What is a fizzler?

 Hope Winky does not see this, but if she does you will hear the explosion. Winky has fizzlers. What is a fizzler? When we were kids and bought a bunch of firecrackers some would fail to go off or provide a bang.  We called the duds fizzlers because the fuse fizzled, but nothing happened. Back to Winky.  Winky will come to a conclusion before she has enough information to make a legitimate conclusion.  That is a fizzler. Winky had about three fizzlers already today. Here is how a fizzler works.  You tell someone you are going to give them five numbers and you want them to add up the five numbers. After you give the person three numbers they insist on giving you the total. Awakening this morning Kadizzle was going to take the laptop computer from the bedroom down to the table. Winky said " Why are you taking that computer to Cliff's?".  Because you pick up a computer that is not enough information to conclude you are taking it to a particular place.  This goes on all day. It just happened. Winky looked across the table at me and assumed since I was typing I was firing a stinger on facebook. Well Kadizzle is not, he is writing this silly nonsense.  Winky asked what are you writing about? Kadizzle did not want to lie and start a fire storm, so the answer was " Just things in general".  Wow, that was a close call. Good thing Winky does not read this nonsense. Anyway fizzlers can be a real problem when people come to a conclusion to quickly. We just finished a 20 year war caused by president Bush's fizzlers. 

Liberal Redneck - Ivermectin. This is really good. Pay attention.

Sometimes it is a big country

Doesn't look like there will be a bike ride today, the rain is still coming down. Yesterday Winky, and Kadizzle went their separate ways. Winky took off not sure where she was going. She ended up lost and far away, but she made it back.  Old Kadizzle had received an early report from the Winkle that the five bighorn sheep were up in the canyon. Kadizzle was inspired to look for them. There they were up by the top of the cliffs. Almost had a wonderful photo, but they got away. Kadizzle decided to circle around behind them maybe for anther look. After getting the ebike under the fence Kadizzle went on the raw terrain across the vast plateau. The flat land seemed to go forever. Land formations around here are strange with these large flat area in the mountains. Once upon a time when the volcanos leaked they created level areas. Those vast lakes of lava cracked and canyons were formed, but a lot of the land is still flat. 

The transition from out in nowhere to crowded insanity like Phoenix or Denver makes one wonder. Out here in nowhere it is so peaceful, and calming. Why do people insist on crowding together, shooting each other, spreading disease, inhaling car fumes, and purchasing crap to fill up storage sheds?

A Joyful Day

 To the delight of Kadizzle he awoke today to find the Fargo Forum published his jihad letter about Scott Hennen. Hennen is a Rush Limbaugh wanna be.  On KFYR radio Hennen stirs up every right wing lie and paranoid theory he can get his hands on. Hennen took part in the Capitol riots. If you are bored read the comments on facebook about the letter Kadizzle wrote. One woman said the entire Capitol riot was a hoax. The people inside the Capitol got there accidently.  The woman's letter captures perfectly the insanity Hennen appeals to. Our country is in danger from the Republican Taliban. Our only defense is education and information. 

The super snoochel

If you don't want to hear some grandpa bragging quit reading right now. Sylvie our super granddaughter scored three goals playing soccer in ten minutes. Sylvie's soccer career is young and these are the first goals she ever scored. The whipper snapper is fast. The boys on her street challenged the girls to a race. The girls went to Sylvie's house and knocked on the door. Sylvie went out to the grass and beat the boys. She is a good little athlete. In addition to being a great athlete she has a natural acting ability and already has done about three commercial videos. Grandpa has a lot of fun with Sylvie. She is a pro at manipulating Grandpa at the local shopping centers. She is a little too brave for her own good. Grandpa recalls how easy it was to get her to jump in the water and let the sailboat drag her.  Most kids have to be coaxed.  Same with rock climbing. Up she goes and you have to keep her under control. Sylvie is attending the Denver School for the Arts. It is a difficult school to get in to.  According to her mother she is dyslexic. Hard to believe she gets all A's.  OK, Grandpa loves his little girl. 

Near Death Experience

 Kadizzle was on his bike getting some exercise when Winky called. Winky was on a cross country hike with Al, and Debbie.  Winky and her gang took off not really knowing where they were going. It appeared to them they would come out on the highway East of Springerville. A big storm was brewing and they wanted Kadizzle to pick them up with his truck and take them back to their start where Al left his truck. Kadizzle complied with the request. After the hikers were loaded into the truck Kadizzle had to pull on to route 60.  It was a touchy place to pull out from and the visibility was poor. Also it was at the bottom of a steep grade. Kadizzle asked Winky if anything was coming from the right before he pulled out into the right lane going left. Winky said " It's clear".  Kadizzle took the best look he could with the truck situated in such a way he could not see well to the right. However,  he did manage to see a huge white tractor trailer barrelling down the mountain.  Fortunately he did not pull out. We all would have been killed. A bit shaken he asked Winky " Why did you say it was clear?".  She said " I thought you saw the truck".  

Kadizzle was a bit incensed. It was a close call. Going over the incident Winky said " I assumed you saw the truck".   Kadizzle realized in the 25 years he did safety work so many accidents were the result of assumptions.  Assumptions will get you killed. Knowledge will keep you alive. 

Nice ride through the wilderness

 One of the great pleasures of our current location is the wildlife. In addition to all the wildflowers blooming everywhere there are the four legged creatures. Yesterday Kadizzle headed up his bike route. The road goes up very steeply and he was grateful Al had fixed the gear shifter on the ebike.  About half way up the steep grade there they were the five Big Horn Sheep that hang around.  Kadizzle stopped so he would not spook them.  Things did not look good a jeep was coming up the road. Fortunately the man driving the jeep realized Kadizzle had spotted something. He stopped the jeep and joined the viewing. After awhile they guy in the jeep walked up to Kadizzle and shared his binoculars. The sheep made their way along the cliff and Kadizzle got some video. 

With the new jeep friend Kadizzle took of on the bike to see the Elk. The Elk tend to bed down in the same place and sun themselves.  No luck the Elk had left town.  The bike ride continued to the Sipes Wildlife Visitor Center.  After a brief conversation Kadizzle headed back to the ranch. 

Facebook said no

 Facebook got a little sensitive and removed my picture of a Trump supporter working on a roof. We live in a delicate world of what is acceptable and what is not. Apparently pictures of people driving Trump pickup trucks with obscene flags about Biden are acceptable. 

Here we go

When we returned from a very nice bike ride a couple was sitting at the trailhead. After a little conversation they showed us the mushrooms they had collected to eat. Mushroom hunting is in full swing here because of all the rain. All the fallen trees support a vast selection of mushrooms. Kadizzle is not smart enough to hunt the right ones so he leaves them alone. 

Strangely the brother of Kadizzle owns a mushroom mine. At one time in the distant past the father of Kadizzle was asked to be the head of a mushroom growing operation in Moundsville, West Virginia. Father never took the job. However, the people involved converted an old clay mine into a mushroom growing operation. It was in operation for awhile, but never became a success. To grow mushrooms you have to sterilize horse shit, and put it the dark. The process is not as easy as one would think. You feed mushrooms horse shit and keep them in the dark. They are just like Republicans that watch Fox News. 

Strangely many years went by and the mine and facilities sat abandoned and who showed up to purchase the land and the mine? It was my older brother.  He converted the outside building into his construction office and facilities. To this day he still has the place, and it is referred to as the mushroom mine. 

The mine was not sealed off, and teenagers had access to the tunnels where the clay had been removed. Teenagers would sneak into the mine and party, smoke, or do who knows what.  Many years back some kids were in the mine and lost their lighting.  A search became necessary to rescue the kids. My brother knew the tunnels well enough to find the kids.  The rescue made the national news way back then.  Now my brother is retired and my nephew runs the operation. 

Hoopleheads boarding the bus to the Trump Rally

 

No mask, no vaccine, board the bus to the rally. Don't let that science stuff mislead you. 

We got smarter.

The crew took off to New Mexico to hike yesterday. Back in the middle of nowhere we encountered two guys at the trail head. The bearded guy and his companion had a few horses and mules. Kadizzle engaged the bearded fellow and asked about the trail. He said they had gone 8 miles and both been bucked off. He was thrown from the mule and the mule went over a steep embankment. No one was hurt, but it seemed like a close call for the men and the mule. The mule rider warned Kadizzle the trail we were about to embark on was a steep downhill on some rocky terrain.  

So down we went. It looked like some very enchanting country, but the trail was steep. At this point we realized it was not going to work. Debby had forgotten her hiking boots and was going to hike in some elaborate slipper. It was just not going to work.  After experiencing the steepness of the trail we realized that when the day ended we would be hiking up the steep side of a mountain. Suddenly good sense took over and we hiked a different area. 

