Indian Tacos

Cliff had us over for supper. Cliff's main squeeze is Patty.  Patty is a Navajo and eminently qualified to make genuine fry bread.  So around the picnic table we sat and enjoyed some grate food, topped off with sweet fry bread and ice cream for desert.

One thing you can count on wandering the encampments is all sorts of characters.  The people who take to the road, the boonies, and the outdoors are different.  They are all cast off and people who did not want the nine to five comforts.  They all seem to have a sense of adventure and a desire for something new. Cliff and Kadizzle took a ride up to see some of his old buddies at the other camp.  People living the vagabond life seem so accepting.  There are few social graces.  First you offer a beer.  Then perhaps an insult.  Next the conversation can head anywhere.

Living in the jungle is a get by way of life and every trick is employed to keep cost down.  Solar is a big thing among those living on the edge.  Strangely no group probably leaves a smaller carbon footprint than those mobile people on the edge.  One thing become apparent among the full timers and that is migration.  Most of these people have worked out a system of a job in the north in the summer, and a warm job in the south in the winter.

Strange World

Self destructive behavior is strange to say the least, but what the country is going through is mystifying.  Our winter job is working with the Forest Service.  Many people in the Forest Service voted for the man who wants to destroy the Forest Service.  So many people that are so dependent on the government for so much want to destroy the very hand that feeds them.  There is nothing wrong with depending on the government.  Kadizzle learned that lesson in college.  Kadizzle worked during the summer as an underground coal miner. Kadizzle paid taxes.  When winter came Kadizzle went to college.  In college Kadizzle used food stamps. At first this seemed wrong, then Kadizzle thought about it.  It was Kadizzle who paid taxes when he worked.  Why should he deny himself food when there were other people who never contributed who were perfectly happy to take those food stamps.

Republicans want to destroy social security, we all contributed to it. Republicans want to destroy Obama care, medicare, and so many things we all contributed to.  People can be vengeful, and they can hate the poor and call them welfare cheats, but people can also think about the children of the welfare cheats.  Young single mothers who work need help, but if you call them welfare cheats and refuse to help them, their children suffer.  Many veterans need the help of social safety needs.  The veterans believe it or not depend on the public parks and the public lands.  Social safety nets are bridges that often get people from bad times to good.  If you destroy a bridge you might keep in mind you may have to cross that bridge.  In every war the temptation is to blow up the bridges.  After the war how will you get across the river.  That is what people forget so quickly.  Today everything is fine for me, but someday I may need that bridge, so when someone says they want to blow up a bridge to keep welfare people from crossing to prosperity maybe we should think about it.

A lot of us who are so hard on the welfare cheats came from families that gave us welfare.  To some point everyone of us has been a welfare cheat at some time.  I made it though college and the food assistance I got from the government helped.  I don't mind putting in.  It reminds me of the song " Take what you need and leave the rest, but you never should take the very best".

Another day

The sun came up in the East, a good sign.  Jeff put the buzz on Kadizzle and suggested we take a motorcycle ride through the desert.  Cliff joined us for the ride on his four wheeler.  So off through we went.  A very nice long ride.  For awhile Kadizzle was lost and a bit confused, but it all came together and we found a new road. The new road will give us access to Nonsuch rocks in a much easier fashion.

Two or three days after the Trump panic and people seem to be recovering.  Nice hike yesterday.  The young trail crew with about five native Americans was on the trail we hiked.  They did a super job on the trail and did a better job removing the slashings than we old folks do.  Today was a day off so we got to enjoy ourselves.

Perhaps 11 years ago Kadizzle took a tour in Canyon De Celly.  The Indian guide that gave us an excellent tour was Ki Chi.  Today a strange thing happened. Cliff's significat other came to visit. Patty is a native American who is from the Canyon De Celly area.  Kadizzle asked her if she knew of Ki Chi.  Yes she said he is my uncle.  Very strange world.

