The happiest days

Every sailor knows the old jaw " The two happiest days in a sailors life are the day he buys his boat and the day he sells it".  This has been the year the old ship has eaten the credit card alive.  The first big project was patching the dinger Kadizzle put in the keel last year.  That was actually a spring and fall procedure.  The trailer for the good ship had to be specially modified last year so the keel project could take place this spring.  This spring the keel was faired, and Kadizzle likes to think the boat is going faster.

The old knot meter has been reading zero for several years, and it was time to bring it back to life. When you are cursed by the sailing gods a simple repair turns into a Gordian Knot.  First the meter itself went to the doctor to the tune of $256.  The doctor said the knot meter was working, but he decided to do some cosmetic repairs.  If it was not the meter itself, it had to be the sending unit.  What the hell buy a new sending unit for another $135.  Changing a sending unit while the boat is in the water is fun. You pull the old one out, and get hit in the face with a fire hose of water until you get the next one in. With the new one in joy spread through Kadizzles heart, but of course it was 20/1000 too small.  Now the new unit had to go back, and it was of course replaced with one that was also too small.  After some southern engineering Kadizzle was able to get the diameter of the sending unit to enlarge. It was simply a matter of soaking  it in Viagra over night.  With the new knot meter in place it was time to try it out.  Sure enough when we got underway it still read zero.  This meant the damn cable was probably bad and another $40 had to be sacrificed to the sea.  Luckily resetting the meter solved the problem.  Now it was time to calibrate the meter.  Of course since the meter was older than the Bible you could not use a GPS to do it.  The instructions indicated you had to sail a two mile course and say some magic words as you picked your nose and faced west.  After Pat and I tried to figure it out, we finally gave up.  So now the boat can always be faster or slower than reality, it is just a matter of choosing which illusion you like.

Every boat leaks more from the top than the bottom, so the Vice Admiral  aka, The Commander, the notorious Jasper Littlebottom, decided she would no longer tolerate her favorite leak. This meant resealing the chain plates.  After this messy and hopeless job The Commander discovered some rot below the chain plate.  This meant another week of repairs and $300 more contributed to the deep.

Water in the bilge was the next mystery.  Every possible source was researched.  After the National Aeronautical and Space Administration reviewed our leak the Kadizzlites concluded it was the packing gland. A few twist and hopefully that is cured. 

Somewhere in this chain of catastrophes the fresh water pump decided it was time for it to go to water pump heaven.  I am sure it went to heaven because it did last over 12 years.  Anything that last on a sailboat over 12 years automatically goes to sailboat heaven in the Carri bean.  Replacing the water pump is fairly simple and strait forward.  First you spend another $112.  That is the first rule in all sail boat repairs, spend some money.  With the new pump in place it was now time to turn it on and blow up the hot water line that ran through the bilge.  With that line replaced now the the pump could come to full pressure and blow out the line in the head, and under the kitchen sink.  So now you turn down the pressure and replace all the cold water lines.  Of course on a boat you have to stand on your head and work blind on everything.  If you manage to get the wrong fittings and have to make a trip to Beulah for a three dollar part, that also make you love for sailing increase.

After all this The Commander and Kadizzle finally got the sail we had worked so hard for.  After a nice meal in a secluded bay the steak dinner with sauted mushrooms was settling nicely when the cook decided to do the dishes.  Jasper shut off the faucet and the water line exploded.  It exploded with a gush, not the loud firecracker noise it made last week.  Fortunately it was just a clamp some idiot failed to install. The idiot of course had to craw upside down in the sail locker and fix it.  This was the same wonderful faucet that blew up last week.  That facet provide hours of puzzling and frustration, but finally got fixed by salvaging parts from the old shower fixture in the head.  The Commander said that facet was history.  Kadizzle set out to get a new one for $25, but The Commander said it was the wrong color and a piece of excrement.  In no time Littlebottom ordered one for $120.  The new faucet has not arrived, but it will surely be cursed and be harder to install than an artificial heart.

Beside Kadizzle sits the new bilge pump.  This little darling was $45 dollars and tomorrow will be a welcome new member to our ship. The Commander has been commenting on how lovely the tattered quilt we call the head sail looks.  Ah, a new head sail will only cost about $2,500 dollars.  If pirates will only attack our ship, sink it to the bottom and let us off on a deserted island, it will save us a fortune.  A review of our insurance policy indicates we are protected from pirates if Visa is not part of their name.

Pay the Hospital with Salt Water

When Kadizzle got his bill from the emergency room in Globe, Arizona, he was furious.  After waiting six hours to be seen Kadizzle got his three stitches in the finger for the princely sum of $1,500.  The American health insurance industry is rotten to the core, and health care in this country needs and enema.  Examining the bill it turns out Kadizzle was charged $26 dollars each for three bottles of sodium chloride (the medical term for salt water).  The salt water was used to clean the wound.  The exact same salt water can be purchased for $2.00 per bottle from the internet.  Kadizzle's owes the hospital in Globe, Arizona $147.   So that comes out to about five bottles of salt water.   So just to be fair Kadizzle will send the hospital 12 bottles of salt water.  According to the Hospital that would be worth $312, but will only cost Kadizzle $24.   The Hospital will get twice what they asked for when they sell the extra salt water to the next person they rip off.  If you go to the hospital take your own salt water, you can get it at any drug store, and it is medically approved.  Tell them to pour theirs back in the ocean.

Living on dreams isn't easy

Summer is rolling down the road at high speed. With the warm winter a lot of sailing friends have set new records for getting their boats in the water.  Yesterday Kadizzle finally got the bottom paint on and finished up the work on the keel.

Last summer Kadizzle hit a rock and took a chunk out of the keel.  Hitting the rock was pretty stupid, and dramatic.  The lake was at a record high last summer.  As the good ship came out of a bay with the fleet Kadizzle was distracted and not really paying attention to where the boat was. Think of the guy who hit the rock with that tour boat in the Mediterranean.  After a loud bang a big piece of fiberglass floated to the surface.  The Commander's eyes got big and it was obvious the Commander was taking it pretty serious.  Kadizzle knew it was the keel that hit and it was not a life or sinking problem.  The Commander got in panic mode and wanted to radio for help.  After some talk Kadizzle got the commander to simply inform the other boats we might be sinking.

What really spiced up the adventure was when The Commander went below to assess the damage. For some strange reason the sump pump was on. The bilge always has some water in it.  As the Commander went below she heard water gushing into the boat.  Now it was full panic.  The Commander was sure we were sinking.  What actually happened was the discharge hose from the sump pump had come off, so instead of pumping water overboard the pump was just pumping water in a circle.  The pump was shooting water at the floorboards of the boat making it sound like a huge leak. There was no leak at all, but it took a little bit to get the commander to realize it.

The big piece of fiberglass that floated to the surface was a previous patch on the keel.  Anyway, the new patch is in place and all is well. Now we have to go out and  find another rock to hit this year.

Now, why title this post "Living on dreams isn't easy"?   Well Kadizzle is sitting here listening to John Prine.  Prine has some of the best lyrics ever.  Some day Kadizzle is going to put together a story that is entirely made from the lyrics of songs.  If you have never listened to John Prime, do so.  John will sing to you all you need to know about life.

Life is short, Live it to the fullest

Recently we lost a good friend.  One day we were hiking up a mountain on a wonderful sunny day, and a few weeks later our friend suffered from bleeding in the brain and was dead.  Every person Kadizzle talks to lately is told the same thing.  Enjoy yourself now, don't put off retirement.  Nothing is sadder than seeing someone so close to the goal line and having their health or life yanked out from under them.  Too many of us have the means to stop working, but lack the courage.  There is a big world out there and it is a wonderful world to explore and enjoy.  There are so many family members to visit and enjoy, so many grandchildren, so many sons and daughters.  You don't need to get that last nickle, you don't need to drop dead with a big bundle of cash.  Life is good, but only if you come to the table and enjoy it.

