mostly purple cities in a sea of red counties… liberals concentrated in a few places like Asheville, Chapel Hill/Carrboro, Hillsborough, Davidson
Ah, you are from the promised land :). Toronto Canada (small City nearby) is pretty good for me too.
I am basically 1.5 hours from a 7k foot ski area. We go up there to camp in the summer but I hate the snow. That area has received roughly 10 feet of snow in the last week. A 5k foot lake below there, about an hour from me, received 4 feet in the last couple days. The farmers should be dancing in the street.
Crater Lake is a beautiful place. We were there in May last time and while there was no snow the Lodge for some reason hadn’t opened yet. Same trip where it was 100 degrees in Portland several days later.
I’m a craft beer fiend. In my 5 trips to San Diego I’ve hit over 20 breweries, some well outside of San Diego though. But you mentioned mountains and … I’ve been there! I went up to Alpine brewing for the day and enjoyed the snow and some great beer and food, then came back to warm and sunny San Diego about an hour-ish later.
San Diego puts me well outside of any of our work locations, however. Too far to justify things basically. All of my travel for work would be more expensive, and part of me being close to some of our sites now shortens response time for services. That would be gone. Maybe if I change positions later. I’m riding things out as I actually get a pension with this company, 401K matching, etc. It’s tough to walk away from.
But that area remains my perfect livability zone. I’m saddened you lost the NFL team, but there are plenty of other sports I’d still be a huge fan of.
I mean, driving up to Mt. Hood we saw some gorgeous vistas, mist drifting through the trees, it was just beautiful. And then while we drank our coffee we looked at the mountain peak, also very nice. And then… well, then what? What else do you do?
I know people really get into nature, and that’s cool. I just don’t see the attraction past a “wow that’s really lovely” statement.
Sadly I am similar. I’m usually enthralled by nature and walking around, especially taking pictures for about 1-3 hours. When I get dragged on these trips though it’s like an all day affair. I’d be great fisher lady if I could get on a bot, fish for a few hours and go home but no, oh no, crack of dawn, till dusk, and I was bored hours ago.
Well no, that doesn’t make sense. You either go at the crack of dawn or at dusk. If you’re sitting in the boat all day then you’re basically just drinking beer on a boat. And if you don’t even have beer then … yeah, that’s boring.
I like physical exertion in beautiful places. Both are part of the equation for me. Yeah, beautiful places are neat, but like you I get pretty bored of looking after an hour or two. But I love to get up and on the trail before dawn, hiking by flashlight, climbing higher and higher in the cool air, pushing my body until I reach a summit at dawn:
Or get to do a climb with incredible exposure:
I like to work for my sights. I’m strapping on some new hiking shoes (Altra Lone Peaks!) this weekend and gonna try to put in 15 miles with a big group Saturday morning. It’s the work that makes it worth it.
My best friend brought a few of us “forest bathing” with her for her bday last year. Which involved less nudity than that phrase might imply. It mostly meant walking around deep woods “experiencing” nature as fully as possible or something.
I love my buddy to death, and she plays a mean Warlock in D&D and cooks up a delicious fuckin’ pernil for Three Kings Day and really pushes me to be a better person in my politics, but I gotta say that wandering around the forest for four hours trying to hear as the deer do was not my optimal way to spend a Saturday afternoon :)
I spent my middle/high school years in the Smoky Mountains of TN. About four minutes in, the “wow factor” of a snowcapped mountain being the first thing you see when you look out the window wore off and I just spent a decade being annoyed by how hard it was to go do anything interesting or get good internet strung out to the deer-littered dirt road we lived on.
Give me the big city, please.
After that description, now when I think of the Green Acres theme, I see @ArmandoPenblade playing the part of Zsa Zsa Gabor.
If I don’t have a knife, a bag, and a sharp looking look for morels, I am not sure i would last even an hour. Morel hunting I could do maybe 2, especially if we timed it right and they’re actually there.
For me, it reminds me of how utterly insignificant I am, which, paradoxically, creates an overwhelming sense of peace. The constant hum of traffic and noise, or the light pollution drowning out the stars is all rather soul crushing.
YMMV obviously.
Well sure that’s fine for you, but as I’m the most important person in the universe, and when I die the world ends, I find it disconcerting.
Goddamn I hated that show as a kd. My dad watched it, Gilligan’s Island, and Beverly Hillbillies on loop forever. Come to think of it, I kind of hate all three, albeit for different reasons.
Always have.
I like the mountains, we still will camp in the mountains east of us from time to time. But I prefer the ocean, better food and more available breweries. :)
I’ve experienced this twice in Seattle when a rare snowstorm hit during the day, both times it ended up taking roughly 8 hours for a 15 mile commute.
We are horrible with snow. There’s a storm forecasted today. Should be fun!
Hell, Seattle drivers are terrible in the rain++, forget about snow.
++ I blame all the Californians who keep moving here.
I am going to be laughing my ass off tomorrow. Rain that turns to snow overnight here in the valley.
Gonna be ice up here in this place like crazy. In Chicago, we prepare for this shit and it’s still the most tricky to get around in. Portland is hosed.
I’m willing to say we are just terrible at driving in general. Except for me of course.