The Sun came up today

After yesterday with the election of Satan as our new president Kadizzle was not sure the sun would come up today, but there it is.. Most amazing was that the Jesus crowd elected Satan.  Life could hardly get stranger. Kadizzle had to invoke his favorite saying by Einstein,  " The world is not stranger than you think, it is stranger than you can think".

The Commander is up and full of energy for today's servitude to the Forest Service.  Yesterday Kadizzle asked one of the head people if the trail crew could get some uniform shirts to work in.  We were told it was too dangerous for us to be in the woods dressed  as government employees, we might be shot at.  Nice to know the rednecks feel government workers are fair game.

So today we will hike up the mountain. Kadizzle is not going to hike to hard after two already hard days of hiking.  The old body is sore and worn out.  Our hike to the Jug yesterday was long and when we got to the bottom the lack of water was amazing. Global warming is real.. One thing we can count on with Trump is that all science will be outlawed.  Republicans are already working on a plan to repeal gravity.

Donald brings hell to Earth.

Today the trial crew at Lake Roosevelt will get start work at 8:00 A.M. As volunteers working for free we will do trail maintenance, clearing brush, and making government owned land accessible for you, and you, and you. With great sadness we will work for you and your land. Donald Trump, and the Republican party have pledged to sell off the land that belongs to YOU. You own some of the most scenic wonderful land in the world. I have been so lucky to hike and enjoy so much of it. You may never get the opportunity to hike the trails we will work on today because Donald and the Republicans sold your land. You will not ever get to hike to The Jug like I will today. You will not get to see an amazing canyon with magnificent water features because Donald Trump and the Republicans will sell it and some rich person will put up no trespassing signs. As the country gets sold to the rich you will be excluded if you are not rich. You will not be able to get to the beaches, the desert, the mountains, or the prairie, because Donald sold it. That intrusive government you hate has preserved the most wonderful places on Earth. Now they will be sold to get the oil, to build homes for the rich, and to make money for those who already have money. John Prine said it so well " Daddy wouldn't you take me back to Mulenburg county, I am sorry my son but Mr. Peabody's coal train hauled it away". So as we head down to The Jug today we will be wasting our time. God Bless you Donald, and if God made a hell you have brought it to Earth.

The Stupids are Stepping Out

When our kids were little we used to read them a story called The Stupids are Stepping Out.  It is three in the morning. Kadizzle went to bed before the election results.  Awake Kadizzle keeps hoping he is in a dream.  The world Kadizzle woke up in is so bizarre he is stunned beyond belief. If only one could go back to sleep and wake up in the right world.  The implications of electing a complete mentally ill president are shocking. The Stupids stepped out and voted.  Tomorrow the stock market will plunge.  What a slap in the face to minorities.  The potential for Donald Trump to mess up so many things is so depressing. The gun nuts will get worse, his economics will be devastating.  The Donald will appoint the absolute worst people to the most dangerous positions.  This idiot will have the ability to start a nuclear war.  What have we done? Our country has unleashed the power of stupid.  The country has been turned over to a redneck mob. Once Trump gets going the destruction will be another huge hole we will have to dig out of. It took Obama eight years to dig out of  the Bush mess, now we must start all over.  We will start by making a mess.  Just imagine a congress full of right wing fundamentalist and imagine their leader leading them down every wrong path.  The coaster ride has begun, now we go down the steep incline, will we come up the other side or will the damn thing just hit bottom and stay there.  Our country has survived some terrible things, this will be one of the worst in my lifetime.  I hope I am wrong.  I hope somehow we can wring something good out of electing a clown.  This could be the slap in the face that wakes up a nation drunk on ignorance.  For so many years Fox News has been the opium of idiocy.   The question is can we break the addiction, can we be torn away from our addiction to the simple easy answer? Trump has sold a bill of goods to the gullible. What happens when the 19.95 bargain comes in the mail and you find out the wonderful mop that was going to make your house sparkle is just another television illusion? For a minimum of two years Trump will be able to terrorize the country unimpeded. In the meantime there is no way to fix stupid.  So now as a country we will learn the fire is hot by sticking our hand in it. What makes me want to puke is the effect Trump will have on the world of my children and my precious grand children.  I am sorry to say this, but at this point I feel so bad for anyone who actually voted for Trump.  When your world comes to fruition, you will have to own what you have done.

