Foy.....thanks for posting that.....I forgot about you being the other way that people can learn something from visiting my thread.....always grateful for you & the informative signs as well.....
Ace.....thanks so much for that.....i was just thinking while reading your post how pleased that I am that I had coffee with you that morning as I passed through Colorado.....I wish I had it in me to do those things more often. And no I'm not anti smartphone.....of course I was when they first came out but now I wonder how I lived without one.....
My thoughts on the crowds.....not near so large nor as bad as they were last year but there's a whole new breed of people out here now. For an example, someone came in a few nights ago and dumped their RV black tank (& probably grey as well) in the paved parking lot (I won't post a picture of that mess).....there is a free dump station approximately five miles from here.....what more needs to be said.....
Another one is politics.....people need to leave their politics at home.....I don't care who people like.....this has become way too common.....
vintageracer.....when you say east I'm assuming that you're referring to the east coast of the United States ? I'm actually a transplant from the east coast so I know it really well. I've camped in and hiked the Appalachian Mountains for decades.....I've explored ship wrecks from Key West and up the entire Atlantic coast. I've traveled as far north as the road would go in northeast Canada (Labrador).....I've winter climbed & ice climbed in the Adirondacks of New York.....I have so many fond memories of the east but now I only return to visit with my special people.....
If you mean east like in Asia ? Here's what's on my mind.....I really want to return to Nepal and I have penciled in a climbing trip for October 2022. There's a peak there called
Mera Peak (21,247') .....it's often called a
treking peak or a
beginners' peak as it is not technically difficult to climb.....I prefer to call it an
ending peak as no doubt it will be one of the last peaks that I'll attempt to climb.....it's roughly an 80 mile roundtrip hike to the summit and typically takes a few weeks to climb.....30 to 45 degree slopes at this point in my life still seem doable.....
Arjan.....I'll be off the road soon enough.....that will do me a world of good. They're not all bad out here.....and I'm certainly nothing special.....here's a story of a homeless woman and her dog that I just met a few days ago.....just as sweet a person as you'll ever want to meet.....just down on her luck.....
It was early in the morning and I was just preparing my first mug of coffee and the sun had just appeared over the mountain and had barely reflected over the lakes' smooth surface when I heard that sound.....it was this rustling sound.....it was a sound that I was not familiar with.....
I lifted the kitchen blind and saw a woman pulling her suitcase in one hand.....a Siberian Husky on leash on the other.....
Geez.....I immediately left the camper to ask if she needed help but she said she was fine and off she went to wherever it was she was going.....
An hour later.....while reading my book in the comforts of the camper I heard the same unmistakable sound yet again.....
That sound didn't leave my head that morning and reading that book became nearly impossible.....so I followed her tracks with a bag filled with assorted foods & dog treats.....
Her trail led me to a hidden spot along the edge of the lake.....it was here that she made her home.....
I wanted not to startle her so I was very cautious and when I finally saw her I asked for permission to come down.....
She turned out to be a wonderful person.....she had the most beautiful Polish accent (she told me that she was originally from Poland.....I guessed Switzerland).....
And I was reminded once again not to judge a book by its' cover.....being homeless doesn't necessarily make someone a bad person.....