Forced March scheduled

 Winky and the other fire ass warriors want to hike today. So off we will go. Kadizzle is going to mumble walk and let the speed demons take off ahead. Kadizzle's bout with prostate cancer seems to have left him with less energy in the tank. There is a good side to walking slowly, you see more.  The other day when the speed of light hikers were buzzing down the trail they all failed to notice a woman and a dog off in the woods beside the trail. After being a hiker for an entire lifetime there are some skills you pick up. Finding a trail that fades out is certainly one skill. The mind adapts to taking notes that will hopefully get you back. You notice certain things like a strange tree or a little pond in the stream. Kadizzle has learned to memorize the shoe pattern of Winky and the other hikers. Tracking is kind of fun.  You can tell if there are children hiking ahead of you, or some big guy with huge shoes. Learning to read the terrain also is important. One thing Utah in particular teaches you is about getting " clifffed".  You think you can go a certain direction on a cross country jaunt, then you find out there is a cliff that puts an end to your game. This is very bad late in the day when you were counting on a shortcut home. Now, you have to backtrack before dark. The classic hiking mistake is the thought that you are going to take a short casual hike. With this mindset you don't take some of the essentials. Winky decides to go off trail on a wild search. If you had the little two way radios, you could stay in touch, but you don't.  You didn't take enough water, and you don't have the filter.  On it goes. Also by going light the wind gets cold and picks up. Now you don't have a jacket. Kadizzle has adopted a few rules that seem to work. One is always turn around by 1:30.  If you started about nine that should get you back. The last thing you want to do is get lost late in the day. This happened to some friends in Montana on Beartooth pass, and they had a wonderful time with flashlights trying to get back. Kadizzle thought he lost the InReach, so he canceled the subscription. The InReach is a satellite communicator that will get you help anywhere on Earth. Now that it is found perhaps we should pay the 12 bucks a month for the added safety. 

My Story

 My story. Tony Bender wrote a story about his encounter in a parking lot at the grocery store, so I thought I better tell my tale about my parking lot experience today. Winky insisted I do my own laundry at the laundromat since Cliff's washer got hit by lightening. As we walked into the washing emporium we encountered the strangest machine one could imagine. It looked like an ATM, but it was for buying bitcoins. A coin was $54,000. Not sure how it worked. Anyway we loaded up the laundry and now we had time on our hands. I like a clean windshield so why not clean the windshield while the toxic underwear has the nuclear waste removed. Winky will not touch my underwear, so that is why I have now been relegated to taking care of it. 

As I cleaned the windshield a guy in the laundromat indicated I should clean his windshield. I told him the charge was 39 cents. With nothing to do I did clean as much of his windshield as I could from the ground, but to clean it all I would need to stand inside his truck to be higher. It occurred to me it would be very dangerous deep in Trump country to just open the door of someones truck. A bullet to the back of my head did not seem comfortable.  Soon the man's wife came out to get something out of the truck. I told her my dilemma and at last I managed to get his windshield clean. Sitting outside the laundry on a bench with the cleaning stuff in my hand an old dirty jeep type vehicle pulled up with a young Latino looking guy. I told him his windshield was very dirty and I would clean it. As a walked toward his vehicle he pulled out four dollars and insisted I take it. We went back and forth and I finally convinced him I had way more money than he did and was he really stupid enough to give me money. I told him I was a millionaire and was he so stupid he would give a millionaire money?

Soon we were engaged in a conversation and he told me all about erecting the wind towers over in New Mexico.  As an old professional safety director I gave him a fairly long safety lecture about the dangerous work he was doing. Winky had already told me about my insane behavior of encountering people. However, inside she also engaged the young guy and we ended up talking like old friends. He showed us a picture of his wife and little girl.  They were back home in Iowa while he was camper here working until February.  In a short time we learned a lot about wind tower construction. 

Leaving the laundromat Winky noted what a nice guy we had just met. Also while there we met another old couple that participated in the four wheeler rally going on in Springerville. It turned out they were part of the 47 four wheelers that went by us in the dark last night. They had driven from California to participate. 

Now, for the moral of the story. We could have just ended up with clean clothes, but we didn't. We ended up with what felt like new friends. We all exchanged some knowledge and found out how good people can be. The world is what you make it. If you chose to see people as thieves and rapist coming into your country to steal you job I feel sorry for you. On the other hand if you see a young guy trying to make a good living climbing up a dangerous tower in the freezing cold so you can have environmentally safe electricity, the bless you. 

That guy who is working seven days a week on those towers came from a family of people who moved to this country to do slaugher house work. Work Americans will not do. Now their son that Mexican guy is building the wind towers more work a lot of Americans will not do.  So grill your steak and turn on your porch light. Both things are happening because someone crossed the Rio Grande and almost drowned. 

Deja Vu

Al gave Kadizzle a used pair of professional motorcycle boots. Of course Kadizzle did not wear the boots because we were going to go on a mild ride. When Kadizzle saw a road that he had not explored off Al and Kadizzle went up the side of the mountain. It was a crash worthy road.  We made it close to the top and the road petered out. It was not really a road it was a nasty uphill ride that at one time may have been a logging road. Al enjoyed the challenge so Kadizzle suggested the two old men try to go up the death road Kadizzle went up a few weeks ago.  Having been up suicide mountain once before Kadizzle was happy to have Al with him.  If you recall the story this was the mountain where the cycle overheated and quit.  Kadizzle told Al he would stop and rest the cycle a few times.  About a third of the way up Kadizzle did not have the power for a short steep climb and the cycle had a mild crash.  On up the mountain Kadizzle stopped by a pond and cooled the engine with water.  Earlier Kadizzle tried to cool the engine with urine.  Wow, what a stink boiled urine makes.  After the pond it was time for the final assault.  Just like the last time the cycle just gave up and quit. The last time Kadizzle attributed it to a hot engine and altitude. The altitude was definitely a problem. We were at about ten thousand feet and the cycles found it hard to breath. The cycle fell over on the steep grade.  Then Kadizzle had an epiphany. The cycle was dying because it could not get gas at such a steep angle. After Kadizzle turned on the reserve tank the cycle started. Al and Kadizzle used the motor and some pushing to get the cycle to a level spot. With fuel in the carburetor Kadizzle made it to the top.  It was a good adventure with some learning. Having Al visit is a real bonus when we play dare to be stupid. Two stupid people are safer than one. 

The Lump moved

 With some coaxing Kadizzle took the hike yesterday. We went about six miles up a nice mountain stream. Winky, Al, Deb, and Cliff like to hike at the speed of light. Kadizzle prefers mumble walking. Everyone has seen some old person stumbling around talking to themselves. That is mumble walking. On our trail crew Ken was a fast walker, but he finally saw the virtues of muble walking. Yesterday as the fire ass warriors were going down the trail at light speed they all failed to notice a woman in the brush off the trail with a dog. A big advantage of mumble walking is you see more. You take the time to look. Kadizzle since he is slower walks at the back of the line. Over in the woods he first noticed a straw hat. Next he saw the woman under it, and her German Shepard at her side. Zuni the dog with us smelled the other dog, but the entire crew marched along not noticing another human being. 

Thomas Friedman has fired out a couple of very good and enlightening articles in the NYT about the mess in Afghanistan.  The United States always has a bad habit of supporting corrupt dictatorships. It always ends poorly. 

Well what about the new home? Nothing was accomplished when we went to inspect. If they would just get the interior painted life could go on.  The parasites have attacked viciously. All the blood suckers are after the money we hoped to use to build a home. The title people are fat with our blood. There are so many parasitic fees and the loan people are chipping away at our resources. Most of these people do nothing but shuffle papers and create absurd reason why we should hand them cash. The loan lady said yesterday for $1,600 we could buy down our loan.  Now what in the hell is that about. It seem like paying someone who agrees not to hit you so hard. 

The first Log Truck

The rumbling can be heard as the first log truck slowly comes down off the mountain. Off to Show Low and then back. Maybe three times Purple dog can make the trip.  Each truck is a different color. Orange, Green, and White, all those logs will end up as pellets to heat someones house. When we drove by the pellet factory yesterday logs were stacked for acres. The finished pellets also were in abundance on pallets in bags. 

Of course Winky, Al, and Deb are planning a hike today. Winky says Kadizzle will do the shuttling. Kadizzle may do another bike ride. The last attempt a bike ride was foiled by the mud. ebikes and mud do not mix. 

 Evil men seem to rise. During the career of Kadizzle it seemed the higher in management some people went the more crooked and corrupt they became. Kadizzle worked with at least three rotten management people, perhaps more. Countries seem to suffer from the same thing. We have people like Trump, Nixon, Cramer, Armstrong, and so on. So many of these people are charming psychopaths.They seem likable, but soon you find they have a dark side willing to lie, steal, and undermine to get what they want. No one did it better than Trump. These people always appeal to the simple minded, and they know how to do it. 

War the best investment

 Sad to see today how much money the defense contractors made during the Afghan war.  Most of them had returns of well of 1,000%. Of course the top executives were paid on average 30 million per year. So what if a lot of people got ground up It was good for the market. There are some problems. Selling fighter jets was always a good game, but who needs fighter jets when we have drones? It is so nice now when someone can sit in Las Vegas and kill people anywhere in the world with precision. 

Now the Republicans are bitching about the people from Afghanistan who will be relocated in our country. Too bad. 

