Western land use issues are complex, and those who care about the land need to be informed. Sometimes that takes hours of background research and, other times, nothing less than a personal visit to the area in question. In that spirit, I visited Bears Ears National Monument in October as I traveled from Washington State…
A crisp wind blows in from the northwest, and the few deciduous trees around my camper slowly lose their still-green leaves. As Tango and I walk, my boots make a crunching sound. Already, snow falls in Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park, and other northern-tier mountains. Bears move about rapidly, searching for 25,000…
Early morning drive into town, and I saw something new. A low-lying fog to the east, below the Mt. Spokane summit, swaddling the narrow pines. Only the treetops poked through the fog, creating an illusion of a cloudy sea with mini pines floating on top. Surreal, really. Every region I travel has unique natural phenomena: the…
I first heard the term “cone of uncertainty” on the Weather Channel in reference to a hurricane path. The weather folks used the term and a cone-like graphic to tell us that the real path of a hurricane will vary. Computer modeling determines the most likely path, but also the potential deviation from that path…
I spend about half my time camping on National Forest lands and half in or near a city. My last sojourn into the wilderness lasted about a month. So, I was not surprised that I accumulated a wild roommate. I met my mouse along the St. Joe River while I was packing up in preparation…
Before retirement, before downsizing, before adopting my nomadic lifestyle, I was the self-proclaimed Queen of the Small Appliance. I owned a food processor, blender, electric deep fat fryer, heavy-duty dehydrator, Kitchen-Aid, electric yogurt maker, electric steamer, and many other electric and non-electric cooking tools. I used them all, some, like my dehydrator, I use seasonally.…
Washington State is famous for its apples. The state produces 2.5 million tons, which is 6 out of every 10 apples grown in the US. From bestapples.com: “For generations, families in the United States and from around the globe have been able to point to the State of Washington as being THE source for the…
I did not fall off the face of the earth….wait, yes I did. I enjoyed early fall in the Inland Northwest, away from phone, Internet, and political news. I saw an entire river valley in the Idaho Panhandle take on a golden hue this past week. I heard a male elk bugle daily for the…
Missoula has become an official pit stop when I travel to the Montana and points further west. For the second time, I had an advance appointment with the RV dealer for small repairs. Bluemoon was dusty and dirty from sitting on the Livingston flatlands for the summer, and the dealer recommended a local do-it-yourself car…
Good news! My camper was in great shape when I finally got back to Livingston, MT. It has a spot of water damage near the kitchen sink. I left that window open just a crack, but it was enough to let some water squeeze through. I am waiting for the RV dealership in Missoula to…