The Bud Light Brain

As we picked up trash yesterday along the Salt River it became evident the worst offenders were Bud Light drinkers. About 80% of the trash was Bud Light.  It was the Bud Light drinkers who elected Trump.  Trump wants to make American great again.  His drinking buddies could " Make America Great" simply by putting their beer cans in the trash can.  America will not embrace returnable cans and bottles so people have to go out and manually pick up the trash of the degenerates.  The tobacco industry was forced to put warnings on their packages.  Why not make beer companies put a large orange label about littering on their product.  Strangely most of the fishermen along the river are blue collar Bud Light people.  Why do they pollute the very area they enjoy?  In Arizona when the simple dingers throw their beer cans beside the highway it means someone has to wade through thorns to pick the cans out.  Of course it is also a good opportunity to encounter a snake.  The beer companies could run adds during football games making some strong statements about the Bud Light rodents.

Another Trail Day

Up very early in the Earth Module the crew as usual is getting up to date on the Google.  The coffee is made and the second cup will be coming up soon. NPR is in the background trying to explain how lying makes no difference to Donald Trump.  The radio says it is 45 degrees.  Cliff by text says he was also up early.  Little Mike will not be with us today he has to get his fifth wheel to the point he can move it for repairs.  The big task today it deciding what to do.  Our Canadian friends were cleaning up the United States yesterday. They picked up eight bags of trash, left by white trash.

Yesterday Kadizzle rebuilt a lot of cairns.  Cairns are used to mark trails and are simply a pile of rocks. There are some purist who think cairns should not exist, so they kick them over.  Many times we have relied on cairns to help us navigate and get out of the wilderness. In fact there are times when they could be a life or death deal.  If you are hurt, or darkness is descending, and you need to get off the trail quickly, the cairn may be of great help.  Cairns go back a long way.  The pioneers used them and even to this day you can see a cairn on butts in the west.  In Ireland rock cairns are often considered art.  The cairn kickers think the outdoor experience should be devoid of man made influence.  The simple fact you are on a trail means you have violated that rule.  Take your shoes off it you want nature. Some people do.  No matter what you do you cannot escape the noise of jets overhead.  As we worked yesterday the moisture in the air and the clouds made the jet noise extra loud.  At any given time there are six thousand jets in the air.  During certian times of day an aircraft goes over about every five minutes.  We are in the area where planes are either climbing out of Phoenix or descending into Phoenix.  Either way it is noisy at times.  You can almost tell the time of day by the jet noise.  In the morning you know around six the first planes will go over.  About 7 there will be a string of plane lights in the air landing.   Many times right over us the planes down shift, or cut back the engines.  The effect is this giant whoosing noise.  So here we go sunny, but cool.

Mother of all Trail Crews.

The Forest Service truck will have four occupants as we head toward the trail.  Two more people, Barb, and Jeff will join us on the way.  We will attack the trail with six people, a new record. Barb and Jeff are good Canadian friends who just want to help the struggling U.S. today.  Like so many they are dazed by the insanity that has gripped our country.  The crew is still up against the same problem.  We have most of the trails under control at the lower elevations, but the upper end of the trails near the Arizona Trail take so long to get to.  Now winter is starting to set in and it will be even more difficult to get to the top.  Snow will soon be at the upper elevations. Snow should get the streams running when the snow melts in the sunshine.

Back home in Hazen it is apparently snowing and blowing. Happy not to be there.  The house may get eight to twelve inches of snow.  The Lake Roosevelt area is desperate for moisture.  The lake is extremely low, and is a reminder of when Lake Sakakawea had such low levels.

NPR radio is playing in the background and they are talking about how Trump is upset about voter fraud that let Hillary wind the popular vote.  For four years we will deal with that insane man.  The truth has no relevance to Trump.  Trump just makes up anything and shoots it out.  The simple minded soak it up.  One day he claims the sky is blue, the next day he says it is brown. All Trump's idiots forget that yesterday he said it was blue.  There has never been a more insane or blatant liar elected president.