Home sickness is setting in for some of the weary band of travelers.  Today the convoy of two RV's pulled into the State Park at Escalante, Utah.  Yesterday was the last day at Kodachrome State Park. Kadizzle's has hiked so much his heel is causing pain. Sisters Patty and Melissa headed back to civilization. The plan is to work our way north on the west side of the Rockies home.

Rescue Belt made on craft day.

Many years ago Kadizzle came up with the idea of making a belt from rope.  The belt could be unraveled and used in an emergency. Kadizzle floated the idea to many outdoor stores.  Many of the stores liked the idea, but Kadizzle never pursued it. 

First Attempt at rescue belt

Now a few different outfits are selling rescue bracelets with about twelve feet of paracord.  Yesterday Kadizzle decided for craft day to make a prototype rescue belt. The rope used for the belt has a breaking strength of 1300 lbs, and the idea is to get sixty feet of rope into the belt.  Since we do a lot of canyoneering, and sometimes dangerous hiking the belt may some day do the job.  Actually doubled you could have thirty feet of small diameter rope that might pull a truck or car out of the ditch.  The picture above shows the prototype that did not work out right. 

Kadizzlites waiting for Weather Break

The Kadizzilites are enjoying electricity in the Zion campground. The television, a rare luxury, is blaring CBS Sunday Morning. The laptops are clicking away. Soon The Commander will make an omelet. The poor college kids on spring break are getting soaked.

Hopefully by Thursday the weather will break and we will be headed to Kodachrome State park. Two sisters will join Kadizzle to explore some old areas we have visited before.

It is a real place, it is a spooky place, and no one cares what they do

Today for about the tenth time I drove through Colorado City. Colorado City is where the United States tolerates the strangest cult in our country. Remember Warren Jeffs? This is the guy who was forcing twelve year old Mormon girls to marry eighty year old men. Colorado City is a strange town full of polygamist where children are raped and oppressed every day. Will Mitt Romney clean up this mess?

The town looks like a place where someone deliberately built a slum. It is sad our country looks the other way while this cult abuses children. If you think putting Jebs in prison ended this nightmare drive through this town.

Cold Spring Ruin

Yesterday Kadizzle and company set off on an adventure to find the Cold Spring Indian Ruin. This was the most difficult site we ever encountered. The night before GPS routes and points were loaded, and maps were consulted.

After driving 20 miles on gravel roads we had a stroke of luck. The two elderly Elison's were on the road out for their morning walk. Mrs. Elison, who appeared to be in her late seventies had a genuine Colt Revolver Stuck in the back of her pants. Kadizzle warned Mr. Elison not to piss her off. He said that is why he had one also. Mr. Elison told us how to get to Cold Spring. His country directions were so confusing they did little good. The main thing he did was dissuade us from going to our original destination, Pueblo Canyon.

After driving for a few miles past Elison's ranch on the most treacherous road possible, narrow, and full of fallen rock pasted to the side of a mountain, we had to stop because of a deep place where the culvert has washed out.

After a two mile hike down the road we found the old uranium mine road that got us on the trail. Even with the GPS finding the trail to the site was hard. After we rounded one point we could see the doorway of the site about half way up the 7,000 ft mountain. Immediately we knew this was not going to be easy. About 1,800 feet from the site the trail turned into as steep a rock scramble as you could make. After the scramble there was a traverse across a rock ledge. A slip would result in death.

Finally we reached the little doorway that led into a cave. Three stories of rooms were in the cave. One room had a very unique feature, a balcony from a cliff face. The veiw from the site was commanding, and many people speculate it was a lookout site of some sort. There were absolutely no pot shards or corn cobs. The site had been picked very clean. To see more pictures and get more information look up Cold Spring Ruin on the web.

On the way back, Cissie got a head start. It turned out lucky for her she did. Ruth and Kadizzle went ahead of Rodger. Rodger dislodged about a 75lb boulder that rolled strait down at Ruth, then Kadizzle. The boulder narrowly missed Ruth and then flew about a foot in front of Kadizzle's belt. Not sure how far ahead The Commander was Kadizzle shouted to warn her. Luckily she was out of the way and the rock shot down into the canyon.

The entire area is full of sites and the scenery looks like something you would see in the Andes or Vietnam. Next year we plan to make the hike to Pueblo Canyon which has 75 rooms, and has very good reviews. The country North of Mesa in AZ is far more interesting than one would ever suspect. Our group has probably hiked well over 200 miles this year and have so many more places to check out. Ruth and Rodger have not seen the sites around Cottonwood so we may head up there today

Let no goog deed go unpunished

Yesterday as the wind came up Lord Kadizzle thought the absent neighbor's RV awning might be destroyed. In an effort to put it away and save it Kadizzle about cut the end of his finger off. A wind gust hit at the wrong time. After a six hour wait in the ER the finger was finally sewn back together with great pain. Now, the fingernail torture is real. Kadizzle told the doctor as he put the needed through the fingernail three times " Try getting some information out of me". The doctor said "Where is the gold". I assured him I would tell if I knew. The neighbor rewarded me with a glass of scotch today. An unhurt finger would be better.

Pot shards everywhere, of excellent quality.

As the intrepid group hiked high into the mountains near Four Peaks none of the amateur Indian site hunters was awake enough to notice the evidence. On the way up the mountain all of us passed by many pot shards right at our feet. The trail actually was on the edge of a major site, we were too dumb to notice. However, another 300 yards down the trail the path went right through the middle of a site. The site had an amazing number of large pot shards. We found a few black on white pieces that are always rare.

As we continued the hike Lord Kadizzle noticed a possible site off the trail about two tenths of a mile. On the way back The Commander made a foray to the area and found some the pot shard above. This tri color piece is very rare. The shard is probably the first polychrome one our group has ever found. In addition The Commander found a very large nice grinding stone.

While The Commander inspected her site Ruth, Rodger, and Kadizzle checked out the first site we had failed to notice. Circles of stone laddered their way up the hill in a fashion that formed a small conic pyramid structure. We have never seen anything like it. This site also was very littered with good large pot shards.

Why were these sites here? There was no nearby water, there was no place to garden, and no good explanation of why these sites were built. Possibly it was a ceremonial site, it may have been a half way rest area for moving goods back from the Four Peaks, or it may have been some sort of seasonal hunting site. The view was fantastic and that also may have played a role in it's location.

Ancient Flintsone Site Discovered.

The crew took off deep into the mountains North of Roosevelt Lake in Arizona. After hiking to nearly 7,500ft through light snow, and some mud we made it to the top. On the way up we say turkey tracks in the snow so large we thought perhaps there were dinosaurs on the loose. After we visited the fire tower we looked for a warm place to have lunch. This is when we came across what must have been a Flintstone site. Rocks were carefully arranged to form two or three nice lounge chairs with rock arm rest, and there was a nice coffee table made out of stone.

Four Peaks sort of Conquered

From everywhere in the area around Phoenix you can see the Four Peaks. This morning The Commander was chomping at the bit to get to the top. The road up their is eight miles up a very narrow steep road. As brave as The Commander is she was concerned about falling of the edge of the road. The hike was about 1.69 miles to the place where the really hard stuff started. By our calculations we needed another 700ft to make it to the top. Some hikers coming down the trail said the final ascent was icy. Kadizzle was delighted when The Supreme Commander said it was not advisable to make the last 700ft.

