Took a Trip Through the Appalachians This Weekend

[_Some Schmo]

Go in fall when you get a chance. It's gorgeous.

I bet it is.

Pretty much the entire trip, I was just soaking in the nature. It's gorgeous through there in summer with all the trees on the mountains, so I can image the colors in the fall.

One thing I've never seen before: cows grazing on steep mountain hills. It was surreal.

[_Gunnar]

Go in fall when you get a chance. It's gorgeous.

I bet it is.

Pretty much the entire trip, I was just soaking in the nature. It's gorgeous through there in summer with all the trees on the mountains, so I can image the colors in the fall.

Jersey Girl is right! Upon driving to my next duty assignment after a tour of duty with the Air Force in Spain, I went through Appalachia in the fall, and the colors were awe inspiring! According to what I have read on the subject the spectacular colors are due to a combination of relatively nutrient poor soil, a relatively dry fall season so that the brightest colors (which tend to be more water soluble) are not so readily washed out by rainfall, and a high proportion of tree species with a high sugar content.

In one article I read, some Europeans who were jealous of America's Appalachian fall spectaculars imported the same American tree species most noted for their fall colors and planted them in European forests so they could enjoy the same. Unfortunately, European falls tend to be quite rainy, and all the most spectacular colors got washed out, leaving them with nothing but dingy brown or gray colors.

One thing I've never seen before: cows grazing on steep mountain hills. It was surreal.

Then I guess you haven't done much driving through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Talk about steep Mountain hills! I'm sure Jersey Girl has seen cows grazing on rather steep mountain hills in the Rockies as well.

[_Jersey Girl]

Yes, there are cows around here. Mostly I see Mule deer (they're outside eating my flowers as I type this no doubt), Pronghorn Antelope all over the place, and not so far away are Big Horn sheep. The occasional Elk and Moose but there's only a few in the actual neighborhood. It depends on where you go and the elevation (life zone/habitat). The ecosystem is basically Montane but of course the higher you go, it changes and so does the habitat and wildlife you'll see.

Schmo should try to get back there in fall or better yet up in New England. The colors are beyond breathtaking!

Two years ago I had occasion to travel back east in September just as the trees were changing. Omg, I hadn't seen that since I got married. I actually got tears in my eyes at the sight of it.

Go if you can, Schmo!

[_Jersey Girl]

Appalachian fall. Here's the Great Smokey Mountains.




I die!!

[_Gunnar]

Beautiful, but just seeing a photograph just doesn't quite match the awesomeness of actually being there in person, surrounded by the spectacle!

[_The CCC]

Uh. Has the Appalachia ever been prosperous?

- Doc

Yes. A High School grad could walk out of school in the morning and a few hours later he could be making $50K/year. working in the mines.

[_subgenius]

Uh. Has the Appalachia ever been prosperous?

- Doc

Ouch, that was uncalled for - and a bit prejudicial

[_subgenius]

I read an article recently about this little town in south east Kentucky that has become highly depressed with the disappearance of coal jobs, and how the majority of the roughly 2600 residents were largely on Medicaid. They had interviewed a few of the residents in this town that mostly went for Drumpf about the House and Senate bills, and they were bewildered to find out that not only was one of their senators trying to cut their health insurance, but that Drumpf wanted it as well. For some reason, I was fascinated by this little town, and since we were on a road trip and would be close by, I wanted to stop and see it.

It's the weirdest contrast to see this poor, dilapidated little town set in the most beautiful scenery this country has to offer. We passed by this huge coal site which looked new and modern, but the majority of the surrounding homes (mostly trailers and rundown shacks, with the occasional beautiful house up on a mountainside) looked like they hadn't been maintained in years. Even American flags (not to mention Confederate flags) hanging from electricity poles looked dingy and old.

I have to say, this had a profound effect on me. All I could think about was these poor people wondering what the hell had happened to their country. I guess I understand how the slogan Make America Great Again would appeal to folks like these. Love him or hate him, Michael Moore was right about rural America.

It's quite clear to me that these people don't really know what Drumpf is all about (which is why I blame ignorance for Drumpf more than any other factor). I could entirely imagine them hearing that he wasn't a typical politician, that he would go to Washington and "shake things up." If this was the life that the regular career politicians had given them, then sending in a flamethrower might be their best option. The place was economic pain writ large. What makes it especially sad is that they voted for their own decline and don't even know it.

I think they may tell themselves that they voted for Drumpf with the idea that he'd make their lives better, but it seems to me what they really wanted was for everyone else to feel their pain.

And let me tell you, it's working, at the expense of this once prosperous country for lower and middle income families.

So, for brevity's sake, you
went to a small town that was "highly depressed" due to Obama's policies against coal
and was a town subsequently hooked on a healthcare plan provided by Obama
and your goal was to find some anecdotal evidence to support your butt-hurt parade over Trump being elected as your President.
Got It!

and by the way, you opened with mention of an article you read and - "They had interviewed a few..."
got a citation for this article?

and you are oh-so-amazingly correct about one point in your OP - ignorance is a huge factor about Trump, but its primarily exhibited in your blathering opposition to his presidency.

next time you are down this way (a.k.a. you "slumming" among the hillbillies that you look down your nose at), let me know I am a stone's throw from southeast Kentucky and i have plenty more rocks

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Uh. Has the Appalachia ever been prosperous?

- Doc

Ouch, that was uncalled for - and a bit prejudicial

Well, I did walk 736 miles and canoed another 150 through the Appalachia region and it's not exactly booming. I also hiked in Appalachian NC (near Boone and Asheville) quite a bit when I was stationed at Ft. Bragg. So I'm just going off my exposure to the half-dead small towns and endless trailers I would see. So it's not so much prejudicial but rather experiential.

In fact, my wife and I almost moved to the area because we fell in love with it. I really liked the people and culture there. Alas, I'm in Utah...

eta: I also went to WV a few times to run the Gulley. https://www.raftinginfo.com/adventures/ ... ley-river/

- Doc

[_Some Schmo]

One thing I've never seen before: cows grazing on steep mountain hills. It was surreal.

Then I guess you haven't done much driving through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Talk about steep Mountain hills! I'm sure Jersey Girl has seen cows grazing on rather steep mountain hills in the Rockies as well.

I've driven once through the Sierra Nevada Mountains but it was at night.

I guess I'm just used to seeing cows grazing on flat pastures. When I saw them, I was stunned, and afterward, I tried to envision how they maintained balance given that they'd have to shift their big fat bodies to stay level. I still can't imagine it. I was driving, so I didn't get to take a closer look.