Sitting around the fire

The propane had to be put back in the Earth Module after the bottles were refilled, then Kadizzle had to finish cleaning the battery terminals.  As the little tasked ended Kadizzle saw flames over at Cliff's.  Cliff had a nice fire going and was burning the wood from his landscaping clean up.  Kadizzle wandered over  and on a cloudy overcast day the bullshit flew.  It was actually a little venting, bullshit, and just good conversation.  Mate did not appear until late in the game, so there was plenty of time for gold old man talk.  Finally Mate came over and we discussed tomorrows trail plan.  At some point we called little Mike to see if he was up for the trail game tomorrow.  Now the plan is to go to Tule Trail and get done what we can.  And that is the way it is at Lake Roosevelt.

Grandpa has no one to play with

After inspecting houses in Payson Kadizzle glided back to the Earth Module which sad lonely waiting for us by the lake.  Waking this morning without Sylvie's gleaming blue eyes was sad.  Grandpa had so much fun with his little girl.  Meanwhile Grandma is putting up all the art Sylvie made for us in the Earth Module.  Just seeing the little bug brimming with energy is a delight.  Sylvie inherited the energy gene from Grandma.  Sylvie cannot sit still for any moment.  Constantly she is working on her gymnastics abilities.  She spins across the room and ends up with her feet pointing at the ceiling while she is braced upside down standing on her hands. Sylvie's constant workout has resulted in a little bundle of solid muscle.  The girl is going to be a natural athlete. Grandpa had to sit with Sylvie and review Simon Bile videos on youtube. Simon won the gymnastic Olympics.  So here Granpa sits in the Earth module with NPR in the background and forced to entertain himself.  Well Kadizzle will wander over and see what Cliff is up to.

Mini reunion

The little energy bunny is in the car headed to the Phoenix airport.  A sudden silence has descended on the place.  Sylvie cannot stay upright. She has her granny's energy.  Constantly she is doing handstands, or some sort of gymnastics routine.  Every morning grandpa awoke to a balance beam demonstration on the end of the bed.

Last night at sister Patty's house Kadizzle's oldest sister Melissa and her husband Bob were there with Sylvie's second cousin Savannah.  The two were born within months of each other and it was their first meeting.  Patty who is wonderful with children kept them busy with a massive crafts project.  So Kadizzle had the two bookends in the family, Patty the youngest, and Melissa the oldest.  A family fact was brought up. Our mother had 9 children in 12 years.  Now that is some serious reproduction.  Of the nine seven are still on planet Earth. Louise and Colin departed early into the universe of the unknown.  We all learned a lesson from being in a big family. No one had more than two children.

Today we will head back to Lake Roosevelt to resume our lives as trail maintenance people.  Massive amounts of leftovers will be accompanying us. The latest advice for living is to invest in experiences, not things.  Seems like good advice we had a great Turkey experience with more than enough hiking.  After yesterdays hike the total mileage just for the week was over ten miles through some very nice country.

The now motorcycle tires came and now have to be installed. The tires may attempt Kadizzle to go places he should not at a speed he should not.  Kadizzle is in the phase of life where you buy your last set of toys.  The temptation to buy an adventure motorcycle and take some longer road trips is knocking on the door.

Heads stuck in computer screens.

Here we sit one day after Turkey day starring at the computer screens.  At one time it seemed like computers would emerge as great time savers.  Nope, computers and phones now are time wasters beyond the imagination.

Meeting people and relatives Kadizzle is still hearing tales of stunned humans wondering how we went off the deep end with Trump.  The number of people depressed or actually sick is amazing.  It seemed like our country had made some progress, be it ever so little, and ever so slowly, but now we have fallen backwards in an unbelievable way.

As expected Trump is appointed the worst, most unqualified people possible.  Fundamentalist, and science deniers are among his favorites.  Trump appointing fundamentalist really takes the cake.  This foul man pretending to be religious. l

Kadizzle is taking a wait and see approach.  According to the silly Bible thumpers god often uses evil men for good purposes.  That is the best we can hope for. 