However, little did Kadizzle know he would be blamed all day for not completing the task. Kadizzle said to The Commander " I was neutral, I never voted for or against the last 700ft". "I know said The Commander, but if I had asked you, you would have been against it, so it is your fault we did not make the summit"

Well it was a very nice day, and the trail is very good. Would recommend the hike to anyone. If you want to get to the summit get an early start.

Dog Paddling, and snoring in the Sonoran Desert

Today we moved to a new camp. Kadizzle got a brief snore lit. Earlier we took a guided tour of an Indian Cliff dwelling. Parts of the original roof were intact which made it interesting. Patty had to do a little dog paddling yesterday. Ned and Patty returned to Cottonwood with those two blasted rats they call dogs. Cha wa was. Cheech has one of those little rats also. Cat people are insane, and the Cha wa was people are just one step behind. Cats lick their butt, then the butter on your counter. Luckily Cha wa was can't jump up to flavor the food. You can use them to troll for alligators. Patty did not have much luck, but it is too cold right now for the gators to grab the dog.

Visting the Indian Platform Mounds

The Commander, Ned, Patty, and Kadizzle visited the only platform site Kadizzle has seen yesterday. North of our camp site on the other side of the lake is what looks like a miniature Aztec pyramid. It is probably the farthest North site of this type.

At the site, although it has been severely picked over Kadizzle found a couple nice pieces of pottery. Finding painted pottery is always fun. Kadizzle found two nice specimens.

Beach Life in Arizona

The Earth Module and sister Patty's camper moved on to Roosevelt Lake. After settling in the tribe gathered fire wood. Weather has been very nice, and a couple of forays onto the lake were made in the kayaks. Today Ned is going to check out some Indian sites.

Pissing Off the Whole World, one person at a time.

Sister Patty and her husband Ned joined the Kadizzlites on the Salt River for some R&R. Ned showed up with his Pissing People off shirt and Kadizzle could not help modeling it. Many compliments have come in saying it fits Kadizzle perfect.
Yesterday, they turned on the Salt River. Today it looks good for some kayaking. The Commander will not be happy until we conquer the East assault of the mountain up by the dam. This means we will have to wade across the Salt now that it is running strongly.
Back to pissing people off. Once in awhile Kadizzle looks in the mirror. Most mirrors are made very poorly and make Kadizzle look fat. However, mirrors are somewhat educational. Most of us would be very lost in the fog, were it not for a few brave people willing to bring us back to reality. A lot of people are very happy in their bubble wandering around in a wonderful delusion. One could argue " Leave them alone". On the other hand it is sometimes useful to jab a drunk, or drug addict and break their bubble. In the end they may thank you. That is sort of what pissing people off can be about. No one is perfect, not even Kadizzle. The Commander breaks Kadizzles bubble about every twenty seconds.
Kadizzle enjoys breaking peoples political bubbles. Many are deeply offended, but why should they be? If someone insisted the world is flat although you think it is round, are you offended? No. You are not offended because you have a lot off good evidence the world is round. People get pissed off when they realize indeed the Earth is round, but they were deluded into thinking it was flat. They are not pissed at the person that pointed out it is round, they are pissed because they were so easily taken in by the flat Earth propaganda. Have you ever been pissed off at your self when you did something stupid? When you think about it, there no need ever to be pissed off, except at yourself. I am not pissed off at you if you tell me I am fat, I am pissed off because I let myself become so fat.

Never give up, except when it's time to give up.

The Kadizzlites set off on another exploration hike to find a new Southwest Passage. There must be a way to get to the top of the mountain from the back, so off we went up a stream bed. As we climbed over rock after rock, and scratched skin from various parts of our bodies, the creek bed would not yield a path to the mountain top. The Commander could not give up, so Kadizzle and Rodger blocked the trail from behind and patiently awaited the return of The Commander.

Bird Brains in abundance

The camp host, and the birders are ver protective of the Eagles. The biggest threat to the eagles are low flying planes and helicopters. On a couple of occasions the local bird police have taken photos of aircraft violating the eagles protective space and reported the planes to the FAA. Besides their own body guards these eagles have a wonderful welfare program any welfare cheat would love. Last year when a single mother eagle was trying to raise the chicks the bird brains thought food may be a problem, so they placed a child's swimming pool with trout in it at the bottom of the nest tree.

Gold Mine off to very slow start.

Today may be another day of hiking and exploring. The crew may take a trail we have used before. A short distance down the trail is a brand new pick, shovel, a rock bar, and a bucket. Who would take that stuff a short distance into the desert and leave it. Why? Perhaps they were looking for gold. Our other theory is they murdered someone and the body has been buried near by.

Bud the camp host here says he would take the tools if we bring them back. So today we may bring Bud a set of gold mining tools, or a hit man's handy kit.

LIving in a war zone.

The Earth Module is in it's comfortable spot on the Salt River. However, no place is perfect. Two sound pollution items are annoying. The gun range is not far enough away, and some days the machine gun fire is annoying. A second problem is helicopters. The company that manufactures military helicopters is about a mile away as the crow flies. Almost every day Black Hawk Helicopters are flying over. Up at Usery a helicopter just sat in one place bout five hundred feet up and apparently was just waiting to run out of fuel, or some other silly experiment. A little higher are the jets. The Goldfield Recreation area is on the approach to the airport. Most of the jest are up just high enough not to be to bad. Around six and early in the day it is like a rush hour for the jets. About every five minutes a jest goes over. After dark it is fun to see them appear off in the distance, and then come down the Salt River for the final turn to the airport. You know it is six every morning when the first jet goes over. At any rate we have ground troops and air support if the Mexicans attack.

Down, and down, and down a little more.

The Grand Canyon is very deceptive. It is actually a canyon within a canyon. Looking from the top it appears as though there is a big ditch out in a field. As you hike into or out of the canyon you continually are deceived that you are near the end of the hike, but always another set of switch backs appears and your hopes are dashed.

The standard measurement for a story, in a ten story building, is ten feet. The Grand Canyon is 5,000ft deep. That means you go down 500 stories, and Up five hundred stories. Now, strap an extra 12 lbs on your back to make it more fun. Of course when the young whooper snapper with a 35 lb pack passes you, you don't feel so good.

It is amazing how fast the mules make it up and down. The mules will go down and back in the time it takes most people to go down. When the mule train passes, you cannot help but think of the young people, often lumpers, on those mules that should be walking. Some of the lumpers that do walk are amazing. One woman we all were concerned about because she had a bit of lumpadiglitis, made it down and back. She said her son would be disappointed if she did not make it. On the way out you see very few human bones, so most lumpers make it including Kadizzle. The employees have to walk to and from work about every nine days. That would do us all good. We are a nation of lumpers because we always want a piston under our ass pushing us where we want to go. Europeans are in better shape than we are because they have embraced mass transit. They have to walk to the bus or subway. Kadizzle was amazed by the New Yorkers that walked a lot. One benefit to mass transit so many of us overlook is that it does force you to move your lump.

Kadizzle said to Rodger, "Moving this cannon ball up and down the canyon is a job", Rodger replied "It looks more like a watermelon". All Kadizzle knows is that watermelon weighs at least 27lbs. and should not get a free ride up and down mountains.

On the Beach at the Grand Canyon

Although it was not a roomy resort, the Indians did have an eight room lodging in a very nice spot by the beach pictured above. If they had a decent supply of food it would not have been a bad life. Yesterday our little group of four hiked out of the Grand Canyon after a two day stay. The hike made it clear you would not go out of your way to pester anyone who lived at the bottom, so when the Indians lived there they must have felt very safe. From one side or the other a person would have a very treacherous difficult hike to attack them. They must have live a happy tranquil life there. Growing a little food, and having a supply of game and fish were their only problems. The climate is very nice most of the year, although it can get very hot during the summer. Temperatures up to 120 are not unheard of according to the cook Archimedes.

