Occupation of Independence

 An avalanche of seasonal pleasure poured down on my head today.  Yesterday it rained a little, which is no small miracle.  It was chilly enough that night to switch over to the winter sleeping bag , for the first time since June.  Then, in the morning, my little dog climbed up into bed and snuggled with me, for warmth presumably, for the first time in months. A bit of dampness to the soil is great for mountain biking .  My little dog and I had a rematch with the ridge we are camping on.  Last time, I pedaled up 60% of it and pushed 40%.  Today I pedaled 100%, with no standing up.  I needed a windbreaker the whole way. Here is a panning video of a gently descending,  neighboring ridge , even grander and more noble than the one we biked up.  Long-suffering readers know that I was fluttering my eyelashes over this ridge: Coming back to camp I had occasion to bask in southern Idaho sunlight outside my trailer door -- normally I dread fa...

 Were people even surprised by how Trump 2.0 reacted to the murder of Charlie Kirk?  Think back to the aftermath of 9/11.  It has become a predictable formula. Political maneuvers after a crisis or emergency show what government is all about.  It is an opportunity to live through an educational episode.  And it shows you how unnecessary complex theories of government are. Think of that quote from H.L. Mencken about "the whole aim of practical politics..."   Never is the wisdom of that quote better illustrated than after some tragic incident brings on a flood of Fear and thirst for Revenge.  Shrewd political operators know how to not let a crisis go to waste.

I'll bet lots of people have noticed their tastes change over the years -- tastes about food, music, and even scenery.  For instance, a newbie RVer is expected to rhapsodize about 'breathtakingly beautiful' fall colors, and then looks for places to photograph entire mountainsides of one (yellow aspen) color.     These days I prefer the fall colors of ground vegetation.  My eyes are drawn to subtle shades of color. What a marvelous season late September is!  Everything is good about it except wind, which is transitioning to a negative for the next six months:  Repetition is supposed to dull your appreciation, but that never seems to happen to this season, perhaps because you only get to enjoy it for three weeks and then wait another 49 weeks for it. My little dog enjoys high altitude in Idaho sagebrush country, without having to worry about snakes:

 I have one less leftist to follow on You Tube.  I wondered if he would use his dislike of Charlie Kirk's political views -- such as gun owner rights -- to imply that Kirk 'deserved it.'  He held back -- but just barely -- from saying that.  But I am unsubscribing from his channel. On another channel I heard another leftist give a gracious and eloquent sermon against political violence.  I agreed with every word he said.   But why didn't he follow the logic of his very correct thoughts?  American foreign policy is about nothing other than violence.  We have a hypocritical president who is normalizing assassinating diplomats while pretending to negotiate with them.  He murders people in international waters, without due process.  He decapitates the leadership of other countries. How many innocent people have died since 9/11 because of American foreign policy? It is certainly a couple million.  What about the dead during the Vie...

 There is a stubbornness in a traveler that can sometimes get in the way; in the way of grabbing experiences with both hands and of being in awe of them.   The last heat wave of summer had almost melted away.  On a rather exposed mountainside a breeze suddenly whipped up and killed the heat wave instantly.  How magnificent!   The wind makes so much noise going through the trees that it makes you feel energized.  You are in the presence of some vast and powerful thing, outside yourself.  A pagan would see that thing as one of his gods.  Sailors and sea-kayakers experience this occasionally.  A comfortable tourist never sees this angry, powerful god.  But didn't I write about a similar experience earlier in the summer?  So is it OK to write about a glorious experience that happens two or three times per summer?  Novelty is a false god for travelers.   Once again the autumn migration has started.  Ever...

So, the last hurrah of summer is over.  The last holiday, that is.  There weren't many weekenders and vacationers in my area (central Idaho) so I am not as relieved as usual, at the end of summer.  It is an ironic time to consider that campers can be charming in their own way.  Give a (non-RV) camper a knife, some kind of digging tool, a length of paracord, rubber hose, and bucket; and then come back in six months.  You might be surprised what they have come up with.  Humans are delightful when they play backyard inventor.  Think of children fashioning toys out of things lying around in their environment. This blog seldom discusses the practical issues of camping because it robs camping of its charm to spoon-feed how-to tips to other campers.  But I will discuss one practical issue just because it has lasted so long for me, and there is some humor to it. For years I have gone through a series of unsatisfactory shower pans.  (I don't have room...

 I am losing interest in geopolitics , probably because the daily news consists of nothing more than commentary on whatever stupid flip-flop Trump committed with his motor-mouth, today.  The daily fighting in Ukraine is still too incremental to be interesting.  And the daily slaughter in Gaza is too depressing to think about. In a sense, Trump can't be blamed for deserting his own voters and making his pitch to the 'other side.'  Most politicians do the same thing once the election is over because they think their own voters are safely 'in their pocket.'  As a result, Biden 's unnecessary war and Defeat in Ukraine has become Trump's Defeat in Ukraine. The other day I was praising historical novelists for allowing the readers to share the thoughts and feelings of historical periods better than the dull facts of professional historians.  But sometimes real events in the world help you put yourselves into the shoes of others.  In thinking of Trump getti...