What a day

Today we will find out if our country is going forward, or hopelessly mired in ignorance.  Neither candidate is perfect, but the difference in quality is stunning.  Hillary has made some blunders, but they pale in comparison to the most insane, nasty, egotistical, narcissist, genital grabbing man ever to run for president.  Every indication says our country has been dumbed down immensely.  People do not take the time to read, research, or contemplate. The mass of people that can be influenced by Fox News, and Rush is a threat the country has never faced in my lifetime.  Trump has absolutely no respect for the truth or facts, yet people love him.  They love his bluster, his bullying, and his lying.  Trump acts like one of those fake TV wrestlers and people believe every fake move he makes.  We just cannot be this ignorant.  Tonight's election results will either cast a dark pall over the country or give us an opportunity to renew our hope.  Even if Trump loses and does well, it will show what a mass of ill informed people our country is plagued with.  Sadly Republicans will stick to their obstructionist game win or lose.  We face a mess because people want fast food information.  People are too willing to let someone like Rush fill their minds with garbage, because it is easier than thinking.  This day will be a turning point.  Germany faced a situation like this with Hitler.  Germany took the wrong turn, will we?

What should we do Boss?

We are going on week two with no instructions from headquarters.  Our mission has been to waste days and we have just wasted another day. Not all bad.  The Commander and Kadizzle just inspected a boat that sank. The boat was underwater for two weeks at the marina.  Somehow they got it floating and drug it up on shore. It is a very large houseboat.  Of course when the boat came on shore it sunk over the trailer axles.  So the big houseboat is about fifty feet out of the water with an invisible trailer under it.  Apparently the owners have abandoned it.  According to the locals they had a hell of a monsoon storm here which put many boats in a bad way.  The locals say winds reached 75 mph.

Otherwise we have been doing yard work and just taking a giant ease.  Kadizzle went through hundreds of New Yorker Cartoons from 1930 to 1950.  The cartoons were way more risque than Kadizzle might have imagined. It is interesting to see the cartoon commentary on the times.

The Commander is threatening a big hike for tomorrow.  It will be a big hike for the country as the ballots are counted.  Hopefully we will be able to go to bed tomorrow knowing there is not a majority of idiots in the country.

Another day in Pardise

As usual the sun came up.  With no clouds in the sky and perfect temperatures we faced one more perfect day.  Kadizzle fixed Cliff's automatic night light at his site, so we will have more Feng Shue as the sun sets. Kadizzle took a short motorcycle ride into the mountains.  Additionally Kadizzle went to the Cliff dwellings and got into a cackel storm with a guy on a nice Yamaha adventure bike.  Still waiting to start work. Cliff went home to get his jeep, which will be a real asset in our adventures. Stroupini is back in Hazen trying to get the nerve to migrate south.  Ah the election, what fun.  How many simple minded people do we have in America?  The question will be answered on Tuesday, it is scary.  A Trump president will be like having all three of the stooges run the country. Wow, what if we are that stupid?

First real hike

Kadizzle and The Commander went up the Chilicut Trail a mile or two today. The Commander has been hiking with Cliff, but this was Kadizzle's first outing with his recovering left foot.  Things seem to be going well.  Getting Little Joey down to size is the big problem.  Little Joey cannot pass up ice cream, nor cookies nor anything that starts with the letters A through Z.

The yard work got done this morning and the feeders are out for the humming birds.  Wonderful cloudless day with perfect temperatures.  Still we have not got the go ahead to start work.  The sign crew is working and it was good to see them again.  Made a round through the campground and activity has picked up for the weekend. The trails seem to have grown back with brush since we last worked, but some progress has been sustained.  Kadizzle noticed that someone violated Forest Service rules and drove something up the trail.  It was no easy task, but they did it.