Lord Kadizzle has met the two people with the strangest names this year. Archimedes, and Duries. Duries was in our pheasant hunting party. Well, the adventure is over and the little party of Kadizzlites is recovering from a long hike down and a long hike up. Rodger has crossed the Canyon off his bucket list, and Kadizzle thinks his next trip will be by raft.

Young Cheech returns to NYC Today.

After her fist experience in the desert young Cheech will hop about the big bird later to day and head back to fashion headquarters in New York. Rumors abound that there could be a desert theme in her next collection. Cheech may come out with a special line of clothing for fat guys that hike. This collection will feature a lot of elastic and light weight clothes treated with sweat proof chemicals.

Kadizzle turns Teabowing into Trailbowing.

Yesterday to show gratitude for a nice Hike with Cheech, The Commander, and Kadizzle. Kadizzle stopped along the trail and did a Trailbow. The hikes the Kadizzlites undertake are not easy. The crew contends with cactus, rattlers, mountain lions, loose rocks, and a host of dangers, so unknown lands near Mesa can be opened up to Americans. Busting trails into new territory is not a job for the weak or timid. It takes courage on a sunny day to climb to the top of a peak and eat a chicken sandwich. With temperatures as low as 68 degrees and howling winds up to 5mph, you can imagine the hardship we endure. We can all be thankful there are people willing to spend up to four hours exploring this wilderness only to come back to a nice shower, and a whiskey and coke in the shade. It was tuff people with GPS's, light back packs filled with goodies, and nice hiking shoes that opened up the west. We are proud to be part of this tradition.

Cheech in desert garb returns from hike

The sun is blasting in the windows and Cheech has crawled in bed with The Commander back in the master bedroom. Last night fueled by too much wine Cheech and Lord Kadizzle went back and forth on politics. Cheech has taken a bit of a turn to the right. Most of the the discussion revolved around social security. As Cheech pointed out most young people are clueless about how it is funded, or how it is supposed to work. Means testing will be a major topic when Americans begin to face the reality of what has to be done with social security.
The humming bird nesting by the window thinks social security is sitting on your nest with the Earth Module humming bird feeder three feet away. Nice to leave the nest and get a drink of sugar water with just a few flaps of the wings.

ChiChi comes to the Earth Module

Last night the Kadizzelites picked up the famous New York designer ChiChi at the airport. Cheech has never been in the desert so she got to wake up for a spectacular view of cactus and see the little humming bird with her nest by the window.
In the Earth Module the first thing one must do is get up to date. That means you have to run the bases on the computer and see what the Hoopleheads are up to. Cheech was very amused that Lord Kadizzle named The Commander's little laptop the pineapple. Lord Kadizzle has a big Apple Laptop that he uses and The Commander got a little Asus laptop for Christmas, so her's is the pineapple. Going to be a perfect day on the desert and Cheech will have a great time in a different habitat.

Lunch in the Desert

The Kadizzlites and Ruth took a rugged hike in the desert today. Rodger was not feeling too good and stayed back to guard the camp. It was a long hard hike through some rugged country, but well worth it. Flowers were blooming and the temperature was perfect.
For a short rest we stopped by a little pool of water for a snack. Later we had lunch by the trail. The GPS said we went 9.5 miles. Kadizzles shoes are about shot from walking for hundreds of miles on rocks, time for some new ones.

A weird noise at the door

Sitting in the comfort of the Earth Module watching television the Kadizzilites heard a strange high pitched noise at the door. It turned out to be coyotes. They seem to be all over the place here. They don't seem to be to shy. The incident reminds us of the time we were in the Mohave Desert. No sooner had Cissie set some hamburger out to thaw than a coyote came to steal it.

R&R after a move not far

This morning we moved to a different site. The Usery Mountains make a nice backdrop out the window. We are set up in great anticipation of Chichi's arrival (our daughter Megan). Putting three people in this little box will be close quarters. However, we are close to the rest rooms which are some of the finest you will ever find in a public park. The showers are nicely tiled with all the hot water you want, and the rest rooms are cleaned daily.

The number of Canadians here is amazing. About half the population of this park is Canadian. According to folklore they are all supposed to broke or dying because of their expensive health care, which actually works way better than ours. Canadians are buying up a lot of housing in AZ.

Temperatures and weather have been great here. Tomorrow we will hike with Ruth. Rodger is not feeling well and may have to take the day off.

Social life among the mobile.

One nice thing about traveling is 99% of the people you meet are friendly and helpful. Almost without fail when the Kadizzilites pull into a new area and set camp we soon meet some nice people and fellow travelers. The majority of people living a mobile life are retired and their goal is to enjoy life. If anyone appears to be having a problem soon they are surrounded by people with lots of advice, tools, and willingness to help.
If you want information, there is just about always someone who knows the area and will give you some good tips about how to get there and where to stay. One nice thing that happens once in a while is people break out instruments and have an informal musical get together.
In no time a lot of these people become good friends and you may end up going down the road with them. We have often invited people to visit us in North Dakota, and a couple have taken us up on in. Last fall we visited some people we met last year at their bed and breakfast in Canada.
A special group of people we meet are those from other countries exploring our country. It is fun to find out what their impression of the United States is. Often it is eye opening. A couple days ago we me a guy from Sweden. He loved our public lands. Most Europeans are amazed how in the United States there are millions of acres where anyone can just park and camp for free. Traveling is always educational and meeting people is one of the best ways to educate yourself

We are ready when they attack

Currently we are camped at Usery Park, North of Mesa. It is a very nice park, with a nice view, and nice facilities. One major problem the gun nuts are about a half mile away on the other side of the road. Yesterday gun fire was going wild. They must have a shoot an athirst thing or something special on Sunday. Having the peace and quiet interuppted by machine gun fire on Sunday just doesn't seem right in Amarika. Kadizzle was listening to the wonderful music of gun shots and trying to calculate how much it cost to fire a round every second for eight hours a day. At fifty cents a round that comes out to about $1,800 per hour. That is a small price to pay for being safe. Just about everyone and their grandmother now has a concealed weapons permit. When we were in Quartzite at the idiots convention last week you could get a concealed weapons permit in about two hours for 35 states. The gun fire has slowed a little as I sit here, but any moment the machine gun may roar. I saw an old gieser in the health food store with a 45 strapped to his side. Don't sell him any bad lettuce.

Third assault of Signal Peak fails, but nice hike anyway.

The Kadizzlites got off to a good start. To make it to the top the first part of the hike was around the base of the mountain and into a canyon. On the satellite photos it appeared there was a way to the top.

After walking for miles across the desert we reached the mouth of the canyon. Once inside the canyon the size of the mountains seemed to grow immensely. After about a half mile carefully picking our way over boulders it was time to go up. To Kadizzle's amazement The Commander agreed there was no way we could make it to the top and back in one day. Indeed there were several routes to the top. You could see where the big horn sheep had done it, but it was a long way.

Inside the canyon was a huge bowl. The real mystery on the whole hike were the large rocks moved by the streams. The only way the rocks could be moved was by water, but their size made it hard to believe. Rain rarely hits these mountains, but when it does it must create incredible torrents of water. The bowl in the canyon is like a giant funnel. You would not want to be in that canyon during a downpour.

Good sleep in the desert.

