My Old Indian Friend

My old Indian Friend, Nelson Birdbear, just stopped by. Nelson just finished telling me an interesting story about how his friend got killed in Vietnam. Nelson's Army group thought they had encountered some enemy soldiers, so gunships were called in to cover them from the air. Nelson was making their fox hole bigger and decided to rest for a moment. Nelson jumped out of the hole, and his friend jumped in. All of a sudden Nelson said he felt like he was at the edge of a cliff, Nelson told his friend to get out of the hole, and Nelson jumped back in and started digging. Within seconds the American gunship came over. It was night and the gunship had already made a few runs in front of them. The gunship came to close and shot his friend dead. Had Nelson not had the premonition, he would have been sitting there instead of his friend. Nelson wants to visit his friends grave in Vancouver, Washington. I tried to do some research, but if anyone knows how to look up the cemetery directory for Vancouver, Washing, let me know.

Nelson and I used to work at the Glenharold Mine together. I always liked him, he was fun to joke with. Once he told me he was being given crap about being an Indian by some of the less intelligent miners, and he was tired of it. I made sure the people who were hassling him knew they would be fired if it ever happened again, I think he appreciated it.

Nelson is distressed with all the corruption on the reservation, and when he brings his wife to town for medical treatment, he visits, and we try to figure ways to bring some justice to the crooks. Like every Indian reservation the one north of us has ended up with riches under it. It seems like every time the white man tries to give the Indians the worst possible land, oil, coal, or gold, ends up being underneath it. Currently it appears as though a very large pool of oil may be under Nelson's reservation. There must be some kind of justice in this world.

When you hear it in Hazen or Burn the house to stay warm

Back in the old home town Lord Kadizzle has been putting his finger in the air to test the political wind. Filling the car with gas this morning, I spoke to one of the gas station managers. He is worried about the economy, he notes how people are not buying new cars. Everyone seems to be feeling the ominous cloud hanging over us as the Republicans try to undo the mess they have made. We both felt the same way, this is not an ordinary recession we are headed toward. Bush has created unimaginable debt with his little adventure in Iraq. Three trillion dollars for his war game is a stiff price to pay. To give you an idea, that is enough to solve all the problems of social security for 75 years. If you have a steady income from some job, you will not notice the mess so much, unless you are trying to retire. So far I have met several people who are postponing retirement because of the damage George has done to the economy. When I had a steady job these downturns did not seem to matter so much, but now that Lord Kadizzle has felt his own nest egg assaulted by Bush economics, the story is different. Even the people Bush tried to favor must realize he has done them more harm than good. If you kill the peasants, the nobles will not live well, Bush doesn't seem to grasp this concept. If you read anything other than the comics you have to see the mess this administration has made. One of my greatest hopes is that young people will wake up. It is beginning to seem that they may have awoken. The next generation is making 12% less than their parents, they don't have insurance, and they cannot afford health care. Add to that the fact that the Republicans have set it up so they cannot retire until they are 72, and you will begin to see the scope of the welfare for the rich program the Republicans have set up. Bush can tap dance all he wants (be sure to see the tap dance he did on youtube), but the only way he can get out of this mess is by selling the country to foreigners. Now when the banks fail in New York we ask the Arabs or Asians to step in and buy them. In the book Angela's Ashes there were some chapters about how the family had to burn the furniture to heat the house, finally they started tearing the walls apart to burn them for heat. This is what the Republicans have brought us, when will these idiots notice what we are doing?

What does France think?

Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a strong supporter of the United States, recently observed that President Bush has done such a number on our image in the world that no one will be able to restore the luster. Read the whole thing in NYT.

The Kadizzles have Landed

Late Friday the wagon rolled up in front of the kingdom. Strange to be back, and sleep in a regular bed with many square feet all around. Since the cable service will not be hooked up until Tuesday The Commander and Lord Kadizzle have been frying their brains with the CD's Erin gave us. Right now we are watching The Tudors, a series about Henry VIII.

