Vacation time is here, and many Americans are opting to stay in the good ol’ USA this year, visiting some of the many sights it has to offer. Some of my children and grandkids just got back from a short jaunt in St. Louis, where they visited the Arches and Clydesdale Horses, among other attractions.
We do have many sights to see, so I decided to dedicate a trivia puzzle to our great country. See how well you can score! Maybe even find a vacation spot!
1. Where’s the largest house in America? Oheka Castle in Huntington, N.Y.; Whaitemarsh Hall in Wyndmoor, Penn.; Biltmore House in Ashville, N.C.; Hearst Castle in San Simeon, Calif.
2. Where’s the country’s largest aquarium? Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Ga.; The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Calif.; Baltimore National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md.; Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Ill.
3. What’s our most visited National Park? Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; Arches National Park in Utah; Everglades National Park in Florida; Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.
4. What’s the largest known cave system in the country? Jewel Cave in South Dakota; Kazumura Cave in Hawaii; Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky; Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico; Kipuka Kanohina (Kula Kai Caverns) in Hawaii.
5. What’s the highest peak in the eastern United States? Mount Mitchell, in the Great Smoky Mountains, in North Carolina; Clingman’s Dome, in the Great Smoky Mountains, in North Caroline; Clingman’s Dome, in the Great Smoky Mountains, in Sevier, Tenn.; Richland Balsam, in the Blue Ridge range, in North Carolina.
This is about all the trivia I can squeeze in, but if you’re looking to explore America, you might try these family-friendly locations as well: The tallest active sand dune, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head, N.C.; Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, Ga.; Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.; Yosemite National Park in California; Portland, Me.; and Clearwater, Fla., where Dolphin Tale was filmed.
ANSWERS
1. Biltmore House. With roughly 174,240 square feet, Biltmore House of Biltmore Estate is the largest house in America. The French Renaissance chateau contains 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, 34 bedrooms, an indoor pool, a bowling alley and more. Biltmore Estate is also home to the most visited winery in the U.S. 2. The Georgia Aquarium (georgiaaquarium.org), No. 2 on the top 10 lists of Parents, is the largest in the world. The 550,000-square foot facility includes an award-winning dolphin exhibit featuring an underwater viewing window. The 4-D Theater combines digital projection, special effects and 3-D film to create the sensation of being underwater with the animals. The only whale sharks on display in the United States share the Ocean Voyager area with 60,000 animals. 3. With about ten million visitors annually, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited U.S. national park. Located along the North Carolina and Tennessee border, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open 24 hours every day of the year. The three main park entrances are in Gatlinburg and Townsend, Tenn., and Cherokee, N.C. 4. Located in Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system in the world, attracting over two million visitors annually. 5. More than a mile high (6,684 feet), Mount Mitchell is the highest peak in the eastern United States. Mount Mitchell State Park is located in the Black Mountains, about 33 miles north of Asheville off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 335.