Random aside...
All of my life has been lived on the West coast of the US, from Washington to California. Seeing huge mountains like Hood or Rainier, and giant fir or redwood trees, has been a regular, if not daily, part of my experience.
As part of this Crazy Birding Experience, I've visited places like Minnesota, Michigan, and North Carolina for the first time, and just started to really understand how physically different those places are from the West.
Recently, I found this very cool collection of pictures taken in the 1860's, that were apparently critical to convincing President Lincoln and Congress to create Yosemite National Park: link
I have a much better appreciation now for how amazing those pictures must have been. Not only was photography a relatively new technology, but the dramatic scenery of Yosemite Valley must have been completely mind-blowing to people who had spent all their lives in relative flatness.
As much as the commercial infrastructure of this country is depressingly consistent, at least the scenery and living experience remains highly diverse.
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