Hazen is a separate reality, it is windy and cold, and hard to understand why people have to wear jackets and coats.

This Land is Your Land, This Land is my Land

Back in the old days it used to be fun to sit around a campfire and sing Woody Guthrie's song declaring the country belonged to everyone, but now when you travel you begin to see how those with the means have bought up a whole lot of the country and told the rest of us we are not welcome. Sometimes I think I know how black people feel when there neighborhood is gentrified. The trust babies move in and tell them to get out. As we drove toward Vail the other day we could see the worker bee huts in the outlying towns. The worker bees cannot afford to live in Vail, so they hop on a bus and go there to serve wine to the elite who followed the creed and grabbed as much for themselves as possible. Long ago we used to take the kids to the beach in North Carolina, some could argue we were playing the role of the well to do. In those days the beach was fairly open to the public. We rented some wealthy persons home on the beach and enjoyed it. Now the super rich have monopolized the beach, and they don't need to rent their homes to the less than super rich, so the beach is effectively closed. The same trend can be seen all over the country. Does the country belong to everyone, or just the select few that inherited the tax breaks from George. Someone reading this will think, "Anyone who wants can get off their ass and make a fortune". In a lot of cases this is true, but don't forget a few realities. Erin asked me the other day the old question, "Whats the best way to make a small fortune?". I gave her the classic reply, "Start with a big one". Many of the people buying up the country did nothing to earn the money, but be the first sperm to a rich egg. The tax system also puts the people starting at zero at a big disadvantage. When the dust settles do we really want a country of haves, and have not's? Bush and his gang have done everything in their power to make this a banana republic, where a small elite lives at the expense of the peons, I hope in this election we take the country back.

Fog in the Moutians

Again this morning the clouds bumped into the mountains and the fog has rolled in. It is nice to see fog. As a college student I worked in an underground coal mine along the Ohio River. Once in awhile I would go to work on the midnight shift when the mine fans pumped the fog from the river into the mine. The fog in the mine created one of the weirdest working environments I have seen. The inside of my head has always been foggy, it is nice to see it on the outside once in awhile.

Role Reversal

How many times have you seen a parent get rid of troublesome kids by putting them in front of a television? Erin has to work at her job from home, so she puts her parents in front of the TV to keep them occupied. Lord Kadizzle and The Commander have been watching Dexter all day. We could be poster children for the danger of TV, or make that poster parents.

"Bush has !#%#@ed up so bad, he has made it hard for a white man to run for president"

Chris Rock posits on the genius George Bush

If down were up you couldn'd get any higher

Chris Smithers has some great lyrics. These apply to no one better than my hero the idiot.

A Bomb Well Thrown

Lord Kadizzle loves a well thrown bomb. Some of the best are in Rolling Stone Magazine. His Lordship only gets to read it when up in the mountains in Evergreen. If you want to read and excellent illusion buster read McCain Resurrected. Matt Taibbi's writting is excellent, my favorite little interlude was his description of the soccer moms at a McCain rally. While the country implodes from the mess in Iraq, they discuss the problem with sweetbreads and salads. Taibbi's discription of Ann Coulter "a shanky bitch/whore" could not sum the woman up better. Taibbi gets into how the Republicans hate McCain because of his slips into rational thinking. Read it and laugh. Summary: "That idea — the principle of fighting first, thinking later and never, ever saying sorry — is what matters most to conservatives, and John McCain may be its last line of defense. If he fights hard enough to save it, you can bet that even Ann Coulter will come around to supporting him."

The Nicest Serial Killer you will ever meet, Dexter

By a stroke of good fortune, The Snoocher Bear came into a complete collection of Show Time movies. Last night the crew sat down to watch the Dexter show, and could not stop. Dexter is a serial killer, that kills serial killers. He only kills bad guys that really need it. Lord Kadizzle rarely recommends shows, but he is sure you will enjoy this one. In fact Lord Kadizzle guarantees you will enjoy it. If you are not completely satisfied, you will get a two story refrigerator with an elevator, and an operator to take you to each floor. That was the same guarantee one of the crooked preachers on my hometown radio station, WWVA had if you ever proved him wrong.

