Occupation of Independence

 It makes good sense to feel sorry for certain countries whose livelihoods and standard of living are being run into the mud by the Israeli/American war of aggression against Iran.  It was not the fault of the people of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries in southeast Asia.  But they suffer nonetheless. Europe?  I don't really care about Europeans. On the other hand, Americans deserve to get it, good and hard.  Let's wallow in some schadenfreude if the American pickup truck market crashes.  You could say the same of RV s and side-by-sides .  I will feel content just to see these frivolous and stupid motor vehicles marked "For Sale" and parked near some highway or in a grocery store parking lot. If that makes me a bad guy, well, don't wait for an apology.

 Camping near water makes it seem like you are on a different planet for some campers (like me) who only do it once or twice a year.  A few feet away is the upstream end of Hell's Canyon .  The Snake River is blocked by dams of course. A reservoir of water brings boaters with a furious sense of urgency, even off-season.  What is the great attraction to water?  This is not to run their sport down.  It is just a chance to crawl into their heads. Driving a motorboat across a lake seems interesting for 3 minutes or so.  It just isn't all that exotic compared to driving a car to the grocery store.  Of course, on a hot day in July or August, getting wet is a great way to cool off!  Maybe much of the appeal of water doesn't come from its liquidness, but from it being public space.  Back in the city, the boater is boxed in by private property, traffic, rules, etc.   The camping here is pinched between the reservoir and the road. ...

 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...

 'How to' camp is not something I write about much in this blog.  It is an over-rated and unnecessary topic that You Tube channels discuss incessantly to make a buck.  But this blog is not monetized. There is an occasional exception to every rule.  I was surprised when my 2-month-old van battery would not start the engine in 34 F weather.  And it was nearing the Easter weekend in Nevada , with few car parts stores. I have always had jumper cables, but in my camping location only one pickup truck went by per day!  How would I wave him down?  And would he even want to help me?  That would mean a long wait for a tow truck.  But what if I had had no cellphone signal? Fortunately last year I bought one of those " portable jump starters ," that is, a battery powered jump starter.  There are a zillion models to choose from.  I was surprised how easily it started my engine.  What a relief! Because I could safely travel, I kept going n...

 Most commentators think that a ground invasion of Iran by the Netanyahu-Trump regime won't happen because it is unlikely to succeed, and that it is just a bluff or bargaining chip. Tactically, this makes sense. But Trump has a larger overall problem: it is an election year and his war is unpopular in the USA.  He must make it more popular.  Ironically, a serious 'blooding' of American soldiers could help the voters to rally 'round the Flag and the president, regardless of how reckless the president was with soldiers' lives. Imagine the programing on television: every few minutes there could be a movie clip or old World War II newsreel showing the Marines "taking that beach."  Remember that famous photo of General MacArthur wading ashore, a year after his famous "I shall return?"  Then the politician can say, "You want to pull out of this war?  Then all our heroic Marines who died on that Iranian beach/island will have  died in vain. " ...