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North America must be boring except for wilderness, etc.


shootingstar

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Just perusing some travel bloggers' stuff. Other than the fact there are some fantastic bloggers who choose /work with right photos, there are so many lesser known,historic places to  visit in  Europe. 'course ordinary areas that are newer and not highlighted @travel sites.

For some tourists who live in the centuries old  cities in Europe where their very old architecture is preserved, our North American cities must seem ho-hum or a breath of fresh air..because newer. And we all know, foreign tourists love our huge wilderness spaces...ie. less people, large animals still roaming around...well, in certain parks.

When I was in Copenhagen there was a local festival with museum art gallery that was themed Louisiana.  I couldn't see  the artwork had anything to do with the original Louisiana.... But then,  you can visit a suburban neighbourhood in our prairie city here ...called Tuscany.  Zero relevance. Just developer marketing to sell homes.

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Lots of interesting stuff to explore in this area. Chapman’s mill was built in 1757 near the Thorofare Gap, an opening that allowed easier passage to the west / Shenandoah Valley. Buffalo migrated through there hundreds of years ago. The mill ground corn and wheat from nearby farms and sent the finished flours to Alexandria and Washington. The railroad allowed shipping to be faster and less expensive. Several civil war battles were fought here and in nearby Manassas. The mill changed hands several times but operated until after WWII. The mill was gutted by arson in 1986. They are working to restore the mill and preserve the history. 

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6BA9CDC5-3E0C-4E30-B61D-71831AA5BCE6.jpeg

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13 minutes ago, Old No. 7 said:

Lots of interesting stuff to explore in this area. Chapman’s mill was built in 1757 near the Thorofare Gap, an opening that allowed easier passage to the west / Shenandoah Valley. Buffalo migrated through there hundreds of years ago. The mill ground corn and wheat from nearby farms and sent the finished flours to Alexandria and Washington. The railroad allowed shipping to be faster and less expensive. Several civil war battles were fought here and in nearby Manassas. The mill changed hands several times but operated until after WWII. The mill was gutted by arson in 1986. They are working to restore the mill and preserve the history. 

E071A4E0-E99A-46B9-8FE8-4BB5CECB7658.jpeg

6BA9CDC5-3E0C-4E30-B61D-71831AA5BCE6.jpeg

I went to municipal museums in Strausborg, France and Karlsrulhe, Germany (both are sizable cities)...only because  they were near other things we dropped by also.  They document history...from Roman times! then each century, Crusaders, medieval, Renaissance...  Dumb me, didn't expect this for a  municipal museum, until I walked in. Sure some artifacts from different eras, etc.  

So our local museums to include First Nations/local native Indian history, also is important.

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Some more personal comparisons with personal photos.  Here in North America, we rant about wasting money on outdoor permanent public art. Or why have it.  Otherwise it's just hillbilly, ignorant thinking. I'm sorry. When we have gifted artists.  We should not..especially if the artwork expresses local history/culture/nature, even if  abstract at times.

We're forgetting the stories the art work can tell or  make viewer think/pause.  (since our architecture is not as grand/intricate):

Are North American Cities Boring? – Cycle Write Blog (wordpress.com)

 

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2 hours ago, shootingstar said:

Just perusing some travel bloggers' stuff. Other than the fact there are some fantastic bloggers who choose /work with right photos, there are so many lesser known,historic places to  visit in  Europe. 'course ordinary areas that are newer and not highlighted @travel sites.

For some tourists who live in the centuries old  cities in Europe where their very old architecture is preserved, our North American cities must seem ho-hum or a breath of fresh air..because newer. And we all know, foreign tourists love our huge wilderness spaces...ie. less people, large animals still roaming around...well, in certain parks.

When I was in Copenhagen there was a local festival with museum art gallery that was themed Louisiana.  I couldn't see  the artwork had anything to do with the original Louisiana.... But then,  you can visit a suburban neighbourhood in our prairie city here ...called Tuscany.  Zero relevance. Just developer marketing to sell homes.

You should have looked me up when you were in Copenhagen 😁

94E74A17-6919-472F-AB33-C08FC93E315D.png

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13 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Sorry, the google prompt grey blocks out all the  content on the page unless I sign up. :(  You might have to remind folks in town about this.

