Occupation of Independence

There is nothing like being up to my old tricks.    High altitude hills, covered by sagebrush and grass.  Close to forested mountains, but not too close.   My eyes always go to the copses of trees that grow island-like in the sagebrush and grass.    Many times the copses sit on the north side of a hill or in gullies.   The trees are stunted and not too healthy looking.  One of the reasons to look forward to September is that it is cool enough to camp on these sunny lands: I suppose the appeal of this land is the same appeal as shorelines and islands at sea.  It is the complex and surprising geometries that are fun to look at.  A uniform, straight-line coast is rather boring, as are completely treeless plains or thick, monotonous forests.

You hear people talk about Route 66 or US50.  Those highways are OK.  But it is US30 that I really love.  In southeastern ID and southwestern WY, US30 overlaps with the Oregon Trail.  There is something about the lay of the land that I love. There are lots of mountains nearby, but who cares?  Mountains are barriers to travel.  In this racket, we are not interested in obstructing travel and freedom.  This is especially true for somebody who pedals a mountain bike and pulls a trailer.  The magic of this land is that it   exudes passage and freedom -- that is, transportation and movement.  I want to pedal without losing traction or going over the handlebars.  I want to level my trailer in less than twenty minutes.  It is funny how practical issues can insinuate themselves into a person's notion of beauty. A railroad goes through this land, as you would expect.  I am camped about three miles from the railroad and enjoy its sou...

The inland Northwest is no prize when the smoke season starts.  I have yet to deliver on my promise to abandon it when smoke dominates life.  That may happen today. It is true that a person can develop a tolerance for smoke from forest fires.  Yesterday the smoke was quite bad.  Then a dry thunderstorm blew up.  After an hour the sun came back out. And the sky was clean and blue!  How could that pall disappear so quickly?  I was impressed.  Still, it might be time to head southeast today, being careful to stay clear of Yellowstone.   It is over 50 miles to the nearest grocery store from Leadore, ID.  How do people live around here?  Do they drive to Salmon once a month and load up on canned vegetables, beans, and rice?

The last national holiday weekend of summer is always a poignant moment and a chance to reflect on seasonal progress.  How could a person find a way to enjoy or be interested in their "fellow campers" when they seem to be about nothing more than noisy and showy toys?  Perhaps I am not optimistic and persistent enough to find something of interest.  Instead, I aim my efforts at non-human things like topography, clouds, creeks, and dogs.    And it always seems to work.  My little dog sent a text message down to "Duke,"  her doggie friend down in Utah. Water never seems more alive than when it splashes through a fast moving creek.  I think my little girl was trying to make Duke envious of our Idaho location.  He is a labrador retriever after all. My little girl loves her lifestyle.  She runs to the bicycle to get snapped into the bungee-leash.  She has learned to keep her distance from the front wheel.  Her pace is a relentless fa...