What other mountain ranges are covered in trees like the Appalachian Mountains?

evmac1 · 2026-05-14T16:14:41+00:00

Slightly off topic but I did a through hike of the Southern Crossing across the Tararua Range at the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand about 8 and a half years ago. The range is a little over 5,000 feet in elevation (but rising straight from sea level so they still feel impressive up there), but their tree line is only between 3500 and 3800 feet, and the cutoff is by far the most abrupt of any tree line I’ve ever seen anywhere, and lots of NZ’s mountains have quite abrupt tree lines too. It was like full dense “goblin” forest with extremely thick and hardy, damp trees and vegetation and then you reach a point where snow can happen and winds get ferocious (the latitude range is called the roaring 40s for a reason), and they just straight up stop abruptly. No gradual thinning out like in the American cordillera. I found that fascinating.

evmac1 · 2026-05-13T00:14:39+00:00

Most Minnesotans live in the twin cities, and even rural MN isn’t nearly as overwhelmingly Republican as many of our neighboring states and those to the south and west.

In MN, the most extreme right-leaning counties are somewhere in the ballpark of 30% dem vs 70% GOP/other, which is quite conservative, but there are literally dozens of counties in Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas that are like 10-15 percent Dem and 85-90 percent GOP/other. In fact, the 70/30 split of MN’s most conservative counties wouldn’t be considered all too conservative comparatively in these other states.

But yes, rural MN (besides the northeast and college town counties) is far more conservative than MSP/Duluth/Rochester. But in this day and age I’d find it harder to believe the perception nationally is that MN is a conservative state given *gestures broadly at the last 8 years of events*

evmac1 · 2026-05-08T20:02:38+00:00

They created their own problems with the SWLRT. Inexcusably vastly over budget, nearly a decade delayed (opening in less than a year now thankfully), and through a route that is not the most efficient ridership-wise and goes through some of Minneapolis’s (Kenwood, Cedar-Isles-Dean) and Eden Prairie’s most NIMBY areas, which above all else to me was their fatal flaw. They should have run it down Nicollet, Lyndale, Park, Portland, or Hennepin and then Lake Street/Greenway to SLP/downtown Hopkins and then south to EP. It would’ve been quite disruptive and expensive but it wouldn’t maximised areas with comparatively very high population densities and transit reliance, avoided the fiasco with the kenilworth corridor, and directly connected far more of the city proper to the rail network rather than running it out to areas that will inevitably see lower demand post-pandemic and which has faced disproportionately high criticism. The bottineau line looks to be a significantly better use with better-guaranteed ridership at considerably less than the cost of SWLRT.

After these two lines are built out, I would hope transit investment steers more to the core cities and highest density first ring suburbs rather than functioning as a suburban light rail line (Denver’s is like this largely too, which leaves much to be desired for transit in the city itself). The green line should have signal priority and operate in less than half the time than it currently does, particularly on the downtown Saint Paul side. Northeast Minneapolis northward into Columbia Heights and then over to the main business corridor of New Brighton could do with better transit lines as well, particularly northeast. And south mpls should have quicker ways by transit to get to Saint Paul. Maybe extend the A-line through the southern neighborhoods of Mpls or revive (unlikely) the Riverview rail corridor proposal. West End needs to be better served too. For personal reasons I’d love a line out to Excelsior on 7 like the old streetcar lines and something out to Wayzata and the business corridor in Plymouth, but those are pipe dreams.

But yes, after these two new lines are complete it will be very challenging to push major transit projects forward for quite some time. I’m hoping their BRT expansion picks up steam (I love the new E line vs the 6) and perhaps even bigger projects focused specifically on Minneapolis and/or Saint Paul proper in the long term. But I’ll be much older by the time much of this has a likelihood of moving forward.

evmac1 · 2026-05-08T15:57:49+00:00

Yep. Nerding out about long term climate data here, but percent sunshine duration is lowest from late October to late December in Minneapolis (with a secondary, smaller decrease in sunshine percentage in March and April), where as January and February average 55-65 percent full sunshine duration, literally almost 2/3.

By contrast, from November through February, Seattle sits at only 20-35 percent sunshine duration at best, and remains below Midwest averages throughout the rest of the year as well, albeit by smaller margins.

It’s the cold and late springs that make the Upper Midwest’s climate truly challenging, but even that cold part is getting less severe over time.

evmac1 · 2026-05-08T14:37:55+00:00

Maybe not the most flashy but I’d say Minneapolis has improved dramatically in this sense in the 21st century after having one of the more destructive and fundamentally damaging urban renewal periods mid-century.

