[USA] United States Non-Interstate Roads and Highways

[pwalker]

Originally Posted by Timon91

There's nothing there. Not even a city centre. It is very widespread (areawise the biggest city of North America). Nothing seems flourishing, there's no history. And because there are hardly any high buildings, it is very difficult to orientate. The city is build as a grid, but to get around you still need a very good city map, because almost everything is one way. The North terminal of the airport is ugly, small, old and only has a very small arrivals section. When I was there there was a huge mountain of luggage laying there, since lots of flights had been cancelled due to volcanic ash clouds. The south terminal is quite new and ok though. Same counts for Fairbanks. And almost every other town in Alaska. Some towns in the southeast, like Valdez, Skagway, Copper Center and Ketchikan are nice though.

Having lived in Anchorage for two years, I would say you mostly got it right.
There is a downtown with several mid-rise buildings, about what you would expect of other lower 48 cities of similar population. There is a decent sized downtown shopping mall, and a smattering of decent restaurants. As for being the biggest city in land area in the US, I will take your word for it, but I would say most of that land is undeveloped. And as for getting around, yes a lot of one-ways, but not especially complicated once you learn the main arterials. The airport has been modernized, but as you said, there are remnants of the old terminal still being used.

[ChrisZwolle]

Nice parking garage near SeaTac airport, with 8 twisters.


Better than those parking lots which are almost the same size as the entire airport. (You see that in the Midwest often).

[ChrisZwolle]

US 59 heading for Houston. (this pic is actually taken in the middle of an urbanized area)

[DanielFigFoz]

^Holy .... Wow! That motorway is amazing!

[ChrisZwolle]

I don't know if it's amazing, to be frank I find it butt-ugly.

[jchernin]

how about something beautiful for a change.

i took these photos coming back from tahoe back in july. im gonna post some pix of i-80 in the interstate thread. these photos here are of california state highways 12 and 121, through the wine region of napa and sonoma counties.
scenes like this are literally 5-10 minutes away from my house in downtown santa rosa. thank god in i live in california.

[ChrisZwolle]

California's Vinest

[Verso]

Originally Posted by jchernin

Where do they get these names? I can't even pronounce them.

[ChrisZwolle]

I can't pronounce most Slovenian names either

However, the ones posted above shouldn't be a problem for me.

[Timon91]

Try Welsh:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Or Dutch:
Gasselterboerveenschemond

[Verso]

Originally Posted by ChrisZwolle

I can't pronounce most Slovenian names either

Yeah, but Slovenian names in Slovenia is normal, whereas these exotic names in an English-speaking country, such as US... I wonder, if Americans have troubles pronouncing them. And what's with smilies again?

[jchernin]

Originally Posted by Verso

Yeah, but Slovenian names in Slovenia is normal, whereas these exotic names in an English-speaking country, such as US... I wonder, if Americans have troubles pronouncing them. And what's with smilies again?

well, its all a matter of what ur used to. sonoma and napa are world famous wine regions, i hope u can pronounce those (maybe wiki will help u). calistoga to me seems easier than 'ljubljana'.

[dl3000]

Originally Posted by Verso

Yeah, but Slovenian names in Slovenia is normal, whereas these exotic names in an English-speaking country, such as US... I wonder, if Americans have troubles pronouncing them. And what's with smilies again?

Much of the place names in California are Spanish and Native American in origin. Otherwise they are probably named after people who settled or developed the area. No trouble pronouncing when you are exposed to it. The thing is much of the names are anglicized anyway like the way Los Angeles is pronounced etc.

[Alex Von Königsberg]

Verso, most of these names (not sure on Berryessa) have Roman roots because this area was originally a part of Spanish possessions.

[Timon91]

And there are still lots of Spanish people. In the Boston underground, all signs are both in English and in Spanish: This vehicle is equipped with...../Este vehiculo es equipado...... or sth like that

[Verso]

Okay, I admit these particular names aren't really hard to pronounce, still they are exotic. And many others are hard for me to pronounce, especially the English (American) way.

@Timon: in Boston?

[Timon91]

Yes

[Verso]

Isn't Boston a little too far away from Mexico?

[Timon91]

Yes, but lots of Spanish speaking people live there.

[dl3000]

The Northeast has a very large Spanish speaking population from the Caribbean as in Puerto Rico, Dominican, etc. Mexicans are mostly southwest, but overall all kinds of spanish speakers live everywhere with concentration in the southwest and northeast. Bilingual usage is becoming more and more prevalent like on safety signs and announcements, obviously road signs don't need to be bilingual since there isn't much grammar on them anyway.