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1) Big Hole Valley in southern Montana.
This place offers a fantastic view of the Sawtooth Range, and is rich in American history.
2) Grand Tetons
A little farther south in the Rockies range, this is simply one impressive sight.
3) Palouse Falls
Located in south-east Washington state. An interesting thing about this part of the country is that it all looks flat if you're driving across it. But there are more valleys and river cuts than you can shake a stick at. You just have to find them.
4) Ocala National Forest
Located in central Florida, it's really a lot of swampland. But it was there that I observed a pair of Golden Eagles on a daily basis, making it very memorable. Canoeing next to gators was something too.
5) Horse Creek Hot Springs
Located directly on the Idaho/Montana border, 300 feet down from the mountain-top. This is where deer, elk, moose, bear and cougars still outnumber humans. The hot spring is very nice, the terrain is awesome.
RE: Palouse Falls. I'm headed to NE Oregon tomorrow for a week, and plan to visit the falls on my way back.
Of course I realize that I only listed a few places in the USA due to my limited travels, and I am hopeful that the rest of the world can be equally represented by our worldwide body.
Just an unbelievable network of tunnels outside Saigon. An entire infrastructure carved out beneath the jungle floor. Not for the claustrophobic. ;)
magical place, early morning or evening.
Ill never forget seeing Kings college chapel at about 6.30 am one morning frost covered and quiet.
Or the craft market on All Saints Passage on a September Saturday.
The orchard at Grantchester, English through and through.
Dogs and Rats hung up to buy for dinner and public executions for drug dealers. Memorable!
9 People on a Motor Scooter in Bharuch, Gujarat India.
Lovely place, beautiful scenery. Memorable!
Mountain Ranges in Iran and UAE v impressive
Ska
Oh and of course my home town Nr Lands End Cornwall Uk
You are going to have to get out of the USA at some point in the future.
Not me. There's so much to see here that I couldn't possibly get to it all if I took the rest of my life to do it, and I have absolutely zero desire to leave my own country.
Some neat places I've been are:
Grand Tetons:
Like grandpa said, this is simply impressive. Lots of great webcams of the area here [crh.noaa.gov]. Be sure to check out the cams for "Moose" and "Grand Teton National Park."
Yellowstone:
Went there on the same trip we visited the Tetons. We didn't get off the beaten path much, but what we saw (Old Faithful and most of the other geothermal activity) was truly memorable. There are a few Yellowstone webcams at the link above, too.
Pike's Peak:
Not that impressive, really, given that we were up there on a cloudy day, but it was neat to be at the scene where "America the Beautiful" was written. The summit-house donuts were great, too! There were a lot of good mountain views in Colorado Springs, and we had a lot of fun at Garden of the Gods and Cheyenne Canyon.
Luray, VA (and surrounding area)
Lots of great sites from the War Between the States. It was the most humid place I've ever been, but the scenery was nice. Made it easy to see how Stonewall Jackson could love the South so much.
Duluth, MN (and on up the North Shore of Lake Superior)
We love going up to "the big lake" in the Fall. The water is about the bluest you'll ever see, and the dark rock cliffs and pebbly beaches are beautiful, particularly with the autumn foliage. Two "must-do" hikes are in Tettegouche State Park; out to the end of Shovel Point, and High Falls. And while you're there, be sure to drive up to Palisade Head, too.
Mount Rushmore:
One of the most thrilling places I've ever been. The grandeur of it all was absolutely stunning. Then there was the brilliant sunset, and the flawless South Dakota sky, followed by such a moving and meaningful lighting ceremony! I'll never forget that, and hope to do it many more times over the years. I can't think of a better place for an American to appreciate his country.
I've been more places than that, but those are the ones that really stand out in my mind. We're headed to Rocky Mountain National Park toward the end of September this year, and we hope to get out to Maine sometime soon. Other "hope to see" places would be the Grand Canyon, parts of Washington and Oregon, etc.
Among the most memorable things I've seen are:
1. Animals in the wild whilst on safari in Kenya.
2. The 'meeting of the waters' in Amazonia, Brazil.
3. Whales and porpoises in their natural habitat in Alaska.
4. The midnight sun from Nordkapp (North Cape), Norway.
5. The curve of the earth from 10 miles high on Concorde.
6. Leaving Southampton on 12 January 2004 on the Maiden Voyage of the great ocean liner, Queen Mary 2.
It's a great little town in northern Idaho on Lake Pend Oreille. I love browsing through the art galleries or just walking along the beach with my wife. They've also got Ivano's, one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever been to.
Oregon's Crater Lake and the Underground Bridges are quite a sight, an entire river dissappears into rock and boils out 300 yards downstream.
Along the same river, Avenue of the Boulders.
... after I discovered scotch whiskey
[start mild rebuke] It's actually Scotch Whisky ;) [/end mild rebuke]
You are really missing out if you don't come to Europe - we have great cities like London, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Copenhagen, Prague...to name just a few!
Add Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland and if you really want to see a beautiful place come to Loch Lomond. The "bonnie banks" are only about half a mile from my house. I have lived around here all my life, did a fair amount of travelling and I never fail to be gobsmacked by the scenery on my own doorstep. I'll send you pictures if you need proof.
There's so much to see here that I couldn't possibly get to it all if I took the rest of my life to do it, and I have absolutely zero desire to leave my own country.
