Joanne's off traveling again and gave me the keys to her blog. I'll try not to put any scratches on it.
Here's yesterday's post about Target teacher discounts on school supplies, similar to the one I posted here on my own site.
Here's today's post about the Janus decision of a year ago.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Citizenship Question On Census Affects School Funding
Read about LA Unified, which somehow feared a loss of $20 million, here.
By the way, LA Unified's annual budget is over $8 billion. $20 million would be a rounding error, 1/4 of 1%.
By the way, LA Unified's annual budget is over $8 billion. $20 million would be a rounding error, 1/4 of 1%.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Democrats Never Change
It started up again with someone throwing a milkshake at a British politician, and then some leftie thought she was perfectly justified in throwing a drink at a US Congressman. Such assaults cannot be allowed to stand:
How dare that black woman sit at a Woolworth's counter!
Her name was Anne Moody, and you can read more about her and this particularly ugly incident here, here, and here.
Assaulting people in this manner was wrong in 1963 and it's wrong today. Democrats still haven't learned that, 56 years later.
Update: In related news, kudos to Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago:
Rep. Matt Gaetz will press charges against the woman who allegedly hurled a drink cup at him, the Florida congressman said Thursday.It seems that Democrats have a history of dumping food and drink on people with views they don't like:
“I am going to press charges ... I think it’s really important to send a message that we as conservatives have a right to our views, just like anybody else has a right to their views,” Gaetz said in an interview on Fox news the night before.
“If there are no consequences, maybe it’s me getting hit with a drink one time, but what if it's a member of my staff? And what if instead of a drink it’s acid, or urine?"...
Hitting Gaetz with the projectile in Pensacola comes as British protesters capture headlines for drenching rightwing political figures — including Brexit leader Nigel Farage — in milkshakes.
Police have charged Amanda Kondrat’yev, 25, with misdemeanor battery, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
Her name was Anne Moody, and you can read more about her and this particularly ugly incident here, here, and here.
Assaulting people in this manner was wrong in 1963 and it's wrong today. Democrats still haven't learned that, 56 years later.
Update: In related news, kudos to Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago:
News that a waitress at Chicago’s Aviary spat on the president’s son has drawn everything from ire to support from everyone, from social media commenters to, now, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot...
Many commenters, including Lightfoot, were pressing for The Aviary’s owners to take action against the employee.
Lightfoot said she spoke to Eric Trump after he reported being spit on by the waitress in what Lightfoot said was a “repugnant” incident, and she called on the restaurant’s owners to “take appropriate action” against the employee.
“I spoke to Eric Trump and checked in with him about what had happened,” Lightfoot said Thursday at an unrelated event. “Look, I think this: Civility matters, and we may not agree, and in my case I don’t agree with a lot of things President Trump stands for. Our values are different. But you cross the line when you assault someone. ... No one deserves that.It was wrong in 1957 Little Rock, and it's wrong today.
Hate Crimes Hoaxes
We're probably living in what are the least hate-crimey times in the least hate-crimey country in the world, but some people's lives just don't have meaning unless there are so-called hate crimes occurring with rabid frequency, and since they're not occurring with rabid frequency, they make them up:
Update, 7/21/19: What should be celebrated as a great achievement is instead subverted and perverted:
Mr. Reilly is a professor of political science at Kentucky State University, and his interest in hate crimes dates to his graduate-school days, when he became aware of several widely reported incidents in the vicinity of his hometown that turned out to be fake...I'm not a big fan of the "hate crime" designation--someone who is attacked or harmed is a victim, and should be no more or less so because of the attitude of the culprit. But if we're going to make some attacks more "important" than others, which is what the hate crime designation does, we need to accept the logical and entirely predictable consequences--that if you "subsidize" something, you get more of it. Given this fact, it makes perfect sense that Reilly would find significantly more fake than real crimes.
Mr. Reilly eventually compiled a database of 346 hate-crime allegations and determined that less than a third were genuine. Turning his attention to the hoaxes, he put together a data set of more than 400 confirmed cases of fake allegations that were reported to authorities between 2010 and 2017. He allows that the exact number of false reports is probably unknowable, but what can be said “with absolute confidence is that the actual number of hate crime hoaxes is indisputably large,” he writes. “We are not speaking here of just a few bad apples.”
