Wow. A reason I might have to go to Alaska. (The only states I haven’t been to are AK and AR).
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Oh my. Oh my.
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Not for the fishing?!
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Bugs, bears, cold, long flights. I’m not that into it. Maybe grayling in the interior.
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For cross country there is the Whistler Outdoor Park in the Callaghan Valley south of Whistler, and the Lost Lake ski area basically right in town.
A fun diversion is a bike/hike/slide/snowshoe into see the Train Wreck.
If the weather is good, both mountains will take up non-skiers for the view and there is a gondola between the mountains. Which reminds me, on the way to Whistler from Vancouver is the Sea to Sky Gondola with spectacular views at the top.
The Audain Art Gallery is worth a visit.
The valley trail is great for walk/run/biking between neighbourhoods and is cleared of snow.
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I’m going to Brooklyn this Thursday to next Tuesday. Any good art exhibits happening now? I think the Hopper exhibit at the Whitney just ended.
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Right up thru this portion of your reply, I expected to see this:
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To add:
Some popular amateur guides still publish the older route to the Train Wreck involving a trespass crossing of the train tracks. The official/better route is from the trailhead at the Jane Lakes Road / Bayly Park side.
I don’t really know why the Train Wreck is so compelling, but it just is. Maybe the juxtaposition of inner city style graffiti in a wilderness setting? Is it the post-apocalyptic nature’s revenge vibe? I’ve seen it several times and I’d go back again. BTW, nothing is roped off and there is rusty metal / rotten wood everywhere. So don’t hurt yourself/sue/ruin it for everyone!
Trivia - The Whistler area was originally known by settlers for fishing at “Rainbow” on Alta Lake.
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Probably not on our list but good to keep it in mind!
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Dunno if this info is too late.
This time of year in St. Louis might be a bit… challenging.
Officially kinda touristy but not without its redeeming points:
MoBot
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/
(not for food but for the visual assault:)
Venice Cafe
Blueberry Hill
Things I used to do in St. Louis, unironically, often with young’uns:
The St. Louis Art Museum
A nice respite from winter and cold. Thanks Bucky Fuller, you lovable weirdo and Happy Mutant:
Also nice this time of year:
Often a good day spent outside.
The grounds of the St. Louis Arch, and staring at the Mississippi River.
I skip the tedious tramway ride up to the top but hey, do whatever you like.
Bosnian coffee, kefir, and pita stuffed with stuff:
Hand-pulled Chinese noodles in a hot broth (not bad esp in cold weather):
My favorite St. Louis bookstore:
My favorite pancreatic attack, which I allow myself once every 5 years or so:
(you have been warned)
St. Louis has pretty decent Lebanese and Ethiopian restaurants.
I admit I am partial to them more than Indian food, though there are lots of competent Indian food restaurants as well there.
makes decent French coffee and pastries, and has been a well-loved fixture out in West St. Louis… it is independent, and has real standards. No cheap butter substitutes.
Most of the Thai and Viet places I used to eat at are gone. I believe the new ones are decent and there’s enough local patronage to keep the good ones going.
I lament the loss of Viviano’s Deli on The Hill. Their asiago selection was beyond belief. I loved that place and the crusty ol’ Italians who ran it. The later versions now existing are all in the 'burbs.
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Thanks, next time!
Having been a few times and being familiar with some of those (yay Left Bank Books!), I’ll definitely be saving this list.
I did hit a favorite Syrian place and stayed at a favorite place, the Moonrise Hotel, even tho the Delmar Loop sure ain’t what it used to be.
But yeah, not the best time of year to be there. Not even the best time of the week, with my freest days being Sunday and Monday. I wanted to go to Strange Donuts and a cat cafe, but neither was open.
A tour at the Scott Joplin House was great, so much history in that neighborhood, and this Nepalese restaurant too.
Speaking of neighborhoods, the endless blocks of caving in housing and empty lots in some areas made me feel like I’m not doing enough with my life, and I forced myself to take a drive in one of those gated wealthy neighborhoods to get the full, gut-wrenching contrast (I did manage to find a gate open, kinda looked like the one BLM protesters went through, provoking those lawyer assholes).
Still a good getaway, since I mostly just needed a break. And lots more to do and see!
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Am gonna hit that Syrian place next time I am up that way.
Good catch!
There is a lot of disaster pr0n and poverty “tourism” that goes on in drives through Wellston and similar areas in St. Louis metro. Please pardon my cynicism. It was worse when I lived there in the '80s, if you can imagine.
Two books name the names, and tell the story. I have read them both. As a former resident of University City and Creve Couer and Sunset Hills, much in both books contributed to my newfound sense of outrage and commitment to call out those responsible.
A lot of RWNJs take issue with Walter Johnson’s calling out of environmental racism (just wait 'til you read about the radioactive waste that was dumped in Black neighborhoods) and call the book a polemic. The author has all the receipts. His documentation is airtight. And those whiny pious RWNJs can go screw themselves–they have certainly done that to generations upon generations of POC in the St. Louis area.
St. Louis’ Central West End has had a storied history of rises and falls. Opportunistic nouveau riche galloped in on the backs of St. Louis artists, writers and musicians, and the LBGTQ community, to claim those mansions and castle-like piles.
https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/slave-sales.htm
Oh to have been in St. Louis during Dred and Harriet Scott, Frederick Douglas, etc.!
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Thanks again, especially for the book recs.
And yeah, no need in my book to ask pardon for your cynicism. Poverty tourism disgusts me too.
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Poverty tourism?
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@j9c wrote above:
There is a lot of disaster pr0n and poverty “tourism” that goes on in drives through Wellston and similar areas in St. Louis metro. Please pardon my cynicism. It was worse when I lived there in the '80s, if you can imagine.
It’s a thing. 
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This is a fantastic read. I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know.
The author grew up in our neighborhood in Columbia, and his father, Walter Johnson Sr., was a well-known and loved econ professor at Mizzou.
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Yes and wow. Cool!
If I ever get a chance to shake Mr. Johnson [Jr.]'s hand and thank him, I will try to remember how many physical copies of his book I have handed out and quote that number.
People who don’t believe the real estate game in the U.S. has been rigged since, oh, 1493, really need to read that book.
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Over in another BBS thread, I posted a photo of the last remaining mound in STL:
An interesting historical tidbit from this book is the fact that Chicago basically screwed St Louis as a transportation hub, by denying permission (on the Illinois side) for building bridges across the river at St Louis.
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