We get three absolutely terrible channels on the TV.  Game shows, QVC, and old westerns, fill the airwaves with MASH, and Mayberry somewhat watchable in desperation.  At the Payson library yesterday we made a haul of 25 cent magazines.  Kadizzle got all the New Yorker Magazine cartoons from 1930 to 1955.  Many of the cartoons don't register because they related to news of that time.

Desert Rain

It has been raining in the desert for two days.  Rain is wonderful.  However, it means a lot of data gets burnt in a quest for entertainment, so Kadizzle just had to up our data plan.  The Commander is over at Cliff's in a cackle storm which Kadizzle will soon join.

Yesterday the crew went to Globe and Miami.  After a short hike the gang visited the library and a couple of antique joints.  Finally a trip to a Mexican eating place.  The food was good, but resulted in fire belly in the evening. Some good Mexican food can be found around here.  Roberto is slow getting us signed up to work, so we are lollygagging around doing simple chores at the homestead.

The campgrounds are so empty it is amazing. All the people living on the edge refuse to pay the eight dollars per day to stay.  It is a bargain, but when they went from 3 to 8 many of the squeakers got pissed off.  Now there are more volunteers than campers.  People don't believe in climate change, but the evidence of the impending doom is omnipresent.  The Lake only has 33% of the water it could hold.

Max had been a camper in Windy Hill for years, but he got mad about the fee increase.  We called him on th phone yesterday and he told the tale of how he is buying forty acres on the Mexican border.  He loves the dark sky for his star watching.  None of the bums have reappeared.  Things are very slow and quit.

Kadizzle's day of Freedom

After a slow morning Kadizzle started the hunt for a light bulb. The goal was to fix the little landscape light by the Earth Module.  One would presume that somewhere in the vast empire of The National Forest Service there would be a light bulb.  Kadizzle searched the vast warehouse, no light bulbs. Kadizzle searched the visitor center.  No light bulbs.  Finally Kadizzle was able to borrow one from a neighbor. 

Now it was time to do a little exploration on the cycle.  At the next campground down the road Kadizzle went to Jeff's site.  Jeff was not home but his room mate was.  Jeff now has four motorcycles, one for every occasion.  Kadizzle and Jeff may take a ride through the back country as soon as time permits.  After the visit at Jeff's Kadizzle toured the huge Windy Hill Campground.  Never has the campground been so empty.  At Max's old site some new people moved in.  They had an elaborate tent set up with a cigar smoking lounge, and a portable wine cellar.  There were solar LED spot lights everywhere.  Kadizzle inquired why so many solar lights.  The cigar smoker explained they needed to spot rattlesnakes at night.  According to the cigar smoker sitting in his reclining lounge chair one had come into camp the night before.  He was sitting there and saw something move by his little table. It turned out to be a four foot rattler.  Next he brought out his snake relocation stick, and explained how he took the fellow some distance from is camp and let him go.

Cliff and The Commander returned from their nine mile hike late in the day and we fired up Cliff's grill with mesquite charcoal to cook steak and potatoes. 

Freedoms just another word for Nothing left to lose

The Commander insisted Kadizzle get out of bed.  So here I sit. The Commander took off with Cliff for a group hike. That means one simple thing, Kadizzle has the day without adult supervision.  First he must fill out a ream of paperwork so he can work for free for the Forest Service.  Working for free often takes more effort than working for pay. Without doubt  it will be a day to fire up the cycle.  There are still many little task to do. The big news with The Forest Service is the garbage truck broke down.  This means every dumpster is full.  The poor prisoners had the job of fishing garbage out of the dumpsters by hand and hauling it away.  The guys had on mask, and desert ripened garbage would be a real treat.  Usually the prisoners are happy to be out of jail and working, but the electric chair would have been preferable to rotten fish.