Update, 7/21/19: What should be celebrated as a great achievement is instead subverted and perverted:
As racial and sexual bigotry continues to recede in the United States, the strange alchemy of egalitarian despotism takes over. This was something that Tocqueville noticed about democratic regimes. The more equal society became, the more trifling differences among people would be seized upon and held up as evidence of iniquity. Similarly, the less real racial bigotry and anti-homosexual animus there is in the United States, the more must be manufactured in order to keep the Fraternal Order of Victims afloat.
Vegetarians
Are they really healthier and happier than the rest of us? Perhaps not:
Vegetarians are less healthy than meat-eaters, a controversial study has concluded, despite drinking less, smoking less and being more physically active than their carnivorous counterparts.I know I'm happy after a burger....
A study conducted by the Medical University of Graz in Austria found that the vegetarian diet, as characterised by a low consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, due to a higher intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products, appeared to carry elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
The study used data from the Austrian Health Interview Survey to examine the dietary habits and lifestyle differences between meat-eaters and vegetarians.
Heinlein's Crazy Years
I read two articles this morning and put them together in my head. How did we get so crazy so fast?
First:
So what aren't we allowed to say? That men are men and women are women, whether you pretend otherwise or not:
Do you really want your health care subject to the whims of politics? Because this is what you get when you put government and its politics in charge of health care, and your government is run by lefties.
First:
How do you know if you're living in a free society? Here's a quick test: Are you allowed to say obviously true things in public? Or are you forced to lie? As George Orwell put it in "1984": "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." But what if that freedom isn't granted? What if you're required to repeat things that you know aren't true? What if everyone who hears you knows perfectly well that you're lying, but they can't say so out loud? What if everyone is required to nod along in mock sincerity as if it's all completely real? That's what a pep rally in a police state looks like: "Thanks to the dear leader for a bountiful potato harvest!" they chant, even as they starve to death.
So what aren't we allowed to say? That men are men and women are women, whether you pretend otherwise or not:
WOMEN who identify as male are not being offered vital routine breast screenings and cervical cancer checks in case it offends them.Biology doesn't care how you "identify".
But men identifying as women will be invited for cervical smear tests – even though they don’t have a cervix.
The advice comes from a 24-page booklet published by Public Health England called “Information for trans people”.
Do you really want your health care subject to the whims of politics? Because this is what you get when you put government and its politics in charge of health care, and your government is run by lefties.
Your Feel-Good Policies Are An Ineffective Inconvenience (and are probably causing even bigger problems)
Bjorn Lomborg on plastic bag bans:
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan to reduce plastic pollution, which will include a ban on single-use plastics as early as 2021. This is laudable: plastics clog drains and cause floods, litter nature and kill animals and birds.Of course, plastic also makes our lives better in a myriad of ways. In just four decades, plastic packaging has become ubiquitous because it keeps everything from cereals to juice fresher and reduces transportation losses, while one-use plastics in the medical sector have made syringes, pill bottles and diagnostic equipment more safe.Going without disposable plastic entirely would leave us worse off, so we need to tackle the problems without losing all of the benefits...But we need to be honest about how much consumers can achieve. As with other environmental issues, instead of tackling the big-picture problems to actually reduce the plastic load going into oceans, we focus on relatively minor changes involving consumers, meaning we only ever tinker at the margins...But even if every country banned plastic bags it would not make much of a difference, since plastic bags make up less than 0.8 per cent of the mass of plastic currently afloat on the world’s oceans.Rather than trying to save the oceans with such bans in rich countries, we need to focus on tackling the inferior waste management and poor environmental policies in developing regions.Research from 2015 shows that less than 5 per cent of land-based plastic waste going into the ocean comes from OECD countries, with half coming from just four countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. While China already in 2008 banned thin plastic bags and put a tax on thicker ones, it is estimated to contribute more than 27 per cent of all marine plastic pollution originating from land.Moreover, banning plastic bags can have unexpected, inconvenient results. A new study shows California’s ban eliminates 40 million pounds of plastic annually. However, many banned bags would have been reused for trash, so consumption of trash bags went up by 12 million pounds, reducing the benefit. It also increased consumption of paper bags by twice the saved amount of plastic – 83 million pounds. This will lead to much larger emissions of CO₂...We also need to consider the wider environmental impact of our bag choices. A 2018 study by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food looked not just at plastic waste, but also at climate-change damage, ozone depletion, human toxicity and other indicators. It found you must reuse an organic cotton shopping bag 20,000 times before it will have less environmental damage than a plastic bag.If we use the same shopping bag every single time we go to the store, twice every week, it will still take 191 years before the overall environmental effect of using the cotton bag is less than if we had just used plastic.Even a simple paper bag requires 43 reuses to be better for the environment – far beyond the point at which the bag will be fit for the purpose.The study clearly shows that a simple plastic bag, reused as a trash bag, has the smallest environmental impact of any of the choices.
