Not Quite the Desert Drive I was Expecting! "Roosevelt to Young, AZ"

Kadizzle and Winky have driven this road dozens of times, but we never got to see a lot of the things in this video done with a drone. We have hiked about every inch of this area. The guy did a good job. If you watch the video you will get a very good idea of where we do a lot of trail work. Sadly there was a big fire here this year and much of it is burnt. 

A difficult motorcyle ride for a man 76

Al came up from Tucson to take a motorcycle ride. Al is a good rider an ten years younger. We have taken rides before. Kadizzle was so proud of one ride in the past when Al crashed five times and Kadizzle only three. Some years have gone by since then. At 76 crashing is not the option it used to be. So we took off on some Forest service roads. The roads were moderately difficult, but handled, then we crossed the East Verde river. Kadizzle remembered a hard climb on the other side. Going first Kadizzle started up. The rain and four wheelers had made the hill worse. On a motorcycle you cannot stop on a hill. Commitment is critical. You have to stay on the throttle and hope it works. As Kadizzle went up he thought about the pleasures of crashing. Would he be hurt, would the motorcycle be damaged? Somehow Kadizzle made it to the top, but was grateful he was with Al.  The ride went on for a total of 35 miles. Wonderful scenery and a few more touchy places.  

Today a long motorcycle ride

 Al and Kadizzle are going to take an adventurist motorcycle ride through the hinter land of Payson. The ride will be mainly on Forest Service roads, and there are plenty of them. The trick will be to find our way home an avoid the really nasty parts. Recent rains have rutted some of the roads. Yesterday we took a short ride and Kadizzle saw a truck camper out in the wilderness. It turned out to be a guy Kadizzle had met a few days earlier. He happened to be a laid off Forest Service employee who did trails like we did. It was interesting that he could get his truck camper as far down the bad roads as he did.

If you want a little political BS try the other blog. The mayor was pissed off about a cartoon of him I posted. https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Urban Sprawl

Back from Denver what does Kadizzle remember? Like every city Denver is sprawling over the landscape. The insanity of infinite growth doesn't seem to register. Infinite shopping malls, and the repeat of all the chain food joints, and same stores everywhere. Of course there are also the title loan companies, and the street vendors. 

You wouldn't keep putting more and more chickens in a cage, why do we do it to humans? Kadizzle with the wife inspected a new apartment building nearby the home of Erin. The place was very nice and had amenities like a swimming pool, work out room, and so on, but there were 300 apartments. People stacked on people, and nobody seems to mind. We have been blessed living in small towns with plenty of space. We had a wonderful garden in North Dakota, and here in Arizona we have forest close by. Phoenix and Denver are competing for sprawl. Like ants on an ant mound the cars are endless. The choices are endless, but is it worth it? Kadizzle says no way in hell. The worst thing in any big city are the freeways. On the vast freeways the aggressive drivers do their thing. They drive like idiots and make moving from point A to point B a death game. Why do we tolerate the aggressive drivers? Modern computers, and artificial intelligence could spot the simple minded dingers and eliminate them. 

Over on the National Association for the Advancement of Humanity the question is " Why can't the MAGAs spot Trump's mental illness?"

https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Are there any Elk out there? One nice thing about our new home is the huge window in the bedroom. Waking up in the morning we can look  out and see if any Elk are present in the little patch of forest behind our house. Often the Elk will bed down there or stop to browse. No luck the morning. Sometimes there will be javelina or coyotes. 

Back from Denver today

Sister Patty told Kadizzle about a psychiatrist commenting on Trump's condition. You can find it on the Daily Beast youtube. Trump's dementia has become much worse. Will post the youtube video over on the Nationtal association for  blog. 

We will take the train out to the airport. Both of us have leg problems so it will be a hike. Had a great time seeing Sylvie perform in her play and last night she did one of her dance routines after we ate. Fran cooked some wonderful meals. 

Meander around Denver

The plan for today is to take the nice new train to downtown Denver. From Erin's house it is a short walk to the rail station or rapid transit if you wish. In no time you are at Union Station, which is very nice. Might have lunch there. Denver has fixed up the 16th street mall so the main plan will be to wander that. Free buses take you up and down the street. If we have the energy and mobility we will go across the river to REI to see if we can buy something we don't need. 

Religion is one of the worst curses of mankind. A good video is over on the National Association for the Advancement of Humanity blog. https://naftaoh.blogspot.com/

Denver is a nice city

Kadizzle has been in just about every major city in the United States and finds Denver one of the best. However, Kadizzle has no use for large metropolitan areas. Great to visit, but don't want to live in one. The urban sprawl is insane all over the country. It is unsustainable. There will be shopping malls from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs uninterrupted. The planet and country are definitely over populated. 

When AI strains the electrical grid all hell will break lose. 

We did have a nice visit to downtown yesterday. Some Mexican holiday was being celebrated. It seemed like the day of the dead. Costumes were very good. 

To keep exploring ideas about truth, democracy, and common sense, visit the National Association for the Advancement of Humanity.

Over on the National Association blog you can check out the Three Stooges latest scheme. 

Life in Denver

Elsa Takes Denver

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you know Kadizzle has a soft spot the size of the Rockies for his granddaughter, Sylvie. She’s a miracle child in every sense — bright, creative, and full of life.

Last night she was in another play, the reason we flew to Denver. But today brought something entirely new — a “princess job.”

We drove to an office building where Sylvie unlocked a small room that looked like a fairytale supply depot: racks of shimmering gowns, tiaras, wigs, and boxes labeled with names like Belle, Ariel, and Elsa. Today’s mission — bring Elsa to life for a birthday party.

Soon enough, Elsa emerged from that little office — blue gown flowing, hair braided, and eyes sparkling. We loaded up the car and headed for the gymnastics center where the party was waiting. Naturally, Elsa couldn’t just tumble out of a car at the front door. No, a princess must make an entrance. So we parked a distance away, and Elsa glided across the lot, lifting her trailing gown and carrying her basket with the portable speaker that would play her song.

Inside, Elsa read a story and sang to a crowd of spellbound children. Watching from the car, Erin and I couldn’t help but smile. The kids were enchanted, and Sylvie — our Sylvie — was in her element. She loves this work, and it shows.

For the grand finale, our newly licensed driver, Miss Sylvie herself, took the wheel and navigated Denver traffic all the way back to Stapleton. We made it home alive — three generations, one proud moment, and a touch of Disney magic to top it off.

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