The Onion: China Celebrates Status As Number One Polluter

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

Some Good Advice from May West

Lord Kadizzle ran across this May West quote in a magazine today "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before". Reflecting on the quote, it might not be a bad reason for Republicans to vote Democratic this election.

Snoocher Bear fires out excellent Whistle Bean Soup

Dinner tonight at the Bear Den in the woods near Evergreen had a salad and Black Bean soup. The Bear is following in her mothers footsteps and has become a very good cook. In order to protect her I had to polish off an excellent apple pie she left unguarded in her fridge. Luckily I was able to subdue it with ice cream. First I killed the bacteria in the microwave. Back to the whistle bean soup. The recipe is on the Epicurous web site. If you try the recipe Lord Kadizzle would recommend you spend the extra amount for windless beans, the weather prediction here calls for high wind tonight, with sheets flapping.

The Hidden Cache

The Commander and her army of one have often hiked in the vicinity of The Hidden Cache. In the early fifties a the son of a local rancher found the Hidden Cache. The boy had been told to take the horses back up to the top of the mesa at the end of the day for better feeding. Somehow he got lost and stumble across The Hidden Cache. Local speculation is that a German spy was hiding out on the Paria during World War two. Inside the Cache everything seemed to indicate some sort of military person was secretly living there. The whole story is in Michael Kelsey's hiking book of the southwest. The strange metal box the guy lived in was a weird part of the whole story. Many years after the box was found a similar box was found somewhere else in the southwest. No one has ever solved the mystery. In addition to the box the little cave dwelling was nearby. The Commander speculates it was an escaped German war prisoner. The location was so remote, the prospects for spying on anything would have been minimal. The only thing that seems to make sense to Lord Kadizzle was that the Germans were interested in nuclear activity when the first bomb was made. Someone could write a very good novel using this story as the basis.

We Need more Fifty Million Dollar Yachts

Sitting around my daughters house I stumbled across an article about a yacht builder in England. It seems the five and ten million dollar yachts are not selling well, however the mega yachts are more than making up for it. This is Republican economics at its best. Does the world really need more mega yachts? I thought we were short of infrastructure, health care, and education and on and on, but nooooo, what we need is more mega yachts. As the economy collapses are even the right wingers incapable of seeing this insanity? The whole trickle down nonsense initiated by their hero Ronald Regan has been the worst disaster ever foisted on the working class. Some nit wit right winger if they are reading this will think, "But yea building the yachts creates jobs".
Picking cotton created jobs, but all the good living was done by the masta, not the field hands. Unbridled greed is the god of the Republican party, it just plain doesn't work for anyone but a few on top that don't have the morality to see it.

The Sex Life of Trash, or A Trashy Sex Life

Sleeping at 8'500 feet is not easy to begin with, but the dust from cleaning Erin, and Fran's garage contributed to sinus problems. About a two months ago Lord Kadizzle had a go at cleaning the garage for them. However, when we came back much of the trash had reemerged. The stuff must breed in the dark. Although all the bottles had been cleared out, one or two must have been left. The two bottles mated and there are now dozens. The same phenomenon hit the laundry. The Commander must have left some socks and underwear in the dryer. On our return they had bred to the point that laundry was all over the floor, and you could not even get to the washer or dryer. Driving across the country you can see where junk cars have bred and multiplied in peoples yards. This happens sometimes in North Dakota, but the climate seems to limit the vitality of junk cars. On dirt roads in remote parts of West Virginia and other poor states you could often see someone dump some trash, withing a few weeks the pile was amazing because of the propensity of trash to reproduce.