That knowledge doesn't make the lefties feeeeeeel any better about themselves, though, and it certainly doesn't give them reason to exercise compulsion over the rest of us, so it must be ignored.
Update: Related:
Update #2, 7/27/19:Update: Related:
FLASHBACK: HOW TO SOLVE THE PLASTIC CRISIS:
This is a crisis made — and growing worse — throughout developing Asia.Bans on plastic straws in America are just a power move by local greens, not a serious response.
Just eight countries in the region are responsible for about 63 percent of total plastic waste flowing into the oceans. Little of that junk has been exported by rich economies. Instead, it’s almost solely generated by Asia’s newly minted consumer classes, the vast majority of whom lack access to garbage collection, modern landfills and incineration. Any progress in reducing ocean plastic will have to start with them.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Who Thought This Was A Good Marketing Ploy?
I received this in the mail today:
Well, that's odd. I'm not a CTA member, and haven't been for many years. They held out an offer of a $25 gas card, so I let my curiosity get the better of me. I opened the mislabeled envelope.
Yawn. It was an ad for car insurance:
OK, not interested.
But here's what's on the back page:
This company sent me something, and then tells me I'm not allowed to read it? If you don't want me to read something, don't send it to me. But for them to say something intentionally offensive like that? Screw you, California Casualty. And I defy you to beat USAA's prices for comparable insurance.
Yawn. It was an ad for car insurance:
But here's what's on the back page:
Why This Is Irrelevant To me
Target is offering expanded discounts for teachers one week next month:
Here's the problem. At least here in California, and probably in a good many other states, public education is supposed to be entirely free. In fact, California education code even requires school districts to supply paper and pencils to students--how many comply with that? (Ans: zero, most likely). School districts skirt the law because parents and teachers pick up the slack. California teachers who post "school supplies lists"? Not in accordance with the law! The school district is supposed to provide those supplies.
So while I might pick up some ink for my personal (old) printer that I've taken to school because I want to have a printer at my desk rather than one per building of 7-8 classrooms, I'm not going to buy notebooks and pencils and such for my students. I have 165 students, that's just too many. And besides, if I were to be doing that, I'd be enabling the school district to continue to flout the law.
The old joke is that teaching is the only profession in which you steal office supplies from home and take them to work. I've taken 2 desk chairs, a monitor (I can barely read a laptop display!), a printer, an upright fan, and who knows what else to work for my use--but I can always bring them home, sell them on Craigslist, or whatever. But I'm not going to pay to outfit my class with stuff my district should pay for. And neither am I going to ask for so-called donations, either--and I'm certainly not going to give academic points to students who bring in a box of Kleenex!
Either public education is public, or it's not. As individuals we need to stop trying to subsidize it.
Target wants to help teachers stretch their back-to-school dollars on more than just supplies for their classrooms.No way will I be participating in this. Yes, I'm part of the 94% of teachers who spend some of my own money for my work, but I'm not going to plan on it.
For the second year, the Minneapolis-based retailer will offer teachers a weeklong 15% discount on select items starting July 13, officials shared exclusively with USA TODAY Wednesday...
This year, in addition to school supplies and essentials, which include disinfecting wipes and food storage bags, adult clothing and accessories, Pillowfort furniture and Bullseye’s Playground items also are included...
According to the National Center of Education Statistics, 94% of teachers report spending their own money on supplies. Here are some stores that offer savings throughout the year.
Here's the problem. At least here in California, and probably in a good many other states, public education is supposed to be entirely free. In fact, California education code even requires school districts to supply paper and pencils to students--how many comply with that? (Ans: zero, most likely). School districts skirt the law because parents and teachers pick up the slack. California teachers who post "school supplies lists"? Not in accordance with the law! The school district is supposed to provide those supplies.
So while I might pick up some ink for my personal (old) printer that I've taken to school because I want to have a printer at my desk rather than one per building of 7-8 classrooms, I'm not going to buy notebooks and pencils and such for my students. I have 165 students, that's just too many. And besides, if I were to be doing that, I'd be enabling the school district to continue to flout the law.
The old joke is that teaching is the only profession in which you steal office supplies from home and take them to work. I've taken 2 desk chairs, a monitor (I can barely read a laptop display!), a printer, an upright fan, and who knows what else to work for my use--but I can always bring them home, sell them on Craigslist, or whatever. But I'm not going to pay to outfit my class with stuff my district should pay for. And neither am I going to ask for so-called donations, either--and I'm certainly not going to give academic points to students who bring in a box of Kleenex!
