Occupation of Independence

This is the first time I have ever camped in the midst of small groups of "wild" horses, if that is what they are.  I haven't seen any of them mooch goodies from campers, as burros will.  But the horses let me and my dog get within 50 feet of them.  Perhaps there is a spring closer to the mountains where they "water up."   The other day a pretty horse was pawing insistently at the ground.  It reminded me of the book, "The Horse, The Wheel, and Language," by David Anthony.  I heard of the book from the "HistoryofEnglishPodcast.com".  The book said that horses had a great advantage on the Eurasian steppes: they would pound through the snow with their hooves, and find grass in winter.  But cows and sheep won't use that trick. Much of the book takes place in the homeland of Indo-European languages, which is modern Ukraine.  (Of  course, we mustn't confuse our linguistic ancestors with out biological ancestors.) When the linguistics and hi

On a mountain bike ride the other day I had to stop and admire an unusual canyon.  It did have vertical walls about 100 feet high.   But what made it visually impressive was the unusual width of the canyon floor.  It was over 100 meters wide.   There was no water visible of course -- it is southern Nevada, after all.  But the flat canyon floor had such impressive graceful curves, left by rampaging water, that I found myself gawking!  And yet, I didn't take a photo of it, probably because cameras are obsessed with the vertical and the perpendicular.  This was fun in a different sort of way.  But it would have been a great place for an overhead drone photograph. I like to visualize alluvial fans of gravel, coming down from the mountains as a slow-moving glacier.  The analogy is not very close actually, but the image is irresistible.  This canyon was the "fast lane" on this giant ramp of gravel. The whole thing seems metaphorical, with every individual person being like a s

The campsite was a bit too close to the road, but I put up with it because traffic was light and n obody was camped in this part of southern Nevada.  But, when two van/car nomads showed up in the area, I panicked and went to a new site. One of the ironies of desert camping is that there is so little privacy.  This seems to contradict the notion that you are in 'the middle of nowhere.'  You are so visible to others and visa versa.  Sometimes you can read the body language of a car approaching: they have noticed you.  They are actually sucked-in due to some weird psychology when they see somebody else (you!) camping there.  Soon the little paradise you have found will be degraded by neighbors.  So, like I said, I panicked when those two young nomads showed up.  Young people are told what to do and where to camp by the internet.  They might even be contributing to that problem, in person.  The campers in question chose their spots on small promontories, probably for the great vie

Most people expect a Biden and Trump rematch this November.  One way to look at this is to back off from the partisan arguments and look at the big picture.  How could America have come to such a low state as to come up with candidates like this -- twice?! Is this the same America that settled a wilderness in the new hemisphere; fought off the claims of French, Spanish, and Russians in North America; formed a government on a written Constitution; survived a bloody Civil War; grew into the industrial powerhouse of planet Earth; and brought electrical and automotive inventions to within reach of the masses?  There have indeed been many accomplishments that Americans can be proud of. And now look at us!  It is tempting to say that the current situation is unbelievable, but actually, it is quite believable.  Let's make a short list out of spectacular "come downs" that have happened to other countries. 1.  Ancient Greece in 450 B.C. versus 150 B.C., that is, Greece after its o