The Bible says the lord works in strange ways.  Cliff started watering a lemon tree at his site and it immediately produced lemons, so this is a sign god wants us to have gin and tonics.  Last night we went to Roberto's and had some good Mexican food. After that we did the Globe Halloween tour on main street which is quite a production.  Well time to start filling out hundreds of forms so Kadizzle can work for free.

Stoupini just called.  He is now officially retired and sounds as if he may come down and join us for awhile. It should be fun.

Settled In

The Earth Module now sits above Lake Roosevelt.  By the grace of The Forest Service we have a wonderful spot with electricity, sewer, and water.  We have a very nice veranda with a million dollar view of the lake and mountains.  Our trail crew is all in one place. Cliff is delighted to be nearby with electricity, and full hookups.  The gate to our gated community is working. Tonight we went to Globe and had fun see the downtown Halloween extravaganza.  Last night a coyote howled right at our door to welcome us.  The desert heat is still intense but the nights are cool and life is good. The Commander will go on a hike with Cliff in the morning and a hiking club.  Kadizzle may take a cycle ride and relax. We have the site cleaned up and are ready to start working later in the week.

Stars abound in the Sky

It is early, the coffee water is heating, and the Kadizzles are starting another day.  The stars are out in full glory and the southwestern sky is dark enough to make a good display.  Yesterday we meandered down to the boat ramp as two Windriders sailed in.  Kadizzle used to sell Windriders way back when.  Kadizzle had a long talk with the Windrider sailors.  One interesting thing he learned was that Chochiti Lake is basically a failure.  When you look at the dam you can see it is much higher than it needs to be for the amount of water it backs up.  The gentleman explained that when the lake was allowed to fill they discovered it pressurized a crack in the ground under the lake.  The water under pressure came up in the Indian village and made a swamp out of it. So now the lake is only allowed to get to 42 feet, when it could probably stay at over one hundred feet.

So this morning we will be off for Lake Roosevelt. Cliff is already down there in the encampment.  Some terrible news came yesterday that the best breakfast burrito in the world is no longer on the menu at La Pasada in Winslow.  Little Joey cried all night at the news.  There will be a protest.

Cochiti Lake

Fresh air filled The Earth Module last night and Kadizzle slept well.  The sun is pouring in the windows with a great view of Lake Cochiti below.  The Commander is getting up to date on her laptop and NPR is playing in the background.  The big decision today is if we move on or spend another day here.  The Rio Grande starts here and runs clear to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the Rio Grand filling the lake.   We are right between Sante Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Both are sprawling cities in the semi desert.  The Spanish occupied this land long ago and of course the Catholic Church made a mess of Indian life as they do everywhere.  These Indians were peaceful farmers.  Not far from here is Tent Rocks a unique sacred area of wondrous tepee shaped rocks.

As The Commander noted the night was so peaceful without the any traffic or train sounds.  The combination of cool air coming down off the mountains and silence makes for some good sleeping.  If we stay here all day boredom will be the enemy.  The Commander says Kadizzle cannot unpack the mototcycle and go for a ride in the mountains.  We will see about that.

The Pretty Indian Girl

On a sunny day with warm weather the Kadizzles headed to Cochiti Lake to spend the night, as we make our way to winter camp in the Earth Module.  The pickup has been sucking up gas like it is air. Now it is time to make one more stop for gas.  This gas stop was a bit unusual in two ways.  First, was the notice we got to stop.  A passing pickup honked the horn and pointed desperately at the Earth Module.  Something had to be wrong so Kadizzle quickly pulled to the side of the road.  Yup, The Commander who never forgets anything had left the steps to the camper down.  We just drove through tight traffic in Trinidad, Colorado with the steps down.  It was a miracle it did not result in a disaster.