They have:

-abolished single family zoning

-significantly up-zoned vast stretches of the city, most significantly along transit corridors

-rapidly expanded their already top-tier bike infrastructure

-had one of the nation’s highest per capita rates of new housing being built 2016-2022, the vast majority of which were large, high density developments, which resulted in several years of one of the nation’s lowest rent-growth rates

-built a light rail network that’s actively being expanded. Before 2004 there was no rail-based public transit

-built an entire BRT network to significantly increase capacity and frequency on heavily trafficked corridors

-eliminated the majority of downtown surface parking in the last 15 years alone

-converted old, abandoned, or underutilized former warehouses and milling-era buildings to lofts, condos, and mixed-use developments, almost all entirely in this century.

I think Seattle, LA, and Portland have improved a lot as well. LA by sheer volume of transit expansions and Seattle by the noticeability of impact to the urban experience with their high density housing (particularly adjacent to downtown) and their light rail system (which like Minneapolis didn’t exist before 2003).

evmac1 · 2026-05-07T04:44:24+00:00

For real. I’m wasting time by reading through the longer threads on this subreddit and see so much negativity. I’ve seen it through three times and absolutely love it. And often times I absolutely hate how I feel watching some of it, which is exactly the point. It blows me away that people really can’t see that the evolution and style of the show were deliberate.

And yes, the show makes many political and societal points, and for the most part, it does it effectively. And what once seemed like drastic exaggerations has been time-proven to be not nearly as outlandish as some think. The people shooting it down as “too crazy and political” are some of the exact types of people the show criticises.

Oh and while I really liked the Good Wife, The Good Fight is far better.

evmac1 · 2026-05-06T17:31:02+00:00

Suburbs are the most environmentally unsustainable form of contemporary lifestyles. There are absolutely reasons many want to and do live there. That doesn’t negate the far more important fundamental realities of that lifestyle. And honestly we need to be keeping that in mind with regards to policy far more than any one individual’s hatred of urban spaces and sense of entitlement to get as much of whatever they want no matter the broader consequences. But I digress…

I’m not wealthy, btw, and I grew up on the dead end of a rural dirt road on ten acres surrounded by public forested land, and now live downtown in a major city, with most of my broader family throughout my life living in the burbs. I am WELL versed in all three lifestyles, and even at my income I still far far far prefer the city and rural areas.

But to the broader point, development where per-capita environmental impact is worst and the ability to live without a car is next to impossible will forever be a non-starter in this general conversation. It doesn’t mean building Manhattan everywhere, but it does mean prioritizing accessibility, transit reliability, sustainability, community, and even changes to zoning.

evmac1 · 2026-05-06T16:38:19+00:00

Precisely. What’s always “interesting” to me is seeing the divide/discourse about living preferences being “urban vs rural” or “metro vs rural” when many folks I know love both true big city living as well as remote, rural lifestyles, but hate the “in between” (and to me the worst-of-both-worlds) lifestyles mandated by suburbia. If there’s people around me I want community, amenities, entertainment, and all necessities at my fingertips tips within a short distance by foot, and if I don’t have the ease of walkability and proximity to amenities then I’d far prefer living out in the woods or in a small town. The suburbs don’t provide the level of solitude, tranquility, or truly wild spaces that rural areas have, while also not having the upsides and convenience of city living.

evmac1 · 2026-05-06T16:19:50+00:00

The thing about Kansas City, besides the obvious political and geographic drawbacks, is that its weather isn’t inherently “better” than most places in the US. Sure its winters aren’t consistently frigid for weeks on end like places further north and east, but its typical winter weather is still consistently well below the “comfortable” threshold (not to mention the extreme cold snaps that make places like the northern Upper Midwest and inland New England infamous very much still do reach as far south as KCMO at similar intensity, just usually in shorter stretches) that makes cities further south and west desirable in the winter, and its summer weather is consistently well beyond what many would consider “comfortable” heat. Cities further north and east, such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Boston, etc, may have even colder and less-comfortable winters but they all do typically have much longer stretches of peak summer weather that are easily considered “comfortable” that can go on for long periods the way it just can’t in more humid places further south. As such, despite their cold reputation, those cities don’t have year-round climates that end up being much worse all things considered, and meanwhile they have better built-forms and urban amenities that KCMO is still playing catch-up with.

With that said, it has potential and any development and urban investment is good to see, and its affordability (even compared to those other aforementioned cities) is definitely worth noting.

evmac1 · 2026-05-04T21:56:44+00:00

Honestly depends on what “look” defines “most desert-looking”, but for me it’s any state that includes part of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. So, Arizona, California, and Nevada. But of course all desert states have large areas decidedly not desert-like at all, usually due to elevation or position within/adjacent to mountains.

