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The Rockies are very arid and do not have as pretty, tree lined recreational lakes as do Upstate NY, Vermont, NH, etc... There is much more water in the apps. And the tree diversity is better in the apps. Yes there are nice alpine lakes you can hike into in the Rockies, but they are not the same as the accessible public lakes for canoeing in the Apps in Vermont and Upstate NY.But the Rockies have an incredible grandeur..
There are tons of easily accesible lakes in the rockies that are way bigger then anything in the applachians, only difference is that the rockies are much more vast then the appalachians and you have to know where to go to find them. Unlike the appalchians most of the lakes in rockies are not developed.
I suppose if you want to drive your RV up to a lake and just camp its alot harder, because there is less development.
Couerdalene Idaho trumps pretty much any lake in the applachians.
I will start up front by saying I have never been to the Rockies. It seems I very well may get the chance if we follow my husband's job to Denver as his company would like. I look forward to exploring the Rockies. I love mountains, all shapes and sizes. So, I can't really compare them...yet.
I will, however, tell you what I will miss about the Appalachians. They are so green and lush, carpeted with a vast, varying forest of trees. Beneath their sheltering canopy are so many types of plant life it is dizzying. The colors- shades of greens, blues, purples, reds, whites...the flowering bushes and plants here are abundant. I love the mountain streams and rivers, the waterfalls. This is a place that closes in around you, shelters you. I will miss the way the mist clings to the peeks, softening their already gentle slopes. But mostly I love the ancient feel of the place. There are places that are as untouched as if man has never tread there, timeless in their natural state of beauty. And yet here you never truly feel completely alone, there is always a sense of those who came before you surrounding you, still looking out for what was once theirs. It is a haunted place, though I've never seen any ghost nor felt their presence, it's just a feeling of history, deep, long history that permeates the place as certainly as the smell of the wildflowers in the spring or of the decaying leaves of fall.
Find a quiet piece of a waterside trail, close your eyes, listen to the sound of the birds sing, the squirrels chatter, listen to the water gurgle, the leaves applaud in the wind overhead, maybe if you're lucky it's even gently raining and tapping in a steady tattoo against the shelter of the canopy above to drip slow and steady to the ground below. Forget for a moment that the outside world exists, it could be any decade, any century, for a moment you are experiencing the world just as those first settlers did. Civilization is far away with its bustle and you have connected with nature and history.
This is a region with a unique culture, history, and story. It gave the world a new type of musical instrument, (mountain dulcimer) a new type of music even. It birthed what would come to be country music on the front porch of cabins clinging stubbornly to mountainsides and was brought down to Bristol, Tennessee by the Carter family and others likes them. It for a long time held an unsolved mystery about the origins of some of the inhabitants of it's earliest settlers. Just who were the mulungeons and where exactly did they come from?-mystery now solved - It's people are resourceful, stubborn, and above all, independent and proud. When times got lean they made their money creatively under the light of the moon and souped up cars to outrun revenuers and in the process gave the world a new sport- NASCAR- not my thing exactly but it seems to have its followers
No, I suppose they aren't as big and intimidating as I imagine the Rockies are going to be when I finally stand at their feet, I look forward to being in awe of their height and massive faces. I look forward to learning about the tough, determined people who first challenged themselves to make a living in a new land. I look forward to seeing how they do differ but I suspect I will love them equally if differently.
So that is what I love and will miss about the Appalachians, so feel free to tell me: What will I love about the Rockies?
Far out! Rocky Mountains pretty much wallow in lameness, man and Appalacians are way better. Life is old there, older than the trees. Although, younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze. Far out!
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XXclimberX
There are tons of easily accesible lakes in the rockies that are way bigger then anything in the applachians, only difference is that the rockies are much more vast then the appalachians and you have to know where to go to find them. Unlike the appalchians most of the lakes in rockies are not developed.
I suppose if you want to drive your RV up to a lake and just camp its alot harder, because there is less development.
Couerdalene Idaho trumps pretty much any lake in the applachians.
I present to you, lake Champlain.
Nestled in a wide valley between the northern Appalachians and the Adirondacks.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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^ One of those pics sure doesn't look like Vermont (or the Rockies) to me.
Though I'd agree, Lake Champlain is pretty impressive, I like to ride the ferries across the lake between VT and NY, and there are some nice islands on the lake in Vermont. There are beautiful sunsets from the Burlington waterfront with the purple shaded Adirondacks Mountains in view.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 12-12-2013 at 10:00 AM..
^ One of those pics sure doesn't look like Vermont (or the Rockies) to me.
Though I'd agree, Lake Champlain is pretty impressive, I like to ride the ferries across the lake between VT and NY, and there are some nice islands on the lake in Vermont. There beautiful sunsets from the Burlington waterfront with the purple shaded Adirondacks Mountains in view.
LOL, that is Kachemak Bay in Homer Alaska, the itty bitty ship at the dock is USS Lake Champlain (CG-57)
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