Occupation of Independence

Just before autumn officially started we had our first perfect autumn day.  How I love the camper's door facing the morning sun, and then opening that door to the morning chill and bright sun!  There was no wind and no insects. It was enough to make you think this is the best of all worlds.  But it isn't.  "September" is too brief.  Blame that on that damn 23.4 degree tilt in the earth's rotational axis.  Why doesn't Greta Thunberg do something about this?  The internet gave some bizarre examples of the tilt that other planets have.   from universetoday.com Daylight hours disappear so quickly at this time of year.  It is time to think about finding better camping locations this winter.  The weather in the Southwest is delightful in winter, but camping places are so well-known and crowded.   Thinking a way out of that will not be easy.  Should I stay further north to avoid the crowds?  A real heater -- that is, a vented one -- would be necessary for an RV in se

We are sliding into cool weather.   Tomorrow I will move camp down closer to town.  Before leaving I wanted to remember what happened here on the first day.  The Little Cute One and I took a walk along the road we were camped on.  The road was surprisingly smooth and on a near perfect isocline.  Hey wait a minute, what is going on here?  I looked down the slope and sure enough, there was a water diversion ditch paralleling the road.  That is the second such ditch I have encountered this summer.  They actually seem like a good idea, but I'll bet the Forest Service has not built any for years.  There was a forest fire here a couple years ago.  I think I was in town when it happened. Currently camping where I might have seen a forest fire three (?) years ago. I actually like burned forests.  You can see the surrounding landscape without all those damn trees in the way.  (I am a fan of eastern trees with leaves, not western telephone poles with needles.) Forest fires leave some strange

It takes a carefully maintained sense of balance to enjoy a mountain bike ride.  I am not just talking about what you do with the handlebars and leaning the body. There was a road that headed uphill from camp -- I think.   A little information from maps certainly helps, but you only want enough encouragement to try it.  You don't want somebody spoonfeeding you all the answers in advance.  Much of what I care about is simply not available on any map. I got what I was hoping for: a monotonic climb, without any of those useless and disheartening drops.  Relentless climbing.  It is so easy to slip into a daydream on the way up:  you are true to your calling, your Noble Suffering. The Little Cute One was running along side me.  She wasn't suffering any.  She wondered why good ol' Pops was so slow. Surprisingly, reaching the top is not the most glorious moment on a ride like this.  I love the last minute or two of the climb, when you see blue sky poking through gaps in the trees

I was surprised by an odd sound outside the trailer door.  It has been awhile since I have seen any wild turkeys.  There seemed to be about six of them, walking around in their clumsy and confused manner. Of course the Little Cute One heard them too.  She came to the screen door and looked out curiously and then frantically.  I couldn't resist: I opened the door so she could give chase.  It was a "target-rich" environment.  She didn't quite know how to choose a target.  There must have been ten of these birds.   It takes all they have, but those silly birds can finally get air-bound and into some low branches of nearby trees.    They seem so unbalanced and awkward when they do land on a tree branch.   How does this species survive?  Just think of all the predator species that would consider turkeys a tasty lunch! In particular, what about grizzly bears?  I was carrying two cans of bear spray this summer on my mountain bike.  I watch scary videos on bear attacks, a