ANY travel year that contains several of your absolute favourite destinations has to be defined as special. As a traveller who can usually find something of interest almost everywhere, 2006 was a standout year because it took us back to places at the top of our personal hit parade.Of course that's very different for everyone. For some it may be a cruise on board a ship they rate utopian, or settling into the quiet comfort of an English village. And yes, those are very high on our list as well.

For others, it could be the glitter of a particular Caribbean casino, an all-inclusive resort especially suited to their personality or a long-dreamed of, far-flung adventure. It's a very individual thing.

We hadn't touched on as many encore favourites in one year since we cruised via Wind Surf from Dover to Lisbon in 2003, with shore excursion access to three places especially treasured by us.

In reviewing the past year's pluses and minuses, I keep repeating 'How did we manage to cover so many lifetime family favourites in one year?'

You've heard about some of them here, with more to come — being drawn back to the vast Navajo nation spread across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah was the first. No wonder it held such magnetic fascination for movie-makers John Ford and John Wayne.

Yet another revisit to a super-scenic slice of New Mexico — departing on a train in Grand Junction, Colorado and driving south to the beauty of Ouray and Silverton, revisiting Glacier National park and environs, an encore down the Yuma, Arizona border country. And in all these trips we stayed in the kind of unique accommodations we prefer — quietly secluded, spacious, private, remarkably comfortable and also off the trail. Happily there are no complaints about any of the places we stayed.

Well, just a minor one. The explosion of development in the Phoenix area found us checking out of a Peoria-Glendale Hampton Inn when it turned out to be a very boisterous, door-slamming western version of Grand Central Station. The rooftop air conditioning unit shook the room and sounded like planes landing on an aircraft carrier. We'd planned to spend our last two nights there before flying home, but one night was torture enough and after hauling everything in the evening, we hauled it all out again next morning and moved elsewhere.

Best and worst car rental

Convenience has become an increasingly valued yet elusive element of car rental. Being transferred many miles from airport to car pick-up is on the increase, sad to say.

Yes, there are still airports like Tucson, El Paso, Albuquerque, Frankfurt, Munich and Lisbon where you walk out of the terminal to your car.

Hertz car rental in Whitefish — Montana's historic Amtrak terminal — wins this year's prize. You step off the Empire Builder, pick up your baggage, and your car is waiting in the lot adjoining the station. On early morning departures, you simply drop your duplicate contract and keys in an envelope slot and are off.Simplicity itself. This is the oldest continuous Hertz agency in the US and we will definitely use them again.

Phoenix has a totally new set-up - all separate car rental facilities are gone, replaced by a large new Orwellian generic all-purpose facility. Former individual rental sites are probably destined for the same over-development plaguing Phoenix and turning it into a characterless city. Everyone is rushed onto buses with an urgency that resembles the Oklahoma land rush or a cattle stampede, both going to pick up cars and later returning to the airport. Once there it's efficient, but en route borders on an emergency evacuation.>Fun discoveries

The US Post Office has a great new box flat rate service whereby good size packages can be sent anywhere in the US for $8.25. There's no weight limit, so long as it fits inside the box.

Unfortunately this doesn't include Bermuda, but you can use the service anywhere in the US where you have friends and family.

As incurable rock hounds and antique tool collectors, we made good use sending boxes from Grants, New Mexico, Ouray, Colorado, and Yuma, Arizona. The last five totalled 195lbs of very collectable unique rock specimans from historic mining areas. They'll be used in planned stone monuments, possibly rock walls, and the total cost for the last five was $41.25.

That was also one of the joys of Amtrak travel, with generous baggage allowances a bonus. A super-size suitcase we had to buy in Grants, went on three train trips with us hauling home oversize purchases.Most interesting people

One of many intriguing aspects of travel is meeting interesting people from varying backgrounds and cultures. And one needn't travel to remote corners of New Guinea or the mountain slopes of Tibet to find them.

One encounters fascinating people everywhere, often in quite ordinary settings. It's just a matter of talking one's way around wherever travel takes them. Reach out, don't just gravitate to familiar faces on your tour.

Let's introduce you to two of the most memorable such experiences of last year. No, it wasn't celebrities and movie stars we so often interview, but real, genuine, salt-of-the-earth people.

The horrendous murders at a Pennsylvanian Amish school were still very fresh in the memory when we met a middle-aged, Old Order Amish couple on the Californian Zephyr. Travelling east from Nebraska to visit their children, we were directed to their table in Amtrak's diner where seats are assigned by the staff.

Some passengers, not used to their simple lifetsyle, might have found that uncomfortable. We were delighted and found much in common to talk about.

back in 1967, just starting out in journalism, I'd been the surprised recipient of two Mark Twain travel writing awards for features written for the Chicago Tribune - one for the year's best article on an international destination, Ireland's Aran Islands, and the other was what judges amazingly rated the best domestic feature, the Old Order Amish community of Arthur, Illinois.

With my mother and brother, we'd visited quiltmakers, bakers, Mr. Miller the buggy maker, and talked around town meeting people. We've often returned, enjoying our conversations with these industrious people and still marvel at the sight of them spring-ploughing their fertile fields with 12 and 16-horse hitches. That was something to behold.

With an interest in collecting antique, horse-drawn vehicles and vintage tools we had much to talk over dinner with these newly-met Amish.

One can't help but admire their industry and respect their determination to hold on to their simple way of life. It turned out that the husband, also named Miller, was a buggy maker and knew many in Arthur, Illinois.

We very much enjoyed hours spent with them and the feeling seemed mutual. Departing the train in Chicago, they made a point of seeking us out on the platform, telling us how much they'd enjoyed our visit.

The smiling bonneted woman, in very traditional black clothing, obviously felt as comfortable with us as we did with her. I thought how nice it would be to have such a genuine, unaffected person as a neighbour.

Our next encounter was even more unusual. Front desk staff at Yuma, Arizona's Shilo Inn had asked what we'd done that day. Another guest came over and asked for suggestions on what to see. There for five weeks reopening a Pep Boy Automotive Centre, she was anxious to take in major sights.

Although she looked very Irish, somehow it came out in the conversation that she was just one per cent Irish and 99 per cent Cherokee Indian. After chatting in the lobby, conversation moved on to the hotel's complimentary cocktail reception. The next morning it continued over breakfast and again it was uniquely educational, this time in Cherokee culture.

Raised and educated on the reservation, her grandfather had been a shaman, or medicine man, as was her son, now associated with the Smithsonian's new Museum of the American Indian. Involved in Indian affairs as a tribal council member, she was a remarkable source of information about Cherokees.

They were one of five educated tribes forcibly removed from the south under US president Andrew Jackson's direction in defiance of a US Supreme Court ruling. They suffered horrendous casualties along the rugged Trail of Tears in bitter cold, forced winter march to Oklahoma. It was one of many shameful events involving the treatment of native Americans.

her very traditional grandfather had lost his leg to diabetes, often of epidemic proportions among Indians, and she became involved in a legal battle to reclaim the leg. According to his belief, if not traditionally buried with all parts of his body, he would be condemned to wander the earth searching for the missing leg. The hospital was adamant in its refusal to release the leg and she was equally determined to see that the tribal elder's beliefs were respected.

She won the case and her grandfather's leg received the burial he felt necessary.

One can read about lifestyles of the Old Order Amish and the traditional culture of the Cherokee, but meeting and talking to people like those we've mentioned here brings it so much more to life in a way not soon forgotten.

It proves there's so much more to travel than just outstanding scenery, fine accommodations and good food. At it's best, travel is a combination of many things.

[bul]Next week: Plan ahead. Standout tours can sell out fast.

Broadening your horizons...