Either public education is public, or it's not. As individuals we need to stop trying to subsidize it.
Mark Janus Day
A year ago today, the Supreme Court ruled in the Janus case that I no longer had to give money to a branch of the Democratic Party union. What a great day it was!
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Made It Home
I was supposed to check out yesterday and head for home, but I just wasn't feeling it. It takes me about an hour to set up and/or break down the trailer for travel--I didn't want to rig for travel the day after setting up! So yesterday I extended my visit another day, and I came home today.
My first order of business is to go back over the last 12 days' worth of blog posts and add pics as appropriate, so please, go back and take a look at the recent posts!
My first order of business is to go back over the last 12 days' worth of blog posts and add pics as appropriate, so please, go back and take a look at the recent posts!
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Yesterday and Today
After a large breakfast and a cheerful farewell yesterday, the 10 of us (mostly cousins) who had met in Vegas departed and went our separate ways. I had a plan for day's drive and the seeing of cool places and things. With the exception of a few old buildings in Goldfield, nothing I'd hoped for materialized. I ended up boondocking in a rest area somewhere on US 395!
Today I was going to look for a place to stay in Carson City--why not?--but it just didn't work out. So instead I made it to Reno and checked into the RV park at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. Yes, I got hit with the damned "resort fee" here, too--well, it *is* a resort, right? At least I get to use the newly refurbished pool, and it's quite nice.
If they'll let me stay another day, great. If not, I'll head home tomorrow.
Update, 6/26/19:
Update #2, 6/27/19:
They let me stay the extra day.
Today I was going to look for a place to stay in Carson City--why not?--but it just didn't work out. So instead I made it to Reno and checked into the RV park at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. Yes, I got hit with the damned "resort fee" here, too--well, it *is* a resort, right? At least I get to use the newly refurbished pool, and it's quite nice.
If they'll let me stay another day, great. If not, I'll head home tomorrow.
Update, 6/26/19:
They let me stay the extra day.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Still In Las Vegas
More cousins have arrived, I'm enjoying spending time with everyone. I wish I could remember more of the time we spent yesterday, but if the videos are any indication, we had a great time!
Going to go see a comedian/magician at Stratosphere in a couple hours. Need a little power nap first.
Update, 6/26/19:
Going to go see a comedian/magician at Stratosphere in a couple hours. Need a little power nap first.
Update, 6/26/19:
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Schools Should Focus On What Goes On AT SCHOOL
Too often school administrators will take action regarding events that happened outside of school (or school activities) using the extremely vague principle that such an event "impacts" the school environment.
I'll be blunt: If Mean Girl 1 says something snippy about Delicate Flower 2 on Twitter over the weekend, the school has no reason to get involved absent some action at school on the part of MG1. The law that allowed a Minnesota student to be convicted for online harassment has been declared overly broad and unconstitutional:
I'll be blunt: If Mean Girl 1 says something snippy about Delicate Flower 2 on Twitter over the weekend, the school has no reason to get involved absent some action at school on the part of MG1. The law that allowed a Minnesota student to be convicted for online harassment has been declared overly broad and unconstitutional:
A Minnesota stalking law used to convict a high school student for insulting another teen on Twitter is overly broad and violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of free speech, the state Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday...Disclaimer for those idiots who cannot see any nuance: I don't support what the student in question did, far from it. The particular law under which that student was convicted was unjust. It's not the school's place to punish even execrable behavior unless that behavior occurred at school. The legislature needs to do a better job writing laws.
The case follows efforts by the federal government and U.S. states to prevent cyber bullying, which has been linked to depression in youths.
But a number of court decisions in the last three years have limited the powers of prosecutors to charge people for cyber bullying. For instance, the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2016 overturned the cyber-bullying conviction of a man stemming from his online activity as a high school student. The court ruled the statute violated the First Amendment.
Great Basin and Bryce Canyon Were Nice, But...
...I've just checked into my room in Las Vegas. I'm in Sin City, let the sinning begin!
(Actually, I'm here to meet up with several cousins I haven't seen in a very long time, but that doesn't mean I can't do a little sinning when they're not around!)
(Actually, I'm here to meet up with several cousins I haven't seen in a very long time, but that doesn't mean I can't do a little sinning when they're not around!)
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Bryce Canyon
I'm camping perhaps 30 mi from Bryce Canyon. It's a pretty drive.