The Earth Module team slept well in the desert, no noise, no lights, and no one within miles. Today The Commander will conduct our third assault on Signal Peak. Because The Commander suffers from hyper activity, she had to do some scouting by herself. The Commander thinks she may found a good route. Other than the wind it should be a perfect day. The top of the mountain pictured below is the goal. We will take off to the right of the base and try to find a stream bed that is not too steep.

Our New Home

The Commander is much happier in our new location. The Commander found a big horn sheep skull and is delighted. The Earth module has moved about 15 miles south of Quarzite. The quiet and beauty here are 180 degrees from the insane circus in Quartzite. The air is better, it is a whole different world. The Commander is excited about another assault on the mountain tomorrow. The sunset was spectacular.

Our Career as LED salesmen has ended.

Today the Kadizzles ended the 7 day stint selling LED lights. The Commander could not take the crowds, the dust, and the noise any longer. Now that is off our bucket list. We hooked up the Earth Module and moved about 15 miles south to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. Kofa is like another world. Now the module faces an incredible view with no one in site. The Commander is jumping at the chance to hike. The wind is a little strong, so perhaps tomorrow we will hike

One lesson learned from selling LEDs is the number of people poor, or broke by choice. If people made a few intelligent choices in their life about what they needed and what they did not they would not suffer from lack of income. However, when you see how easily vendors part people from their money with some useless item, it is clear why so many people are broke. People cannot separate what they need from some shiny item they think they want. Every busted flat person has a tattoo, a vanity license plate, several T Shirts with silly slogans, an earring or two, a couple of piercings, and a rat dog. Kadizzle met two guys making a fortune at this slummers paradise show who were dog hygienist. These guys were living the good life cleaning dogs teeth. The silly owners could not afford to clean their own teeth, but paid a small fortune to have the teeth of their dog cleaned.

Some vendors at the show go to Costco, buy an inventory, take it to the show, double the price, and what does not sell they take back to Costco. Does it get any better than that?

So many Americans think that if you have money left over at the end of a show, or at the end of the month you did something wrong. You need more fribbles, or a bigger truck.

The Humphfels come and the Humphfels go.

What in the hell is a Humphfel? The Commander, and Kadizzle have taken to calling the large 40ft RV's Humphfels. Some how it fits. These big lumbering giants that are the American dream look like elephants with wheels going to the watering hole. It all started way back in the late sixties with Winnabago. Every old fart wanted to retire get a Humphfel and live the dream. The origional Humphfel drivers always wore jumpsuits. You knew you hit the good life when you could come out of your Humphfel in a silver jump suit. The beauty of the jump suit was it had an elastic band around the waist. The old fart who worked all his life with his belly constrained by a belt was in heaven.

In the spot where the Earth Module is parked we have had several wagon trains of Humphels come in and form a circle. In their secure mode the people put a campfire in the middle and have a great time. Yesterday it was like all the Bison migrated. We came back from work and the place was empty. Now the Humphfes are slowly migrating back.

Humphfels are noisy beast, they consume a lot of diesel fuel and electricity, so even when they are not moving the Humphfels sit there and sweat stinky fumes. A Humphfel owner takes pride in suffering no inconvenience. TV's are a must, they may even have one one the outside. You must never be too far from a TV in the United States if you are prosperous.

Humphfels like to mark their tribes. In the old days they would put up some sort of flag, but this year the new thing is for a tribe of Humphfels to have a strip of LED that change color on a long pole. This marks their territory and gives them great pride. The Commander and Kadizzle can sell you a programmable strip with the pole for 200 dollars.

Nowadays all the Humphfels have slide outs. That means when they stop they get bigger. You know how a cow kind of looks bigger when it is on the ground. Humphfels try to show their size as part of their mating ritual.

When the typical Humphfel nest there are two rituals. First there will be a huge fight between the male and female occupant about parking the thing. As Willy backs up he will shout at Martha and you will swear a divorce is only minutes away. After they get set up, put the awning out and the carpet, and have a drink they will settle down for awhile. The second ritual will be Willy polishing the Humphfel. If you did not know better you would think that was the reason they bought it so they could polish it. Humphfel owners love to polish.

One thing you would think is that a Humphfel would be a brave beast, but the reality is they are very timid. The nest in groups, and seldom get off the pavement. Often they travel in groups for protection. They do migrate south in the winter and slowly move back north in the summer.

Kadizzle got his palm read free. Shoot the guy for a refund

At some point just about every kind of nut will appear at our LED booth. A strange lady was looking over the little LED book lights we sell. Kadizzle asked what she wanted it for and she said she was a palm reader, so Kadizzle said read mine. According to her interpretation Kadizzle will live a long time. However, the line that indicates direction for life was not there. That seems to explain how Kadizzles mind wanders constantly.

Another product we are pushing is an LED motion detector. The little gadget will turn on a light if someone approaches your RV. Kadizzle has a special promotion. The light makes it a lot easier to see someone trying to steal your generator. Our special offer is that if you buy our motion detector and shoot the guy stealing your generator because our light helped you catch him, we will pay for the bullet. Just bring in the empty shells.

The less you need something the more it cost. Our most expensive item is an LED string of lights at the top of a 23ft pole. The lights change colors randomly. Yes, you can announce to the world where you are for only $200. If you need a cheaper way to get some bling we have flashing lights like you see on a police car for thirty dollars.

I paid a higher tax rate than Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney made 45 million and paid a tax rate of 13%. I need to make more so I can pay less. I paid 14%. Looks like I need to make only 1,000 times more to get my taxes reduced. Tax breaks for the rich yea.

The American Appetite for trash

Selling snake oil did not go out of style in the 1800's. Kadizzle and The Commander are now embarked in their new career selling LED lights at the biggest RV show on the planet. Eight hours of people marching by begging to get their pockets cleaned with every type of health care fraud, 19.95 gadget, and silly fribble you can imagine. When you see what people are willing to buy you can see why so many Americans are broke. Some simple minded dinger who lives in a shack will by an electric fly swatter. A major product sold here is rocks, call them minerals if you want. When you are broke the last thing you need is a sparkling rock, but that is what the dingers buy sell and trade.

There is always some product that will solves some problem you never knew you had. Put some magnets in your shows, shock your back a little bit. You are healed. To make sure you need to be healed there is every type of the sorriest food on the planet. Rat meat sandwiches, deep fried skunk butts, sponges soaked in grease.

Only at an idiots convention will you get something free for three easy payments of 19.95. If you cannot afford to cloth and feed yourself, then you need a dog. Pet gadgets that pick up the pet hair in your double wide are popular. On it goes with hucksters making sure the poor stay poor.

A strange site indeed

Sitting in the same spot for about a week we had some neighbors to the West of us. Two truck campers had been there for a few days. Like most places people visit you find out who you are sharing the area with. So Kadizzle decided to make the customary introduction. The people living in the two truck campers did not seem to be in the best of economic conditions. After talking to them for a little bit they explained that they were buying minerals, rocks, whatever to take back to their home town and sell.

Kadizzle has seen some badly scared people in his life, but one of the two bearded men sitting by the truck campers seemed to have suffered from some strange malady Kadizzle has never seen before. The poor man had no nose. It appeared he had lost his nose from some bizarre accident, or some sort of vicious cancer. There was no question the poor man knew the effect his face would have on people. Looking directly into a person's sinuses was one of the strangest sights Kadizzle has ever seen. There was a small piece of bone, but what was strangest of all was the total blackness inside this mans head, as if it were charcoal or burnt.