Blasting down the trail

Well here we sit waiting for the magic turkey moment. The gang just completed a six mile hike in the Sedona area.  The little Sylvie is the best hiking 7 year old this old grandpa ever saw. Old gramps could not keep up with her and she was still going strong after six tough miles.  Little Chicken legs has endurance.  The weather here is just about perfect.  Soreness will surely set in.  Hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving.  Great for Grandpa to be able to spend the holiday with Erin, Sylvie, and Fran.  Old Cheech just moved into their new house in Philadelphia.  Cheech will pop with the next grandchild in February.  Granpa loves little trouble makers and cannot wait. It looks like Sylvie wants to play waitress again today, so that means good wine service.

Crazy Club Thanksgiving

Kadizzle called in yesterday for a report from the crazy club.  Shiny and Stroupini are going to have Thanksgiving dinner together at Shiny's abode.  Kadizzle suggest all the dues collected this year should go to the feast.  Stroupini said it looks like the Crazy Club headquarters may be shut down for the winter, and perhaps longer.  This is a sad state of affairs.  The climate at the Brooks House is perfect, comfortable chairs, and great decor. This could be a crisis if a new meeting hall has to be procured.  Maybe it could be moved to the sewing shop Rita has.  Rita is like a magnet for crazy people.

Losing things on the trail.

If you read yesterday's story you might recall the bet Kadizzle made with his granddaughter Sylvie.  In the course of the bet Kadizzle actually put $80 into Sylvie's possession.  Kadizzle won the bet and demanded the money back.  Awakening yesterday morning Kadizzle realized his wallet was gone.  After a very intense search of the house the only conclusion was the wallet never made it home on the day of the hike.  The most likely location for the wallet was where the bet was finalized. Sadly that was as far up the trail as we went. This meant the whole hike of three miles or more had to be done over.  The wallet had credit cards, social security card, medicare card, drivers license and much more including eighty dollars. So off we went to rehike the hike. Good luck prevailed and Fran found the wallet in our bed.  Several miles into the drive we got the good news by phone and turned back.

The whole incident was like the time in Alaska where the car keys actually were lost at the top of a mountain and indeed the hike had to be repeated.  When you sit on the trail, fall on the trail, or do anything out of the ordinary look around. Once high on a mountain in Texas the GPS was left when we sat for lunch.  Back we had to go.

Indian Rock Art

The clan set out yesterday to see where the ancient people of the Sedona area lived.  After visiting the regular sites the natives built for the tourist we decided to go off on our own.  At the petroglyph panel at Palitki the lecturer had given Mate some clues about the location of a panel few get to see.  Down the rugged road and back to a trail we had hiked years ago we went.  With a keen eye Mate found the obscure trail that led up a side branch of the main creek.  Soon we discovered the panel.  Sadly the panel had been badly vandalized and it was hard to tell which pictographs were real and which were not.  However,  there were some very interesting depictions we had never seen before.  The most notable were the giant snake drawings.  The snakes appeared to have a strange rattle on the end.

After thoroughly checking the art it was time to head back. Sylvie was very nervous that we were lost. Grandpa told Sylvie she could have the four twenty dollar bills in his wallet if he could not find the trail.  Luckily grandpa found the trail.  On the way back hiking navigation skills were the days lesson for Sylvie.  For the test Sylvie was put in front of the group and successfully led us back.  At one questionable point Sylvie was correct, and her mom was wrong.

Looking out the window the hot air balloons just took off and headed south.  Soon today's adventure will begin.

Up in the Morning

About to fill the second cup of coffee. Mate is making sandwiches for today's adventure. The old body will have to chug up the red rock with the little Sylvie in tow.  Last night Sylvie got the bee in her bonnet that she wanted to play waitress. She did an excellent job.  First she instructed us to " Just sit there and enjoy yourself".  Next she brought drinks.  She set the table, made name tags for the plates, cleared the table, and even helped with the dishes.  When Kadizzles kids were little he liked to give them random rewards for doing good deeds.  Sometimes when the kids would bring home a good report card Kadizzle would just say great and give them a hug. Other times they might get five or ten bucks.  It was the old random reward psychology trick.  Kadizzle called the little blond waitress over and gave her a twenty dollar tip.  Her eyes beamed and she continued about her duties.  Perhaps Sylvie will invest the tip in a nice Christmas present for Grandpa.