COPENHAGEN — The little Lewis County village named as a protest against a British attack in the early 1800s is throwing itself a 150th anniversary celebration Aug. 22 to 24 to mark its incorporation as a village.

When Nathan Munger and his son, Nathan Munger Jr., erected their first mill, a saw mill, on a Deer River bank in 1801, the village that grew around them became known as Munger’s Mills in what was already the town of Denmark.

As the story goes, most of the residents of Munger’s Mills were Federalists in support of British rule, but after news reached Munger’s Mills later in 1801 about the British bombardment of Copenhagen, Denmark, Republicans at a village meeting agreed to take on the name of Copenhagen to shame local Federalists for their support of the British.

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20 minutes ago, Gump said:

COPENHAGEN — The little Lewis County village named as a protest against a British attack in the early 1800s is throwing itself a 150th anniversary celebration Aug. 22 to 24 to mark its incorporation as a village.

When Nathan Munger and his son, Nathan Munger Jr., erected their first mill, a saw mill, on a Deer River bank in 1801, the village that grew around them became known as Munger’s Mills in what was already the town of Denmark.

As the story goes, most of the residents of Munger’s Mills were Federalists in support of British rule, but after news reached Munger’s Mills later in 1801 about the British bombardment of Copenhagen, Denmark, Republicans at a village meeting agreed to take on the name of Copenhagen to shame local Federalists for their support of the British.

I consider Calgary after centuries of First Nations settlement by the Blackfoot Indian confederancy,etc...a youngish city. After all, my childhood street in Waterloo, Ontario, has the oldest house in city just up my street, built in 1812.  And white settlers built buildings in Toronto in late 1700's.

It's kinda wierd to me personally, when local Calgary heritage society deems xxx building a historic site, given the youth of this city. 

In 1875 a foot weary troop of North West Mounted Policemen topped the valley rim and
saw what they were looking for: two clean rivers, forests of spruce and Douglas Fir on
the shady north face, poplars tracking the river's edge. It was the ideal place to build a
fort, and though they had no reason to look that far ahead, it was the ideal place to build a city too.

First called simply "The Elbow" or "Bow River Fort" then briefly "Brisebois" by Inspector
A.E.Brisebois. This was not acceptable to Brisebois's superior officers and Colonel James McLeod
came up with the alternate title "Calgary" after his home in the Scottish Highlands.

The fort happened at Calgary because of whisky and the Indian tribes abused by its
trade, but Calgary formed around quite different purposes. The rich grassy foothills to
the west, fescue grasses in the rolling land to the northeast, the vast grass prairie to the
east and southeast. The robe trade had removed the free roaming buffalo from the
grasslands, so the Canadian government decided to use grass and cattle as a first stage
in the process of colonization and opened the territory to ranching.

The railway came in 1883 and pioneer ranchers poured in from across Canada and
beyond. In 1884, with a population of 4,000, Calgary was officially proclaimed a city
. Its first boom was on.

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16 hours ago, shootingstar said:

North America must be boring except for wilderness, etc.

I find it nice to have variety, and yes, the US and Canada have TREMENDOUS natural beauty.  But we do have a good bit of interesting older history as well.  Mesa Verde is a pretty fun National Park with history going back well over a thousand years.  Mexico is full of cool places like Chichen Itza (also going back over a thousand years in history).  Plenty of neat stuff up in Alaska with their various indigenous peoples' historical sites.  Likewise, European settlement history going back to the pre-Revolution era is preserved up and down the East Coast, and some interesting stuff like California's El Camino Real merit exploration.  A few "modern" churches in the US rival some of the best in Europe (lacking their history) like the Washington National Cathedral or the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  IOW, plenty of interesting historical stuff for folks craving "older" history, but clearly way behind the history of Europe, Asia, or Africa.  