The Commander came over to join the conversation. The man certainly knew the effect his face would have on her. He sort of turned away from her and covered his face. She did not see what Kadizzle saw. The whole thing made you feel very sorry for the man. What could he do? In public it would be very embarrassing. It would be hard to imagine how any kind of plastic surgery could work.

Walking back to our camper I thought about the women in Afghanistan. It is not uncommon for men there to cut the nose off a woman they feel has demeaned the family. To read about it is one thing, but to see first hand what it would be like is entirely different.

Could this man have lost his nose to cancer? The whole crew he was with were heavy smokers. If cancer did this to this man there could be no better add anywhere to stop people from tobacco. It was a tragedy that will not be forgotten.

Another hard hike today

Kadizzle thought we got it out of our system yesterday, but The Commander was raring to go today, so we blasted back up into the mountains. This is the satellite view of where we went. The blue line on the left is where The Commander returned from the top of the mountain. The Commander claims she found an Indian site right where you see the sharp mark on the far left.

A peek at Signal Peak

Things always look simple on the map. You just drive down this road turn on that road, and zippy do da there you are ready to start your hike. Yesterday the Kadizzlites made their assault on Signal Peak.

The first thing to do on a day with a long hard difficult hike is do a BDS. A BDS is Brain Dead Stupid. The Brain Dead Stupid thing we did before the main event was to visit Palm Canyon. We took a short hike up a canyon to see some rare palm trees that had managed to survive in a crevice. The reason this was BDS is because it wasted valuable hiking time that was needed for the main event. Lesson learned it is BDS to take a short hike when you have a long hard hike planned.

Now to the main event, the assault on signal peak. The gravel road leading to Signal Peak is seven miles long. It is one of those cleverly designed roads that just keeps getting worse and worse at such a gradual rate it keeps leading you on. The great part of these roads is if you have a wife like Jasper Littlebottom along. At some point Jasper will say "I don't think we should go any farther". Jasper will say this at ever more frequent intervals and with ever louder volume. At about 5.5 miles into the canyon Jasper was going pretty wild assuring Kadizzle the truck would be ruined. We pushed on to 6.8 and Kadizzle started to believe we may not be able to turn around and would indeed be stuck. So at 6.8 we got out and walked to the trail head.

As it always does it turned out as soon as we started walking on the road it got better we could have made it all the way. The road was one of those deals where you can just barely squeeze between two rocks, or you can just barely clear one big rock in the middle of the stream bed and of course you scratch the didly out of you truck trying to avoid rocks.

Finally at the start of the hike we had to scramble up a rocky stream bed. Next we start straight up the side of the mountain on loose rock, and then straight up some more. Since we had earlier eaten up precious time with our Brain Dead Stupid routine we now were about three quarter the way to the peak and it was about three in the afternoon. The trail seemed to be getting only worse and we had already encountered areas we had to cling to rocks and climb. The prudent thing to do was go back down. Coming off a mountain in the dark on marble rolling rocks is not a good idea. We made it down and both agreed it was a very scenic and nice area. Hopefully we have been vaccinated against BDS.

Hyper Activity among the elderly

Kadizzle's dear wife has always struggled with hyper activity. Fortunately Kadizzle has not had the affliction. Kadizzle can sit all day and watch paint dry, but Jasper Littlebottom has fire in the undies and has to get going. Today Littlebottom wants to hike up Signal Peak in Kofa National Wildlife refuge.

So as poor old Lord Kadizzle tried to awaken properly Littlebottom kept urging him to get out of bed. Because of sinus problems Kadizzle must get up slowly in five stages. Sinus draining means the head can only be raised about two inches at a time in the morning.

Once on the trail Littlebottom will be like a hunting dog fresh out of the kennel. She will be blasting down the trail at light speed as old diesel Kadizzle tries to get enough air to the engine to keep moving.

Now for the scary news. The rattlesnakes around here do not hibernate, so they will be out if it is warm. Last year not to far from here Kadizzle had his closest encounter with one. Kadizzle crawled down between two large boulders to join the company of a rattler waiting to taste his tender cheeseburger meat.

An Unbelievalbe march to the dump.

The Earth Module is parked close enough to interstate ten that Kadizzle can hear the truck traffic. Laying in bed listening to trucks all night one wonders where the trucks are heading, and what they are hauling? Then it occurred to Kadizzle that everything those trucks haul ultimately ends up in the dump. We are an unbelievable nation of consumers. Interstate ten is just a small arty of the highway system hauling junk. Huge container ships from China bring fribbles across the Pacific. Tons of stuffed animals make their way to Wall Mart. It takes billions of gallons of fuel to get all the 19.95 items from some poor village in China to Aunt Gertie.
To the North a train load of crap snakes across the country every 15 minutes with the new flat screen Tv's. Every television in the United States had to be replaced with a flat screen. Well over 200 million cell phones will be thrown out this year and the new ones are on the way down the road.
There is little doubt in my mind we will overwhelm the ability of the planet to support us. We are a cancer on the Earth. When you drive down the road and see one passenger in a six ton vehicle going to get a pack of cigarettes three miles away, you know it is hopeless. Don't get Kadizzle wrong, we are as good at wasting crap as the next guy. Sitting here with those trucks just constantly humming hauling all that shit that fills Wall Mart just makes it seem like it is impossible for people to be consuming nonsense at such a rate. When you get to the shopping center and see shopping carts draped with six packs of faticide. Humongus lumpers filling the carts with cheetoes, (Lord Kadizzle is a humongus lumper) you need to think of a constant stream of trucks hauling George Forman grills to cook the cheeseburgers. You need to think of all the crap that you just pitched out as packaging at Christmas. How much crap do we need?

Quarzite

People used to say that if you turned the United States on end everything that is loose would roll to California. As The Commander and Lord Kadizzle spend their first night in Quartzite, maybe that phrase should be changed. If the United States were a funnel everything that was lose would roll out the bottom and land in Quartzite.
Quartzite has the quality of an ongoing carnival. Every concievalbe thing is for sale. Every babble, all the expired groceries, and anything Wall Mart left in the dumpster is on sale for half price. If you need something for an RV someone is selling it. If it was ever invented for an Rv it is for sale.
The main event will start Saturday. That will be the day the Big Tent opens. The Big Tent is for the special pocket cleaning. The tent is about two blocks long and full of vendors.
There are three basic classes of camping. You can get the whole hookup routine for thirty bucks a night. If you dry camp close to the main event it is 7 bucks for dry camping. For 3 bucks a night you can stay on BLM land that is within a mile or two. If you are ultra cheap the desert is endless for free. To be close to our jobs the Earth Module is in a 7 dollar place.
No TV signal seems to want to penetrate into this vast sea of RV's. So there will be a lot of internet time. When this show goes full steam there could be between 150 and 200,000 people here buying crap no one really needs. The ultimate thing you will never need is a rock. However, every rock God ever invented is here by the truck load. There are some very interesting things made from minerals, and rock, and there are some very interesting rocks to look at. Stay tuned for tomorrows report after we have sent the peddal powered rovers out to find the best price on expired groceries.

Major Move for the Earth Module scheduled today.

As the sun tries to peek through the clouds and the desert smells fresh from the rain the crew of the Earth Module is preparing for blast off. Fossil fuels have been topped off, the ballast has to be dumped, and new supplies of water have to be loaded. There is enough food on board for nine days in the desert.
The goal is to save the universe by selling LED lights at the largest RV gathering on Earth. In Quarzite the tribes will gather for a huge mineral show, and swap meet. The Kadizzlelites will be helping a vendor sell LED that will enable you to extend your time off the power grid by a factor of seven.
Pictured above is one of the old wild horses that roam the desert around here. Apparently when horse owners get in a bind they just let their horse lose in the desert. There must be a least twenty of them around here. Birth control may be in their future after they figure out how to do it. Getting them to take the pills on schedule may present some problems. They refuse to use more conventional methods and there are rumors a lot of the horses are Catholic.

