Is there anywhere else on earth like the Southwest?

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

The SW is awesome, but there is literally no end to awesome places on earth.

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Yes there is an end. The world is round. Space is finite.

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The most stunning sunset I ever saw was over the Shenandoah Valley.

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Were you on Skyline Drive when you sawr it?

I'm guessing your post will just make matters worse, and contribute to thread drift. It's a fairly specific question, as specific as the geography of the four corners region. Your response is essentially, "no, but you're axing the wrong question."

Actually, the hills above New Market.

One might consider the possibility that "making matters better" was never really one of the goals.

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Originally Posted by marving

Serious question.. I know there's a few other places with hoodoos like Bryce Canyon.. but the Grand Canyon, canyonlands, all the endless cliffs, canyons and slots, etc.. Where you can just walk drive or bike for days on end surrounded by dramatic scenery.. Does this kind of terrain exist anywhere else?

And as a sidenote, is biking the white rim road a good time or are there better trips to do in the area?

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

You guys don't read very well, do you? Then again, the OP doesn't write very well.

OP asked if ther was anywher else on earth "Where you can just walk drive or bike for days on end surrounded by dramatic scenery.. Does this kind of terrain exist anywhere else? " And my smug, douchebag answer, was, "yeah, several come to mind right off the bat where there is dramatic swcenrey for days on end" which is what I thougth you asked, since that's what the words you used meant. My less smug answer was, yeah, the SW is pretty dam cool, but it is a small part of a an entire freaking world full of really cool places. So, there are plenty of places to go for days at a time with dramatic scenery.

But that wasn't the confirmation bias -laden answer that you wanted, was it?

The SW is awesome, but there is literally no end to awesome places on earth. There are more abandoned dirt roads in the Boise National Forest than you coudl mountain bike in a lifetime. There are spots I can think of in central Pennsylvania, N. Carolina, and W. Virginia where it is likely no human has set foot in 100 years. The most stunning sunset I ever saw was over the Shenandoah Valley, the most stunning sunrise over the Puget Sound. And the most awe-inspiring man-made spectacle was the Rhine Valley and the effects of 1000s of years of culitivation.

Canyon Country is awesome, but while the land and its geography itself is unique, its awesomeness can be found in almost any landscape, because the awesomeness comes from the viewer and the viewing, not from the scenery.

Sorry if that's not the info you were hoping for. I took your post and did with it what I wanted, becuase I don't owe you crap.

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I think we read just fine. You...well?

So you focused on one clause, while I focused on another. Yeah, that's proof of something, I am sure.

To answer the question that it now appears the OP was actually asking, "No, I am not aware of any other landscape precisely like canyon country in the SW U.S."

I guess if I had posted thatin the second post, the thread would now be done as the only thing that could be said, would have been said.

Buy, by doing this my way, we've instead looked at pictures of Cappadocia, discussed a series of mountain ranges, Danno got to call someone a smug douchebag, and BMills got to cozy up like a sycophantic lapdog. I think there can be no doubt that I have improved the quality of everyone's day.

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Originally Posted by BmillsSkier

Danno beat me to it; it was bizzarre reading that smug non sequitur after the original post. It's like Pio can't stop himself even when he has no clue what the topic is.

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Beat me, too although Danno did a way better job than I would have.

That Pio post, though, was so perfect that it read like a caricature of Jamespio with all the smugness exaggerated...

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

So you focused on one clause, while I focused on another. Yeah, that's proof of something, I am sure.

To answer the question that it now appears the OP was actually asking, "No, I am not aware of any other landscape precisely like canyon country in the SW U.S."

I guess if I had posted thatin the second post, the thread would now be done as the only thing that could be said, would have been said.

Buy, by doing this my way, we've instead looked at pictures of Cappadocia, discussed a series of mountain ranges, Danno got to call someone a smug douchebag, and BMills got to cozy up like a sycophantic lapdog. I think there can be no doubt that I have improved the quality of everyone's day.

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You are an idiot. OP said SW is rad, is there anywhere else like it?

You said, sure it's ok, but these smug international places I haven't been are way radder. Americans are so pedestrian thinking places like moab are rad.