Time to grow up

Unrestrained religion will result in the deaths and torture of thousands of people in Afghanistan. When will humans realize the toxicity of religion? As thinking animals are we incapable of seeing the dark side of religion? Any casual student of history would realize the deaths, the wars, and the torture religion itself has instigated. This does not even include the sexual and economic abuse by pedophiles and slavery. Jump to the present and recall the riot Donald Trump inspired at the Capitol. Trump came to power on the backs of evangelical Christians drunk on his delusions. History has clearly proven how dangerous religion is, yet we allow religion to be used as a tool of the wicked to recruit people for the most evil causes. Young pregnant girls were imprisoned by the Catholic Church’s Magdalene laundries in Ireland as late as the 1960’s, but we ignore the abuse. Native American children were abused and buried at schools run by the religious. Why do we live in a society that is so willing to ignore the mess we have created by allowing mythology to lead to such bad outcomes?

Round ? Dare to be stupid

 The crew went to Poll Knoll yesterday to bike ride. Kadizzle and Winky were on ebikes, and Al and Deb road their mountain bikes. The trail was steep for those without electron assist. These mountain trails can get rocky.  As we almost made it back to the parking lot there was a rocky section to traverse. Al is an excellent rider, and went down the rocky slope first. Old Kadizzle did not want to be outdone, so he took of down the path strewn with watermelon and baby head boulders. To his surprise he made it to the bottom intact. 

Life is so much different now that Trump has been reinstated. Of course we all should feel better knowing how Trump will tackle climate change, and the virus. Trump will surely be able to golf us out of this mess. 

Housing prices have become astounding. The people moving to Arizona from California have driven prices through the roof. For a friend Winky and Kadizzle have been checking out houses in the local market.  Houses here that would go for 100 thousand in Hazen are going for 250.  Of course there is what you ask and what you get. 

One thing about getting old is the memory of old prices. As a kid ten cents bought a big Hershey chocolate bar. Now that same smaller bar is almost two dollars.  Once upon a time gas was 27 cents a gallon and you could go a long way in the VW for three dollars.  No more.  However, people don't always do the mental calculation for inflation. Adjusted for inflation gasoline is not really out of line with what it should be. Could even argue it is below what it should be.  Inflation may have some good points. If you borrow money and pay it back with inflated money it may be a chance for you to get even with the banks. 

Today's adventure may be a motorcycle ride through the mountains on a trail made just for motorcycles, and small ATV's.  The trail is about 27 miles long and has some moderately hard parts. The total trip to and from the trail will be over fifty miles if we do the whole thing. That is a long ride on a small motorcycle, but it should be a pleasant ride through some mountainous country. If we hit very wet spots it could be game over. Mud and motorcycles do not mix well. 

A Hooplehead portrait. Click to enlarge

 

Another Day

The plan is to bike ride on Pole Knol. The coffee has brewed and the sun managed to rise. You can hear the grass growing. Of course we all know Trump was reinstated yesterday. How nice to have the orange devil back in office. Strange that the White House has been moved to Florida. What will the orange monkey do now that he is back in power. The red hats must be elated. Will reality ever strike them down. Most amazing is the fact that Kevin Cramer, and John Hoeven turned on the orange president. Both the lickspittles voted with the Democrats on the infrastructure bill. The Hoopleheads in North Dakota feel betrayed and confused. No matter what they do the lickspittles will be re-elected by the Hoopleheads.   

Visitors

Debbie and Al pulled into Cliffs mountain reserve yesterday. Years ago we met them while looking for a camping spot near Sedona. This morning we got an email from Ed, probably our oldest camping friend, both in age, and years we have known Ed. Of course the is Darch, Rita, and Ken, and the list goes on. So many people we have met on the road over the years. Recently heard from a road friend with canoed the Missouri with. This is a great life. You meet, depart, and meet again, but who knows where? A bonus is if you get to meet at a road friends house. Here we sit at Cliff's ten acres in the White Mountains. We have been plugged into his electricity, sewer, and water for six months. Of course once we get our new home everyone is welcome pull in and hook up. Deb, and Al have made a deluxe campground in their backyard that will accommodate about three visiting vagabonds. 

So many of our traveling buddies we meet over and over. Sometimes it is years before you see someone again, but people stay in touch. Kadizzle has met some nice bums, or should we say people living close to the bone. Recently Kadizzle met a new fellow. The guy is happy and scraping by on a social security check and a pension, but he is getting buy, and loves camping in his small get by home. What happened to the good old bums at Lake Roosevelt? Hope Gary the bum is doing alright, and what about his buddy Duane? A fresh turnover of friends is great. The stories you have told a thousand times can be used once more. 

Elk Day

 Yesterday was elk day. Kadizzle was walking toward Cliffs house and saw about 15 elk nearby. Dashing into Cliff's to get his binoculars Kadizzle came out on his front porch and the elk were gone. Kadizzle suspected they went over the little hill nearby. After walking over there the elk were no where to be seen. At last he spotted the huge bull up on the side of a steep rise. Then to his surprise walking back to the Earth Module he spotted the huge herd of elk on the other side of the valley. This was the herd that normally stays up on the plateau. With the binoculars Kadizzle could scope them out very well. In the herd were a couple of big bulls. There were lots of little ones. Slowly they worked toward the highway. It appeared they would try to cross, but  some guy in pickup stopped to observe them and they spooked. They headed back up toward the top.  The young ones had a lot of trouble getting through the fence. The big guys just jumped over, but the little guys had to go under or through the fence. Kadizzle though he would end up over there rescuing a little one, but they all made it. Excited by the herd Kadizzle called Winky. Winky was up above the elk. She said she had already encountered them and it was her that pushed them my direction. Maybe they will show up today. 

Down here among the unwashed the good is all undone

 There is coffee on the table and kindness in the air. My eyes they open slowly and look around the room. Listen to your heart that beats and follow it with both your feet. 

We watched our friends grow up together, and we saw them as they fell. Some of them fell into heaven, some of them fell into hell. Sometimes I wake up in the morning with Winky by my side. I am not singing for the future, I am not dreaming of the past, I m not talking of the first times, I never think about the last. 

Well old Kadizzle woke up this morning and he is listening to music as usual. Some of the words float on the day so well. So be easy and free when your drinking with me. I am a man you don't meet everyday. Come fill up your glasses with brandy and wine. So be easy and free when your drinking with me, I am a man you don't meet every day. Stangely last night we partied with the AA group. There was no brandy and wine, but we had some good food.

Winky feeds the horses

It is becoming a morning ritual. Winky feeds the horses. They come every morning.
 

Songs get stuck in my head

Below is a song recently stuck in my head. Give it a try. Songs like this have more than just music, the words are terrific. Listen carefully. Winky gets angry when old Kadizzle plays the same song too many times. Kadizzle likes to have a morning song. Nothing works on the brain to welcome a new day like a song. A long time ago Winky and Kadizzle were on a beach in the Baja. An old fart there played Amazing Grace over a loud speaker every day to announce another day.

The Pogues - A Rainy Night In Soho

What goes up, can come down easily

Winky and Kadizzle mounted the ebikes and headed up towards the mountains. The magic dial to watch on Kadizzle's ebike is the one that tells how much power is being used up. Kadizzle likes to have 50% when the time comes to head back. However, this trip like most starts uphill and returns down. With this in mind Kadizzle ran the battery down to 40%. We turned around and started the ten mile drift back to the Earth Module. On return there was about 20% left. What is the point. Not sure, but it always seems to work out to about 4% per mile. So if you are thinking about joining the ebike crowd you can figure your bike should always take you 25 miles. Now that is conservative. First, it will depend on your weight. Kadizzle is a large chunk of meat and stupidity. Winky with her peanut size could always count on thirty or forty miles. Of course there is the other factor, how hard are you willing to pedal. Winky loves to make life difficult so she peddles hard. With her determination it would be nothing for her to do 75 miles.  The farthest Kadizzle has gone is 56 miles. He could have gone farther, but decided to take it easy. Winky originally resisted the ebike, but now is a dedicated rider. Kadizzle highly recommends the bikes. You do get exercise. You can get as much exercise as you want. Simply set the power setting to how hard you want to work. The most important part is getting off the couch. In New Zealand Kadizzle met a man who said the ebike got him out again. Give it a try. 

In the Wild

 As Kadizzle putted about up in the forest a man sitting in a chair under a tree waved. This sign of friendliness inspired Kadizzle to stop and chat with the fellow. He had a tiny pop up camper that he pulled with a Jeep. The little camper was held together with duct tape and other glue like corrections. A few days later Kadizzle stopped again. This time the man who appeared to be in his sixties showed Kadizzle his little electric model airplane glider. These things look fun and Kadizzle renewed his desire to get one. You can get them up and fly on thermals like the birds do.  Living on the edge is not that uncommon for old duffers. This guy was living a minimal life.  A solar panel provided him with all this power. No refrigerator, just a cooler. In a country with so much there are a lot of people living a hardscrabble life. You can get by on very little if you have to. Kadizzle noticed a strange trend among the bum walkers. Some of the bums are beginning to adopt ebikes. How nice to no longer have to rely on a pedal bike or a shopping cart. Visiting big cities one now sees a lot of American success stories with the people living under bridges. Some good people are building bum nest for the homeless. Denver has a little bum nest area along the rail line to town. Some group has built tiny little homes for the homeless and fenced in the area. 

