Open Thread - Friday, September 14, 2018

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“You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

I went back and reread last week's Friday Open Thread, what a mess. Production was Thursday night, and I had not even thought about what to post. I panicked and belched out four days of my trip. The stuff is in the right funkin' order, but you can't really tell the passing of the days. To make matters worse, I did not explain some the minutia of motorcycle touring that makes other things make sense.

This week, I got an earlier start. The weather forecast makes it likely I will be without power and Internet during the late week. The gas stations are out of gas and the stores are out of bottled water and the storm is still a couple days away.

It took me four days to go from eastern North Carolina, to Durango, CO. Including nights in Metropolis,IL, Pratt,KS and Trinidad,CO. The front end of the trip was intentionally expeditious. The idea was to pick up supplies to make the trip more enjoyable. I really slept well in the rarified air of Colorado.

Along the ride to Durango, I crossed North Le Veta Pass (9,413 ft.) and Wolf Creek Pass (10,850 ft.). A nice warm up for The Million Dollar Highway.

Then back down the west side of The San Juan Mountains, cruise by Telluride and on down to Mesa Verde.

I made Mesa Verde around noon. The park entrance is just off the highway, but it is about thirty miles to cliff dwellings and archeological sites. Just after entering the park, there was a big sign warning that possession of marijuana is a Federal offense. I guess, I will be observing the 35 MPH speed limit. Onto the mesa!

The mesa top is fascinating. There are vast burn scars, with plaques detailing the fire name and year. The cliff dwellings are amazing! I never had other worldly sensations, like New Orleans. But, I do sense something is up. Motorcycle riders develop weather reading skills. The clouds, the wind and the smell all indicate rain. The clouds look nasty, I am thirty miles from the highway and the speed limit is 35 MPH. Time to make a move.

I made it about 20 miles when the rain started, requiring me to pull over and make gear adjustments. It was pouring, and I was traversing a canyon, and tunnel nearing the park entrance when it started hailing. As soon as I passed through the tunnel, everything stopped. No rain, nor hail off the mesa. Heading down US160 toward Cortez, I could see it was storming on the Mesa. There was hail accumulation and riders that spent hours holed up in the visitor center.

Rain and hail on one side and no precipitation on the other side here ->

I checked into a Cortez hotel and put on dry clothes. The rain was heading toward Cortez, so I frequented the tavern next to the hotel. There was a loud MAGAot trying to engage people. I laid low, and I think he sensed my antipathy. When the barmaid came by, she gave him a drink and informed him it was his last, house rules is six drinks. After he left, I asked her how many drinks I had. She said, "It doesn't matter, nobody is counting.".

Another day in the books, with check marks beside several goals. When I conceived the trip, I intended to go from southwest Colorado to the five parks in Utah, then back to pick up more Colorado passes. Except two things, being able to say I went the whole way to the Pacific Ocean and I have always wanted to see The Grand Canyon. So during the OCD planning period, I fiddled with the hotel rewards site until I could finagle a free room in Tusayan, just a couple miles from The Grand Canyon South Rim Entrance. On to The Grand Canyon!

Have a great weekend! The thread is OPEN.

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While I was living in Yosemite National Park last year they started to include a blurb about cannabis being illegal in the little newspaper they give you as you enter the park. They encouraged visitors to report any cannabis smoking activities witnessed including medicinal use to law enforcement. What an effin joke! At least they didn't waste money putting up road signs. Canabis use is widespread and the laws against it are strictly for keeping minorities down. This summer in the "backyard" areas at the Saratoga Race Course it smelled like a reggae concert. No reaction from law enforcement at all! Mostly middle class white folks there smoking without any issues.
Here is a video of Peter Tosh singing the anthem.

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NCTim's picture

@jbob Drinking coffee on the back porch. Watching the storm roll by. Funkin' eh.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

NCTim's picture

@jbob Kings Canyon was smokie, Mariposa Grove clear and Yosemite Valley smokie. I left Oakhurst @ sunrise and was in Yosemite before the rangers were on duty. I got to park in the old Mariposa Grove parking lot, because the gates were up and the shuttle was not operating, yet. You could not see across the valley and it was smokie until past Tullhome Grove. That was middle of July. It got much worse.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

@NCTim Glad you were able to drive up and park. The parking area is actually new. The old one has been disguised/restored so well it's now really hard to tell exactly where it was. I used to love driving up early and being the fist person into the grove for the day. I've hiked all the way up to Wawona Point seeing lots of critters and without seeing another person many times. Always a lot more people and a lot less critters on the hike back down. The wildfire smoke can become unhealthy especially when conditions trap it valleys up there.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRZ5aQkATrc]

Also: The Young Turks support for assassination of foreign leaders

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JyScf_JSxs]

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

NCTim's picture

@The Aspie Corner

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

Even when I try posting something hopeful, it sounds cranky and cynical. wtf meh

Thank you NCTim for the motorcycle diaries, and hosting Friday OTs. wild ride
Crises on the east coast now, everyone be careful out there.
---
(C)1966 by Raymond Briggs. The illustrations in this big ass book are great! I love looking at it and reading the funky rhymes even more today then when it was gifted. Right on Mother Goose.