Castle Rock Hike

To see this hike you need to double click on the Google Earth picture. There were some problems with Google Earth, so disregard the coloration in the lower left. The yellow pin is where we wanted to go, but we did not have time to scout a rout to the top. The red line shows where we went. The very first part of the climb was very difficult straight up a ravine. Since as usual the instructions from the book we were using were very poor, we wasted a lot of time. The second picture shows Lord Kadizzle going up the back part of the spine about the place we stopped.Maybe next year we will make it to the top. The top is close to seven thousand feet.

The Divine Twiddler

Religion has always perplexed Lord Kadizzle. Having just read through about 2/3 of Richard Dawkin's book The God Delusion, his lordship is still perplexed. One of the best essays in the book involved The Divine Twiddler. Dawkins writes about seven critical numbers in the universe that must be exact for us to exist. Religious people use this to claim someone set the numbers. Of course you need someone to tune the seven dials, and thus God, or The Divine Twiddler comes into the picture. As usual the problem is still there, because there is no way to figure out where The Divine Twiddler came from. However, Lord Kadizzle likes the concept. I cannot wait until the next time someone asks me if I believe in God, and I can reply, " I am sort of leaning toward The Divine Twiddler. It would be so nice to see a sign in front of a church somewhere labeled The Church of The Divine Twiddler. The symbol for the church would be seven knobs. People would say, "Do you know Lord Kadizzle?", and someone would reply, "Oh, yes, I think he is a Divine Twiddler, they meet on the lake on Sundays".

The Mother of All Rock Formations

This picture was taken at the WAVE, an amazing formation in Southern Utah

Drug from paradise

Removing The Commander from the Southwest is like pulling a kid out of a toy store. Kicking and screaming she finally managed to leave our wonderful campsite on the Paria River. We stayed two more days than planned and got to see a couple more neat places. We went to the White Water Pockets and managed a hike down the Paria from where we were camped. The Kadizzles have been in the top, up the bottom, and explored the middle, some day we will have to take the 35 mile hike. Yesterday we made it to the Colorado River above Moab. Moab was going nuts with the people who think you cannot enjoy the outdoors unless you have four wheels under you. As the nation suffers from obesity it is easy to see why. Every contraption that could use a motor to take you where you should walk was there. I have nothing against four wheel drive used judicially, but seeing the insane addiction to horsepower displayed there was sickening. The damage these things do to the natural areas is amazing. If the gas crises does nothing else perhaps it will bring some of these people to there senses. On the way to Moab we passed through Navajo country on the most perfect day. Monument Valley shone in all it's glory, but everywhere you go you get the sense the West is being overun. The housing collapse may be a good thing because it will give people time to pause and rethink the mess we are making out of the planet with the McMansions. Now we sit at Erin's in Evergreen unwinding from todays drive. The poor Toyota just barely made it over the passes on route 70.

Shotgun Jerry

Last night Shotgun Jerry came over from his truck camper parked about a hundred yards away and did some serious medication with us. Ironically the other day he gave me a book to read. The book was The God Delusion, it was a book I had been wanting to read. Jerry just did not seem to be the kind of guy who would have or read such a book, so my curiosity got the best of me and I asked how he happened to have the book. Jerry explained to me that he liked to know both sides of things. At first glimpse Jerry would fool you. Jerry is 67, and looks like the rugged lumberjack from the Northwest he is, however Jerry is a many of many experiences and jobs. Most important Jerry strikes me as a man who has evolved because he has maintained an open mind. He told us about his kids coming home from Sunday school which their mother insisted they attend. According to his kids, Jerry would always ask them when they got home "You don't believe any of that shit? Do you?". Meeting people willing to question, and learn is always refreshing. Hopefully when we are rid of Bush people will see the evil of getting stuck in a mental rut of blind followership. People can learn, they can change. There are some good opinion articles in the NYT today. Be sure to read the one on slavery, it is very well written.