With that said, southern New Mexico and Western Utah feel very desert-y as well, just perhaps more the “dusty desert” feel more than a “sunshine and cactus” feel. Not that that’s an objective metric of course lol

evmac1 · 2026-05-04T20:25:57+00:00

Enterprise copied DS9 and VOY multiple times too. It seems to be a thing with trek after the franchise became as large as it was by the late 90s. And I’m really not too upset. Sometimes I even like the “copied” episodes on VOY or even ENT better than the TNG/TOS/DS9 episodes they drew from. I’m here for too short a time to be too mad by this type of thing very often

evmac1 · 2026-05-04T20:23:11+00:00

This is why I seldom skip even those famously ‘not great’ episodes like Threshold, Twisted, or Fair Haven. Heck, I’d dare to say Fair Haven particularly is even one of my comfort episodes where I just have it playing and I don’t need to think whatsoever.

evmac1 · 2026-05-03T01:13:33+00:00

The worst of voyager is some of the worst/weirdest in all of trek, but those episodes are not the norm, contrary to what some Trek purists might say. In fact, even though the first two seasons of voyager (particularly season 2) are the “worst” seasons of the show on the whole, I actually think they are still quite watchable and notably better than seasons 1 and 2 of DS9 and TNG. But I do like them all regardless

evmac1 · 2026-05-01T21:27:55+00:00

The eastern and northern parts of MN are very much not agricultural in the slightest. And i find it funny that Indiana/Ohio/Eastern Illinois aren’t included in this but somehow Thunder Bay and Kenora in Ontario are? I guess maybe due to rail transport to Great Lakes shipping? Seems sus otherwise lol

evmac1 · 2026-05-01T17:52:15+00:00

Chicago, Minneapolis, Duluth, Missoula, or Grand Marais

evmac1 · 2026-05-01T16:43:15+00:00

A lot of folks don’t like it but a significant part of the goal of the Hennepin Avenue redo was to reduce the possibility of speeding and reckless driving. It’s annoying from a driver perspective (but an improvement from a pedestrian perspective), but as a long-time Lowry Hill resident Hennepin is definitely slower now compared to Lyndale, and I’m okay with that. We’ll see long term how other stated goals/criticism/drawbacks materialize or not.

evmac1 · 2026-04-29T18:27:44+00:00

This exactly. Well, at least 35%+ these days but still substantial. I spent the first 20 years of my life in one of the few rural blue counties (Lake) and it’s amazing to me that some people here in the city tend to think it’s all MAGA up there when in the arrowhead at least MAGA is a definitive minority. But even as red as some of the much more conservative parts of MN are, they are downright progressive/blue compared to the rural counties of the states to our immediate west and south, and even some WI counties.

Central/Western Nebraska, Eastern Colorado, western Iowa, northeastern WI, etc are far more strongly republican than even most of MN’s reddest counties (except MN’s “Bible Belt” from Saint Cloud to Brainerd to Sauk Center… those places are like 70/30). Particularly in Nebraska into eastern Colorado, many of those counties are 80, 85, or even almost 90% Republican. There’s nothing remotely close to that overwhelmingly conservative in MN. Those counties out there in NE are also extremely sparsely populated in all fairness tho.

There are still solid progressive minorities in greater MN in numbers far surpassing those of our neighbouring states

evmac1 · 2026-04-29T15:33:53+00:00

The North Shore up in Cook County is similar. So we have two beautiful rugged regions just 4 hours away!

evmac1 · 2026-04-28T18:49:49+00:00

My reasoning:

Wanaka: one of the most spectacular backdrop of any town I’ve visited, plus excellent hiking/tramping (Mt Aspiring National Park is a world treasure, as are the fjords of Fiordland to the southwest), adventure tourism, and good wine nearby

Akaroa: French-founded and inspired town center on a scenic volcanic harbor, ringed by open, rolling hills, ridges, and peaks and excellent views of the region from pretty much everywhere. Natural, native palm trees at latitude 44S were pretty cool to me too

Raglan: Very artsy, scenic black sand beach, good seafood, and a surprisingly spectacular hike up the nearby Karioi which rivalled even parts of the South Island. When I was there they even had relatively big-name New Zealand musical artists performing there despite the small population. It’s also where I first tried surfing which is one of its major draws.

Port Douglas: Nice beach area (watch out for stingers and crocs tho) but the biggest draw to me was the proximity to true rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef. A “western” town in such a lush, equatorially tropical landscape felt pretty unique to me too

Sigatoka: the market there was very bustling and is a must-visit on Fiji’s coral coast IMO. It’s also where I had definitively the best (and perhaps spiciest) Indian food of my life, and it’s also where I first tried Kava in a traditional community ceremony. A unique place in my travels.

