Occupation of Independence

 What is the best pleasure of autumn?  If your answer is "fall colors", you probably shouldn't become a full-time RVer.  The  greatest pleasure is sleeping in a cool bed.  Number 2 might be wearing shoes instead of sandals.  I actually had to pull out the winter sleeping bag for a couple nights.  I love burrowing underneath it.   It put me in such a good mood that I even willingly camped in a place where there would be neighbors.  Without any facetiousness, I even smiled at 430 am when my neighbors started making the usual noises about waking up.  Isn't that strange? They weren't normal campers.  They had an activity that thoroughly engrossed them.  They were hunting bears (or maybe cats) with these hounds.     Hounds are not the breed I would choose as pets, but there is no doubt that hunters and their hounds love the skill and training needed for a successful bear hunt.  Such persistence and enthusias...

 How does the old joke go?  A man is making an indecent proposal to a woman.  She cries out, " What do you think I am?"  The man says, "Madam, we both know what you are.   We were discussing the price." That is the best context for Trump-anyahu's proposal to give everyone $5,000 if the Republicans win in the mid-term election.  Really, Mr. Trumpanyahu, $5,000?!  That would be eaten up at the grocery store and gas pump over the first year or two.  Let's be reasonable and offer $50,000. But his bribe is satisfying to me as an armchair political analyst.  During the Covid era I predicted that cash grants would become the new form of political competition. (Remember the stimmie checks?)  The leader of the Democratic should immediately come up with the counter-offer of $10,000 if the Democrats take control of Congress.  Then Trump can come up with a counter-counter-offer...  _____________________________________  It has not be...

 Soon I will cross into Nevada , a state worth enjoying since it hasn't become overpopulated with retirement McMansions, a la St. George UT .  In the spring I migrated north through Nevada's sagebrush flats and recurring north/south mountain ranges.  Spring probably is the prettiest season because of the snow on these mountain ranges. One town grabbed me.  [Redacted] was not a mountain boutique town , with overpriced coffee shops and art galleries, and due for real estate development.  It was humble, moderately prosperous, and useful.  Yes, agriculturally useful.  It also had the last real grocery store for a couple hundred miles.  What a pleasant surprise this was! One particular view grabbed me.  Perhaps I have not shown this photo before:  It is not an award-winning postcard.  The mountain range is too distant because I was using a smartphone, rather than a real camera .  And speaking of real cameras I am still watching Y...

 Did Mother Nature throw a switch?  Summer was over, just like that.  The inland northwest has even had a couple days of rain, back to back!  Let's hope that means the end of the wildfires. It has become so frustrating to use eBay that I abandoned town while still waiting for a couple of their packages.  In all the years I've been in the travel/camping racket, this is the first time I have just said, "To hell with it."  And left. The difficulty comes from 1) the eBay seller saying they will ship via the US Postal Service, 2) me supplying a General Delivery address at some post office, and 3) the seller mistakenly using UPS or Fedex, which can't deliver to a post office. So I will go back to using Amazon when they have a pickup location or locker in my area.  Another thing that might help is to use one of the smaller online retailers who might charge for shipping, but allow the customer to choose the shipping service since the customer is paying for i...