Now back to Shotgun Jerry, how did he get that name? According to Bill the host at the Ranger Station, Jerry was showing him his model 12 shotgun. After clearing the chamber several times on the pump shotgun, Jerry pulled the trigger and blew a hole in the roof of his camper. When Jerry showed up at our campsite, he did not know me or the fact that I knew this story. Casually I walked over to him and introduced myself. After a little small talk, I asked him if he had any guns? He admitted he did, and I told him he could not stay near us. He looked flustered and did not know what to do, then he asked me why. I told him I had heard about this fellow called Shotgun Jerry who blew the top out of a camper and I was taking no chances. After he realized he had been had we got to be good neighbors. Every morning his dog Stoggie comes over to get an itch behind the ears.

Commander lost in the Wilderness

We had another great hike yesterday, The Commander was briefly lost, had fun finding her. It was a good experience because because now The Commander is willing to listen to my compass lectures. The radios helped a lot and are highly recommended. The color of the rock, and the formations here are a must see before you die, so if you plan on dying soon, get down here right away. We are going to try to bust out as soon as Lord Kadizzle can pry The Commander out of here. Her one more day routine is now the soup de jour. Hopefully we will be at Erin's in a few days. Some time will be spent there, then we will head on to North Dakota. The bump on top of the rocks is his Lordship.

Saved the Japanese

Today we went to the wave. The Commander is like a kid in a candy store there. It is the premier rock area in the United States, and perhaps the world. It is very difficult to get permission to visit. Today was our second time. Although Lord Kadizzle objected and was ready to go back to civilization, The Commander insisted we do some exploring. Up a canyon we went. The Commander sank in some quick sand, and was ready to give up the expedition, but Lord Kadizzle got some energy from some where and decided to push on through some difficult areas. Earlier Lord Kadizzle had seen some people that appeared to be lost off in the distance, but figured they two were exploring. As we went up the canyon, his Lordship heard some voices. A young Japanese couple was coming down the canyon, Lord Kadizzle asked if they were going to the wave. The Commander thought they had already been to the Wave and was going to leave them. They spoke poor English, and after a little quizzing it was evident they were lost. They were very lucky we found them. We were the only people for miles and they likely they would have been lost all night. The Japanese did not understand how trails are marked in this country with cairns. All the federal agencies in the United States seem to take pride in marking trails poorly. It is so simple and cheap to do it, but they seem to prefer rescues.

Snowed

The Commander is at the lottery in the ranger station trying to win our second trip to the Wave. It is the most sot after hike in the U.S. Will know shortly if we go tomorrow. Every day twenty to forty people show up for the drawing. Only twenty can go. A German got ticked yesterday. He could not get in after waiting three days. So some hiking today, and if we win to the Wave tomorrow. Still need to go down old Indian trail.

Planning the Next Assault

Yesterday we took a little hike. Today we are trying to figure out how we will get down into the Parhia Canyon from the top. What we are trying to find is an old Indian trail. Yesterday we had a nice evening sharing a drink with our Buddhist friend. He may join us for music tonight with his guitar. There is a little snow falling today, so we will be inside catching up on reading. If you want a good laugh read Mareen Dowds NYT column today. She feels certain George has lost it. I maintain he never had it. With everything going to hell in a hand basket he seems to be getting more jubilant every day.

Bush Tap Dancing

While the country melts down, Bush tap dances for the press. He is waiting to endorse McCain. This could be McCains death blow

Mormon Invites Kadizzles for Cocktails

Our retinue is in Page Az shopping for groceries. On the way in we stopped for some info and an ex Mormon, who is now a bu Budist invited us for a drink at his house overlooking Lake Powell. We are planning a hike down into the Parhria in about the middle, so we needed some maps.

