When sunny skies meet mirrors and metal, the Chicago architecture pops before it melts into the clouds.

Celebrating Christmas in Los Angeles, WhereGalsWander.com. Travel guide to the best holiday places, light and events.

The energy of Cirque Du Soleil Mystere left me feeling like I was a little kid, being pushed on the swings higher and higher.  The sense of intimidation at first, soon turning into exhilaration.

Along one of the turns, we saw a crashed van pulling a boat on the side of the road where yellow caution tape was up. We all had our theories about what possibly could have happened. Did the van get too close to the edge? Did foul play happen because it looked like gunshots in the windows? We’ll never know. We pulled over by the lake for a picnic lunch and enjoyed the serene views. When we got to the dam, we stopped and marveled at the history of all that this land holds and tried to imagine riding this trail via stagecoach. It was an adventure even by car.

In honor of National Park Week, yesterday we began posting our National Parks Top 10 list. Today we share the other top-five national parks according to WhereGalsWander.