Being an Old Guy

67 years are taking their toll, but Kadizzle can still walk, hike, and ride a motorbike.  Kadizzle has been contemplating buying another adventure bike.  The little Yamaha 250 is adequate to kill yourself in a rocky crash on a mountain road, but if you want to get killed at 70mph going off a cliff on a nice windy road you need more cc.  Old goats get enamored with toys and it is not long before they sober up and abandon their latest bucket list toy.  Phoenix is the perfect place to shop for the toys abandoned by old goats. Since most of the goats have money they often are willing to take a beating when they sell their toys. Kadizzle has been thinking about a Yamaha Super Tenere or maybe a Triumph Tiger 800.  Another possibility is to go back to the KLR 650 Kadizzle had last summer.

Now there are a couple of problems.  How would Kadizzle get the damn thing back to North Dakota?  Ride it is the obvious answer.  That is a long ride.  Leave it here an only use it in the winter?  That is too much cash to stash.  So on goes the thinking.

An adventure bike will go down the road all day at 80mph and get 50 mpg.  You can pack enough to tent, and you can get up some pretty bad roads to find a place to tent.  Crashing on a heavier bike on a bad road is not good. Just getting the thing upright is a challenge for an old man. With Stoupini Kadizzle made the trip on the KLR to Port Townsend from Hazen last summer.  On some days we did five hundred miles.  Two or three hundred a day on a cycle is plenty.  Well the wheels keep spinning.  One possibility is just to own the machine for the winter.  Ride the roads of the Arizona wilderness, then sell the beast in the spring.  Pondering.

Sacred Mountain

Rain fell on the desert last night, and the smell in the desert permeated the world.  Nothing compares to the smell of the desert when rain hits.  It is a good refreshing smell.  Yesterday we went to the rock art site at the Double V Bar Ranch.  The rock art is the native version of a sun dial.  For six minutes every year a shaft of sun light points to a specific spot on the rock art.  Imagine the Earth in such alignment as to move in the entire orbit in space and return to precisely the same spot a year later.  Very accurate and delicate clock indeed.

Next we went up Sacred Mountain and fund such an abundance of pot shards.  Erin had great fun discovering all the pot parts thrown from the top of the mountain six hundred years ago.  One can wonder in amazement at the sheer number of people who inherited this area so long ago.

Awaking each day in this new world of Trumpism seems odd.  The world seems on hold as we wait for the insane man to light the fuse of his administration.  What kind of explosion will it be? As the Trump rocket climbs into the air will it explode in a harmless fashion like so many fireworks do or will it rain down destruction on everyone.  Trump is a con man who will do what it takes to enrich himself.  Kadizzle read an interesting article by Paul Krugman in The New York Times today about how Trump will try to set up a system to enrich his buddies as the country tries to rebuild the roads and bridges.  When Republicans privatize prisons, roads, bridges, and schools some crook always makes a bundle.  Right here in Arizona the school system has been turned into a bucket of fraud by dreaming up these charter schools.  You take an abandoned store front and turn it into a school.  You can see it everywhere here.  Some clever hacks siphon off funds meant for the education of our children and you call it progress.  Trump will find hundreds of ways to redirect money to scammers.  That is his specialty.  America will be great again, great for fraud, great for cronyism, great for bribes, and great for kickbacks.  So here we sit the fuse has been lit.  The bomb will not go off until the worst man ever elected president in our lifetime is sworn in.  Trump has not an once of dignity. The scheming has already begun.  The foxes that will guard the nations chicken houses have been chosen.  Racist, war mongers, and cheerleaders for his majesty are all being rewarded for stirring up the Hoopleheads the brought the king to power.  What a glorious time we have to look forward to.