When I arrived I was both cheap and a good steward of the environment. To take your vehicle into the park, the entrance fee is $35. To take yourself into the park, it's only $20. So I parked at the shuttle stop outside the park and took the hop-on-hop-off park shuttle in--and my entrance fee is still good for a week. That's good, because I'm going back tomorrow.
The shuttles make a big loop through the park (and at a couple stops outside the park for us $20 payers), and in the park they stop at 4 scenic overlooks in the north part of the park. The first stop is the southernmost, Bryce Point. It's there that most people experience their first "ooooooooh" moment at Bryce. I've got to admit, the hoodoos are pretty cool.
I was going to get on the next shuttle and go to the next overlook, but I saw a sign saying that it was only 1.3 mi along the Rim Trail to Inspiration Point. I can walk 1.3 mi, right? So I did, and I'm glad I did. The beauty is infinite; even when looking at the same scene, seeing it from even a slightly different angle changes everything. Another picture!
Of course I took more pictures from Inspiration Point. I could've gotten on the shuttle there, but the Rim Trail to Sunset Point was just .7 mi. Heck, that's barely half of what I just walked, so I continued on. Same story regarding the views.
From Sunset Point it was only a fraction of a mile to Sunrise Point so I continued on. It was at Sunrise Point that I caught the shuttle back to the Visitor's Center to buy a t-shirt, and from there caught another shuttle back to my truck.
No entrance fee is needed to drive out to Fairyland Point, so that was my 5th overlook of the day. Then I drove several miles to Tropic, a town down below Bryce Canyon, to see if I could get any pictures looking "up" instead of down, but alas, the views from down there were not spectacular.
I mentioned earlier that the shuttles go only to the 4 overlooks in the northern part of the park. What about the southern part? Well, for that you need either your own vehicle or you can take a special shuttle. That one runs only twice a day (morning and afternoon) and is about a 3 1/2 hour roundtrip. And you need reservations. So I have a reservation for tomorrow afternoon! At the end of the road is Rainbow Point, where there is a short hike through a bristlecone pine grove. I hope I have time to take that hike.
Update, 6/26/19:
I wonder if these pictures will look different on my TV, rather than on my phone or computer screen, because what seems to be missing is just how huge the amphitheater of hoodoos (2nd picture) is!
When I arrived I was both cheap and a good steward of the environment. To take your vehicle into the park, the entrance fee is $35. To take yourself into the park, it's only $20. So I parked at the shuttle stop outside the park and took the hop-on-hop-off park shuttle in--and my entrance fee is still good for a week. That's good, because I'm going back tomorrow.
The shuttles make a big loop through the park (and at a couple stops outside the park for us $20 payers), and in the park they stop at 4 scenic overlooks in the north part of the park. The first stop is the southernmost, Bryce Point. It's there that most people experience their first "ooooooooh" moment at Bryce. I've got to admit, the hoodoos are pretty cool.
I was going to get on the next shuttle and go to the next overlook, but I saw a sign saying that it was only 1.3 mi along the Rim Trail to Inspiration Point. I can walk 1.3 mi, right? So I did, and I'm glad I did. The beauty is infinite; even when looking at the same scene, seeing it from even a slightly different angle changes everything. Another picture!
Of course I took more pictures from Inspiration Point. I could've gotten on the shuttle there, but the Rim Trail to Sunset Point was just .7 mi. Heck, that's barely half of what I just walked, so I continued on. Same story regarding the views.
From Sunset Point it was only a fraction of a mile to Sunrise Point so I continued on. It was at Sunrise Point that I caught the shuttle back to the Visitor's Center to buy a t-shirt, and from there caught another shuttle back to my truck.
No entrance fee is needed to drive out to Fairyland Point, so that was my 5th overlook of the day. Then I drove several miles to Tropic, a town down below Bryce Canyon, to see if I could get any pictures looking "up" instead of down, but alas, the views from down there were not spectacular.
I mentioned earlier that the shuttles go only to the 4 overlooks in the northern part of the park. What about the southern part? Well, for that you need either your own vehicle or you can take a special shuttle. That one runs only twice a day (morning and afternoon) and is about a 3 1/2 hour roundtrip. And you need reservations. So I have a reservation for tomorrow afternoon! At the end of the road is Rainbow Point, where there is a short hike through a bristlecone pine grove. I hope I have time to take that hike.
