Best of America

The backbone of American greatness is the contribution of each individual. From innovative and heroic people to compelling ideas and stories, Reader’s Digest celebrates the best.

Image courtesy Reader's Digest

Where can you find the best hot dogs in America? What are the best town names? Where are the best natural vistas in the United States? What are the country’s best eccentric competitions?

RVing and imagination—both take you anywhere you want to be.

Reader’s Digest reveals the “Best of America”

Reader’s Digest, known for simplifying and clarifying the topics that matter most to its readers, dedicates its May 2011 issue to the “Best of America.”

As Reader’s Digest celebrates the “Best of America,” the second phase of its “We Hear You America” online contest at rd.com continues through May 16, with a total of $7.5 million in financial and promotional support for towns and cities across the U.S.

In a recent news release, Peggy Northrop, Reader’s Digest’s Global Editor-in-Chief stated, “There is so much to celebrate in America, and in this challenging economic climate, it’s important to remember the people, places, and things that make our country so unique and wonderful,”

Best Landscape? Monument Valley Tribal Park along the Arizona-Utah state line © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

“In the 2011 edition of our annual ‘Best of America’ issue, we spotlight the natural beauty of our landscapes, the strength of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and, of course, our collective sense of humor.  Yes we even have mashed potato wrestling in the USA!”

Featured in this issue are the 10 prize-winning towns from the first round of cheering in the Reader’s Digest “We Hear You America” contest, the national grassroots campaign providing financial and promotional support to American towns hurt by the recession.

Complementing the online contest at rd.com that encourages people to “cheer” or vote for their towns in order to win “stimulus packages,” is the 100 towns in 100 days RV tour, hosted by supermodel Niki Taylor, which began January 18 and continues through May 12, with the final stop in Manchester, NH. Many of the towns that hosted the RV tour are featured in the “Best of America” issue.

The next top 10 winning towns in this second phase of the contest, which began on March 8, and continues through May 16, will receive funds ranging from $10,000 to the Grand Prize of $40,000, plus promotional support through coverage in Reader’s Digest outlets that include the 30 million-readership strong, flagship magazine, rd.com (with more than two million unique visitors each month), Reader’s Digest Special Interest Publications, and the new Reader’s Digest iPad app.

Following are highlights from The Reader’s Digest May 2011 Best of America issue available in the magazine, on rd.com and on the iPad app:

Best Hot Dogs – Gene & Judy’s (River Grove, Illinois), Aqui Con El Nene (Tucson, Arizona), Flo’s Hot Dogs (Cape Neddick, Maine), and Pulliam’s Barbeque (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)

Best Landscapes – Hint: They’re in Arizona, Oregon, Utah, and Washington

Best Landscape? Canyonlands National Park, Utah © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved

Best Spectacles – Unusual collections abound in Carnegie Science Museum (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), National Inventors Hall of Fame (Alexandria, Virginia), National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), and American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, Maryland)

Best Town Names – Find out the location of Mars Chunky, Looneyville, Jolly Dump, Monkey’s Eyebrow, and Eek

Best Throwdowns – World Championship Cow Chip Throw (Beaver, Oklahoma), Mashed Potato Wrestling (Barnesville, Minnesota), West Virginia Roadkill Cook-Off (Marlinton, West Virginia), National Hollerin’ Contest (Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina), and Peter’s Clam Bar Cherrystone Clam Eating World Championship (Island Park, New York)

Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in an RV.

Worth Pondering…
When you travel you experience, in a very practical way, the act of rebirth. You confront completely new situations, the day passes more slowly, and on most journeys you don’t even understand the language the people speak….You begin to be more accessible to others, because they may be able to help you in difficult situations.

— Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

You May Also Like

• Digging for Diamonds
• Place in the Rocks: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ
• Green Table: Mesa Verde National Park, CO
• Untamed, Unforgettable: Canyonlands National Park, UT
• Land of the Sleeping Rainbow: Capitol Reef National Park, UT
• Hell of a place to lose a cow: Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

If you enjoy these articles and want to read more on RV travels and lifestyle, visit my website: Vogel Talks RVing.