Bragging.

Old Kadizzle is ensconced in the enclave with his grand daughter Sylvie.  Now for the bragging.  Sylvie is an amazing writer. Kadizzle just read her illustrated story about finding a dog in the back yard. As a second grader she writes better than her grandpa, illustrates better than grandpa, and her talents go on.  She is an incredible artist.  All of this and Sylvie is in second grade.  Do genetics matter? Both of Sylvies great grandmothers went to prestigious art schools.  Aunt Cheech is a professional designer.  Both parents of the little prize are professional writers.  So grandpa hopes, and the evidence indicates the little bumpkin has inherited a wealth of talent.  Now, the talent has been fertilized at great expense, but the payoff has been well worth it.

Pretending

Here we sit in someone else's house in Sedona.  A nice house with an expensive view. For a week we can pretend like we are the well to do.  We can only afford to be rich for a week, after that back to the Earth Module and working for free.  For a week we will have luxury showers, and all the accouterments of the rich and famous.  In a  vast kitchen mate is unpacking the groceries including my two bottles of heart medicine from the vineyards in Australia.

7:55 is on the clock and the daughter and her gang will not even land in Phoenix until 9.  With the expansive nighttime view of Sedona here sits Kadizzle on the side of the hill pecking on the keyboard.  People come here and think they experience the place.  Maybe they do, but the real experience is out away from the fribble shops and the yuppie beer joints.  All things considered Kadizzle would rather be about five miles south of town out in the desert in the Earth Module where we usually stay.  Out there the stars are blinding, no noise, and lots of quite.  Here in McMansionville it is the hustle bustle of a mini New York or something.  Unbelievable traffic.  It is a lot like the Grand Canyon.  Most people come peer over the edge and leave thinking they experienced the Grand Canyon.  Shanika took a helicopter over the Canyon last year and had a good buzz, but you cannot get the feel until you put one foot in front of the other and walk to the bottom.  Kadizzle is probably being a bit of an ecological elitist, but I am doing the typing so that give me liberties.  Maybe it is time to do a nice turkey cook in the shower.  This old plump turkey can jump in and baste himself with soap and shampoo.

Now this did stir a strange thought.  Humans have intervened in the breeding of animals and modified them to suit our needs.  The net results Kadizzle discovered the other day is that male turkeys have been turned into such big breasted animals they can no longer breed the females.  The solution to this problem is something you will have to read and figure out for yourself, but it has created a new job description.  So that is it from the land of the pink jeep.  Pink jeeps if you have ever been to this part of Arizona are the most obscene slap in the face to the remarkable scenic wonders of this place.  Somehow it is just like having whores working in front of the White House. It just aint right.

Turkey Day in Sedona.

Packing and removing each item we will need from the Earth Module.  The crew of two is moving to Sedona to meet the little Sylvie, and her parents. Together we will celebrate Turkey day.  Kadizzle has been reading The History of White Trash in America.  A lot of our history is terribly misportrayed.  Turkey day is full of false history, but that does not make the dressing taste any less delicious.

Yesterday Kadizzle took a motorcycle ride with Jeff.  Kadizzle picked a bad line up the steep mountain road and quickly paid for it.  Kadizzle did what he called a "Walkaway" .  As the motorcycle crashed Kadizzle deftly stepped off and walked away as the cycle went down.  Normally one ends up under the motorcycle.  The next challenge was to go up a very steep road full of baby head boulders.  Jeff waited at the bottom to see how Kadizzle did.  Kadizzle boomed up the road.  The back tire spun, Kadizzle lost traction,  and then the pirouette happened.  In a deft manipulation Kadizzle managed to turn the cycle around and head back down the steep road.  Kadizzle himself was amazed he was able to stay on the cycle.  Jeff thought the move was a well planned well executed turn.  Nope, it was just pure good luck.  Jeff had been telling Kadizzle how bad his tires were.  This little incident convinced Kadizzle that indeed the tires were shot.  The hard part of the road was cancelled and good judgement prevailed. Normally good judgement never interferes with attempts to get hurt, but age ultimately teaches you something.

