2009-02-02-1711Z


I walked back into the mountains Friday so I'd have a better chance of getting to the free gardening workshop at the Living Foods Learning Center on Saturday morning.

I decided to try another way in, the private road that starts near D-Square. I passed through two gates before hitting one that said "Private Property -- Keep Out". But there was no fence, and I wouldn't even have seen the sign if I'd taken the arroyo off to the left, so I decided to chance it. Hell, the worst they could do was shoot me.

As I headed Westward, I could see a ridge off to the left that would obviously keep me from straying South of Rascon Canyon. I hadn't noticed it on the map. Then when I crossed a barbed wire fence I started seeing fresh cowflats; not much farther ahead, the arroyo had been bridged over by a huge amount of dirt, forming a pond (now dry) on the West side. That's where the cattle were grazing.

I got to the campsite about 15:10. I don't know when I left but it had to have been after 10 and before noon. I took photos all the way to the water tank at the foot of the mountain, which I should eventually upload to Wikimedia Commons.

What I thought was fiberglass last time was just synthetic batting. Burned a lot of it, and the ripped pillowcase it doubtless came out of, causing some toxic smoke but making the area cleaner looking.

Like last time, it took me about 10 matches to get a fire going. "Strike anywhere", my ass. There's gotta be a better way.

Camping seems to reduce my desire for drugs like coffee, beer, and sex. Don't know if that would hold true for long yet.

I need a donut-shaped micropad sewn into my pants to protect my coccyx. Damn! It's awfully uncomfortable trying to sleep without that little area padded at least.

From my perch on the hillside, I could see the lights of Columbus and Palomas blaze through the night, a microcosm of these two nations obsessed with squandering every last drop of oil before it's all gone. Why not at least use reflectors, to keep the light in a conical shape, and not waste all that energy trying to light the whole countryside and the sky? Then lower-wattage bulbs could do the same work, and you'd reduce light pollution.

I'll have to blog my workshop notes later.

TigerDirect.com has XP netbooks for $283 and $303 including shipping, 16GB SSD and 120 GB HD, respectively. Awesome.

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