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46 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I find it nice to have variety, and yes, the US and Canada have TREMENDOUS natural beauty.  But we do have a good bit of interesting older history as well.  Mesa Verde is a pretty fun National Park with history going back well over a thousand years.  Mexico is full of cool places like Chichen Itza (also going back over a thousand years in history).  Plenty of neat stuff up in Alaska with their various indigenous peoples' historical sites.  Likewise, European settlement history going back to the pre-Revolution era is preserved up and down the East Coast, and some interesting stuff like California's El Camino Real merit exploration.  A few "modern" churches in the US rival some of the best in Europe (lacking their history) like the Washington National Cathedral or the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  IOW, plenty of interesting historical stuff for folks craving "older" history, but clearly way behind the history of Europe, Asia, or Africa.  

There is sufficient natural as well as some man-made creations that are contrasting within each Canada and the U.S., that provide variety of worthwhile experiences. 

 I commented to a Danish blogger where I said Canada doesn't appear to be on her blog because it might be dull to her. This is how she responded to me yesterday, which she seemed a little diffident as if all the places she visits are interesting (many are, not all):  "You might be right and Canada is probably not going to be next trip. But I try to recommend on as many continents as possible, and I know someone who stayed a year in Quebec and was very happy there. I hope somewhere else got your attention then. Safe travels,

 

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For sure, there are some Nature that is stunning in Europe (ie. Alps which I've seen, fjiords which I haven't in Norway), some beaches/islands, my travel attitude and site priorities when I've visited Europe (4 different trips) have been cultural, artistic / architectural and historic sites.  

I actually think Canada and U.S. have way more stunning and larger/ bigger/untamed Nature to see. For the big Canadian cities over 1  million people, if you know where to go, our cuisine offers enormous variety and quality. (I would never recommend Asian cuisine in Calgary, but would for Vancouver (especially seafood Asian) and Toronto.)  We forget our large ethnic demographic for various groups in certain North American cities plus the mixing of cultures and intergenerational influences,  does result in some superior fusion cooking. Especially East-West fusion.

 

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We have some fantastic museums that are rich in Native American history.  There are many attractions that are not in the wilderness.  You can even see a big foot trap. We also have Amusement parks that migth not be boring.

Beauty and richness depend on where you look.  

 

 

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50 minutes ago, donkpow said:

Well, it all started about 30,000 years ago on a share cropper's farm. Before whitey was born.

In our province there is an UNESCO designated heritage site: Smashed-in-Head Buffalo Jump.  It is a site where the Blackfoot drove hundreds of wild buffalo over the edge as a kill. It was part of what they did hundreds of years ago. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site | Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (headsmashedin.ca)

360 Degree Views, Videos & Photos | Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (headsmashedin.ca)

There's a walk in museum nearby also on how the buffalo is central for food, clothing and various beliefs to the First Nations groups in our area (and south of us). All things buffalo. Highly recommended. A definitely no place like it on this scale anywhere else in the world.

Smashed-in-Head Buffalo Jump Interpretative site-- near Fort McLeod in southern Alberta 2005. Photo by HJEH Becker.

Below was part of a local annual science-art mix festival. Now, in other parts of the world, dinosaur would be a gimmick. In our area, no. Many unearthed dinosaur bones are for real. There are major research digs for dinosaur bones and they keep on finding more. Our badlands in Drumheller show that and a very large research facility and museum on paelotonology.  Again, not everyone's cup of tea for visiting. These are my photos.

zoomflames.jpg?w=1000&h=750

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54 minutes ago, MoseySusan said:

Boom!

Yea, how "international". Not to deprive foreigners of an American construct..... but great way to wipe out history and detract kids' interest (hopefully temporarily) from their own fun local comics.  We can't blame kids for not being interested in any history, if we ourselves have no interest/make an effort to tell interesting history stories. 

Let's not get into if the history will be "accurate" which is why we  need evidence of buildings, art and artifacts.

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North America has many non boring cities. NY, Washington, Boston, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, Quebec City, Memphis. Great musical innovations, Jazz, Rock n Roll, and Hip Hop are all American. Professional Sports  scene in America is amazing. And we have the best cycling forum in the world. And that’s not even mentioning the natural features. 

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22 hours ago, shootingstar said:

Just perusing some travel bloggers' stuff. Other than the fact there are some fantastic bloggers who choose /work with right photos, there are so many lesser known,historic places to  visit in  Europe. 'course ordinary areas that are newer and not highlighted @travel sites.