Actually you can live very well in a small space. We have been in the Earth Module for almost a year. The Earth Module is a deluxe bum shack. We lack nothing. We have a nice TV, shower, microwave, LED lights, heat, air conditioning, stove, refrigerator, and so on.  All of this is on wheels and about eight feet by 34 feet.  Some space is added with the slide outs.  Now the irony of all this is the number of people living in huge homes with so much excess space they really don't need or use. The Kadizzles were guilty of this with our old home. We never used the basement except when the kids came home. The living room was rarely used and so it was with a lot of the house.  We use every inch of the Earth Module. There is no poverty problem in the world, just a distribution problem.  Republican greed is the root of all evil. 

Winky and the horses

Even before making coffee Winky jumped out of bed and want out to give some apples to the horses. Winky has made pets of the nine horses in the field beside the Earth Module. Now every morning they come expecting a treat. A bit overcast today, unusual.  Cliff took his truck camper and headed up toward Flagstaff.  Kadizzle has been hooked on Youtube. Recent studies are about the Indian culture history. Kadizzle is convinced the Mexican early people either came here or had a big influence. Another discovery while learning to operate is the process of creating oxygen by burning an oxygen candle. Kadizzle is an old man and never knew you could burn a type of candle and create breathing oxygen. The submarine youtube video showed how it works.  In fact they have done it on some of the space flights.  Why in the hell did they not give us some of these candles when we were mining coal underground in West Virginia. Would be nice to breath while you are being rescued. 

Winky is going to make French Toast with peaches this morning. Needless to say we found a peach tree. 

All indications are we are frying the planet. Who cares as long as you can get french fries, beer, and watch TV.  Amazing how we can ignore a pending disaster. Just because the neighbors house caught fire and burned to the ground is no reason for us to be concerned. As the virus kills thousands a day we laugh and play. It ain't me babe. 

The Dickinson Dolt

 This is what a dolt truck looks like. A simple minded Hooplehead proving to the world he slept through most of his classes and is proud education did not infect him. 

The Elk's Club

After charging the ebike yesterday Kadizzle took off looking for the vast herd of elk. Sure enough they were in their favorite spot. A little smarter than the last encounter Kadizzle slowly moved up on the gang. The elk seem to like the seclusion and sunny hillside. A couple of the elk eyed Kadizzle with suspicion, but they got over it. Creeping closer one of the gang finally gave the danger signal and they started to leave.  Seeing wildlife here is such a pleasure. You don't get to see herds of elk in North Dakota.  

After the elk viewing Kadizzle headed on down off the plateau to the Sipes Wildlife center.  There he found a bunch of old crumpets with expensive camera setups photographing hummingbirds. Back at the Earth Module Kadizzle exchanged the ebike for the motorcycle.  Took a nice ride up above the valley we are staying in for a nice view of our location. Cannot get over how green everything is here. 

Cliff fired up his truck camper this morning and took off for the North for a few days.  Since lightning hit his big TV we are getting our news on a tiny TV. The world seems in peril. Climate change is forcing migrations of people and covid is causing economic chaos. Honest Omar will know who Kit is.  Apparently Captain Kit gave up on Mexico and has returned to North Dakota. Crime in Mexico is out of hand because of poverty. The poverty has been created by the lack of tourist dollars. There is a lesson in this. If people can work they will, but when the rich take it all and leave so many penniless, then you have crime. The best solution to violence and crime is ridding ourselves of such terrible income inequality. 

Earth Module

 Somehow the Earth Module landed in a good spot. Kadizzle did his brief morning porch sit after the visit to the executive suite.  The mountainsides all around the place are a wonderful green. Winky and Cliff to off to do some hiking. Kadizzle is putting the final charge on the ebike to go out looking for elk.  Most amazing about our location is the temperature. The weather here in the White Mountains have been very pleasant.

Kadizzle saw a post about the town idiot in Dickinson, North Dakota. There is a Hooplehead there doing the Doordash service. He has Trump and obscene Biden flags flying from the back of his jacked up pickup truck. Now the amazing thing is every small town must have a town dolt. In the old days you had to have a town drunk, but now the Trump Cult sponsors the town dolt. Most amazing is the similarity of the dolts, same flags, same simple minded truck, and of course it is a diesel with a black cloud of smoke. Years ago there was the show Gun Smoke. Something happened to the town drunk, and they advertised to get a new one. We just came back from Cottonwood, AZ, of course they had a dolt.  Some towns are big enough to have a couple of dolts. 

Hoopleheads

 Hoopleheads permeate the universe. How many are there? Trump proved there are at least 74 million Hoopleheads. They voted for him. Kadizzle has interviewed a lot of Hoopleheads who did not even vote, but they said they would have voted for Trump. Easily there could be 100 million Hoopleheads in our country. The Hoopleheads are an amazing source of wealth. Hoopleheads are essential for so many service industries.  Who will empty the porta Johns?  Who will rotate your tires? Look around you at all the simple minded jobs that need to be done. More than likely it is a Hooplehead doing the work. Walmart thrives on Hoopleheads. Walmart knows that if they can hire a Hooplehead and only employ them for a short time it saves money. The Hooplehead never earns any benifits and Walmart loves it. Now imagine this, there is a shortage of Hoopleheads. McDonnells was forced to raise wages just to attract employees. The most amazing thing about Hoopleheads is their support for the plantation owner. Every Hooplehead believes if he just fries enough hamburgers someday he will be a billionaire.  It is just a matter of time. Does the Hooplehead want to pay taxes when he gets his billion? Hell no, vote for Trump. Take a little trip to the gas station. Yup, there is a Hooplehead buying lottery tickets, and cigarettes.  He will be rich in a week or two, so he has to practice being a Republican.

Visiting Sister Patty

Here we are in Cottonwood visiting sister Patty. Yesterday Kadizzle saw an astounding herd of elk. As Kadizzle peddled on the ebike in a remote valley he saw elk sitting on the hillside. There were a lot of them and they decided to move when they were spooked. Kadizzle decided to count them. When he got to one hundred, he though that was it, but another hundred followed. 

Kadizzle took the car to the Walmart in Cottonwood. That is where a gun fight broke out in the parking lot a couple years ago. Cottonwood has no shortage of the simple minded, and mentally ill. What would you call someone who drives a jacked up pickup truck with a F**k Biden flag flying? Mentally ill is the choice. The pickup truck Trump fan's truck emits a huge cloud of black smoke as he moves about. He must have clones. Kadizzle has seen the exact act in Payson and elsewhere. Never have the stupid been as proud as Trump has made them.  While waiting for the oil change Kadizzle interacted with a couple Walmart dingers. Sure enough they were for Trump. What better than worshiping the guy who sponsors your demise. 

Getting a loan for our new home involves proving you have an income. They want to see everything and soon they will have to examine my underwear. Kadizzle has printed out about one hundred pages of income information. 

How does this country work? The point is no one works. Today we are in Cottonwood. There is no industry or other sign of productivity here. People just sell each other hamburgers. Payson is just the same, then you have Phoenix where millions just cash social security checks. In this who state does anybody actually produce anything?

Heat

 Arizona in the summer is famous for being hot. Today we thought about going to Payson, and then on to Cottonwood to see Kadizzle's sister Patty. Winky does not want to leave the mountains because of the heat at the lower elevations. Strangely our summer in Arizona has been very comfortable. It has not been too hot, and the rain every afternoon cools things down. People from Phoenix flock to the mountains to avoid the oven heat in Phoenix. 

Yesterday after another insane heavy rain Cliff and Kadizzle went down to the stream to see the effect of the rain. Not much happened. The amount of rain in the past few weeks has been phenomenal, yet the creek refuses to rise. The soil here must have an amazing capacity to soak up water. 

Today is starting out as usual with nice sunny weather and clear skies. Wait until noon, it will cloud up and rain. Just like clock work. 

The new house is progressing, so are the cost overruns. Why not a better ceiling fan?A little upgrade here, and there and soon you are broke. Then there is furniture, we sold it all in Hazen.  That will surely break the bank.  Such is life. 

Check out the video below. Peter is a friend of ours

 The video below is about Peter Bigfoot. As Forest Service volunteers we often go through Peter's farm to get to the trails we maintain. It is a very interesting and wonderful place. The garden is amazing. If you have followed these blogs you might recall when Kadizzle rescued Alex. Peter took him in and it was a good lifesaving thing. 

Interview with Peter Bigfoot of Reevis Mountain School | Survivalist & H...

Lightening Strikes

Cliff just came over to the Earth Module. Cliff's house got hit by lightening. We are about 100 ft away.  It just blew out the circuits in the kitchen so he had to borrow an extension cord for his refrigerator. We knew the strike was close. The other day Kadizzle saw the lightening hit a tree up on the mountain. It was unique. The tree glowed red for and instant. Were it not for the rain surely it would have caught fire. Long ago and far away in West Virginia my brother and I were sitting on our hillbilly couch on the front porch of our forest retreat. Lightening hit about ten feet from us where the phone went into the house. When the controller of lightening could put it to good purpose like Trumps rectum why does he waste it on trees?

