Occupation of Independence

 When it actually rains in a western state, you'd think the locals would declare a holiday and close schools for a day.  I usually rhapsodize over the rain.  But a long day of rain is quite different than a brief shower or rain at night.  I got two days in a row of all-day rain.  It has been about 3 years since that happened. There are ways to deal with this situation.  First, don't spend too many hours in bed or sitting in a chair.  The chair should have lumbar support .  Stand up and walk around in your RV every time you can think of an excuse. Adjust and adapt your clothing.  I have really benefited from the rubber " mud boots " I bought a couple years ago.  Dry feet can really encourage you. Last year I bought the first " rain suit " ( = jacket + pants) in years.  What really makes it work is its ability to slide over shoes.  Taking shoes off is too inconvenient.  It is surprising how small details help in the design ...

Compared to the amateurish impulsiveness of the Trumpanyahu regime, countries such as Russia or China have strategic patience that seems almost superhuman.  But what if Israeli-American helicopters lower special troops down on ropes onto the deck of a petroleum tanker bound for China, and commandeer the tanker?  Will Chinese patience finally fray? If I were China, I would use that opportunity to blockade Taiwan.  You'd think the Chinese government would have become so frustrated so long ago with the ambiguity in Taiwan's status that it would be a relief to end it.   What could the Israeli-US Navy do about it?  It has its hands full in the vicinity of the Hormuz Strait .  At the same time, it is time for Russia's spring offensive to get serious and finish off Zelensky's government in Ukraine.  Ansar Allah in Yemen could block the Red Sea .  Unity of action -- if the countries in question had any backbone -- could finish off the Trumpanyah...

 Considering how long I've been at this RV traveler gig , if I still flutter my eyelashes and rhapsodize over certain things, I must be doing something right.  It is hard to resist becoming almost euphoric to escape the barrenness and brownness of the American Southwest , and come to the greenness and moisture-paradise of the inland Northwest .  But later in summer, it will be as dry here as the Southwest in spring.  That's why you must do what seems almost unnatural and force yourself out of the Southwest by, say, 15 March. So here I am, in green grass and pretty clouds, along the Oregon Trail . I don't know why the hills look greyish rather than lovely green in the video.  Depending on where you live, you might not think of pretty clouds as miracles of nature.  But I do. I ran into something that was quite rare: a low-budget and sensible visitor area run by a government agency.  It had just the sort of improvements that added to the visitor's enjoyme...

 Leaving the Southwest makes you first think of being cold, but that really isn't true along the Snake or Columbia rivers .  I've even managed to enter Oregon without suffering the indignity of being in the Pacific Time Zone .  Perhaps this results from southeastern Oregon having a mindset that got established back in the Oregon Trail days. It has been warm enough to get my first insect bite and to see the first snake of summer: Photo doesn't show him sticking out his forked tongue at me.  He was one little pissed-off snake. The Oregon Trail passed along these sandstone bluffs .  My little girl has played here a couple years ago.  She likes sand. Ahh, what a smooth road went along the foot of those bluffs!  A cross-country-style mountain biker like me can really love smooth, flat, and fast, as the pioneers no doubt did. A couple geese were pocketed in those bluffs.  They were easy to hear, but hard to see.  They got a rhythm going that remi...