The Commander has a Birthday

Without The Commander to manage every aspect of his life Kadizzle would be lost. Ofter when left alone Kadizzle can be seen wandering in circles without the leadership of The Commander.

As if The Commander were not valuable enough to the expedition she now has become much more valuable. With a 62 year old Commander the warranty is just about expired, but there is a big bonus. Once you inform the government your leader has turned the magical age of 62 the goberment, which we all hate, will send you a check equal to half your social security check. Perhaps it will be even more.

This is clearly socialism, and it is terrible, but the grocery store does not know that the money is coming from the communist regime of Obama, and we don't tell them.

It turns out a lot of people who hate socialism are secretly taking money from Obama to help destroy capitalism. Why work when you can get free money in the mail and travel the southwest.

The birthday party was a big success. The Commander got to eat Thia food, and Myra made a good desert with ice cream.

A Flurry of activity at the News desk

Slowly the sun comes over the Goldfield mountains and shines in the window of the Earth Module. In the desert North of Mesa Kadizzle and The Commander eventually crawl out from under the comforters that protected them from the 38 degree cold in the module. After the generator is started and the coffee is going the computers begin to hum. At the news desk the Bismarck Tribune has to be checked to see if the Hoopleheads need to be fought into submission. The New York Times has to be checked to get the party line. The Huffington post needs to be pursued to see how well Colbert, Bill Maher, and John Stewart are shooting up the Hoopleheads. After Facebook, and email, the world is falling into place. Of course during all this NPR is going in the background. By 9:30 the Kadizzlites should be reasonably up to date.

Now, it is time for the second cup of coffee. The Commander is going berserk because the New York Times has cut her off. Slowly the camp is coming to life. The generators are humming to warm up all the old goats. By now Bud has the fire going at the liars den. Decision time is approaching. How should we spend the day? Will The Commander have a forced march into the Goldfield Mountains? Will it be a day of leisure or a day getting ready for the next big move to Quartzite. Only time will tell. First on today's agenda is to investigate the rumor a mountain lion with a cub is roaming the area.

No doubt the "Horse Lady" will appear. The horse lady worries about the wild horses and thinks she is their guardian angel. Every day the horse lady observes what the horses are doing. Now the horse lady has two problems, the mountain lion might get her, and of course there is the regular problem. The regular problem is the mysterious cult, or perhaps the Indians that are killing the horses. Horse lady has found some strange ritual sites that my be a horse killing, ritual doing cult. On the other hand now that Obama has made horse meat legal, yup every problem goes back to Obama, people are killing the horses and selling the horse meat steaks.

So the sun comes up and the day unfolds. Axe handle's medication seems to be working. The Republicans are shooting each other, so all is well in the universe. Soon The Commander will bark out the orders for the day, but for now she is calmly sitting in from of her mini laptop content to surf the net, so Kadizzle will have his second cup of coffee and sign off. Have a good day.

Axe Handle Returns

The Earth Module has been sitting in the same spot for ten days. The little community is made up of The Editor, a single lady who edits books from her RV. She did the editing for the guy who wrote "The Turning Point". Diana is down in the corner by the camp host.
To the North is Johnny, his wife and the two big fifth wheels from Michigan. That gang did a little musical yesterday. Outside they picked away while Johnny played the electronic piano.
Bud is down in the NW corner with his replacement for his wife that died last year. Anita, Bud's new companion has produced 14 children. Anita has been having some kidney issues, with kidney stones.
Stan pulled in today while were hiking with Ruth and Rodger. Stan has a manure spreader that has been converted to a pretty nice camper for one single guy. The spreader part of the truck now carries a truck camper well equipped with solar.
The old lumber road builder is here with his wife who has had some recent cancer surgery. One big luxurious diesel Pusher is a little to the west.
Now, we get to Axe Handle. Axe handle was here last year and they had to have him forcibly removed. Seems Axe Handle does not like to pay the required fees and has a habit of threatening people. The story is up at Pebble Beach, the next campground up the river, Axe Handle was irritated by a motorcycle guy buzzing in and out of his area. Axe Handle carries an axe handle with him when he isn't taking his medications. Axe Handle had a simple solution for the annoying motorcycle. When the cyclist went by Axe Handle shoved the axe handle into his spokes. This cause a bit of a wreck as the cyclist went flying over his handle bars. Unfortunately when the law enforcement people showed up the cyclist would not press charges against Mr. Handle.

Yesterday he showed up and The Commander along with Kadizzle were not to happy about having a mental case nearby. However, something inspired Axe Handel to leave, much to our delight. Today Axe Handle came lumbering in pulling his fifth wheel. He seems in a jolly mood. Whatever he is taking is working. The camp host have assured us he is not a problem.

The camp host said if we want to get rid of him, smoke him out. Apparently he cannot stand generator smoke or fire smoke. The trick is to get up wind and give him a good dose of smoke.

Life in the Earth Module

Poor old fat Lord Kadizzle has come down with the double epizootic. Lost with no energy Kadizzle is unable to do much but rest. Meanwhile, The Commander and the Axtamans are hiking a very nice trail. The transition from North Dakota back to the 70's would be perfect were it not for this wrenched epizootic. Ask Kadizzle any news question, Kadizzle has been listening to NPR non-stop for four hours.

The module is back in our favorite old spot on the Salt River. It would be a typical summer day back in ND. If the epizootic does not loosen it's grip The Commander and Kadizzle will bury Kadizzle in the desert nearby.

Jack the Artist at the Bunkhouse

After we returned from the pheasant hunt this year Kadizzle suggested to his friend the journalist she do an article on Jack who stayed at the bunkhouse we hunted from.

A small town in the Old West.

Our little encampment along the Salt River is like a small old western town. Wagons come rolling in and randomly they roll out. This morning we were awakened to a home made rig chugging into the parking lot. Looking at the various home made, and modified desert schooners is fun. The one that just rolled in is a truck camper mounted on the back of a two ton truck.

Tucked here and there is an ATV, a motorcycle, and several solar panels. In the southwest everyone likes to harvest the sun. A lot of the modern day drifters are obsessed with tinkering. Each guy has to have as many little inventions sprouting from his outfit as possible.

Suddenly our campground seems to be filling up. We hope it is just the weekend, but it will probably last thru the week. The guy that just pulled in said he was gone for 16 days to meet the requirement of the Forest Service. This year they seem to have a new sneaky policy. To keep hard core bums out there is a requirement you leave after 14 days. You can apply for a 28 day extension after your 14 days is up. It seems the way this really works is if they don't like you, you are voted off the island. If you have been a gruff, noisy, rude, inconsiderate neighbor, your permit is not renewed. This is good in several ways. One problems with these encampments is people who move in and accumulate crap.

Wilderness Adventure

Lord Kadizzle, and Jasper Littlebottom, AKA, The Commander took off yesterday on an off trail hike. After the Kadizzlites know an area pretty well we often like to strike out on our own into unexplored territory away from the trails.

Our choice was up a creek bed toward the Superstition Mountains. Obviously going back the way we came is the simple solution, but it is no fun. As usual the two people who can never agree on anything cannot decide how to bush whack our way back.

The Commander insist she knows a simple short way back. Kadizzle had a different plan in mind. Navigating is fun in the desert and if you play your cards right it is almost a certainty you can get to a known trail. One big if is the unknown factor of hitting a canyon or cliff you cannot cross.

