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 it! The small online retailer might even let you talk to somebody on the phone who speaks English as their first language.
After all these years, I still get excited about starting the autumn migration, literally feeling a lump in my throat. I must be doing something right.
What exactly does "right" mean in that last sentence? Is there an art to migrating in autumn? I think there is: you need the right balance of practical, known locations and routes, with an allowance made for something new. There must be some uncertainty or there is no sense of adventure.
The other important skill is to minimize the months in the Southwest where camping is completely known, discovered, mapped out, and crowded with snowbirds.
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