For some tourists who live in the centuries old  cities in Europe where their very old architecture is preserved, our North American cities must seem ho-hum or a breath of fresh air..because newer. And we all know, foreign tourists love our huge wilderness spaces...ie. less people, large animals still roaming around...well, in certain parks.

When I was in Copenhagen there was a local festival with museum art gallery that was themed Louisiana.  I couldn't see  the artwork had anything to do with the original Louisiana.... But then,  you can visit a suburban neighbourhood in our prairie city here ...called Tuscany.  Zero relevance. Just developer marketing to sell homes.

I've toured Europe, the Holy Land, China, and Egypt, including an Aegean Odyssey Cruise and Nile and Yangtze River Cruises where each day you wake up to new marvels, and those places have the advantage of thousands of years of history. If I have my choice, I like visiting them over non-wilderness sites in the USA.  I spent five days in Paris with a Paris-savvy companion and didn't see half the things I wish I had.

But we do have a lot of cities with lots to see.  Washington, D.C. has the Mall, with the Smithsonian Institution's many buildings the Washington Monument, and the nearby Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and the Congress Building.  Nearby are a lot of other great places from Madame Tussaud's Wax Figures to the National Gallery. About a mile away is the amazing National Zoo.  I costs about $20 to park in a garage all day about a 10 minute walk from the Mall and about the same right on the grounds of the National Zoo and there are NO entry fees, though you do pay for the IMAX 3D-theatre, the Virtual Reality Space Shuttle Ride, and some similar stuff at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.  Food and drink is reasonably priced.

New York City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and several others have things to keep you busy for days.

 

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16 minutes ago, BuffJim said:

North America has many non boring cities. NY, Washington, Boston, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, Quebec City, Memphis. Great musical innovations, Jazz, Rock n Roll, and Hip Hop are all American. Professional Sports  scene in America is amazing. And we have the best cycling forum in the world. And that’s not even mentioning the natural features. 

 

16 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

I've toured Europe, the Holy Land, China, and Egypt, including an Aegean Odyssey Cruise and Nile and Yangtze River Cruises where each day you wake up to new marvels, and those places have the advantage of thousands of years of history. If I have my choice, I like visiting them over non-wilderness sites in the USA.  I spent five days in Paris with a Paris-savvy companion and didn't see half the things I wish I had.

But we do have a lot of cities with lots to see.  Washington, D.C. has the Mall, with the Smithsonian Institution's many buildings the Washington Monument, and the nearby Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and the Congress Building.  Nearby are a lot of other great places from Madame Tussaud's Wax Figures to the National Gallery. About a mile away is the amazing National Zoo.  I costs about $20 to park in a garage all day about a 10 minute walk from the Mall and about the same right on the grounds of the National Zoo and there are NO entry fees, though you do pay for the IMAX 3D-theatre, the Virtual Reality Space Shuttle Ride, and some similar stuff at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.  Food and drink is reasonably priced.

New York City, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and several others have things to keep you busy for days.

 

It wasn't until I got into cycling and was with dearie, that I saw more Nature and raw wilderness. Which means it wasn't until I was in my early '30's.  I need someone to go hiking with..and he naturally wanted to do it too. 

Cycling is a great way to build confidence in a person to explore eventually on their own.  I can't say jogging is the way to encourage a woman.... I actually think one can see waaay more safely of nature /in more isolated areas on bike.

I haven't been to NYC yet. I've been to Boston & Cape Cod & Nantucket twice, Washington DC, San Francisco (twice), Montreal and Quebec City (at least  4 times), Seattle (10x)   --enjoyed all of it --alot too.  I'm really an urban and Nature fan. My blog reflects all of it too.

  Sometimes whiners of urban tourism really....aren't used to busy subway/train stations (or that stuff makes them feel lost/threatened. You're not in foreign country, for Pete's sake!), think all those cities are skyscrapers without knowing interesting neighbourhoods / history/different diverse cuisine / things to see.  Maybe they're not really true travellers.  Better to be at an enclosed resort.

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