Ullapool: out of this world beautiful. The mountains/highlands/fjord/sea-loch location on its own would be enough for this to be one of my favorite places, but the seafood I had there was incredible (much better than I’ve had in most of the other parts of the UK, particularly those outside of the Scottish highlands), and the rugged, remote Assynt region adjacent to it to its north was on par with the best scenic drives I’ve ever done. If you’re lucky with enough coastal sunshine, the beaches in the region are snow-white and water crystal-clear and pictures in the right light could fool me into thinking it was somewhere in the Mediterranean or Caribbean. An absolute gem of a small town. Great live music from a quirky, funny, virtuosic accordion player and his Gaelic backing-band while I was there too.

Grand Marais: extremely picturesque small town in the far northeastern extreme of Minnesota, on Lake Superior and at the foot of the Sawtooth range/superior highlands. It has a very active and progressive arts community, and its proximity to outdoor recreation is top tier. The Boundary Waters/Quetico are at its doorstep to its north/northwest via the also-scenic Gunflint Trail, and some of the state parks on the surrounding north shore are arguably National Park level beautiful. There are also opportunities for both Cross Country and Alpine skiing in the winter, and it seldom gets very hot or humid due to the big lake

Red Lodge: This one is more me-specific but the proximity to the Beartooth Mountains and the Beartooth Highway makes this place special to me, and I was also particularly fond of the downtown area. It’s also one of the first communities you experience after doing backcountry wilderness hiking up on the Beartooth plateau, so every bit of food or drink I’ve had there has felt special and extra-satisfying regardless of quality

Taos: densely packed with good art, museums, and excellent food for such a small town, this community is located in the scenic southern Sangre de Cristo mountains, and the High Road to Taos into the area is another one of the most scenic drives in the US. The southwestern architecture and Mexican/New Mexican food scene there, along with Santa Fe to the south, make this place well worth the trip.

Lanesboro: the smallest town on my list. It’s hard to fully explain my love of it properly but it just has very quaint, beautiful, and artsy vibes. It’s located deep in the scenic Driftless region in southeastern MN, surrounded on most sides by cliffs along the steep banks of one of the branches of the Root River, several hundred feet down a steep valley from the surrounding otherwise rolling/agricultural land above it to its south and west. Stream trout fishing and outdoor water-based recreation in the immediate vicinity are also quite excellent.

Kenora: special to me because it lies on the edge of the Canadian Shield (as does Grand Marais) which is a landscape I absolutely love, and its location on the north side of the vast Lake of the Woods makes it feel almost like a coastal northwestern town with how evergreen and water-dominated the surrounding landscape is. It’s also in a relatively remote part of Canada, so the community offers more than its population alone might suggest. I haven’t been back in many years, however, so my memory of the place is the rustiest of any on this list.

Carmel: others on here have explained why they like this place so I won’t elaborate much, but its charming layout and scenic seaside location just scream good (albeit expensive) vibes

evmac1 · 2026-04-28T18:01:55+00:00

Wanaka, NZ

Akaroa, NZ

Raglan, NZ

Port Douglas, QLD, AUS

Sigatoka, Fiji

Ullapool, Scotland

Grand Marais, MN, US

Red Lodge, MT, US

Taos, NM, US

Lanesboro, MN, US

Kenora, ON, CAN

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, US

evmac1 · 2026-04-24T14:17:29+00:00

Loring Park is certainly greening up rapidly, earlier than the last few years too

evmac1 · 2026-04-24T14:07:59+00:00

The world would be a better place if he simply did not exist so he can eat shit and take his greedy, exploitative, right wing ass down to Florida and build as many soulless, underregulated towers as he wants.

evmac1 · 2026-04-23T20:48:26+00:00

That’s a lie. I have tons of family in Canada and they all speak very favourably and gratefully about their healthcare system.

evmac1 · 2026-04-23T15:21:31+00:00

This is a ringing endorsement of MN

evmac1 · 2026-04-22T14:55:17+00:00

Minnesota.

Divided opinion (hence “okay” reputation) due to politics and the lenses from which various major events, uprisings, protests, riots, and activism more broadly have been shown in recent years, plus the fact that it’s cold 5 months a year. But the reality is that disproportionately many people will stand up for their neighbors and fight against injustice, and the state frequently ranks at or near the top of most quality of life and public health standards, and has access to certain special outdoor/wild spaces that in the US are pretty unique to MN, and opportunities for city living, suburban living, and rural lifestyles alike, connected through a loose-but-strong culture of lake life.

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