Occupation of Independence

 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 had the last real grocery store for a couple hundred miles.  What a great feeling! 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 You Tube videos o...

 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...

 No matter how many times you go through the transition from summer to autumn, it still seems too good to be true, for the good sleeping weather on top of everything else.     Looking back on summer, let's pat ourselves on the back for doing some things right, such as getting better at using wet washcloths or spray to keep oneself and the dog cooler in the worst part of summer.   Another great help has been accepting that the western states have two summers: early summer and late summer, and that these two seasons are very different from each other.  Therefore you must arrive in the inland northwest in late April rather than early June. Early summer above the Salmon River trench.  A bit of rain, greenery, and cool weather.  Thirdly, mediocre altitudes can seem discouraging in the inland northwest.  But if you camp in shade thicker than ponderosa forests,  you can cool you off by 5 degrees Fahrenheit.  I used to under-value this...

 I would turn myself over to a qualified therapist if I knew the right specialty for somebody who has become too easy to please, and too appreciative of humble pleasures.  I have even become too easily amused, by bovine-Americans of all things! The forest was 8000 feet in altitude and had 100 yard wide firebreaks on the side of the dirt roads.  That means no trees, but good grasses and flowers for grazing.  This guy was quite a looker, and he had an appreciative harem:    The cow in front had a cowbell on that made me think of a late RV blogger whose German surname meant cowbell. ( treichel )  Fortunately the cow gave me something more cheerful to think about.  She had such a bossy, busybody-ish attitude.  She kept staring at me and demanding that I get permission from her for everything.  She was amusing. Cows do not always act 'dumber than a bag of rocks.'  Mother cows sometimes act surprisingly protective around their offsprin...