The Hoopleheads and the Dingers

In about an hour we will be at a potluck meeting and 95 percent of the people there probably voted for Trump. So what?  All of these Hoopleheads, and dingers are working for The Forest Service.  Trump and Republicans would like nothing better than to sell of public lands and destroy the Forest Service.  The same dingers and Hoopleheads are living on the edge.  All that gets them by is medicare, and social security.  Trump and his gang want to destroy both medicare and social security.  The mind of a dinger is special.  You need a gun, you need a wall, and you need to make America great again.  The people who will get hurt the most by Trump and his gang are the ones who wanted him the most.  All the Hoopleheads know is things are not going well for them.  Their trailers are leaking, they don't have the money to replace their rat wagon, and things just are not right.  The dingers have no clue what caused this mess, but they think simply picking someone else to rob them is the answer.  Trump has appointed some mean rotten people already.  In no time at all Trump will be funneling tax breaks to the rich.  It will take the dingers and Hoopleheads a while to realize you cannot build a wall, give tax breaks to your buddies and destroy the spending power of the simple minded all at once.  So lets all get together and watch America become great.  Sure hope old Kadizzle is mixed up and wrong, but there is nothing on the horizon.  To really top it off the old Trumpster will push on global warming gas pedal.  Here we are frying ourselves on planet Earth and the old Trumpster is appointing people left and right that say global warming is a hoax.  Wow, and the most amazing thing in all of this is the silly fundamentalist.  Now, they will see how the old grabber of women's genitals pushes their agenda.  We are going into a new world at least it will be exciting to see the fox in charge of the chicken coop.  Good luck chickens.

Redneck fire ring.

The trail crew with one new volunteer headed up the Chilicot Trail.  As Little Mike the new member, Mate, and Cliff went up the trial Kadizzle stayed back to work on the parking area .   Redneck dingers love to build a fire pit right in the middle of the parking area.  This seems to be almost an essential religious thing for rednecks.  Kadizzle had to remove all the rocks, and there were a lot of them.  Also the white trash people have to leave trash.  So that had to be cleaned up.  Every good redneck has to improve his shooting skills so the rednecks had to leave a shot up propane cylinder,  and some shot up beer cans.  Naturally this resulted in shell casings all over the place.  Then there is the pee paper.  Women are the culprits here.  So the pee paper had to be picked up.  After cleaning the parking area Kadizzle headed down the trail to join the rest of the crew.  We did a six mile hike in some steep country.  Worn out we finally got home to watch a few episodes of Fargo on the TV.

This morning everyone who is a volunteer will have a potluck with lectures on not to even think about shooting people, safety, and being a good volunteer.

Don't get conned

Kadizzle is now qualified to work with prisoners in an effort to make America Great again.  As we gathered to wait for the class to begin it was story time.  One of the people there had already been working with prisoners at the landfill.  Landfill launched into a story about how a prisoner found some sort of fish head in the garbage. The inmate knew he would get strip searched every day when he returned to prison.  Part of the strip search is the old bend over and spread your cheeks.  The prisoner placed the fish head in a strategic place.  Back at the prison when he pulled down his pants, bent over, and spread his cheeks you can imagine where the fish head appeared to pop out.  Well you got to have some fun in prison.  The guy told the guard " How did that get there?"

So all morning we learned about prison culture, gangs, and watching prisoners.  One rule, you can only address them by their last name.  According to the class they all want to con you into doing something for them you should not.  Kadizzle is used to being conned by his wife who tries to con him into doing something he should do.

Becoming a prison gaurd

The Forest Service in our area relies on the modern version of the old fashioned chain gang.  Today Kadizzle will  head to Globe to become certified to work with inmates.  Low grade inmates do so much around here that the place could hardly function without them.  Inmates do the garbage cut the weeds, dig the ditches and fix many things.