As often happens when two stubborn mules butt heads each of the Kadizzlites struck off in different directions for a brief period. Fortunately The Commanders route did no yield any good prospects very quickly for the direction we needed to go. We needed to go NW, but Kadizzle's stream bed seemed to head NE. Kadizzle thought the stream bed would bend to the NW, but was not sure. Either by luck or good navigating Kadizzle turned out to be correct and the route back was not too difficult. However, The Commander insist that given a little more effort her route was much quicker.

The argument has not been settled by official documentation, but Kadizzle realized as the crew hiked back that we would have got back eventually on The Commanders route, but it would have been a long hard arduous hike.

The Commander likes to hike in shorts, and she tried to persuade Kadizzle to hike bare legged. Back at the Earth Module The Commander's legs looked as if she had been clawed by a mountain lion from the cactus scratches. Had the crew taken The Commanders route we could have used her legs for hamburger.

It is always an adventure. Make sure you take a GPS, some matches, a flashlight, and a beacon. It would also be very wise to let someone know what you are up to and when you should be back. Someday Kadizzle suspects The Commander and Kadizzle will spend a cold night huddled under a space blanket, because of an adventure gone aery.

One last important word of advice. Most of the time we start hiking about 9 O'Clock. Kadizzles rule is to turn around and head back between one and two in the afternoon. Many times The Commander insist we keep going, but that rule has worked well for us. Running out of daylight and being lost is not good. On occasions when it looked as if we were in a bind, we started hiking faster to get back before dare. This leads to several bad possibilities. Going too fast leads to injuries, and if you are going in the wrong direction, you are going the wrong way faster.

Small community of content people

Yesterday the Earth Module settled into an old familiar spot. Luck was on our side and we got our favorite place. Our backyard is the vast desert and no one is near us. The old regulars are here. Bud is over in the other corner. Probably will see him out dumpster diving for cans this morning. A morning ritual is going over and standing by Bud's fire to warm up in the morning. The regular camp host are here. The executive suite ( Vault Toilets) has been freshly painted and is spit shinned fit for a king.

For some strange reason the place is devoid of campers. Johnny from Canada is here waiting for his wife to join him, and the guy that travels around fixing RV's has his big outfit off to the North. The wild horses went through yesterday. Down along the river Kadizzle heard a strange noise while taking a walk. Thought it was a horse, but turned out to be a heron. The river is way down.

The plan is to take a hike today. Old Kadizzle has not stretched his legs for awhile, so it may be hard getting the engine going.

The Sun Also rises

A coyote just wandered down the road in front of the Earth Module. Sunshine is spilling over the Superstition mountains.

After breakfast the Earth Module will head down the mountain to the Salt River campground. Kadizzle and The Commander made a prelanding check yesterday. The old gang is there and the place is practically empty. Being weaned from electricity will be difficult. All power will not come from God, but from the Honda 2,000 generator. God will provide sunshine and other amenities.

Temperatures could be improved, but 60 in AZ beats 12 in Hazen, ND. The Earth Module wine cellar was stocked at bargain prices yesterday, along with other supplies, so this morning it is just a matter of filling the water tank and hooking up.

Although usually a fairly shy person The Commander quickly becomes super Commander when she wants to see another camper layout. Yesterday she cajoled some people with a small camper into a tour. RV people are like sailors, always checking out all the options on other models. The camper The Commander spotted was an Oliver, this is a rare bird. First one either of us has ever seen. The Oliver is a copy of the classic Casita. The Oliver stole most of the Casita ideas and improved on them. A very well built and nice little camper, but very expensive. The Oliver has plenty of ground clearance and would be perfect for going way back in the boonies. Time for the second cup of coffee in the sunshine north of Mesa.

Muppets turn out to be Communist.

Just when you think it cannot get worse Fox News informs us the Muppets are communist. After the Christian fundamentalist told us the Tele Tubies were gay, it did not seem there could be any bad news. Fox now says the Occupy Wall Street movement was caused by Muppets turning our kids into communist.

Kadizzle has always feared sharing could lead to communism. It is just like drugs. You start out with something mild and next you are hooked on cocaine. The evil Muppets, and I am sure Mr. Rogers was in on it, suggest kids share. Well sharing is nothing but socialism. How far is it from socialism to communism? Yup, you see how the Muppets, and Mr. Rogers suck the kids in. What we need are cartoons that show greedy little kids who want it all. Thank God Fox has exposed PBS and what they are up to. We would not have a Kenyan president if Fox had been listened to.

The high price of recycled trash.

Don't ask why, but Kadizzle and company shopped all the thrift stores in Cottonwood yesterday. One cannot help but be amazed at the market for junk. The Commander picked up five license plates that Erin is going to use in some goofy project for one dollar per plate. Of course the junkyard would give them to you for ten cents. Railroad spikes were going for $3. You can walk down any rail line and get all you want for free. Telephone pole insulators took the cake, $25, are you kidding. One exclusive junk store had everything marked at three times what an idiot would pay for it.

There is no doubt you could go to the dump in Hazen, fill a tractor trailer with trash and sell it in Cottonwood for a nice profit.

On interesting thing about the Cottonwood stores was the smell. The thrift store in Hazen, and in all North Dakota thrift stores smell like pickle canning took place or too much sausage was fried around the clothes. In Cottonwood the store have a better smell that my sister says is desert dust mixed with sweat.

It is always interesting that things given away elsewhere are sold in thrift stores. All the silly cups, pill boxes, and other advertising give away items are sold to idiots to dumb to go next door and ask for one for free.

Sister Patty came very close to buying a framed poster with Cowboy sayings. The best and my favorite was " Don't get mad at people who are smarter than you, it is not their fault". There should be a sign in these thrift stores " It is any wonder you are in here broke, if you have been buying junk at these prices your entire life".

Functionless junk seems to market very well. There are hundreds of broken and worn out things you can buy at a dear price to just sit in your house and take up space. One good deal are the 19.95 items sold on TV. They are usually marked down to half price.

Dog VS Helicopter in Cottonwood, AZ

The World reduced to a penny jar.

At my sister Patty's house last night a crisis arose. The last bottle of St. Pauly Girl beer was empty. Patty instructed Lord Kadizzle to run to the local refreshment establishment and replenish the supply. As Kadizzle paid for the beer he noticed the little jar that held pennies for customers short a penny or two. On the jar were the rules as follow:

1. If you need a penny, take a penny

2. If you need two pennies, take two.

3. If you need three pennies, get a job.

Being a socialist Kadizzle would add number four. Don't take more pennies than you need, or leave enough pennies for those who really need them.

Only the Super Rich can Save US

In the cozy den of the large but modest house in Omaha where he has lived since he started on his first billion, Warren Buffett watched the horrors of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television in early September 2005. . . . On the fourth day, he beheld in disbelief the paralysis of local, state, and federal authorities unable to commence basic operations of rescue and sustenance, not just in New Orleans, but in towns and villages all along the Gulf Coast. . . He knew exactly what he had to do. . ."

So begins the vivid fictional account by political activist and bestselling author Ralph Nader that answers the question, "What if?" What if a cadre of superrich individuals tried to become a driving force in America to organize and institutionalize the interests of the citizens of this troubled nation? What if some of America's most powerful individuals decided it was time to fix our government and return the power to the people? What if they focused their power on unionizing Wal-Mart? What if a national political party were formed with the sole purpose of advancing clean elections? What if these seventeen superrich individuals decided to galvanize a movement for alternative forms of energy that will effectively clean up the environment? What if together they took on corporate goliaths and Congress to provide the necessities of life and advance the solutions so long left on the shelf by an avaricious oligarchy? What could happen?