Busy doing nothing

 Kadizzle has been busier than a pick pocket in a nudist camp. It is raining outside beyond belief. Strangely Arizona has turned out to be a great place to spend the summer weather wise.  The days here in the White Mountains have been very comfortable. The rain is like clock work. At about one everyday it rains. Mornings are clear and nice. The green grass is amazing. How it can rain so much and the creeks just will not run. The ground must be full. 

Stuck inside Winky has been ordering fixtures, and fans for the new home. Kadizzle has been exploring Youtube. Kadizzle now has more skills than one can imagine. Yesterday Kadizzle learned on youtube how to surface a submarine from under the ice. Where was youtube when the old goat really needed to learn something. Cliff says his girlfriend might have covid. This will be dandy.  We will have to avoid Cliff .  Here in Hooplehead Trump country they don't cater to no liberal diseases. Sickness may blow up in a big way. Because we live an isolated life, and have been vaccinated things have gone well so far. 

Kadizzle has a long lasting Jihad against Scott Hennen. The brillant right wing rat wrote an opinion piece in the Fargo Forum claiming Dr Fauci is a fraud. To top off the stupidity of the Fargo Forum they had an editorial about people spreading misinformation. So what do they do? Yup they have Hennen as a guest writer. 

The Sneaker

 At the grocery store Kadizzle checked out the measly three items he had. When he put his wallet back into his pants he must have missed. The wallet dropped on the floor. Kadizzle did not notice and a sneaker must have picked it up spotted the twenties and took the wallet. Now Kadizzle after searching for days to find the wallet must replace all the credentials. Kadizzle had too many credit cards in the wallet, plus his drivers license, and the medical insurance cards. What a mess to renew all this crap. Kadizzle hoped the sneaker would just take the money and toss the wallet. Nope, maybe the sneaker put the wallet in the trash. So far the sneuaker has not tried to charge anything. Kadizzle left one credit card turned on. Will have to check this morning and see if the sneaker is going to use the credit card. 

Horses

The Horses are getting smart and coming to the corner of the field every day so Winky can give them some apples. Yesterday we had a crumbling party.  A bunch of us old people got together at Cliff's for a feed and a lot of chatter. Ralph came on his three wheeler. Ralph talks like an old mafia guy and just hearing him talk is a treat. Ralph is Italian and has that mannerism. Kadizzle quizzed Ralf on his life. Somehow Ralph made it from New York to Arizona where he leaned to lay 88's.  What in the hell are 88's?  Ralph calls cinder blocks 88's. Ralph is like Winky he has a high energy level and used to work 12 hours a day. Now he is still very active hiking and taking care of the church. Ralph is a Catholic, and a strong one at that. Listening to someone relate their life is interesting. Kadizzle gets to feel like an interviewer. Everyone has a story, you just have to dig it out of them.

 

Green, green, the grass is green

Awakened to a picture perfect day. Went to the executive suite at Cliff's, and then sat on his porch to reflect on the upcoming day. The birds are chirping and the humming birds are having their usual battle over who gets to drink the sugar water. Those little buzzers will fly within inches of your head. It has rained almost every day for three weeks. Kadizzle cannot get over the color green so vibrant in the early morning sun. 

Winky says she is going for a bike ride. She will probably go up to the Sipes Wildlife Area. Kadizzle may go a little later and try to catch up. Yesterday the UPS guy came and we got into a discussion about the ebike. Mr. UPS says he wants to ride an ebike from Show Low to Phoenix.  Today he said he would come back and Kadizzle is going to let him try the ebike. If he takes some back roads it would be a fun adventure. Kadizzle has given so many people the chance to try the ebike. Seems like about half of them have bought one.  A bill has been introduced on the federal level to give a 30% tax break to ebikes. If they become widely used the environmental benefit would be tremendous. 

Monsoons

Kadizzle has never lived in a area that has monsoons before. The phenomenon is interesting. Every day starts out with clear skies and plenty of sunshine. By mid afternoon the skies become cloudy and the rain falls in sporadic places. Some of the rain can be a torrential downfall, and on other days it is a light sprinkle. The pattern is so consistent, and it has been going on for about three weeks. 

Boredom set in and Kadizzle made a call to Senator Cramer's office in Washington. It is the usual run around. You cannot get any answers out of the Trump lickspittles. If you are lucky you can get a form letter sent to you explaining why reality does not exist. 

Yesterday Kadizzle took the ebike up one side of a mountain and down the other. The trail was very rocky, and it was the arms not the legs that took the beating. Everything has turned a wonderful green. The rain has soaked in and the plantlife and animals must be in heaven. 

The Three stooges

 North Dakota is represented by three stooges. Kevin Cramer, Kelly Armstrong, and John Hoeven are the worst lickspittles imaginable for Trump. Kadizzle was enraged yesterday listening to the hearings on the Trump insurrection. Kadizzle called the editors of both the Bismarck Tribune, and the Fargo Forum to ask why the stooges were not held accountable for their role. The stooges should be forced by they news media to hold a public news conference and answer questions about their position on the Trump riots. Below is the letter Kadizzle wrote to the papers. 

Newspapers complain about the decline of their media. The newspapers themselves are their own worst enemy. In past times people relied on newspapers to dig out the truth and investigate stories. It used to be the job of newspapers to hold politicians accountable, but that day is gone. Kevin Cramer, John Hoeven, and Kelly Armstrong have never been held accountable for their part in the rise of Donald Trump, a the disaster Donald Trump created on January 6th. Why haven’t the newspapers insisted the elected representatives hold a public news conference and explain their lack of action investigating the insurrection Trump inspired? The North Dakota delegation have been accessories in the cover up of what Trump incited, yet they remain immune to the public scrutiny the press in North Dakota should demand. Yes, newspapers are failing, and they deserve to fail when they cannot perform the basic civic duty they are entrusted with. 

Off to Payson

Up early the Kadizzles will head to Payson to see how the new house is progressing. Kadizzle found a house with almost the exact floor plan for sale in Payson on Zillo. The house we are building has some nicer aspects. The good news is they price they are asking for the listed house is higher than what our building cost are.  Of course we are looking at cost overruns, but that is to be expected. Winky has been very busy picking our colors and fixtures. Building a house is a hassle and people our age are just to old for the game, but with luck we will move in by early September.  We have no furniture to speak of, most of it we sold. 

The grass has brought out the wildlife. Kadizzle saw a herd of about forty antelope up on the mesa. Elk are everywhere, but the big horn sheep have been scarce. 

The rain has not slowed the loggers down, the trucks keep rolling out of the forest. 

Daughter Erin swears Kadizzle is dyslexic. Maybe that explains a lot of things. Maybe that is why he is an agnostic and thinks the is no dog. 

Good Morning

The sun popped up and today is off to a good start. All the rain has the area looking brand new. The grass is growing so fast if you stand still it will lift you a couple inches in no time. Made some pancakes this morning. Used an old trick lazy people use. Kadizzle put popcorn in the pancakes and they flip themselves. Lazy is an art. Once back in Hillbilly country Kadizzle walked by a hillbilly guy on the porch. Kadizzle asked him " Why don't you get married and have some children?".  The lazy fellow said " I can't find a pregnant woman that will marry me".  Now, that is lazy. 

Strangely in this part of Arizona the weather has been better than North Dakota. Winky is off for a hike early today with a local group of hiking women. Kadizzle will be unsupervised today.  

My end of the boat is still floating

 Kadizzle is 72 years old. There cannot be that much of the game left. Perhaps that is good. Collectively the planet has lost it't bearings. Climate change is real, and the planet is melting. If your bedroom is on fire, but you are watching TV in the living room no problem, just shut the door to the bedroom. Republicans are worse than termites, flies, mosquitoes, and the ignorance they spread is the worst disease ever to affect mankind. Turn on the news, floods in China of record proportion, same in Germany, the Midwest is either burning or flooding, but we are just fine and about to have breakfast, why worry? Humans have become a petulance that is eliminating itself. For older people we can only hope to check out before the hotel burns to the ground. 

We are close to Phoenix. The old Donald showed up with his Big Lie show. Of course the Hoopleheads flocked to be reassured their mental illness was the rapture. Still no ammunition on the shelves at the drug store in Springerville. What if the liberals attack? What about the revolution when Trump is put back in office in August? So many problems. 

About the Angels trail video below

Winky, Kadizzle, and our daughter Megan have hiked this trail. Winky and Kadizzle have done it several times. It is amazing the stupid people on the hike. People should be able to do it, you never forget the hike, but it should be limited to people over the age of 12 who have been told how dangerous it is. We gave Megan a pin after she did it, but Erin wisely did not go because she was scared. You should not take the hike if you are not confident. Once Kadizzle went up there when it was snowing. Kadizzle would not go out that day. However, there were idiots going out there. It was suicide in the making. As the video mentions there are other extremely dangerous hikes in Zion. We have also done some of them, but most people do not know about them, and they are longer hikes. 

FOX 13 Investigates: Hikers pay deadly price on Zion's Angels Landing trail

An Ark went by

 It rained, then it rained some more, and still it rained. The sun is trying to peek out, but it is a different wet world here. It poured rain all night and the plants are drunk on water. The color of this universe has turned to bright green. 