Update, 6/26/19:
Monday, June 17, 2019
Americana
Panguitch is a small town straddling US 89 (which becomes Main Street as you enter civilization). Main Street is sided with old brick buildings, just as you'd imagine in any small town, and the businesses are exactly those which you'd expect--even if they aren't "old school" businesses. Panguitch is mostly a tourist town, a sort-of gateway to Bryce Canyon, and it provides just what the locals as well as the tourists require.
The town is laid out on a grid, as are many places in Utah (including Salt Lake City). The primary north-south thoroughfare is Main Street, and the primary east-west thoroughfare is Center Street. All the other streets are named in relation to these. 100 East is the north-south street 1 block east of Main. The section of 100 East that is north of Center Street is called N 100 East, and the section south of Center is called S 100 East. All the streets are thus named. Once you learn the system, it's easy to find any location in habited Utah!
Many of the houses are built of (locally made) bricks. Others are manufactured houses, some are bungalows. Some hint at a bit of wealth, others are more modest, but they all display pride of ownership. The "new" high school is very nice looking, one of the largest buildings in the town. I've seen three churches, one of course Mormon.
All the history of the town is tied to the Mormons, and the town doesn't shy away from that at all. They are unabashedly unashamed of their Mormon history, and the signs, plaques, statues, and other monuments make that perfectly clear. Being from California I'm unused to seeing such open displays of religion--especially in civic places--but upon reflection, you cannot separate the religion from the history. They are interwoven in the tightest tapestry.
If just passing through this must seem like any of thousands of small towns spread across our country. It's important to remember, however, that however much they have in common, each is unique, each is special, each is American.
As forecast, it rained like heck this afternoon. By the time I got back to my truck I was quite wet, and then the hail started coming down in force. Many years ago I lived in Colorado Springs so I know what mountain weather can be like, especially in the afternoon. I came back to my trailer and began reading What I Saw In California, essentially the journal writings of an emigrant who left Missouri for California in spring 1846. It's well written, an easy read, and the time races by as I turn the pages. The author admitted that he did not embellish, that he gave an honest appraisal of what he saw, but that doesn't diminish the impact of his story. The rain beat down on my roof as I read the book, a space heater keeping the trailer warm against the cold air. This is marked contrast to the conditions of the author, who often was soaked to the bone!
It's supposed to rain again tomorrow afternoon. I intend to leave early and make my way to Bryce Canyon, and hopefully I'll see a lot of the touristy sights without any view-obscuring rain. My plan is to pay my park admission and then ride the shuttle through the park. I'll also see if I can make a reservation for Wednesday on a special bus that goes all the way to the end of the park road so I can see the view from there as well.
The American West is a vast place, so full of beauty. If you haven't experienced it, consider this a strong recommendation that you do so.
Update, 6/26/19: Panguitch, Utah.
The town is laid out on a grid, as are many places in Utah (including Salt Lake City). The primary north-south thoroughfare is Main Street, and the primary east-west thoroughfare is Center Street. All the other streets are named in relation to these. 100 East is the north-south street 1 block east of Main. The section of 100 East that is north of Center Street is called N 100 East, and the section south of Center is called S 100 East. All the streets are thus named. Once you learn the system, it's easy to find any location in habited Utah!
Many of the houses are built of (locally made) bricks. Others are manufactured houses, some are bungalows. Some hint at a bit of wealth, others are more modest, but they all display pride of ownership. The "new" high school is very nice looking, one of the largest buildings in the town. I've seen three churches, one of course Mormon.
All the history of the town is tied to the Mormons, and the town doesn't shy away from that at all. They are unabashedly unashamed of their Mormon history, and the signs, plaques, statues, and other monuments make that perfectly clear. Being from California I'm unused to seeing such open displays of religion--especially in civic places--but upon reflection, you cannot separate the religion from the history. They are interwoven in the tightest tapestry.
If just passing through this must seem like any of thousands of small towns spread across our country. It's important to remember, however, that however much they have in common, each is unique, each is special, each is American.
As forecast, it rained like heck this afternoon. By the time I got back to my truck I was quite wet, and then the hail started coming down in force. Many years ago I lived in Colorado Springs so I know what mountain weather can be like, especially in the afternoon. I came back to my trailer and began reading What I Saw In California, essentially the journal writings of an emigrant who left Missouri for California in spring 1846. It's well written, an easy read, and the time races by as I turn the pages. The author admitted that he did not embellish, that he gave an honest appraisal of what he saw, but that doesn't diminish the impact of his story. The rain beat down on my roof as I read the book, a space heater keeping the trailer warm against the cold air. This is marked contrast to the conditions of the author, who often was soaked to the bone!
