Someone had to do it.
I was in my 20s before I ever saw a mountain (I grew up in the flat midwest, not counting the Black Hills), but now they are one of my favorite places to be. I do feel a little claustrophobic if they are really close in, but I can handle it for short amounts of time.
I’m the opposite; I get vaguely freaked out when there are no hills around.
Geez, what thread is next? Who hasn’t seen the suburbs?
I think they’re fun, these threads. It makes me think back about the first time I saw those features, and I like reading other people’s impressions.
Mountains are weird though. With plains, prairie, ocean, you always have a sense of where you are. But mountains, as soon as you’re in them, you lose that sense.
I remember the first time we drove in the Rockies. I couldn’t believe that those high roads didn’t have guard rails or fences!
I was thinking, “Who hasn’t seen a tree?”
Er, right, the OP. Not me – I’ve seen the mountains. I’ve been on mountains. I’ve even been under mountains.
“Who hasn’t been to themselves?”
Heh, I love these too. One thing I think is remarkable about them is that for the most part they’ve all got their own unique regime of consituent rock types and structures and are, thus, relatively different and recognizable. The Canadian Rockies look so different from those in Colorado, the San Juans from the Sangre de Cristos, the Cascade volcanic peaks from Yellowstone’s, themselves from Hawaii’s though both born from hot spots.
Show any student of mountains an unidentified picture of a mountain chain and odds are they’ll know where it is and a little of the process behind it’s creation.
What’s also cool? All the buried mountains we’ve never even seen!
I thought of “who hasn’t been on the ocean, out of sight of land”, but I think we’ve got enough already.
Charlene?
I’ve been on the ocean, out of sight of land… on a bridge. 
The bridge of a ship?
Middle of the centre span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel on a hazy day. They don’t let me onto the bridges of ships.
Confederation Bridge? That’s doesn’t count; for purposes of this question, the bridge is honorary land.
So–can you recommend any “popular geology” books? Amazon has lots of textbooks–with an average price of $100. I avoided the subject in school because it was sort of shoved down our throats–the Oil Bidness, you know. (I don’t like football, either. What kind of Texan am I?)
But I find myself seeking out geology shows on cable–there’ve been a few good ones. So I want to learn more. (Hmm…will check out Half Price Books.)
Personally, I’ve seen bits of the Rockies & the Appalachians. And was most impressed to see the Davis Mountains rise out of the flatness that is most of Texas…
If you want a general ‘intro to geology’ textbook, look for earlier editions. The newest texts can be very expensive, but once a new edition comes out you can buy earlier editions for less than a dollar or two.
Otherwise, I like the “Roadside Geology” books that are put out for different states. Most have good basic information for the non-geologist.
Born in the mountains, but conversly never saw the ocean until I was 24.
I grew up in the wrinkled woody landscape of northern NJ, so while I could occasionally find a high spot to gaze from and did some ski trips up to Vermont, I always lusted after “real” mountains. I got my wish when I was a junior in HS. I toured with a wind ensemble in Norway and hiked up to the the Pulpit Rock. Of course I nearly pissed my pants when me and a couple of friends scrambled up the hillside above (the view was similar to the picture looking down on the pulpit at the bottom of the page) and I looked down and saw nothing but air between my feet and the water thousands of feet below. I’ve since been to Wales, Scotland, Appalachia and the West (although I’m lacking in Idaho and Montana). Never been to the Alps or Himalaya) Alas, life has brought me to NYC, but I still managed to carve out a little escape pad in the Catskills. Frankly, I don’t even hike that much anymore. It’s just nice being in the hills. What always fascinated me about the big mountains out west is how extensive the networks of foothills can be. There are so many great hikes to be had in them.
I’d never seen anything bigger than the southern Indiana hills until last summer, when I took an impromptu road trip to New Hampshire. On the trip, I went through the Adirondack, Green, and White Mountains and pretty much had my brain explode from the awesomeness. The first point in my life that I could look around and not see the horizon anywhere.