The Idiot Speaks

Read Gail Collins in the NYT today. She cuts our incompetent nitwit of a president to shreds. The ranger station host who are letting me us their wifi are flaming liberals like Lord Kadizzle, so we have had a lot of fun bashing the Bush administration. In order to see the computer screen Lord Kadizzle has to sit at their picnic table with a Mexican Blanket over his head. Lord Kadizzle was just reading the Gail Collins column to Bill. If someone passed by and heard a man with a blanket over his head speaking about the economic inadequacies of Bush, they would surely wonder what the world has come to.

A Problem of Scale

The vastness and scale of the Southwest is impossible to capture. In the photo above Castle Rock is in the background. Castle Rock is at least one thousand feet high, but there is no way to show it. In the other picture The Commander is above Lord Kadizzle taking a picture of him making an assault on the rock.

Jack Rabbit Fever on the Pahria

The Kadizzles had a nice hike today up to Castle Rock on the Pahria River. The Commander has been suffering from Jack Rabbit Fever. The condition causes a hiker to want to take off in any direction at high speed without regard to where they are going. To access the Castle Rock we had to go up a very steep rocky incline that was our second this year. Once up on top the terrain was totally unmarked, and we took a lot of GPS points. When it was time to leave The Commander thought she found a short way out. Lord Kadizzle tried to explain that if there was a short way out, there would be a short way in, and people would know about it. As usual she took of without regard to the possibility of getting stuck where were could not get out. Luckily Lord Kadizzle talked some sense into her, and we returned the way we came in. If we get pictures downloaded tonight they will be posted tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow is to drop down into the Pahria canyon on an old Indian trail. Supposedly it is the only way you can get in or out except at the ends of the 35 mile hike.

Molly's Nipple

Yesterday's hike was supposed to be to Molly's Nipple, but we got a late start and even though the mileage did not seem that bad, the terrain was, so we stopped short. However, it turned out to be a wonderful artifact walk. Cissie found what she say's is a Navajo tear. I feel it may be a piece of glass. I found what I thought may be a pit house. Examining it closer, it may have been. On the drive in and out of the area, we checked out a lot of sites. Near the end of the day Cissie found an extensive village ruin, with a wonderful view, and many artifacts.

Scrabbe on the Parhia

Life always is full of surprizes, and things always seem to present themselves. First good luck today, a fellow pulled in with a camper going to Page. We worked out a deal where he will get us propane, and gas, and we will give him a ride to a hike. Second stroke of luck, The Commander found a scrabble addict with wifi at the ranger station. You should see Lord Kadizzle sitting at the picnic table with a blanket over his head doing wifi. Cannot see the screen without the blanket. The workers at the ranger station must think Kadizzle is nuts. If a Kerns reads this, I may talk the lady inside playing scrabble with her lordship into being an internet scrabbler for Joanne. When The Commander has someone to play with it takes a lot of pressure of Lord Kadizzle. His Lordship was so tired of being beat at scrabble he decided to cheat. Even cheating severely, he could not win. Finally he confessed to The Commander. However, just the other day in a fair game he did win.

Next Camp on Paria River

Double Click of better view. This is where we will stay withing the next couple of days. The Commander just came back to the library. Another minor change of plan. We may stay at a site in Kanab. The animal rescue lady offered us a hookup with electricity, so we will more than likely have cell phone service.

Cammander has issued orders

It looks like today we will stay a campground a little west of Kanab. Will probably check email tomorrow back here a library.

Sharing the Pain or Plain Vanilla Stupid

When The Commander does something exceptionally dumb we call it plain vanilla stupid. Yesterday we did a little plain vanilla when we hiked into mud and snow, for no real gain. Anyone who still has the least bit of faith in the Bush trickle down economics is just plain vanilla stupid. Today the NYT has an excellent article about how the Bush plan is even blowing up on the rich. Read it and pass it on.