So today Kadizzle will learn all the rules for working with people who made a mistake and got caught. The class should be over by noon, so perhaps an update will be in order.  Yesterday Kadizzle was talking with the guard who comes from the jail with these guys.  The guard is a very big guy who used to be a professional cage fighter.  He looks like he could give anyone who needed it an adjustment.  The guard looks like he may be of Mexican heritage, he is about six five and 325, and in good shape. He said one of the prisoners called him a taco eater. This did not go well with him and he had to restrain himself from adjusting the guy, but he took the high ground and is going to recommend the offended stay home and not come out to play. Home in this instance will be the cooler. Sad North Dakota does not have a program like this.  The offenders actually like to get out and work. They work hard. They get paid fifty cents and hour and do a lot to make these parks function.

Watch this

When Kadizzle was a nubie driver stupidity reined supreme.  Everyone learned to drive by stealing my grandfathers car.  Once my grandfather went to bed it was customary for just about anyone to steal one of his two cars.  It was bound to happen someone would wreck a car.  Sure enough Charlie wrecked my grandfathers car on a nightly ride in the country.  Also one more than one occasion Benny stole his grandfather's car.

It was customary to get a car one way or the other and spin the car around in a huge parking lot when it snowed.  So one day with Kadizzle's cousin we were out spinning his mother's station wagon around in the empty parking lot somewhere.  It was probably at Wheeling Park which had a huge parking lot.  When the spinning adventure was over cousin Mark had to take Kadizzle home.  Now Mark though he was an expert spinner, so he said to Kadizzle as he drove down the street toward Kadizzle's house " Watch this".  At this point he put the car in a spin, went up over sidewalk and hit a tree.  It was a fairly gentle crash and no one was hurt,  but Kadizzle about pissed his pants laughing.

So here we are, it is 2016 and we just elected Donald Trump.  Kadizzle is getting that " Watch this feeling".  One thing Kadizzle has learned since Mark wrecked the car so many years ago is be careful when someone says watch this.  A motorcyclist told his friends " Watch this".  So his friends started the video on their phones and stood on the bridge about a mile from here. Mr. Watch This got the cycle up over one hundred miles per hour and crossed the bridge.  As Mr. Watch this finished impressing his friends he found he could not make the curve, hit the barrier on the bridge, flew off the bridge into a ravine and was seriously killed.

It'll Eat

Yesterday ended with a conversation with a 100% certified Bubba.  Kadizzle returned from Globe with a Forest Service truck that had been in for repair.  After locking up the truck Kadizzle noticed the gate on the road was unlocked and decided to lock it.  Bubba was out emptying the garbage from his Forest Service apartment.  Since he was new to the local game Kadizzle thought he would strike up a little conversation. Bubba was from Mississippi.  However, his last post for the Department of Defense was in Detroit.  Bubba was used to southern black people, but he was in a wild zoo in Detroit.  Moving to AZ seemed like salvation.

Kadizzle asked Bubba if he liked Mexican food.  Kadizzle had just stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Globe. Both Kadizzle and his mate like to hear a good southern Buzz Cackler.  What is a buzz cackler?  A buzz cackler has the deepest of deep south accents.  Bubba had the touch.  Bubba said he had eaten Mexican food, but did not have much use for it.  Bubba said he preferred gumbo, corn bread, and greens.  Then he launched into why he did not like Mexican food.  " You know it is like the slop you feed the pigs, it is some slop mixed with corn."  Bubba went on to say he did not really like Mexican food, but "It'll Eat".  It'll eat, that is Kadizzle's problem there is a lot of food he should not eat, but when hungry he adopts Bubba's phrase "It'll eat".

