Take the 'Where Am I?' Tour

Take the ‘Where Am I?’ Tour

1/12

Now theres a cool sign for a jewelry store, dont you think? Except that this joints proprietors have been in another game for decades. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

2/12

Dont rock the bucket, padre. If the fall doesnt kill you, the carnivores on the ground might.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

3/12

Simple, right? But how many North American Chinatowns are there? Big ones, little ones, new ones, old ones. Of the four or more Ive seen this year, this is the only one whose welcome gates went up in 1971.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

4/12

OK, so youve puzzled out the name of the town. But where is it? Its on a lake 32 miles long in a state that has been governed by George Clinton, Theodore Roosevelt and Grover Cleveland.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

5/12

The Westons, first family of photography in our fair state, spent much of the 20th century with this Carmel-convenient point in view.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

6/12

Nope, not the Colorado. But I can tell you that the horses are in Mexico (no, you dont get a point for that) and this river came a long way before changing direction here.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

7/12

How many train stations are there in California? Plenty. But how many cities owe their architecture to the aftermath of a 1925 earthquake?

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

8/12

Interesting color choice on those parking lot lampposts. Its almost as if the hotelier oops, the owner, or maybe his wife has a thing for pink. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

9/12

Go ahead. Make that big leap and assume that were in Mexico. But more than one place in Mexico claims credit for creating the margarita. In fact, more than one place in this city on the Bay of All Saints claims credit for creating the margarita. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

10/12

If you know municipal nicknames and can read sideways signage, you dont even need to be told that this eatery is on the ground floor of an ace hotel.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

11/12

Wait a minute! That looks like the Grand Canyon. But the National Park Service would have major reservations about letting a tourist helicopter fly so low. Who lives next door?

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

12/12

Bye, bye, now. And so long from the portals of this 108-year-old camp and the 427 tent cabins within. FYI, Mapquest says the drive home to Rancho Cucamonga will be 349 miles. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

By Christopher Reynolds

Jan. 4, 2008 12 AM PT

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Sure, the calendar says it’s late December, but it’s never really the holiday season until somebody hauls out a tiresome travel slide show. And so we bring you the 2007 “Where Am I?” Tour.

None of these 12 pictures has appeared on travel.latimes.com until now, but all were taken by me in the course of my 2007 travels in North America. Amid the taunts and red herrings in the captions, I’ve given some geographical clues. But I know you’ve been places, readers, and I’m not going to demean you with obvious hints.

So give yourself one point for identifying the country shown in each image. Add another point if you can name the state or province. Add a third point if you can name the city or national park or state park or state reserve or reservation. Thus, a perfect score would be 36.

For some reason, it’s a legal headache for us to give anything of true value away, so we won’t. We’re not even calling this a contest. But if you e-mail your name and your answers to travel-feedback@latimes.combetween now and noon Jan. 2, then soon after we will lavish praise upon the highest scorers and post their names -- along with the answers.

Take the ‘Where Am I?’ Tour

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