Sad When the Brain Dies

The Kadizzles busted out of Zion this morning. On the way to Kanab, where Lord Kadizzle now sits in the library, we stumbled across the worlds largest animal rescue organization. Not to long ago it was featured on NBC news. The place covers 33,000 acres and is the largest employer in the area. Four hundred paid employees work there. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea, but it is hard to see the millions going to animals when many human children are suffering. The pet cemetery takes the cake. The Commander has been looking for a cheap place to get rid of my carcass so she checked the prices. Large dogs are $450. The cremations were not too bad. I got a feeling I will end up as a pork roast.
His Lordship is pushing for staying by the ranger station on the Pariah river. The Commander seems to prefer another place. We will be somewhere between Page AZ, and Kanab Utah. At some point we will probably go down to Lee's Ferry. Later today The Commander will insist on a short training hike.

Monday's Hike

Double Click picture for better view.

Nemisis strikes Lord Kadizzle with strong blow to wallet

With the economy in the tank the Kadizzles may have to head home to save resources. Worst case scenario could mean getting a job. Everyday when you think it cannot get worse our retirement account dwindles under Bush economics. We had a good hike today in the upper reaches of Zion. The Commander keeps begging for one more day in paradise, which will cost $18. Today The Commander said it could be her 32nd anniversary present. Both Lord Kadizzle's birthday and wedding day are on March 21, which also is the spring equinox. Perhaps his Lordship will have to give in at this bargain price. The Commander will insist on one more forced march. Today we followed what must have been an old narrow gauge railroad up to the rim. Was a very nice hike except when we went past the snow line. Although we hiked in tee shirts our feet were soaked in up to three feet of snow. Depending on the anniversary present we may or may not leave tomorrow for points further east. We may head to the Pariah river area for a few days. We will be 28 miles west of Page AZ. and about a mile south of the ranger station if all goes well. If anyone wants to join us, give us a call. The cell phone works here in Zion, and we will check messages when we can. First thing this morning the Toyota battery was dead from something that was left on, so we had to jump start it. Later in the day we had to help some young Mormon Republicans start their car by jumping it. I agreed to do it on the condition that I could hook the jumper cables to the testicles of the guy that had on the Bush, Reagan tee shirt after we started the car. They all pledged to give up Republicanism and everything worked out.

Found Art in Joshua Tree

Driving down an alley in Joshua tree Lord Kadizzle spotted an unusual green building which turned out to be the worlds most famous crochet museum. With the museum was an art gallery with many fascinating objects. Lord Kadizzle noticed something hanging from the ceiling that appeared to be an insect made from a lambskin prophylactic powered by a solar cell with a propeller.

Today's Hike in Zion National Park

When we popped out of bed this morning we were headed to Angels Landing in no time. Lord Kadizzle was amazed at the speed we reached the landing. However, that was not our goal. The Commander wanted to go higher than where the Angels land. So up, up we went into some very nice country. If you have not hiked in Zion, it is a must do before you die. Almost every year we return. Today could not have been better the sky is a blue as it gets and for sure there is no more spectacular scenery on Earth. After returning The Commander insisted we take a bike ride, as if we did not get enough exercise on our two thousand foot climb. On the bike ride we came across a blue grass musician sitting by the river. After some coercion by The Commander he agreed to play a variety of tunes for us on the mandolin. Enough fire wood has been scrounged from abandoned camp fire sites to get us through the night. If you read my other story you know we have one goofy camping neighbor, if this were not enough another couple of wandering wonders just moved in beside us. They transport their dog in a baby carriage and disguise it as a child so they can take it wherever they want. They are traveling in a tear drop camper and intend to be on the road for seven months. Having never camped before it should be an adventure to say the least.

Cow Shoes

The other day the Kadizzles were in a campground with a couple of locals. One of the fellows told me he recently visited a nearby museum. On display at the museum were a pair of shoes designed to leave tracks like a cow. The story is that a local cattle thief made the shoes. Everyone in the area was missing cattle, but when they investigated they never found horse tracks or and foot prints where the cattle were missing. One day a rancher was out riding and noticed a man herding cattle with a funny walk. Upon further investigation the man was found to be wearing his special cow shoes. Some time later the poor fellow as shot. I have tipped off my good detective friend Bill Butcher in Bismark in case he is ever called in on such a case. Bill thanked me for the tip.

