rsg@cbscc.UUCP (10/17/83)
The first week in December is decidedly not the most popular time to travel, so forget crowds nearly everywhere. 1) Canada is nice, but Banff can be expensive (one of your conditions). 2) Smokey Mountains: great for backpacking. Not so good for skiing. Scenery is ok, but not great in December. Blue Ridge parkway and Shenendoah are scenic. No skiing to speak of. 3) Caves are nice because the weather never changes in them. Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky is super for 2-3 days. The area around it is nice for backpacking. Red River Gorge in KY is just up the road from it for even better backpacking. Again, no skiing. 4) Nova Scotia/Gaspe Peninsula: These are very scenic, but my news is from the July/August timeframe. Might be dreary in December. Warrants investigation. 5) Northern Cascades: In Washington. Great for backpacking. Very scenic. Plane fare could be expensive. Might be rainy that time of the year. ...bob garmise...bell labs, columbus...