Occupation of Independence

There is no excuse for 'watching a pot, waiting for it to boil,' but here I am, doing it again, waiting for the last of the summer heat to wind down. Most people probably like autumn.  So many things work.  The truly remarkable thing is how good autumn is over a vast section of North America.  People in the hurricane belt would disagree. Lower temperatures will probably slow down fires and smoke, which means faster containment of the fires by the firefighters.  We really need rain but September is unlikely to give much.  Ah well, let me just be happy about all the things that are good at this time of year: 1.  Driving down wider roads on BLM land, instead of struggling with narrow roads in steep national forests. 2.  More than ample shadows.  They are generous and positively useful. 3.  Better sleeping weather. 4.  Fewer summer tourists and weekend warriors. 5.  Fewer insects. 6.  Enormous geographical freedom.  

What am I overlooking?  There has to be a better way to manage my autumn migration.  If I moved 50 miles south of here I would probably escape the smoke, according to airnow.gov.  But I resist going into Nevada.  Besides, where will the smoke-blob be tomorrow?  The westerly direction of the wind on most days is all that we can rely on. I am probably not the only seasonal migrationalist who resists retreating back north for short periods.  It is like a military general refusing to retreat!    In practical terms, retreats do increase your transportation costs.  But perhaps this can be overestimated. Instead of my usual pattern of pushing relentlessly southward -- despite local eccentricities in altitude, smoke, and latitude -- perhaps I should do tactical switchbacks to the east or west, while still maintaining a strategic southwardness?

Recently I camped with a couple aspen trees outside my door, for the first time this summer.  It was hard to believe that such a little thing could make the camping experience so cheerful. Why?  Is it because the white bark and twittering leaves of aspens are such a contrast to the dark bark and uninteresting needles of spruce/fir trees?  That makes it sound like I don't appreciate spruce/fir trees.  But I do.   In Idaho they are so grand and noble, and stay big in diameter a hundred feet up.   _____________________ The summer heat has finally broken.  It is time to appreciate once again how nice it is to sleep in cooler weather.  And my little dog runs like a maniac in cooler weather. _______________ What is surprising about these humble examples is how intense they were.  Normally when we praise the simple pleasures of life, it sounds like a cliche'.  It reminds you of a Hallmark card or a Campbell's soup commercial of yesteryear. 'Simple pleasures' sounds like in

I have no complaint about (greater) Idaho this summer.  The fire and smoke held off until September.  But now it is time to get the hell outta' here.  I went south, focusing on solving the smoke problem before going on to the next problem. The bank sign said it was 102 F in a little town.  Well, it was clear what the next problem would be.  Strangely though, I walked around town without being bothered too much.  And no, it wasn't because "it's only a dry heat."  Humid heat or dry heat don't bother me too much.  What bothers me is bright heat, that is, relentless, oppressive sunlight. And there just happened to be a miraculous cloud blocking the sun right then.  Still, I needed to find some shade.  On BLM land?! Luxurious shaded camping on BLM land? Well at least the roads are wider than in the forest. And there is a better breeze.  And I did find a flat spot at 5500 feet, with ATT coverage. I wanted to visit an old mining town that I hadn't seen in years.

So far I have not delivered on my promise, made in early summer, to leave the inland Northwest in late summer, typically its season of heat, fire, and smoke.  Why suffer needlessly? I avoided this decision because May and June were so wet that the fire and smoke season was postponed -- until the first of September.  In fact I have only started this week to use a cooled 8-liter water bladder as a pillow for sleeping. Gotten to by doing internet search for "airnow.gov"   This screenshot pretty much sums up the problem: late summer in the inland Northwest is about as awful as the Southwest in early summer. So what can be done? Go to the Southwest? After all, it has had a good monsoon season this summer. I'd rather not.  Remember that North America becomes drastically smaller in the winter, for campers.  Thus the camping-areas in the Southwest become well known and over-used.  So, unless you like camping around noisy neighbors, it is best to minimize your stay in the Southwes