Occupation of Independence

 Council, ID. Now reading "Sharpe's Rifles," by Bernard Cornwell.   Notch by notch I have crept towards "overlander" status, although real four wheel drive (4WD) enthusiasts would laugh at this. Most people know of somebody who has become a complete fool about how ruff-n-tuff their 4WD machine is. There must be many a wife whose patience is tested by a husband who has become ridiculous over this. The lucky wives stay good-natured while rolling their eyes and shrugging over "boys and their toys." So why should a wise old man like me head down this direction at all? I like the challenge of improving my rig's backroads capabilities without getting drunk on the topic. There is an element of practicality, especially when the camper has any wet roads to deal with. Young yahoos will squander unconscionable sums of money on 4WD. But those who belong to the brutally-utilitarian school -- that is, the 'brutalitarians' -- get their fun by resisting th

New Meadows, ID. These leaves would not make a good postcard, but they stopped me dead in my tracks the other day, on a mountain bike ride.   It is what they imply: autumn. They are the seasonal mirror images of crocuses in the spring, which a poet once called "the advance reports of an army, marching from the south." There are other indicators of incipient change: I have seen a couple squirrels dragging large pine cones off to their winter stash. The squirrel was struggling with the bulk and weight of the pine cone. How authentic Nature becomes when we see wildlife earning an honest living, and not just sitting around looking cute-sie for the tourists. Early indicators like this caused sweaty palms and heart palpitations in this old RVer, probably because I hate summer. But to experience a thrill after all those years -- I must be doing something right. 

  New Meadows, ID.  It is tempting to say, "Be careful what you wish for..."  But I was only wishing for rain, not for the high winds that go along with thunderstorms. Of course at this time of year you only get rain with a thunderstorm. When one started kicking up, I couldn't help looking at these massive trees standing around my campsite -- and they were all leaning! I am just not used to being 'ground zero' for heavy trees. So I moved to what should be a safer place. from bedore.org    Along with the high winds came forest fire smoke ! _________________________________ How do people think and feel about the environment around them? A modern person hears the word "environment" and thinks of butterflies and rainbows, colorful sunsets, and which angle their retirement McMansion should face in order to maximize financial gains. But that hardly matters, because a modern person is a fraud about nature. Go back a couple generations and ask what "sea pe

On the last post I left out the biggest advertisement of all, for Idaho: the roads and trails aren't littered with loose rubble. That is no small thing to a mountain biker or hiker. The reason, I suppose, is that, here in the North, there is enough rain and vegetation to produce the mouldering bio-mass that eventually turns into soil, unlike the Southwest that I am used to. (I am so sick of that brown rubble, I could almost puke...) __________________________________ Something happened the other day that seemed like a small miracle. It would have been unnoticeable until a few months ago. Somebody shook my hand! I hope I didn't tense up, defensively, and make her feel bad. But it has been so long... Now where did this "retrograde" (and politically incorrect) behavior happen? In a small town in Idaho. I had approached the owner of the laundromat and coffee shop, and told her that I was an RVer, and only met two laundromats per year that I liked, and hers was one of them

There have been pleasant surprises this summer in Idaho. It has been comfortable at elevations of 5000 feet; elevations in that range are relatively easy to find. (Anyone who has spent a lot of time on the Colorado Plateau would expect a lowly 5000 feet to be hot.) Secondly, insects have not been the problem that I thought they would be. Of course when you don't arrive until July, the odds are in your favor.  Early summer is buggier. Wildfires have not been a problem this summer, so far at least. Once again, credit some good luck. I never would have expected to get much pleasure from looking at needle trees, since I still think that trees are meant to have leaves. But the needle trees here are so tall and straight that I just have to admire them. Besides, they produce dense shade which is one of the best things that life has to offer.   The scenery is excellent here, an important secondary interest to me. I took very easily to the bizarre notion of water flowing in the creeks and