It's supposed to rain again tomorrow afternoon. I intend to leave early and make my way to Bryce Canyon, and hopefully I'll see a lot of the touristy sights without any view-obscuring rain. My plan is to pay my park admission and then ride the shuttle through the park. I'll also see if I can make a reservation for Wednesday on a special bus that goes all the way to the end of the park road so I can see the view from there as well.
The American West is a vast place, so full of beauty. If you haven't experienced it, consider this a strong recommendation that you do so.
Update, 6/26/19: Panguitch, Utah.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
The Trip So Far
School ended Wednesday, and by Wednesday evening I had new tires and an electric tongue jack put on my trailer. My scheduled departure time was 10am Thursday, and I met that.
There are only 2 RV parks that I could find in Ely, NV, and neither had a single spot open, so I spent Thursday night boondocking (dry camping, no hookups) in the parking lot of a Love's truck stop.
I got to Baker, NV, before noon on Friday and got my trailer set up. I visited both the Great Basin NP Visitor's Center and the Lehman Caves Visitor Center; a short hike near the Lehman Caves Visitor Center was the extent of my visit for the day.
I brought my son's telescope along, as I'd read that it's been a long time since viewing Jupiter was this good, and GBNP is known as a "dark sky" park. Afternoon clouds cleared out a bit and I could see our moon as well as Jupiter and the 4 "Galilean" moons. Even with the telescope, though, Jupiter was just a bright dot with 4 tiny pinprick dots nearby.
Saturday (yesterday) I drove into the park again. I visited the campgrounds in case I'd like to stay there some time (Upper Lehman Campground spots 10 and 11 are ideal for two rigs--who wants to go?!), stopped at some of the overlooks, and hiked a couple small trails. For such a small park (at least, where you can drive), there are such diverse regions! At the park boundary, in the Snake Valley just outside Baker, is desert ranchland. Go up in altitude a little bit, though, and short trees appear. Keep getting higher and you enter a dreamlike forest of grasses, meadows, dense trees (including aspen), and flowers. Higher still, where the roads are currently closed due to winter snow, are bristlecone pines, whose species are the oldest living beings on earth.
Last night, at the Lehman Caves Visitor's Center, was an astronomy program--had to go to that! Perhaps the talk and the slideshow could have been a little more interesting or relevant, but it's hard not to like the 3 big telescopes they had there! Cloud cover prevented seeing just about anything interesting except for the moon and Jupiter, which I saw on my own the night before, but these telescopes were significantly larger than what I brought along, and the views were significantly more stunning. In fact, Jupiter was big enough that I could see its equatorial bands! It's 4 moons, though, were still pinpricks of light, even with these much larger telescopes.
It's been years, probably decades, since I've seen the Milky Way, and one of the volunteers staffing one of the telescopes told me that if I got up at 2:30 am and looked straight up, I'd be able to see it in all it's glory. My alarm went off at 2:30, I wrapped a blanket around myself, went outside and looked up--and saw only clouds. Not a single open spot in the entire sky. That was truly disappointing. Perhaps I'll be able to see the Milky Way from Utah.
I'd have enjoyed staying another day, but was told the RV Park (highly recommend Whispering Elms, btw!) was fully booked, so I made my way to Panguitch, UT, where I sit outside typing this post. I'm about 30 min from Bryce Canyon, which I'll visit over the next few days. This particular park (Paradise RV Park) seems nice if only a little worn down, and it's my own fault I picked a spot so close to Highway 89, where road noise might bother some. But at $19/night with full hookups, I refuse to complain!
When I arrived and was setting up, I determined that there was either artillery practice or tremendous thunder in Bryce. It's died off now, and it's possible the sky could be clearing. Weather reports show vicious rain tomorrow, clearing Tuesday and Wednesday, so those two days are when I'll go into the park. Perhaps tomorrow I'll reconnoiter, visit some of the local area, etc.
Truck, trailer, and driver are all doing great. Again, I apologize for not being able to post pictures here; check out my Instagram (mrmillermathteacher) and prepare to be amazed!
There are only 2 RV parks that I could find in Ely, NV, and neither had a single spot open, so I spent Thursday night boondocking (dry camping, no hookups) in the parking lot of a Love's truck stop.
I got to Baker, NV, before noon on Friday and got my trailer set up. I visited both the Great Basin NP Visitor's Center and the Lehman Caves Visitor Center; a short hike near the Lehman Caves Visitor Center was the extent of my visit for the day.
