What to love in America

[mapuc]

I'm like Skybird here.

If I should get enough money, I would take a cruise to New York...rent a RV then I would use a year to see all the great nature you have.

I will of course also see your famous human created stuff and other things.

Markus

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Catfish

if possible look at some old 4-4-0s, if possible hitch a ride on one that is still in working order .

I can highly recommend the B&O museum in Baltimore. Don't worry, the museum is behind a wall isolating it from the cesspool of Baltimore.


I am not aware of any operating 4-4-0s in this area. But in Cass VA you can ride on a Shay if that is of interest to you. I have been meaning to do that for a while, but from where I live it really is an over-nighter trip.

[Texas Red]

Petoskey State Park located in Petoskey, Michigan.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Cybermate

If that had been my brigade...

Close! My first impression, having never seen the fire photos until today, was "that's how it's supposed to look" if your doing it right. I had been aboard the old Liberty ship, and the Gato class USS Pampanito moored abaft of her, the day I saw the USS Iowa under the Golden Gate en route to San Pedro Harbor. Should we ever have a reunion in SF, I have the itinerary planned; incl. a cruise aboard the Liberty

[Cybermat47]

America is home to more than just Human stuff, of course.

Sue, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex on record



And yes, T. rex did actually look that fat. This was a big animal, one that didn’t have to be fast, just faster than the big animals it hunted. And with a powerful bite that could literally crush and splinter bone and a dull skin colour to aid with camouflage, this was a creature perfectly designed to kill giant dinosaurs.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Skybird

The one thing that would attract me as a foreigner more than any other is the nature and landscape. If I would plan a trip to the uS, it would be to the natural, isolated regions, and into the wild. The big cities that most tourists tend to get attracted by - leave me completely uninterested, I must admit. I live in a town, but I am not really a city boy. Principally a little house or blockhouse in the woods is more my thing of love.

Just for curiosity: is wild camping allowed in the US like in Scandinavian countries, or is it generally banned like in Germany?

Glacier National Park comes to mind. I guess what you call wild camping is what is called back country camping here. You can walk-in as far as you want or you can find a pilot to fly you in drop you off and leave you to the bears, Smith & Wesson .500 handgun and a satellite phone are highly recommended. Bureau of Land Management or U.S. National Forest lands are great an usually free too. We got a big back yard to play in.

[mapuc]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Just for curiosity: is wild camping allowed in the US like in Scandinavian countries, or is it generally banned like in Germany?

An off topic information to Skybird's comment

Wild camping is not allowed in Denmark. There are though, some forrest areas own by the state, where you are allowed to place a simple tent for one night or so. Then there are what we call shelters.

It's only in Sweden and Norway they have what we call Allemansrätten= Right of public access

End of an off topic information to Skybird's comment

Back to discussion about the great and wonderful America

Markus

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

One of the many things I love about the US is that you can engage in any outdoor activity without needing to leave the country.



Mountain climbing to deep scuba diving, we got ya covered.


One can easily spend a lifetime just exploring the wilderness of the US and still not be done.

California, in and of itself, has a whole loy of things covered: if you live in the LA area, you could go snow skiing in the winter in the nearby mountains in the morning and then drive down to the beaches to water ski in the late afternoon; besides the beaches and the mountains, there are forest ranges and deserts nearby; up in Northern CA, you can find vast forests with a couple of areas featuring centuries old Redwood trees; the wide range of terrains and natural land features available is one of the major reasons the motion picture industry chose CA tp headquarter their studios...





<O>

[Catfish]

A lot of nice things to love in America indeed, and a lot of nice suggestions for visiting

I ticked the Grand Canyon and Utah for geological/palentological reasons (to divert from the sheer breathtaking scenery i really want to see ), also because of Edward Abbey's "Desert solitaire" and William H. Calvin's "The river that flows uphill" (both a fascinating read).

California.. sigh. Well the list is long. Seems all I need are a hundred more years and money

@Buddahaid: Not the city of Eureka where the Eureka and Palisades narrow gauge 4-4-0s still run?!

re Sue there is still a lot of dipute about all aspects of life, speed, behaviour etc.. It may be true that she and all those relatives of her (or him, for equal treatment ahem) were not as fast as science first thought, on the other hand nothing is sure here. There were species with feathers, also it was balancing with his large tail which would allow a speed from 33 to 45 miles per hour - also the oxygen level is presumed to have been higher than today which could have given her even more speed.