Kadizzle's jihad today is about taxes. The IRS could collect up to a trillion dollars in taxes due if the Republicans would support the funding of the IRS, but not. The greed dogs are dupes for the rich. It is so obvious, yet the cult is clueless. Pathetic Republican woman from my home state of West Virginia was on CNN saying making the rich pay taxes is an invasion of privacy. Wow, can people be that stupid? Yes. You can feed the cult any line. 

Through the Wilderness

Looking down the valley there is a sheet of rain. It seems to be crawling up to us, but at the pace of a crippled snail. Rain has been a daily occurrence and the pattern is steady. What was a problem with blowing powdery soil is now a potential muddy mess. Today in the morning the sun was out bright as usual. Cliff, Kadizzle, and Winky set out for a long tour in the car. The extent of wilderness here is mind boggling. After about twenty miles going down into the Black River Canyon we wormed our way out on a gravel road for about thirty miles. As we drove out the scenery was spectacular but a storm threatened. Prior to out drive out we took a little hike down to the canyon of the Black River. The lack of human intervention is the amazing  aspect of the journey. To drive fifty miles without seeing a house, a barn, or any sign of habitation is a rare experience. Now that rain seems closer and the sky is extremely dark. The mountain has disappeared and everything is pointing to a torrent of rain. It has been so dry here that inches of rain have not made the streams run. On our trip today we could see a stream that must have suddenly risen six feet and then quickly went down. That stream had a beaver dam that was still intact. The engineering ability of Beavers is amazing. As old Kadizzle types that apocalyptic mess is inching closer.If you hear from me in the morning it means we survived. 

Ed T. You are out there somewhere

 Winky and Kadizzle are sitting in the Earth Module. Some good old fashioned jazz came on the radio.  Kadizzle said to Winky " Who does that song make you think of?"  To his surprize she said " Ed".  Wow, you read my mind.  Ed let me know if you read this. Ed is our oldest traveling friend we met a thousand years ago in Tucson. Ed has an electric piano in his Casita.  Sitting by the key board he cranks out some excellent music. 

The right to be stupid

We live in a wonderful country where we have the right to be stupid guaranteed by the constitution. You can be as dumb as you want. Although there is free public education, you can be home schooled or got to a religious school and be filled with the most simple minded idiocy imaginable. It is your right. You can work in a hospital and infect everyone in there, it is your right. You can invade the Capitol and claim it was just a tourist trip. What other country allows you to go broke giving money to a church or TV preacher? Now if you really want to exercise your right to be stupid vote. Vote for a Republican that will shovel money to the rich while they rape the poor. Vote for a Republican who will not fund the IRS so the IRS can collect the 500 billion the rich tax cheats will not pay. If you do not exercise you right to be stupid you could lose it. Then what? Without the right to be stupid we might have good health care like so many other countries, we might have gun laws like Canada, we might have income equality. Who wants all that socialist stuff? Far better to live in a run down trailer and carry a gun. Far better to live under a bridge with your dog and your friends while Bezos goes on a ten minute space ride. Use it or lose it. 

Good Morning

For some reason the day is starting with an overcast sky. The weather here has been amazingly consistent. Mornings start with crystal clear skies. On schedule the clouds appear shortly afternoon. By three the rain is here. Kadizzle has never lived in the land of monsoons before. 

Politics takes too many of Kadizzle's brain calories, but it is an addiction. North Dakota is such an embarrassment. An old friend in North Dakota said North Dakota is as bad as Mississippi for dunderheads that will not get vaccinated. Kelly Armstrong who is in Congress for North Dakota is a piece of work.  The little Trump suck up was to be on the committee to investigate Trumps riot. Cramer, Hoeven, and Armstrong are pathetic lickspittles. Why does the Trump cult thrive in North Dakota? A lot of older people fall for the silliness of right wing lies.  North Dakota does have some sad right wing commentators that seem to have a following. The little lairs take their lead from Fox News.  Scott Hennen lies to the farmers on their tractors, and you got a few right wing opinion guys and a fundamentalist woman writing for the Fargo Forum.  The Fargo Forum is at least rounded.  The Bismarck Tribune is so bashful and fears it may offend a Republican.  Now, we are living, and moving to Arizona. Arizona is shaking off some of the insanity, but it is also as bad as North Dakota. There is no shortage of Hoopleheads here. Gun toting Hoopleheads. 

Worn out old man

Winky the world's most hyperactive hiker, or maybe it is Cliff, forced Kadizzle into New Mexico for a hike yesterday.  We hiked down a mountain valley that was full of brush. Supposedly we were going to a waterfall. When we got there the waterfall was very disappointing.  It was a hot day and the humidity was high. Coming out of the canyon was a death march. Kadizzle paid dearly for the lard around his middle. Little Joey took a lot of effort to get up the brushy trail. The thorns tore Kadizzles arms to shreds. It looked like he had been attacked by a bear.  The energy just was not there.  About every tenth of a mile a rest was required. A storm chased us out, and we made it just in a nick of time.  Today is recovery day. The old body is sore and needs rest.  Some serious porch sitting is in order. Did have fun with the bloody arms. Kadizzle posted a picture of his torn up arms on facebook.  In reality it was nothing but minor scratches, but the blood running out of the scratches made it look much worse.  After a shower all the damage disappeared. The vastness of the forest in New Mexico, and Arizona never cease to amaze Kadizzle.  Anyone who thinks these two states are barren desert is sadly mistaken. Miles and miles of road with nothing but trees and no one living anywhere.  Our live have made a 180 degree change from the prairie.  

Gross motorcycle stupidity

 A couple weeks ago Kadizzle found a mountain road that took him out onto a high point where he could get a good view of the valley where he now resides.  Since then Kadizzle has been trying to refind the same road with nothing but failure.  Today Kadizzle took off on the mission to find the missing route. During the quest sixteen miles into the forest Kadizzle saw an interesting road or the simulation of a road, or more like a goat trail called Little Creek.  The game of dare to be stupid began. Kadizzle started up little creek and the little guy in his head kept saying you can make it farther. Like a well groomed idiot Kadizzle kept going up and up a very bad road nobody uses.  However, it was clear someone had been up this goat trail. This made Kadizzle think yes you could get to the top.  Gradually the trail got worse and worse and another little voice in the head said " you better turn around you idiot".  Of course " you idiot" kept going.  Then the bell started to clang. What if something goes wrong, nobody will ever find you. Kadizzle called Winky and and left a message on her phone giving the approximate location to look for the body.  Now he was damn near what seemed like the top of the mountain with no idea where he really was.  About two or three hundred yards and he would be at the top. The poor old Yamaha had been hauling his lard ass up a very steep grade. The Yamaha overheated and said I quit. Now what? This was a real mess. Turn around and go back the terrible three miles he had just come up or try to make it to the top.  After pouring or spitting two bottles of water on the cycle it seemed like it cooled down. Praise be unto Jeeesus it started. Kadizzle used the clutch and first gear. He walked beside the motorcycle and got it to the top of the mountain where it was flat.  The blessing was there was somewhat of a real road there.  Following the road he came to a meadow. He could see a decent gravel road in the distance. After he managed to get to the decent road he began to realize he was on the Escadilla mountain road. This was a blessing and he started home. At this point he had to switch to the reserve tank. As usual he did not start the trip expecting to get involved in an adventure. He did not take the satellite communicator. Also he lacked a couple other necessities such as a decent jacket. In the end he was lucky or shrewd.  The stupid feeling lingered for awhile, but no doubt Kadizzle learned nothing. 

The World is Crumbling

 Floods in Europe, Drought in the western U.S. ,  idiots springing up like mushrooms everywhere, people are oblivious to reality. Trump made the Hoopleheads proud to be losers. Kadizzle will leave the planet in not that many years, whew.  However, our kids will be stuck here as the place melts. Our biggest enemy is ignorance. When Kasdizzle was a kid being a dolt was considered embarrassing, now you put a Trump flag on your noisy truck and parade through town to let everyone know your education failed. Your busted flat, but you have tattoos all over your body, shiny wheels on your goofmobile, and you are vaping clouds of chemicals. Jobs are abundant, but you cannot get ahead flipping burgers. The rich bought the government and are having fun going to space. You wander around in a cloud looking for a shopping cart to push to your house under the bridge. The Sackler family makes billions selling opioids, and the guy on the street who sells one joint is in jail. Bridges and building fall down, but the stock market goes up. 

Anti-Vaxxers, Conspiracy Theories, & Epistemic Responsibility: Crash Cou... This one's for you Omar

Republican Hate and insanity.

Winky and Kadizzle are having a home built in Payson, Arizona. So called Mexicans laid the foundation, framed the house, put on the drywall, and roofed the house. Builders cannot find workers other than the Mexicans. If not for Mexicans the housing industry in Arizona would collapse. Now who wants to fight to keep Mexicans out? The very same people who benefit immensely from the work of the immigrants. These people building our home work hard, they do good work, and Kadizzle has a lot of fun joking with them while they work. The idiots we call Republicans cannot comprehend that there is a labor shortage in this county. If businesses had the labor they needed the economy would do well. 