I brought my son's telescope along, as I'd read that it's been a long time since viewing Jupiter was this good, and GBNP is known as a "dark sky" park. Afternoon clouds cleared out a bit and I could see our moon as well as Jupiter and the 4 "Galilean" moons. Even with the telescope, though, Jupiter was just a bright dot with 4 tiny pinprick dots nearby.
Saturday (yesterday) I drove into the park again. I visited the campgrounds in case I'd like to stay there some time (Upper Lehman Campground spots 10 and 11 are ideal for two rigs--who wants to go?!), stopped at some of the overlooks, and hiked a couple small trails. For such a small park (at least, where you can drive), there are such diverse regions! At the park boundary, in the Snake Valley just outside Baker, is desert ranchland. Go up in altitude a little bit, though, and short trees appear. Keep getting higher and you enter a dreamlike forest of grasses, meadows, dense trees (including aspen), and flowers. Higher still, where the roads are currently closed due to winter snow, are bristlecone pines, whose species are the oldest living beings on earth.
Last night, at the Lehman Caves Visitor's Center, was an astronomy program--had to go to that! Perhaps the talk and the slideshow could have been a little more interesting or relevant, but it's hard not to like the 3 big telescopes they had there! Cloud cover prevented seeing just about anything interesting except for the moon and Jupiter, which I saw on my own the night before, but these telescopes were significantly larger than what I brought along, and the views were significantly more stunning. In fact, Jupiter was big enough that I could see its equatorial bands! It's 4 moons, though, were still pinpricks of light, even with these much larger telescopes.
It's been years, probably decades, since I've seen the Milky Way, and one of the volunteers staffing one of the telescopes told me that if I got up at 2:30 am and looked straight up, I'd be able to see it in all it's glory. My alarm went off at 2:30, I wrapped a blanket around myself, went outside and looked up--and saw only clouds. Not a single open spot in the entire sky. That was truly disappointing. Perhaps I'll be able to see the Milky Way from Utah.
I'd have enjoyed staying another day, but was told the RV Park (highly recommend Whispering Elms, btw!) was fully booked, so I made my way to Panguitch, UT, where I sit outside typing this post. I'm about 30 min from Bryce Canyon, which I'll visit over the next few days. This particular park (Paradise RV Park) seems nice if only a little worn down, and it's my own fault I picked a spot so close to Highway 89, where road noise might bother some. But at $19/night with full hookups, I refuse to complain!
When I arrived and was setting up, I determined that there was either artillery practice or tremendous thunder in Bryce. It's died off now, and it's possible the sky could be clearing. Weather reports show vicious rain tomorrow, clearing Tuesday and Wednesday, so those two days are when I'll go into the park. Perhaps tomorrow I'll reconnoiter, visit some of the local area, etc.
Truck, trailer, and driver are all doing great. Again, I apologize for not being able to post pictures here; check out my Instagram (mrmillermathteacher) and prepare to be amazed!
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Great Basin National Park
I made to to the thriving metropolis of Baker, NV, population 64, the gateway to Great Basin National Park. I hope you'll forgive the technical difficulties that prevent me from posting pictures. You wouldn't believe the differences in landscape and biomes present here, and in such a relatively small area, too! You'll have to trust me for awhile until I get home and can post some pictures.
In the meantime, my Instagram account (mrmillermathteacher) has many pictures.
If you think Nevada is all desert, think again. And put GBNP on your radar!
Update, 6/26/19:
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's Nevada!
In the meantime, my Instagram account (mrmillermathteacher) has many pictures.
If you think Nevada is all desert, think again. And put GBNP on your radar!
Update, 6/26/19:
Thursday, June 13, 2019
T - 2:00:00
It took all night, but the trailer refrigerator is now quite cold. Maintaining the cold in there will be much easier than getting it cold, that's for sure. Triple digit temperatures will do that.
The plan today is to have lunch with my aunt in Reno and then to make it to Eureka, NV, by nightfall. That should get me to Great Basin at a reasonable hour tomorrow and give me plenty of time to set up.
I've waited so long for this trip....
All that's left is to pack clothes and stock the frig/freezer. T - 1:55:00
Update, 6/26/19:
The plan today is to have lunch with my aunt in Reno and then to make it to Eureka, NV, by nightfall. That should get me to Great Basin at a reasonable hour tomorrow and give me plenty of time to set up.
I've waited so long for this trip....
All that's left is to pack clothes and stock the frig/freezer. T - 1:55:00
Update, 6/26/19:
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