Since we are stopped we may as well pull in and get some gas.  As we pull into the gas station we notice a very attractive Indian girl sitting on the curb stop.   A man gets out of a white van and says to her " It looks like you need some help".  He hands her some bills.  The strange thing is the girl did not ask for help, nor did she have a sign.  It was inspirational and as Kadizzle filled the truck with gas he thought maybe he should also give the girl some money.  As he filled the tank he saw another man walk by the girl and pick up a cigarette that still had some smoking left in it, and then he looked around for more good butts.  In the meantime The Commander got out of the pickup and asked Kadizzle if we should donate to the girl.  Kadizzle agreed and the Commander handed her ten bucks.  Kadizzle had instructed The Commander to find out what the story was.  The girl said she just got a job and an apartment, but had no money until her first paycheck.  It all seemed on the up and up, after all the girl gave no sign she was wanting money or anything else.  The strange thing was the guy picking up cigarette butts.  He was sitting in a car very close to the girl.  The entire back window of the car was broken out.

As Kadizzle pulled away with The Commander he could not help but wonder if this was a scam.  If it was it was very clever.  It depended on just the good nature of people.  Was the guy working with the girl? Why was he just sitting there?  Obviously the guy was broke also.   So either we did a good deed or we got taken.

The Motorcycle Bitch

In my last post Kadizzle mentioned the woman who described herself as " I am a motorcycle bitch".  This morning Kadizzle reflected on his conversation with her.  The woman who had but two incisors top and bottom said " I aint going to let them make me change my religion, and I aint going to wear one of them things over my face".   How many people actually believe Obama is going to get their gun, we will have Sharia Law, women will have to wear Arab garb in our country.  It is such a stretch of reality, yet the Hoopleheads actually think such things could happen.  The other day Kadizzle went into the Hardware store in Hazen.  The hardware store is now owned and run by a bunch of home schooling fundamentalist.  Of course Kadizzle enjoys egging the clerk about his right wing insanity.  In the course of doing so an older man who worked there started ranting about the dangers of a "One World Government", which of course is what Obama and Hillary really want.  Usually you go about life thinking most of the people around you are rational, but then reality strikes, you turn on the radio and hear Rush, you meet the old geezer worried about the Illuminati.  You read an article about the nut cases in Idaho, and on the border fearing secret internment camps. Sadly you realize you are in a society which has a hard core of perhaps 28% severely ignorant people, walking around breathing and believing the moon landing was staged, there is no global climate problem, and Obama is coming for your gun. Trump feeds on these people, Fox News feeds on them.  These are the people every company knows they can easily rip off with pay day loans, credit cards, and 19.95 Chea pets.  Every time you meet one of these people you are meeting an American failure. A failure of our economic system, a failure of our educational system. The election will tell us how serious the problem is.

Denver Delight

Last night we settled into bed about two hundred yards from the rail line.   Ah, that wonderful feeling of deep sleep, and then it started.  First a slow rumble, and then the engineer gave it full throttle.  It seemed like the Earth would shake and fall apart.  Eight thousand horsepower reved up and the brain coming from sleep could not figure it out.  After the train rumbled by sleep came again, but two more trains fractured the night.

So we got up and buzzed to Denver.  In Denver The Commander had to stop at Sam's Club for glasses. Kadizzle engaged a woman at the checkout to promote voting against Trump.  The woman told Kadizzle she voted for Trump.  Kadizzle asked " How could you you do that after what he said about women?".   Kadizzle pointed out how Trump called Hillary a Nasty Woman.   Well the Trump voter said " I a motorcycle bitch, and Trump will have to do way better than that to insult me, I voted for him".  So there you have it Trump has the motorcycle bitch vote locked up.

Here we sit having great fun with Sylvie.  Sylvie made Grandpa go out in the yard and do some circus tricks.  Sylvie stood on Granpa's shoulders without holding on.  She stood straight up.  Granpa said how do you do that. Sylvia said " It isn't hard standing on a fat man".  That little trouble maker.  So off to Chochiti Lake we go in the morning.

Wheatland Wyomng

Drive, drive, and drive some more, and here we are sitting in the park by the railroad track. The TV just fired up and we get two channels, PBS.  Yea.  The beers are settling us down, and now all we need is a train to go by.  Tomorrow we head to see the Ticklepinch.  Up early and away we go.