Now remember the Mexicans are supposed to be the lazy welfare cheats. Yesterday while the Mexicans were busy putting up the drywall two nice young white boys were doing the cleanup. Now think about this, the Mexicans had a skill, the white boys were only capable of pushing a broom. Did the Mexicans take a job from the white guys? Hell no. The white guys could have made a little effort and learned to do drywall installation, but no they wanted to get by sweeping up the mess.  The Republican distortion of reality to further their interest is sickening. Our entire country has become a victim of Republican fantasy. 

Listen to the words.

Posted below is the song A rainy night in Soho.  Sometimes someone writes a song with the perfect words. Listen carefully play it once or twice. The routine here at the Earth Module is to get up and play a nice song or two.  Of course Winky starts shouting put on NPR.  

Our old friend Ruth is here.  She came yesterday. Winky and Ruth took off immediately to the Sipes Wildlife refuge.  Then the rain came in torrents. They got back with no problem. Today they are going to buzz around and see the sights. Kadizzle may inspect the results of the downpour on they cycle. The sun is up and the day has started very nicely, but the pattern has been rain in the afternoon.  

The Pogues - A Rainy Night In Soho

Rain beyond belief

 Kadizzle is an old man, but he has rarely if ever seen a rain like this one in the White Mountains of Arizona. It came down. Seems like two or three inches fell in thirty minutes. The ground is a sheet of water, that same ground that was powder dust a few days ago. This has to be some makins of a flash flood situation. Ruth and Cissie took off shortly before the downpour to go to the wildlife refuge. Wondering if they can make it back. The road in here is a muddy mess. Amazing looking out the window how much has already soaked in. There are still more clouds coming. Would not want to be hiking a canyon with this going on. 

Trails are cheap

Kadizzle saddled up yesterday and took the Yamaha for an extreme ride. A trail exist here made especially for motorcycles and small four wheeler. The trail winds through every type of terrain from mountain tops to valleys. It is a 27 mile trail. It does not cost a lot to make a trail. Some of our most enjoyable moments are hiking, riding the ebike, and taking the Yamaha on trails.  The Kadizzles had a wonderful time with the ebikes buzzing through the woods on trails last summer, and this summer. The Ma Da Hey trail in North Dakota is one of the greatest. We did 120 miles on that trail. Why don't states invest in trails? North Dakota could have wonderful trails along Lake Sakakawea, and along the Missouri to Bismarck. There is not a whole lot to making trails now with small equipment available. 

Let's go to church

This morning churches will be full of people who despise the Mexicans coming across the border and feel Trump is the most recent Jesus. The contradiction is beyond comprehension. How can you support Trump and Jesus at the same time. Somehow the rednecks make it work. Kadizzle is perpetually amazed at people living in rundown homes and yards full of junk taking their money and giving it to a bunch of charlatans that will help them get eternal life.  In every town you visit you can ask the question " What if they took the money they pissed away on churches and spent it for something useful?" Richardton, North Dakota is a classic. The town has nothing, but the town does have an insane cathedral.  No swimming pool for the kids, no nice senior center, no decent school, and none of the amenities a little town could have. Nope, but do they have a whopper of a church. The church sits there empty.  When my old friend Ray walked into the edifice he said " I wonder how many farmers went broke building this place?"  What if the money funneled to Rome stayed here and helped people?

Youtube addiction

 You do not become an alcoholic all at once, nor do you fall into Youtube in the same way. When boredom sets in Kadizzle finds himself turning to Youtube videos. The variety is astounding. From watching the videos Kadizzle has pretty much mastered flying most of today's airliners. Just don't get on with him as a pilot. You name it and someone has done a video on it.  Kadizzle has become a big fan of some strange people. One favorite is a professor at the University of Illinois. The man seems to be capable of taking any complex subject and explaining it to an idiot like Kadizzle. There is a guy in Canada who tears things apart and explains how they are made either well or poorly.  The ex prison guy telling about his life in the pen is fun to fill time. Of course there is a lot of crap, but there is also a lot of good information. 

Another Stinger

 To the delight of Kadizzle the Fargo Forum published another of his letters revealing the fraud of Scott Hennen.  Hennen is a Fox News wanna be who imitates his hero Trump. He matches Trump in the lying and distorting. Trump has a radio show on KFYR that appeals to the Trump Cult Hoopleheads. 

Another hike down a mountain valley in New Mexico yesterday. The vastness of the Arizona, New Mexico forest is hard to fathom.  We drove six miles back into nowhere before we started to hike.  There was water in the stream which adds so much to a hike. Kadizzle takes off his hat and soaks it in the water to get some evaprotive cooling. 

The recent rains have brought the grass to life. Things are greening up. The evidence becomes more overwhelming every day that we are in deep trouble with the climate. The NYT has an article today on the mess in California. The greed of homeowners, builders, and Republicans is bringing the country to it's knees.

The mind is wandering, but back to the forest. Way back where we hiked there had been a CCC camp.  Old people will know what the CCC was.  The CCC was one of the best things the goverment ever did. The high quality of work was amazing. As we drove into the wilderness we cross many wonderful bridges built by the CCC. The stonework was very well done and the bridges have been in place for almost 100 years.  Why not have a national service organization that gives young people pride, skills, jobs, and a chance to work outside?

The lumber mill

 After traveling through endless forest on the motorcycle Kadizzle came out of the woods near the little town on Nutrioso. The only business in that town is a small saw mill. Kadizzle has been educating himself on the lumber industry and wanted to see the mill in action. As Kadizzle puttered around the perimeter of the sawmill looking at the stacks of logs and cut lumber he saw and old beat up suburban pull into the lumber yard.  Kadizzle went to what looked like the office for the place, but it was not. Kadizzle was directed to a ramshackle office. The two guys in the suburban got out of their beater at the office before Kadizzle. One guy was just a beer bellied old fart like Kadizzle. The other guy had a narrow beard half way down his skinny frame. He  had on some sort of hat that looked like an engineers hat without the stripes. He looked grizzled and shot up. Quickly we struck up a conversation.  He said " What's up".  Kadizzle said " I am kinda confused, I brains in my head ain't never been used"  He indicated he had the same problem. It turned out these two were trying to buy lumber to rebuild the one fellow's cabin that burnt down. Into the lumber office we wandered. Ted was on the phone so we all sat down. It was a strange office. Behind Ted's desk was was seemed like an old living room full of living room furniture.  When Ted got off the phone the cabin guys started asking him about lumber and prices. The conversation started and it was half stories, and half business. It ended up Ted did not sell the kind of lumber these guys wanted, and the price of lumber was high. We had a good time telling stories and bullshitting. Kadizzle finally asked about some lumber prices. The place sold large lumber 6x6 and so on.  It seemed like the session would go on for ever.  Kadizzle asked Ted if he could go watch the sawmill work. Ted said sure.  Kadizzle went over and peered in the mill.  The machinery was old but automated.  A huge band saw cut through logs like they were not even there.  A fellow that looked native American was running the saw. He seemed very skilled. The logs rode on a large carriage that zipped through the saw at incredible speed. The logs on the carriage could be flipped automatically and the entire process was operated from a small cage where the operator just pushed buttons and pulled levers.  In a matter of minutes a large tree became usable lumber. ll

The Forest has reopened.

 On the way back from Payson it became apparent the closed signs were gone. The forest has been reopened. The rain diminished the fire hazard. Today Kadizzle hauls the bike to the bike shop to get the new derailleur put on. Kadizzle has cooked up a scheme for the bike shop owner.  The shop owner has sold his property and needs to invest a half million dollars. Kadizzle watched an interesting video on gambling. The speaker was very intelligent and a good mathematician. Kadizzle will present the bike shop owner with a variation of the math the speaker reported on. It goes something like this. If I bet you a coin will land on heads and I win, you have to pay me a dollar, but if you win I have to pay you two dollars. The math says that if you bet one quarter of your money on each bet you will win over the long haul. The general trend of the stock market is in your favor. So in theory it means that if you invest one quarter of your cash at a time you will win. My proposal is the shopkeep will invest one quarter each time there is a stock market fall of 400 points or more. It will be great to experiment with someone else's money. 

Wandering to the Big House

Awoke very early to go to Payson. The rain fell from Heaven last night and the morning was blessed with a wonderful sunrise.  Kadizzle wandered to the big house to fire the cannon. Sunshine on the mountains and cliffs made some great pictures. Hopefully the forest will be opened and the hikes, bike rides, and adventures can be resumed. 

OK, that was the good news. As Kadizzle awoke this morning he lay in bed thinking about the incredible waste in this country. Many times driving down the highway a train could be seen moving along the tracks. On that train were a couple hundred tanks.  Each of those military tanks cost well over a million dollars.  So that was a trainload of schools, houses, and other things that could have improved life for humans. The amount we have wasted is in the trillions. Now if you want to pop your eyes out of your head visit the plane grave yard near Tucson, Arizona.  There you will see 54 billion dollars worth of tax money rusting in the desert. What could you do with 54 billion dollars?

History is replete with human insanity.  First the pyramids, then the cathedrals, what next?  We are going to Mars while people on Earth starve.  

