Occupation of Independence

I was looking to cut my drive in half today.  So I found a shaded side road, and was careful not to pull the trailer further into this unknown road, since I wasn't certain about turning around. Surprisingly a sign said this was the official Lewis and Clark Trail.  My maps didn't even say that there was one.  Nearby, a nice (walkable) bridge crossed a tributary stream.  And there was another official sign. In grade school, everybody heard about the Lewis and Clark Voyage of Discovery.  I don't remember it seeming very interesting.  But it should have been.  Think how little support and infrastructure they had to lean on!  It isn't surprising that a school kid couldn't put himself in Lewis and Clark's shoes. Along the dirt road, there was a cluster of gigantic trees, over 2 feet in diameter, with remarkable bark.  These were the best trees of the summer, for me.  How old is a tree of this diameter?  Was it alive 220 years ago, in Lew...

 We haven't seen the last hot day in 2026 but, still, it seems like we've 'broken the back' of this summer.  A camper has a right to celebrate that.  I am even happy about a smoky sky (from the forest fires) because it takes the edge off the hot sun.  Smoke bothers some people but I can even stand bicycling in it.  So off we went, onto a new road and perhaps a scenic view from the continental divide .  The trees were thick and unburned, so the shade was nice.  But the viewscape was pretty closed in.  After a while, it seemed like something was about to change. The dirt road got closer to an almost cliff-like mountain edge, so the view opened up, with each curve seeming to hang further and further out into space; swelling into a type of crescendo. By sheer dumb luck, I had happened to watch this video on You Tube the previous day, and the music was still stuck in my head:  It was the " Love Death " from the climax to Wagner's "Tristan and Iso...

The older I get, the more willing I am to admire people without wishing to emulate them.  The perfect example of this is all the trekkers on the Continental Divide Trail.  Congratulations to them for finding something they really like.  But it wouldn't work for me: it is too oxen-like.  And too warm. I was surprised to see a horsewoman coming down the trail, with a packhorse behind her.  Girls will be girls, and she had a stylish blanket under her saddle.  Alongside her ran a friendly, long-legged spaniel or pointer.  The dog had spiffy hiking boots on its fore-paws.  I said, "What a team!" to her.  We spoke a little bit and then she quickly disappeared.  A horse walks faster than you think.    But that "team" really made my day.  I not only admired it, but I did wish to emulate.  But of course, I won't -- for practical reasons.  If only my camera had been handy!   Today's team was my favorite since I ran i...

Seeking new books -- or novelty in general -- is quite a vice.  One can not praise the rereading of books, enough; especially if the book 'sort of' worked for you the first time around, while many years have passed, with changes in the world or in yourself. For instance, many years ago I read " The March of Folly ", by Barbara Tuchman .  She wrote:  "To qualify as folly for this inquiry, the policy adopted must [...]  have been perceived as counterproductive in its own time, not merely by hindsight." You'd think that European statesmen bumbling into World War One would be her best example, but it was not included in this book perhaps because of her more famous book, " The Guns of August ." She made examples of the Trojans accepting the gift of a wooden horse from the Greeks; Renaissance popes provoking the secession of protestants; Britain losing its American colonies; and the American debacle in Viet Nam . If she were writing this book today...