The USA is blessed with some amazing attractions but it's just as well that some of us Europeans like to broaden our horizons or you wouldn't be there now, unless of course you are 100% native American :)
Big Hole Valley in southern Montana.
I grew up just over the hill from there (Darby) ... eaten lots of elk from the mountains there.
Driving the Parks highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage never ceases to amaze me (especially the miles and miles of road construction with no workers in sight.)
I do plan to visit europe next year, have some good friends in the Czech Republic.
-sned
The USA is blessed with some amazing attractions but it's just as well that some of us Europeans like to broaden our horizons or you wouldn't be there now, unless of course you are 100% native American.
I won't deny that, and lots of folks call me boring because I'm content to stay more or less where I am. There's a lot of other great stuff to see in the world; I'd love to see Stonehenge, for instance. But, as it happens, I prefer staying within the security and familiarity of my own native country rather than take off somewhere where I'm not understood, can't understand, and where the food tastes funny. ;) (Then again, I've heard you can get that same effect in California...)
Getting back on topic, another place worth visiting is Maquoketa Caves in Iowa. It's only good for about one day, but kids have a ton of fun climbing around in the holes in the rock cliffs. I haven't been since I was probably twelve years old, but somehow it still sounds fun to go back!
One place I've always wanted to go is the Alamo in Texas. I doubt I'll ever be down that way, though, as there doesn't seem to be anything else in the area to see, except San Antonio itself, and I'm not a fan of cities. Besides, seeing the Alamo in its current urban surroundings seems like kind of a letdown. I'd much rather visit it as it looked in the Davy Crockett movie with Fess Parker! ;)
Has anyone here been to Gettysburg lately? That's another one I hope to see sometime. I plan to read up on the battle as much as possible and try to understand the strategies while looking over the battlegrounds. A lot of people say the Confederacy lost the war right there.
You are going to have to get out of the USA at some point in the future. Apparently 70% of Americans don't have a passport :)
Americans don't need a passport to visit Canada, and I think that about 70% or Americans actually think Canada is part of the USA :)
Yeah, it took my breath away the first time I visited, you are very lucky to have that at your backdoor.
Spent some time in the Grenadine islands last winter and was awestruck by the beauty of them.
BTW, if I can ever get off my couch, I'd like to visit the Fatherland back in the Old World.
US:
Yosemite National Park - Simply Awsome
San Fransisco - nowhere like cisco ;)
New York - especially washington square park
Africa:
Jacana Stilted camp - Congo - equally beautiful and intimidating
Jinja - the source of the nile - Uganda
UK & Ireland:
Lake Buttermere early evening (no-one about then) - Lake District, Cumbria
Kinsale - Ireland
The Tom Crean South Pole Pub - Dingle.
South Downs - Kent... where I grew up....
I'd love to see Stonehenge, for instance.
Did you know that the Callanish stones [odysseyadventures.ca ] on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland are probably more interesting but few people have heard of them. They are not as accessible as Stonehenge and away from the major population areas so they don't get much publicity.
costa rica last week. beautiful as well. was great to see monkeys doing their thing in the wild and actually visit a rain forest.
cabo is great as well (if you like fishing especially)
kona hawaii (more fishing)
maui for the beaches
fortunate to grow up in Texas and live in Austin, in New York now
Nevis-St. Kitts - if you love beaches, this is the only place in the Caribbean to go
someone was talking about the Alamo. Should definitely go. Don't just go to San Antonio. Austin is beautiful. Dallas is ok. There's a chapel downtown that's absolutely amazing (Thanksgiving Chapel)
The Alamo will chew up an hour of your time, 2 if you are crawling. But San Antonio has the River Walk, that is scenic and the marguritas are great. One other poster mentioned Austin. I did the whole San Antonio/Austin excursion a couple of months ago and Austin was more fun. The music is a blast, if you like to whole blues/rock genre. Plus.... I think Austin has a great little website for webmasters.
Canada the 48th State... them's fightin words. Go wash your mouth out with soap for suggesting such an abomination.
Isn't Canada the 48th state, or something like that?
* American Education: yet another oxymoron.
* Does Arizona know it has been superceded?
* What are your thoughts on la belle province du Québec du sud expanding north from Florida to include Georgia?
Go wash your mouth out with soap for suggesting such an abomination.motion seconded.
Back on topic:
Ugly places with rude people and miserable experiences would be a much shorter list! My current top 10:
* the stars at night from anywhere with no lights to interfere.
* Stonehenge, England: - mystery made real.
* Ollantaytambo, Peru: only extant example of pre-Columbian urban planning. Absolutely mind boggling.
* Krak Des Chevaliers (Castle of the Knights), Syria: the perfect fortress castle.
* Chartres Cathedral, France: wow.
* Castle Combe, England: the literary English village made real.
* Galápagos Islands: a whole other world.
For more active visiting:
* Mitlenatch Island, BC, Canada: almost desert conditions (with cactus!) surrounded by ocean, mountains and rainforest. Every conceivable BC coast sea-creature. Incredible diving.
* Mt. St. Elias, Canada-Alaska border: part of a large park area (US, Canada). The entire area is ocean/glacier/alpine incredible with the mountain itself providing "seeing forever" views and an almost 18,000ft (5,500m) summit to sea-level ski-able (very back-country) vertical.
* Firth River, Yukon, Canada: very remote class IV wilderness river, with 45km of canyon, ending in the Arctic Ocean. Arctic wildlife and adrenaline junkie heaven.