Missing a whole story in the building

Camping across from us is a strange fellow. He claims the park police are harassing him. According to him they frisked him when he came into the campground, and keep asking him when he is going to leave. As a West Virginian, Lord Kadizzle knows inbreeding when he sees it, and Utah has as many gollywompers as West Virginia, this fellow may be one. He seems like a nice guy, but he does have a direct approach to problem solving, which involves an M16. He is camping with his two grandchildren, and a couple of dogs. His grand daughter is a cute little kid, but apparently is suffering from some sort of disability. Grand Dad explained to me she could not talk. From watching her she seemed to be autistic, so I asked if that was the diagnosis. Grand Pa told me that the doctor said that if she was a fifteen story building, she would be mission one floor. Immediately I began to think of all the people I know who are missing more than one floor and their building is not even fifteen stories. It was nice to know the kid was not autistic, just missing a floor.

You don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

One fun aspect of traveling is talking to people from everywhere. My favorite people are those from other countries. Almost universally they wonder how in the hell we ever elected Bush. Bush is the biggest embarrassment our country has ever had. The good news is there has not yet been a soul we have talked to that is going to vote Republican. All the signs are our economy is going to tank in a very bad way. Most of the people we talk to think it will be a minimum of two years maybe more to try to undo the economic mess Bush has created. Here in the southwest the mortgage disaster is very apparent. A house we looked at last year for three hundred sixty thousand dollars is now going for two seventy five, and still not sold. Phoenix has a six year supply of houses on the market, and Las Vegas about a years worth. The stock market has been set back at least three years, yet the CEO,s who created this mess just got bonuses. Since internet access has been limited, I had to get in one rant.

New York Mountians from the Air

Double Click on the picture for a much better view of the area we hiked in the New York Mountians. The picture shows some of the peaks we hiked to and where we camped. Most of the peaks were from 7,000 to 7,500 feet. We camped about 4800ft.

The Commander Expects Peak Performance

About every other day we were doing a one to two thousand foot climb in the New York Mountains. Our last climb was one of the worst in a long time. We made it up to an old Gold Mine fairly easily, but then had to climb straight up a rocky wash. Great view when we got up there, but worn out at the end of the day.

Our Camping Spot

Found the Gold Mine, but not the Gold

The Commander and Lord Kadizzle just settled into Zion National Park. Things were looking good and we were ready for a bike ride, then the weather went bad. Most of last week we were in a wonderful area of The Mojave Preserve. The Commander had to be blasted out. We spent every day hiking and looking at old Gold Mines. Next we went on to Valley of Fire for one night, and last night we stayed a little south of St. George in a BLM campground. We have phone service here in Zion. It is time to do some laundry. Last night Lord Kadizzle had to leave his socks outside because of the radio-active nature of the odor.

Pictures from Joshua Tree

Update from the desert.

The Kadizzles are in Baker California, just south of Death Valley. We just spent about two days at the Kelso sand dunes. Yesterday featured an eight mile hike from four thousand feet up to six thousand, three hundred feet. The view was great. A couple days ago we hiked in the New York Mountains. Today's big dicision is to go to Death Valley, or to go back over by the New York Mountain. The wind is terrible today, so we are having a hard time figuring out what to do. Lord Kadizzle is ready to move on, but The Commander loves the New York Mountains and insist we return.

When we tried to thaw the hamburger two days ago it took a coyote about ten minutes to show up. Luckily I saw his reflection in the window and we saved the meat. A man camping nearby said a coyote picked up his small dog and was running off when the two big dogs chased him down and saved the little dog. The little dog was bruised, but not hurt. Perhaps the coyote just wanted a pet.