The Prose Less Traveled

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Call it the Windy City, Middle America's jewel, or the City of Big Shoulders
Its glimmering skyline sparkles like a diamond to the eye of the beholer.

As famous for a fire started by a cow kicking a lantern owned by Mrs. O'Leary
But just as infamous for the scandal of the Black Sox in 1919 for throwing the World Series.

Newhart straightened lives, ER saved them, and sad to say, Al Capone took them
Dark days descended in 1968, as riots reigned during the Dempcratic National Convention.

Grant Park grants you Buckingham Fountain's aura of enchanting colors fiillingt the night
Gaze at forever from the Hancock and Sears Towers, seeing heavens's breathtaking sights.

There's only two things to come from here where even that incredible beauty is excelled
One is  Playboy Magazine, first graced with Marilyn Monroe, and the other, Raquel Welch.

Staples of "Chi" town are the blues, jazz, and the deep dish pizza, a taste that can't be beat
Rock the night away as you go clubbing down Rush and Division Streets.

Always in fashion across Michigan Avenue is a Magnificfent Mile of upscale shopping
Standing proud, the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building, structures so eye popping.

Loop through downtown and experience highs of high finance and life in the fast lane
As things get wacky on Wacker Drive,  in the frantic world of exchanges and trades.
elestial
North Side is caviar and champagne, with its rich and ritz of Bloomingdale's and the Drake
South Side hides behind Hyde Park's class, yet sadly still has poverty left in its wake.

Gain unlimited knowledge from interactive exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry
Learn of inventors, innovators, engineers, and discoverers, whose effects changed history.

Take a walk back through time on a Main Street lined with memories and cobblestones
Read of what's in your genes, what's in your heart, and what happens after you're cloned.

A "Super" time in the 80s for the Bears, Air Jordan was soaring with dreams and hopes of
Being the best ever, and had more takeoffs than O'Hare, and a run was started by Oprah.

An "EL" and an "L", one a symbol for a train, the other a symbol for pain since 1908
It's the Cubs, whose hopes are as wide as Lake Michigan, but hope rhymes with frustrate.

Harry sings, Sammy swings, Ernie played two, in back of Wrigley, Murphy's would rock
From the rooftops fans would cheer, or hibernate at the Cubby Hole, a real party spot.

Pippin was a real Pip, Mikita, an uncheckable Czech, Hull turned on the Golden Jets
Sayers was a Gale force, nobody was sweeter than Walter, and Butkus, a man possessed.

This Celestial Hotspot Is Calling Again Glowing Opulently with all its vibrant energy
Second City is second to none, and of all the cities there are, there is no place I'd rather be. 


  YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA


    From the Golden State comes two parks, one made for all of us by a man named Disney
    The other, made famous by forces of nature, that was left for all of us as a gift to see.

    Centered in the Sierras is a land of immeasurable beauty, so pristine, so pure
    Half a century before Walt's dream, was one inspired by naturalist, John Muir.

    This is the Messiah of outdoor adventure, it's the Cooperstown for hiking trails
    The Super Bowl of rock climbing, and any other park by comparison, always fails.

     Spend a day here you might feel cheated, but if you spend a week here, you'll feel blessed
     Ski at Badger Pass, go cycling, bird watch, star watch, tie the knot, be one of heaven's guest.

     If it is to be just one day, then Yosemite Valley offers legendary views that rule
     Where scenery unseen anyplace else, sparkles like diamonds in this crown jewel.

     Don't pass being entranced at the park's South entrance, or there's an unfulfiiled void of
     Seeing grand splendor stretching skyward, with Mariposa Grove's Giant Sequoias.

     Hike the Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point, the high point to see for anyone's journey
     Where you can look at the very bottom of the Valley, a cherished view for a desire burning.

     Another trail not to be missed is The Mist, leading to thunderous water cascading
     Falling at Vernal and Nevada, but go before its rainbows and water start evaporating.

     If you have a full day, and are half out of your mind, you can scale famous Half Dome
     For a high like no other, over 4700 feet, up the granite's gamut, its lore etched in stone.

     To truly cap off one's day, and one excursion to ecstasy, scale the 3600 foot El Capitan
     Being vertical, so having strong legs and a strong mind are essential, as is having a plan.

     A man looks in the mirror and sees his reflection, and then sees changes he should make
     But none should be made when seeing relfections of the serenity surrounding Mirror Lake.

     It takes and angel as in Angel Falls in Venezuela, to lay claim as the waterfall being highest
     Here the Upper and Lower Falls, and its angelic aura shows that forever excite us.

     If you want to go to Wawona Road, and see yet another spot of beauty that's available
     Look up 600 feet,  near where Sentinel and Cathedral Rocks rock, at a fall called Bridalveil.

     $20 to enter, $20 to rent a bike, $18 for a camp spot, $24 of film being assured of no regrets
     To have pictures of memories that are so treasured as the park itself.........priceless.

     After you've wandered through wonder, the Wawona Hotel offers a haven gloriously rich in
     So unwind, play nine, catch a sunset, relax in your room, free of phones and television.

     Four million a year escape life's headaches, and clear their head with nature's best remedy
     To see all there is to see as no place on Earth let's you be peace quite like Yosemite.