So earlier in the day Kadizzle went for a motorcycle ride up on the mountain across from the visitor center.  On the way up the rugged mountain road Kadizzle went past the highway department's outpost.  Kadizzle noticed two large fuel tanks.  On the return trip down the mountain Kadizzle saw a truck turning into the depot and followed him in.  Kadizzle was curious if one of the tanks held gasoline.  The man in the truck said indeed it did.  Now this was a strange turn of events.  Here was a ten thousand gallon tank of gasoline owned by the state government, but the Forest Service had no access to it. Instead the Forest Service spends a small fortune driving Forest Service trucks to retail gasoline outlets. The state employee assured Kadizzle Forest Service trucks could fuel there if they wanted.  Something just did not add up. Later in the day Kadizzle checked out the strange politics of that situation.  In the meantime it occurred to Kadizzle that this man worked with the small number of people who maintained the roads around here.  Kadizzle, Cliff, and mate were returning from the Jug the other day and a state truck came flying around the road at a high speed and just barely got out of our lane.  At the time of the incident our entire crew was pissed at the carelessness.  Kadizzle debated at the time if action should be taken.  Kadizzle and mate ( The term The Commander can no longer be used do to censorship and politically correct requirements) had a little discussion about figuring out exactly who was driving the truck.  Kadizzle said it was easily discoverable .Mate said it was not.  Kadizzle proceeded to recount the incident to the man at the depot.  It turned out he was the boss of the two guys driving like NASCAR drivers toward Young.  So today the boss is going to have a little pow wow with the drivers.  If Kadizzle had not been in the right place at the exact right moment this encounter would never have taken place.  The strangeness of how the world works and the way probability works never fails to amuse.

Yup

Day after perfect day beside the lake we sit. The humming birds have found the treasure set out for them.  Although the winds are light by Lake Sakakawea standards a couple sail boats often ply the waters.  The desert is hurting for water. The streams are exstreamly streams, extremely dry.  In so many places where water always runs there is not water or it is stagnant.  The days of worry are over, we are in a world where you just ignore reality.  The world is melting down, but who cares the peaches will grow farther north and the polar bears will have to buy refrigeration.

So what do you do?  Enjoy what you can, while you can.  What about the children, the grand children?  Well they are on their own.  Are we guilty? Yes, we burnt the hell out of the oil, the coal, the natural gas as if you could do that and expect nothing to happen. Yes there are 6,000 jets in the sky at any given moment over the United States. Yes, most cars weigh about 5,000 pounds and have one occupant.  Sure the lake in front of us only has 30% of the normal amount of water.  So what I will have a good breakfast, I am fat, I am warm, I have gas for the car, the truck, and the cycle. What me worry?

Who makes that hat I will put on today?  It might be someone in China or India.  They make the chair I will sit in a little while.  Nice of them to do that, but how long will they be willing to serve my every need at slave labor wages?  Who knows, who cares?  If I go to town I need to buy some more wine.  Thank god for the people willing to pick those grapes.  Of course it will take some water to grow my grapes and vegetables for salads.  The Colorado is running dry, but maybe it will make it until I drop dead.  The trick to make this all work is just don't worry about it. Just pretend like it is not happening. Just pretend like a lot of liberals are stirring up a lot of lies.  Don't worry about other people.  I got mine and I got a gun so I can keep mine.  Now turn on the TV, turn up the air conditioner get a drink, sit back and watch America become great again. Quit being such a whiner and baby.

Who are you?

You don't have to tell me who you are, but it would be interesting to know.  Just now I checked the statistics for this blog site.  583,000 pages have been viewed.  Often Kadizzle has wondered who reads this crap?  I know of perhaps five people who might look at this nonsense on a regular basis, but when I look at the statistics it seem there are a lot more people out there than I think.  I know of one woman in Florida I happened to find out about, by the the Hello.  Honest Omar told me you read this sometimes.  I know of a plant worker that at one time read this stuff.  Well I will come to the point.  If you on occassion read this and you want to let me know you can email me.  My email is dakotaquinn@gmail.com.  One thing I realize a lot of people accidentally stumble across this mess.  The statistical system can tell where views come from in general.  Presumably the people in Russia and France are people who accidentally came across this.  Well if you get the notion let me know who you are.  Also I have a thick skin, if you don't like some of the thing on here tell me.  Over and out.

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.