coastlines, vast grasslands and towering forests – all of which provide habitat for an equally varied array of wildlife.

After two years of waiting for the perfect moment, Julien James finally set out on a trip he’d been longing to take: a 35-hour train ride from Los Angeles to Seattle aboard Amtrak’s Coast Starlight.