There are these places in the U.S. called "the Adirondacks", "the Alleghenies", "the North Woods" (yes I know), "the Mojave", "West Virginia" and so forth.
Perhaps visiting a small mountain which has had its top half sheared off by coal mining (causing its local aboriginal Celt population to seek solace in crystal meth) is not quite the same as visiting Hydro-Quebec installations or Mennonite farms in muskeg country. But it's pretty close.
You are correct that there is still wilderness inside the continental USA. Part of it is called "Wyoming." (OK, cheap shot, and not entirely true either, but for some reason I like to pick on Wyoming.)
However, many Americans are still nostalgic for the "closed off by the spread of civilization[1]" wild frontier that "defined their nation."
In Canada, this is much less that case.
The whole thing is like being nostalgic for the farming lifestyle, a common opinion amongst those who have never actually, you know, farmed. AFAICT, Canada is as vulnerable to that one as the US is.
Wyoming isn't a half-day's drive near anywhere that doesn't have something similar closer. But I agree, it's an administrative accident created by imperialists, the way supposedly many African nations are.
NM and Colorado have vast swathes of nothing. Very scary harsh nothing if you don't know what you're doing. A couple hours is more than sufficient to drive to them. In fact, one will do. I miss that. 1 hour will get you 30 miles here...
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Perhaps visiting a small mountain which has had its top half sheared off by coal mining (causing its local aboriginal Celt population to seek solace in crystal meth) is not quite the same as visiting Hydro-Quebec installations or Mennonite farms in muskeg country. But it's pretty close.
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However, many Americans are still nostalgic for the "closed off by the spread of civilization[1]" wild frontier that "defined their nation."
In Canada, this is much less that case.
The whole thing is like being nostalgic for the farming lifestyle, a common opinion amongst those who have never actually, you know, farmed. AFAICT, Canada is as vulnerable to that one as the US is.
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