Cheer Up, Melon Queen ›

The main drag of Green River, Utah, is littered with the corpses of ‘70s-era motels, a gold mine for those fascinated by urban decay. Amtrak runs through there, and the roadside stands are bursting with locally grown melons in the fall. One of the only open bars in town, Ray’s Tavern, has a good microbrew selection, and their hamburgers are huge. Don’t miss the John Wesley Powell River History Museum; the man, a Civil War hero, only had one arm! The state park’s campground advertises “No Hookups,” which always makes me laugh. —-Emily Guerin of High Country News in their article, “Faraway, favorite and less-than-famous places”