Following on from my previous post, my next suggestion for somewhere that everyone should visit at least once is also in America.
No.2: Yosemite National Park
I am from the Lake District in the UK, which IS widely considered one of the most beautiful places in the UK. Filled with mountains, forests and of course lakes (though technically only one body of water in the national park is actually named a lake: Lake Bassenthwaite) Yosemite replicates this on a larger scale.
Yosemite is well known for its waterfalls, it's major one being Yosemite Falls itself (top right photo), another one is Bridal Veil (seen in the top left photo). However it is particularly famous for two main rock features - El Capitan (centre of the top row) and Half Dome (left on the bottom row).
El Capitan is famous among rock climbers as being an exceptionally hard climb. Before attempting to climb the rock face, climbers have to prove their ability on smaller scale rock faces for health and safety reasons. On June 17th 2012, the record time for climbing the dome was smashed by 13 minutes bye two climbers - Alex Honnold and Hans Florine - who completed the climb in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds.
Half Dome is famous for its unique and distinctive shape. Formed when natural causes separated the dome into two pieces, a local legend suggests that they were a married couple that continuously argued. The heavens became so fed up with the constant bickering that they pulled the couple apart into a position that would be able to see each other for eternity, but unable to argue, leading to the formation of 'Half Dome'.
We were only in the park for two days so we didn't have much opportunity to explore beyond Yosemite falls and the meadow. We stayed at Yosemite Bug Lodge, an hour outside the centre of the park. It was easily accessible via the YART buses, and cheaper than staying inside the national park grounds. When we arrived we were told that there had been a mistake in the booking process and that we didn't have a room booked. We arranged this through the tour company Extranomical Tours and it was them that made the mistake. Luckily the people at the lodge were incredibly helpful and were able to set us up with a different type of accommodation. Instead of having a bunk in a dorm room, we were placed into a tent cabin. Although this accommodation was lovely, I must note that we had spent the day seeing signs telling us about bears, how to react if we met one, and not to leave any food/perfumes in cars as they could easily break in. This idea wasn't particularly comforting when we realised that the tent cabin was essentially a canvas covered plywood shed. But we lived to tell the tale and in the end had a good night sleep so I definitely recommend it as a place to stay if you visit.
I want to go back at some point in order to be able to explore more of the park, and stay there for at least a week to get the most out of it. If you want to experience picture-postcard scenery and views you'll never forget, make Yosemite National Park a priority place to visit as it truly is a beautiful place!