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Showing posts from 2015

bags of what?! slippin’ n’ slidin’,
you hear something? mini-book,
and two photos

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There were a lot of rabbits up on the bluff; mostly cottontails but a few jacks like this one. Ever notice when driving along a dirt road, if a cottontail comes out, it tends to run across the road? If it’s a jackrabbit, it tends to take off down the road ahead of the vehicle, as if to outrun it. Strange. I gathered two bags of processed grass for a few campfires this winter (some refer to it as cow pies). They have a pleasant smell when burning, but I’m sure there would be some who would complain if they noticed what was being burned. It was a different mindset back during western progression and the use of buffalo chips (correctly referred to as bison chips). Well, I had my most interesting moving day last month. Listening to NOAA weather on my Etón Scorpion, I heard that it was going to rain, snow and stay inclement for the next two or three days. The red dirt is very slick and I would be stuck here for awhile. I decided to head out early in the morning trying to beat the w

stocking up, vertigo, butt huntin’,
and too early for 34 degrees

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Fall again, time to place my annual orders for a few basic staples, entertainment items, and miscellaneous stuff that needs to be acquired or replaced. A couple friends in Moab let me have the packages delivered to their house. I placed my annual order for 6 kilos of yerba mate from myyerbamatestore.com. Three of the kilos were a variety pack; they threw in an extra kilo (I love free useful items). With all the found metal I’ve been acquiring over the last three or four years, it’s way past time for me to get back to my bench, so I ordered new templates for medallions I plan to make. I also ordered an awning cover from awningpro-tech.com. Sure hope that proves to be a good investment. I put it over the rolled up awning for the winter. Also purchased another iPod nano for a backup. All this should carry me till next October. I stayed at four other spots in the area south of Moab since I’ve been coming here in the fall. This is the third year I’ve stayed on the bluff. The first y

October paperbacks, opening cans, heifer
once more around the world,
the note, a mystery solved, and futility

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Finally! Got this shot a few days before coming down off the Kaibab last month. Took it through the back window. It doesn’t show the tall funky ears all that well—oh well, two out of three. This past summer I finally got back to having a hummingbird feeder hanging off the back of my trailer. Since acquiring a Kindle, I’m not reading as many paperbacks. There is one thrift shop I visit each winter that still sells paperbacks for 25 cents and always has an extensive selection. I fill a tote bag and I’m set for the year. I exchange books when I have the opportunity and I’ve had some luck on town-run days with stopping at an RV park to ask if I could exchange books. Only one park said no; the exchange was just for those staying in the park. Didn’t make sense to me; there would have been new books to choose from for those staying at the park. Paperbacks are somewhat fragile and improper use can damage them. Pages are meant to be turned from the top corner. There is much less chance

Nash trailers, two lifestyles, spur roads,
options, and a shadow

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I moved to a spot with longer morning and earlier afternoon shade. I’ve come across a number of places that would be good spots to camp within an hour’s bike ride. Many more looked good but had dead trees or large, dead, overhead branches that could pose a problem. Some had large live trees but with more lean to them than I feel comfortable with. My present spot has one such tree but it’s leaning away from the Nash. Some spots are too tight to position a rig where it would work best. I always want an isolated spot; one where there is not another spot nearby where someone could set up. If I come back to the Kaibab, I might set up at the end of this unmarked spur. I would have to take my bow saw to some deadfall in order to get the trailer all the way back but it would sure be secluded. The spot is at 8,500 feet and would make another great base camp for my kind of traveling and with close access to the Arizona Trail. This is another spot, but limited. There is no shade and is t

down and dirty in the sagebrush,
skip it, up another 900’,
germs, and charades

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There are vast stretches of space in between the well-known places to visit. Ever been driving through sagebrush country? The landscape can appear to have a more or less monochrome uniformity, broken occasionally by outcroppings of bare rock (or juniper). To many, this lack of notable landmarks denotes an absence of anything worth seeing—just a place to drive past on the way to somewhere interesting. Others might not see it that way. Hard-wallers have found that many of Nature’s little treasures are only accessible on foot. When I’m out hiking, my vision is scanning the distance, but I can also miss much. So I balance it on walks with Meadow & Mesa. When M&M and I are outwalkin’, it’s slow, and I try to keep my eyes focused in close. I watch M&M and see how they investigate what is down near them as they walk along. I would imagine walking with a kitten or puppy would enhance seeing the world with different eyes/perspective even more. There is so much beauty on a

sixth goat, time to re-watch, from pad to basket,
back in the woods, orienteering, something it is not,
what are the chances, big ball, and lost to posterity

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My Heifer International tally is now six goats, two flocks of chicks, one flock of geese, and one flock of ducks. My next donation will be on the fall equinox. But I might expand out from providing animals. Heifer International offers other programs that one can donate to: women enterprise, farming, water, and others. Will have to look into it before the equinox. I came across a sentence in a magazine. And this is in no way a cut to the article’s writer; she was merely relating trends stated by a person in the RV industry. “(RV) Consumers also want more features on the outside of the unit, such as outdoor kitchens and TVs to maximize the outdoor living experience.” Okay, I can sort of see an outdoor galley but why choose to cook outside and have your back to the Outdoors? But an outdoor TV “to maximize the outdoor living experience?” Hard-wall campers and RVers, most assuredly, differ in their mindset towards the ‘outdoor living experience.’ Back on the January 2013 page, I ment