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

Yeah, that's proof of something, I am sure.

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Yes. It's proof your smugness cannot be contained and must be let out before taking in all the variables. Or you could have just figured out what the OP was asking by reading the thread title that you clicked on to get here.

You're finally onto something, mtngirl.

Imagine a Venn diagram, three circles, one containing all the smug douchebags, the next containing all TGR Users, the third containing folks who think I'm a smug douchebag. The very cetner, where they all intercept is the Padded Room. It's a beautiful place.

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Originally Posted by mtngirl79

You are an idiot. OP said SW is rad, is there anywhere else like it?

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No, that's actually not what he wrote. That may be what you read. I read something slightly different. Neither of them was precisely what he thought he was writing.

Perhaps the inherent ambiguity of communication is off-putting to you. Regardless, have some fun with it. My idiocy is really not a thing you should let bother you.

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Originally Posted by marving

I know there's a few other places with hoodoos like Bryce Canyon.. but the Grand Canyon, canyonlands, all the endless cliffs, canyons and slots, etc.. Where you can just walk drive or bike for days on end surrounded by dramatic scenery..

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

You guys don't read very well, do you? Then again, the OP doesn't write very well.

OP asked if ther was anywher else on earth "Where you can just walk drive or bike for days on end surrounded by dramatic scenery.. Does this kind of terrain exist anywhere else? "

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Does this really need to be spelled out for you?

He asked if anywhere else was like the Southwest and qualified that by mentioning some vague attributes. You jumped on these vague attributes, completely dismissing the call of the question, so that you could demonstrate your knowledge of regions, some of which you admittedly have never experienced, while also adding a condescending juxtaposition for good measure.

Save the semantic splicing for clients who rely on poor reading comprehension to make a point that doesn't exist, and Judges who get paid to listen to ridiculous interpretations. It doesnt take a stalker to start to see a pattern of back-patting horseshit.

I'm not bothered by you I am sick and bored and kind of pissed off about it.

http://www.famousplacefinder.com/wp-...key-Hotels.jpg[/QUOTE]

Looks like I remember from a Warren Miller flick years ago, when the Egan brothers "shredded" those hills.

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

No, that's actually not what he wrote. That may be what you read. I read something slightly different. Neither of them was precisely what he thought he was writing.

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Again, read the fucking thread title that you clicked on to get here.

To marving, I am an astoundingly bad photographer. Don't ask me why, I just am. But in this photo I tried to capture one of those southern utah views where the canyons seem to go on forever. I couldn't pierce the atmospheric haze because I have no idea how to do so.
https://www.tetongravity.com/images/....06__forum.jpg


Also tried to put a human in there for scale, that was a miserable failure as well. But the scope of the view although particularly vast, does nto strike me as uniquely vast. It reminds me of many mountain ranges. Sitting atop the Lost River Range in Idaho, for instance, I've experience the same feeling of immensity and grandeur. Sadly, my forays into the Cascade range have always seen limited visibility, but I suspect you get a similar feeling if you happen to find the right viewpoint of a series of volcanic peaks on a clear day.

The same feeling, one of being an incredibly tiny part, barely even a mote in a vast system to which an entire human life is a fleeting moment, is one I've also experienced in the redwood forests. That's why I say it's as much a matter of perspective, and of the viewer, as it is of the view.

That's just my perspective, though, and at least four people have already concluded on the basis of some internet posts that I'm a smug douchebag, so take it for what it's worth.

The tribalism in this thread is fucking hilarious.

Will there be a circle jerk later?

Really, folks, do my posts actually cause you dismay in some fashion? If they do, I'll quit making them. But I really think you take yourselves way too seriously if my bullshit has this effect.

Pio, sometimes, or all the time as the case may be, it is not what you say but how you say it. This has been the sticking point with all the contentious characters over the years.

You're young, smart and come off like a tremendous douche. That said, I hate the pig pile mentality so fuck all y'all, I'm taking Pio's side. Plus, his name is James an that's a cool name.

Copper Canyon Mexico is supposed to be pretty intense. So I'll say Mexico.

on another note, "is Alagna, Italy, paradise?"

