The Green Card Lottery affords 50,000 people to live and work in the United States every year. Not only can these people choose to live wherever they please in the land of the free, but they can also travel freely across state borders. A timeless American tradition is to take sightseeing vacations to some of the better known monuments in the United States. This is only a very abbreviated list and it should not be assumed that these are the only treasures of the United States, in fact, there are hundreds!
The Statue of Liberty
A gift given to the American people by France in the 19th century to celebrate the transition to new, non-monarchical governments, the Statue of Liberty stands in the New York Harbor and was the first thing that immigrants saw when they came to the United States through Ellis Island for over 100 years. It is because of this close association with immigration to America that the statue has become a symbol of hope and immigrants themselves. You can still visit the statue today where you can climb the stairs and gaze out onto New York through Liberty’s tiara. Though the railing on the torch is now closed due to safety concerns.
The Grand Canyon
A perennial favorite of American tourists is the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Carved over thousands of years by the rushing Colorado River which runs all the way down to the Gulf of California it is in places 18 miles wide and as deep as 6000 feet, or over a mile. Among some of the attractions there are buildings that hang over the edge of the canyon for impressive views, camping sites, and donkey rides all the way down to the Colorado River at the bottom. The Grand Canyon is a place of almost mystical wonderment and deep reflection.
Hoover Dam
Constructed in the Great Depression to employ the unemployed, to sate the thirsty in the desert, and to power the new electrical grid running through the country, it stands as strong and useful today as it did 80 years ago. It is considered one of the seven engineering marvels of the world and to look at it most would agree. It is surrounded by sculptures made in the style of Art Deco. It’s as if the sweeping lines of the sculpture are throwing the world into motion. The Hoover Dam symbolizes the great thing that Americans can achieve when they work together.