The People you meet

One thing leads to another, and another. The other day we met two guys selling lumber in Alpine. Winky became enthralled with their products and now we have purchased several raw planks that will eventually be shelves and tables.  After our hike and 22 mile ebike ride yesterday deep in the mountains of New Mexico we went to visit the saw mill where the huge slabs of wood are created. Sam was the owner of a sawmill he built. The sawmill was specially built to saw slabs that could be four feet across and as long as ten feet. The Kadizzles got to see his stockpile of unique wood that he would turn into interesting products.  Sam had to go into the forest with an old Toyota Tacoma and haul out logs bigger than the Tacoma. A log Sam bought from the forest service for a dollar could yield several thousand dollars worth of furniture quality slabs. 

One thing that has always been a great pleasure in our travels are the unique artist we meet. The other day we met one of the best metal artist ever in the small town of Springerville.  As we travel we usually see some unusual piece of art.  Next you ask Willy or Joe who made that, and you are off on an adventure.  Many artist thrive on solitude and remoteness.  Years ago out in the middle of nowhere we met a person who carved furniture from wood.  We have met weavers, potters, and just about every kind of artist imaginable. Many times the art is the house itself. Creative people are fun to talk to, and fun to find. 

Flood of the insane

Ok more 4th of July BS.  Yesterday was the day, the day idiocy was on parade. When Winky and Kadizzle sat at the intersection in Springerville the flavor of the day was obvious. A moron in a jacked up diesel pickup truck went by. The goof was flying a big Trump flag and another one that proclaimed f**k Biden.  The truck was set up to deliberately spew the most obnoxious black cloud of diesel fumes one could imaging. Apparently it was meant to be an insult to the environment.  A little prior to that we had been in Alpine Arizona for the parade. Parking our vehicle we could see the stupid and proud of it signs again. The gate to an idiots ranchero was festooned with a big Trump Pence poster, a Russian flag with Biden on it, and a sign warning the little puddle of ignorance was a redneck paradise. There seems to be a direct relationship between the number of churches and Trump flags. What an insane mixture. The other day Kadizzle rode through Eager, a Mormon stronghold, but with plenty of other octanes of Jesus.  Some young guys were prancing about with signs that read Honk for Jesus.  Praying is strange enough, but honking a horn for the delight of Jesus is stranger yet.  Mentally the country is going backwards at the speed of light.  Maybe wars did have a purpose. Wars used to kill off massive numbers of fools.  Wars were darwinism on steroids. War has now become so automated that it just does not do the job anymore. 

OK, how about some more upbeat reporting. In Alpine Kadizzle noticed a vendor selling big slabs of trees. The slabs were on display to show off the wonderful patterns exposed when a tree is sawn the right way.  Big mistake. Kadizzle got Winky interested.  The forest dwellers that were selling the slabs were interesting and fun to talk to.  Winky started examining the wood and next thing you know we were the owners of a very nice piece of wood that would make a great table. This was stage one. In the course of checking each dead tree Winky was accompanied by Tony.  Tony was a woodworker and he gave Winky a quick education on what pieces were the best. In no time we contracted with Tony to make the table. Tony was enthusiastic and later in the same day emailed a picture of his progress. What started as casual browsing is now up to $180 worth of table with no legs. 

Today we are up early, five in the morning local time. The plan is to charge the ebikes and ride out to a mountain overlook in New Mexico. 

Among the delusional

Parade day in the heart of Mormon country is today. Looks like it will rain on the parade. An actual ground penetrating rain fell last night. Patriotism seems to be high around here. Various displays of the flag and red, white, and blue are abundant. Strangely the people who are being beat down the most by capitalism out of control are the ones giving it the most praise. Trump who supports no one but the rich, and loves to set up tax schemes to stomp on the poor is their hero. The people on the bottom know one thing. They know someone is screwing them. Problem is they are clueless who that someone is. This sets them up for abuse. Someone like Trump invents a culprit and sells the down trodden on the idea. Works just like a magician uses diversion. Look over there while I steal your wallet. Look quick it's Mexicans taking your jobs. Really, maybe you took my job and shipped it to China. The blatant nonsense of the Republicans is what amazes. Voter suppression is a classic. How do you hide the intent?

A hard climb

 The sun is fighting the clouds to come out and cook the Earth. It has been struggling to rain every day in this dry parched land. The bike is fixed, but there are two low gears missing. Seems like the story of Kadizzles life. For the times they are a changin. People don't want to work for nothing. The New York Times says a lot of older people just gave up and quit. People will not work for poverty wages, and businesses cannot get people to work.  CEO's of course get their same old 350 times what the line worker does. Life is good if you are where life is good, but if you are not feed the chickens and cash the welfare payment. 

Winky and Kadizzle wanted to do a little traveling this summer, but we seem to be stuck in the White Mountains.  This is not bad we could be stuck in Death Valley.  In the time we have been here we have covered a lot of ground by foot, ebike, and motorcycle.  It is a big world with people hidden in the woods all over the place.  The number of elk is astounding. You see them everywhere. This is a strange new lifestyle. We are camped, parked, whatever you want to call it beside Cliff's home. Cliff hit the jackpot when they built a cell tower on his property. The extra income has added a new dimension  to his economy. For many of our conveniences we zip into Cliffs house. The house has two porches with two entirely different views. Contemplating on the porch is frequently a pass time. 

Kadizzle is not a reader, but Winky convinced him to take up a book she says is one of the greatest. The book is Barkskins, a three hundred year history of lumbering. For a guy that does not read much in the hardbound sector this is a thick book. No matter where you are in history the theme is always the same, the have's robbing the have not's.  A lot of the story is how the Indians and settlers meshed, or did not. The simplest way to deal with the natives was to kill them and steal their land. In those days you did not have to work on voter suppression to rob the poor. The book is filled with French phrases and words. Now what is Kadizzle supposed to do look up all this French? You just guess. The Indians could be cruel, but the English were no better. One story was about a white man captured. The Indian women sewed up every orifice he had, and cut off his legs. Would be a nice solution to Trump. 

Shot up, busted, and broke

 Just picked up the bike from the bike shop. Decided to ride the bike around Eager, Arizona to try out the fix. The poverty, and people living in junky, shot up, junk piled, messy homes was all over town.  The illusion that " We are number one" is hard to sustain when you see some of the messes in the small towns in Arizona. Kadizzle will have to concede that North Dakota over all is one of the cleanest and best kept states in the country, even if the Trump flags defile the landscape. We have a poverty problem in this country, that stems from an education problem.  If you sit in one nice secluded place you might feel things are just fine, but if you travel about as much as we do into the small reaches of nowhere you would see the embarrassment this country has become. A European visiting our mess would be amazed about the promised land.  Entering most of the Indian reservations you will find the ditches strewn with whiskey bottles. The hoarded junk all over town in these little poverty stricken bergs is beyond comprehension. So many of the yards in Eager had a horse, a cow, or some other livestock. Junk seems to be the new status symbol.  Somehow we have failed big time. Seeing children living the way they do in this country is sad.  Kadizzle could have taken ten pictures today of children living in slum conditions that you could use in an add. We had the war on poverty. We lost. The rich won big time. The prosperous walked off with the cheese and left the ordinary man holding onto his pile of junk  in his run down mobile home. Of course God sent a savior to fix this, Donald Trump. 

Powdered Water

 Another hike. Finding the trail head meant driving into New Mexico deep into Mormon Country, and Trump country.  The first town was Luna. They could have named it Lunatic.  Some person insane with Trump fever put a full sized tractor trailer truck on a pole. It was an expensive truck to put on a pole thirty feet in the air. Of course the truck was flying a Trump flag.  Farther down the road the guy who probably put up the truck was walking his dog with a handgun strapped to his side.  We drove deep into the woods and parked the car. This was the middle of nowhere and we needed to descend down a very steep trail for 3/4 of a mile. If you go down you will have to come up.  After a very nice hike along a mountain stream we made the death hike back up the steep portion of the trail. The decision was to drive into the town of Reserve, New Mexico.  It was an old shot up little town where we had lunch. After lunch Kadizzle sat outside the eating place on a bench.  Out of the luncheria came a tall very skinny old lady. She held the door open for her husband.  He looked like a huge whiskey barrel dressed in an old grey T shirt, and bright red sweat pants cut off into shorts.  He was large in the horizontal not the vertical. His skinny wife held the door open for him.  He stopped in the middle of the door to catch his breath. Kadizzle expected the barrel man to die any moment as he hobbled out on his cane. We engaged in conversation about the possibility of rain.  It was dry around this part of the world with a record drought in progress. Kadizzle told the skinny lady he was bringing a truckload of powdered water to the area. Kadizzle told the lady how he once planned to take a barge load of powdered water up the Missouri to Lake Sakakawea. The Corp of Engineers would not permit it because if the barge sank it could cause a flood. Later when Kadizzle met the lady again she said at first she believed the powdered water story.  Then she realized it was a joke. Remember we were deep in Trump country where reality is flexible. Driving around and hiking the southwest the mind realizes how vast the wilderness is.  No matter how big the country is you can hike twenty miles into the forest and find a beer can. Out hiking the other day in a remote place Kadizzle found a golf ball. What was it doing there?  We were at the base of a cliff. Someone could not resist the temptation to drive a golf ball off the cliff above.