Foggy, you're the first person to call me "young" in a long time. I ain't old, but I ain't young, either, so thanks. Except what you probably meant was more like "you come across as an asshole punk who doesn't know shit." But since that isn't what you wrote, I'll take it however I want to, that's what smug douchebags do.

As to my tone, it's entirely the result of how disappointed I am in all of you. You've really got to do better, people!










(Anyone who posts something indicating that they don't get that this whole post was meant in jest, is going to get punched in the throat.)

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

To marving, I am an astoundingly bad photographer. Don't ask me why, I just am. But in this photo I tried to capture one of those southern utah views where the canyons seem to go on forever. I couldn't pierce the atmospheric haze because I have no idea how to do so.
https://www.tetongravity.com/images/....06__forum.jpg


Also tried to put a human in there for scale, that was a miserable failure as well. But the scope of the view although particularly vast, does nto strike me as uniquely vast. It reminds me of many mountain ranges. Sitting atop the Lost River Range in Idaho, for instance, I've experience the same feeling of immensity and grandeur. Sadly, my forays into the Cascade range have always seen limited visibility, but I suspect you get a similar feeling if you happen to find the right viewpoint of a series of volcanic peaks on a clear day.

The same feeling, one of being an incredibly tiny part, barely even a mote in a vast system to which an entire human life is a fleeting moment, is one I've also experienced in the redwood forests. That's why I say it's as much a matter of perspective, and of the viewer, as it is of the view.

That's just my perspective, though, and at least four people have already concluded on the basis of some internet posts that I'm a smug douchebag, so take it for what it's worth.

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That looks like grand vista viewpoint in canyonlands, precisely the kind of terrain that doesn't seem to exist anywhere else. Sorry to say you misunderstood my post. You can find big jagged mountains and flowing glaciers all over the world. You can find pristine white beaches and turquoise waters all over the world. You can find rainforest and jungles all over the world, you can find beautiful rugged coastline all over the world, etc. But there seems to be nowhere else on earth that is similar in nature to the American southwest. Or is there? That is what I'm asking.

We know your tricks pio. Don't think you're off the hook yet. This isn't about a pig pile, it's about RESPECT.

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

https://www.tetongravity.com/images/....06__forum.jpg

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Don't you just want to push him off the cliff?

Then all one can say is that of course there is no other place just like the american SW. And maybe not even a place that is highly similar, at least not on such a scale.

But that's just a rehash of "Seen one Grand Canyon, you've seen them all."

But there are certainly desert gorges, and there are vast views, and the impact that such places have on your soul, which is, after all, all that really matters (since the landscape certainly doesn't care about us), is not unique at all, IMO. Indeed, what I think matters is constantly finding new views, or, at the very least, new ways to see the same views. If you lived in Moab for 20 years, you might or might not grow bored, but you would definitely grow accustomed to the scenery, and its impact on you would be mostly lost. Unless you could find new ways to keep seeing it.

But all that is just what's buzzing in my head lately, and might have nothing at all to do with the question you asked. Instead, it's probably the result of a recent road trip, where I chose NOT to go to southern Utah like I often do this time of year, and instead went to a landscape that has typically not held the same appeal for me, but on this occasion did. It made me realize, as I've said now too many times, that it's the viewer not the view. Which is just a rehash of the old "wherever you go, there you are."

But, you've travelled a great deal, so it's unlikely I'm telling you anything.

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Originally Posted by mtngirl79

Don't you just want to push him off the cliff?

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Hey, dickweed, that's a teenage kid you're talking about, it is not me.

^^^I dont' think that's him. Pio, the only reason I said "young" was because most people with your kinda of smug change there tone temper it a bit as they put on some miles. I'm probably making the same mistake I usually do on the internet, however, that is assuming people on the internet are a reasonable facsimile of their true selves.

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Originally Posted by Bromontana

We know your tricks pio. Don't think you're off the hook yet. This isn't about a pig pile, it's about RESPECT.

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http://buzzlie.com/wp-content/upload...a-franklin.jpg

Now I know what I'm going to listen to when I get home this evening. (Not "Respect," but some Aretha for sure).