Page 167

IN THE DUMPS
We are all in the dumps,
For diamonds are trumps,
The kittens are gone to St. Paul's.
The babies are bit,
The moon's in a fit,
And the houses are built without walls.
---
"THE RHYMES are reproduced with acknowledgements and grateful thanks to Peter and Iona Opie."

peace

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NCTim's picture

@eyo I do not mind a curmudgeon. Things are funked up. Thank goodness for impulse control, otherwise I probably already would have committed mayhem.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

NCTim's picture

It’s sitting and spinning over Wilmington, NC and is expected to meander southwesterly before turning north, effectively keeping me on the perifery of the storm. Florence is moving so slowly that Downeast will get a couple of feet of rain making for a major flooding event. Plus pummeled by wind for a couple days. Fingers crossed that the rain does not cause problems along the Appalachian ridges, Smiley, Gulfgal and Lookout are hiding out there.

PS - Just blustery with occasional rain. The clouds are low and moving fast. Since sunrise the clouds shifted from out of the east north east to the east. I think we are near the 12 o’clock point of the rotation. I think we are looking at same thing all day. The eye is going to take 24 hours to go from Wilmington to Myrtle Beach. About 1/2 hour car ride.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

gulfgal98's picture

@NCTim I was up early this morning and got a chance to view all your videos. Freedom! Beautiful videos and great music to accompany them.

Regarding Florence, we are in the middle of town here in Brevard, so we do not have to worry about landslides where I live. There are some areas, particularly around Asheville where homes have been built on some very steep slopes.

Right now it is a gorgeous day with blue skies and sunshine. The rain and wind are supposed to come in later tomorrow evening with Sunday and Monday being the days of heavy rain of up to six inches. I expect to hear of some areas along the French Broad and Davidson Rivers experiencing flooding with a number of road washouts. My personal concern is the saturated ground which can lead to fallen trees and there are a lot of trees near my house.

I hope you are safe and hunkered down. There is going to be a ton of rain associated with Florence.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

NCTim's picture

@gulfgal98

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

NCTim's picture

@gulfgal98 Four days to cross SC! The flooding will be epic.

Hurricanes: Stronger, slower, wetter

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

Raggedy Ann's picture

I am sending safety thoughts to you and all our c99pals. Let us know about your situation in the storm.

We are high and dry here. No rain predicted until late next week. We are actually having beautiful weather right now.

Thanks for the details and videos of your road trip. We can experience it vicariously. I like that since I’m afraid of heights. Wimpy, I know!

Got good news at the dr yesterday. My foot is finally healing. I can start walking on it at home, without breaking it over, so flat footed walking. A structured shoe in 6-8 weeks. I’ve got great hiking shoes that fit the bill. I’m on the road to recovery and finally feel hopeful.

Slept in today because I’m off. Husband is going fishing and my daughter is coming for a weekend visit. Can’t wait to see her.

Have a beautiful day and weekend, folks! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

NCTim's picture

@Raggedy Ann

I am waiting for my text invitation to the hurricane party. A friend, about a mile away, has a wrap around porch. I have munchies and medicine ready.

The wind has been blowing, but our ground is not saturated, so treefall is minimal. The area down east endured bad flooding during Matthew and this time looks to be worse. I expect the Cape Fear, Nuese and Peed will all be 20 ft above flood stage.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

@NCTim Back when on the bayou's they had blastin hurricane parties. The general consensus was: lay in a super storm sized batch of booze, food and drugs. Then party till your head fell off. It was a form of mental evacuation. So when the painful rains and wind came, wouldn't feel much anxiety (or much else). Laughing in the face of disaster.

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NCTim's picture

@QMS

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9698339/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_back/...

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

lotlizard's picture

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2018/09/the-ritual-burial-of-the-us-co...

Excellent essay, complete with a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip as extra bonus.

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enhydra lutris's picture

Thanks for the OT/travelogue. I haven't done Mesa Verde since I was about 8 years old, I really need to get back there, but there is so much else to do plus the little annual trips to the desert and up and down the coast.

Have a good day and stay warm, dry and safe.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

NCTim's picture

@enhydra lutris I replace UPS batteries earlier this week. One of the UPS tripped overnight, but there is no other evidence of a power outage. It had run OK for a couple of days and was lightly loaded. It wasn't even a UPS that monitors power quality. Very strange.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

NCTim's picture

@lotlizard The industry collectively laughed and mocked him. Try squashing a multi-billion dollar industry with massive public support and a sophisticated underground. The laws of inertia say legal weed is here to stay.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

lotlizard's picture

@NCTim  

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NCTim's picture

Gusts into the 40s, rain in sheets, leaves and branches all over the ground. I have to sit in the porch corner to stay mostly dry. Storm is inching away, to the south. I hope the pub is open tonight.

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The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

janis b's picture

I really enjoy your posts, regardless of any belching and order. If we can’t accomodate randomness we might as well give up. It sounds like the barmaid got and appreciated you. I guess it’s not the number of drinks, but the state they animate.

[video:https://youtu.be/RZrP18m0lFo]

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