Rollin' On Down the Road

Up above Bumble Bee, north of Phoenix the altitude rises and three National Forests come together. The Prescott, Kaibab and Tonto National Forests.

Two others, the Coconino and Apache-Sitgreaves Forests are right close by.

I don't know how many million acres are in there, but it's enough room for me. Tomorrow morning I'll be waking up with this old RV boondocked back in some spirit Freeing country.

One thing I'm gonna be workin' on is putting a bit better control on my "need" for cell signal. That there is a delicate balance. If I whup on it too mercilessly, I don't eat! ;)

If I let the need for an internet connection have total control of where I wander... I'll have only traded one ruthless master for another... And kept myself from too many fine camps.

So... Not knowing what lies ahead, or how quick and easy I can tell you about it... I'm stepping off with the intention of following my nose and my heart down whatever trail they choose.

Writing the story 'bout the wheres and why-fors might could take this RV Boondocker a day or so to find his way to the net... We shall see.

So... One more time we move along. One more time, goin' down a long lonesome highway, bound for no-one knows where. :)

Just Blowin' in the Wind
Brian

Electric Biker Cowboy Finding Camps in the Arizona Bush

Bob Seeger coming through my Ipod ear buds is helping my Trader Joes ultra dark roast get my head going this morning. Bob runnin' against the wind somehow makes the wind I lean against seem softer somehow.

Sitting at the table sippin' the coffee searching Google Maps for our next camp.

It's kind of a paradox. I'm a leather and canvas sort of guy. My first choice is almost always the "old ways". So, It's a good thing I'm blessed with a herd of personalities... Being "Anti-Technology"... when your living is dependent on it... and trying to hunt up camps in unfamiliar... (or at least for the past twenty five years or so) country can cause difficulties for an old rambling, yondering buster! :)

Yeah... so My old fashioned self gets himself chastised and locked outside, while the electronical cowboy side punches buttons and toggles zooms... to find hints of trails and roads into the trees that look like likely spots.

To make it all work I combine that computer search with a selection of National Forest Maps to reveal the land ownership.

Finding a nice spot, only to have some grumpy rancher bangin' on your door at oh-dang-it's-early is less than prime. The NF maps show National Forest, BLM and State lands. Makes for a fairly easy way to locate good "Prospects" and avoid most entanglements with authority types.

I'd still recommend you take it cautious... Sometimes... what looks like a fine wide road from straight up a few thousand miles :) can turn into an axle busting damn-I-wish-I-hadn't-turned-in-here adventure ! So, unless you're certain sure there's a turn around in there... Don't... Go... In... There!

And one last thing kids...

Don't Worship the Earth.

But for all our sakes... Respect it and take care of it. Exercise the old tradition of pack it in... pack it out. If the ground is wet and soft... Don't Drive on it!... When you pick a camp... go where folks have already gone, there's plenty of those places. Please, Don't blaze new trails.

When you're in camp, if you spot a gum wrapper or such... from some careless previous traveler... pick it up. Make the camp cleaner when you leave... than when you pulled in.

Do Not leave your trash blowin' in the wind... unless you wanna run afoul of whacked out, multiple personality, puss gut cowboy bikers! :)

The Dentist called last Monday. They'd had a cancellation and if I could get in the next morning they could get to work. So I did... but they couldn't do it all so I still have to wait 'till Next Thursday/Friday for them to finish up...

We were gonna try and wait it out here in Phoenix till those next and last oral mechanic appointments...

That, is not gonna work. It's already gettin' hot... and 'tween that and the noise of town... I'm bound for the Arizona Bush. Likely tomorrow morning.

I try... but I fail. I simply cannot adjust any part of me to subsisting in a town... it's like sitting on a nail...

No matter how I wiggle and dance... There's just no gettin' comfortable.

So... We'll haul out and hide in country on up past Bumble Bee a bit... and come time for the Dentist to drill more holes in my head (which I sorely need... right?) ... I'll climb on that big Red Raider... and split the wind...

... Giggling like an idiot... that a poor boy like me can LIVE... Blessed with the Absolute Joy of the Open Road... Free as the Wind...

"They can take my Life... But they can NEVER take my Freedom!" HooYa! :)
Brian

I'm As Guilty As Can Be.

I am.

How many times have I counseled people to turn away from the dog and pony show bureaucrat shenanigans? How many times have I advised folks, instead, to grab life by the horns, choke down your fears and kick that sucker in the butt?

... and then I trip, stumble, FALL... right into all that phony, double speak, hypocritical mess of a sewer that's bludgeoning anyone and everyone... head first with my mouth open?  Sheesh! Guilty!

Bad enough if a guy was ignorant of it all... but to KNOW it's all smoke and mirrors baloney, both sides... and STILL get suckered into wasting time argufying about what's NEVER gonna change? It's like arguing about outlawing the Wyoming wind!

Sometimes the weakness of the human mind just leaves a broken down old cowboy biker shakin' his head disgusted with himself...

Then I wake up one morning... after a string of small (relatively) reverses and find myself pulling back and and thinking of the "safe" road, a respite from the wind. Both with thought of an "easier" way and in a feeble and fruitless attempt to win general approval and justify my "choices". Guilty!

Arrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh! Shame on me!

The problem is, when you do that... when you make choices based on what convention and society train you to do, you live THEIR life, not your own. You start simply existing and not Living.

The heartbreak of it is that when you look back you might see someone "Getting Approval"... but that sucker sure ain't YOU.

Now I'm sure that when I say I've been contemplating, even pursuing to some degree, thoughts of being conservative and careful and safe, there's plenty folks gonna say; "HUH?"

"You left 'Home' without enough cash to your name to make the end of the month... two years later you're still rollin' with pretty much the same situation... making last month what's feeding you this month... and you call that Living Safe?

Yeah well, it's true.

My saving grace is... Safe terrifies me. The thought of standing in a hardware store, with a safe work schedule, and safe from the wind and the rain, and knowing where I'll be next week and the week after, with all the protections of being an indentured servant... makes me physically ill.

But... set my worn out rig in a camp out in Far Country, where a blown tire will tip me/us into the world of the penniless... until the next dollar of our tiny lil' income "Stream" flows in... and the Boss's face smiles down on me from the Mountains towering above... and though I don't have the dinero for next weeks beans yet... I breathe free and easy, the pressure in my chest, Gone.

I step outside and feel the caress of Freedom on my face in the cool breeze blowing across the Arizona chaparral... I smell the pungent fragrance of creosote brush... or feel the fresh sharp air from a waterfall as I roll my bike past, high up on Going to the Sun Road in Montana... I hear the Boss's whisper in the surf crashing against the Oregon coast...

"You're home boy. Your Freedom is the Gift I give to you."

One of the readers here passed it on a few weeks back when he said clear and plain; "When you're poor you're just broke. When you're out of Time... You're Dead."

Money and such is the biggest stick they beat you with. It's the material they use to construct the chains that at times seem unbreakable... and when you're not watchful, the sob's sneak up on you when you're tired and worn and start slipping the shackles around your ankles again.

Fear and Money... are the tools they use.

Be vigilant. Keep a Sap in your pocket to whack the bugger when he tries. And Whack him unmercifully. The sickest and most vile and most brutal villains are the ones who try to steal your Freedom and Liberty from you. Deny them with every ounce of power you contain. Your LIFE depends on it.

There are not words to describe the beauty of a sunrise in the desert... when it comes up over a life that is lived in FREEDOM. There is no description that does proper service to the joy of walking along the Blackfoot River in Montana... the Clearwater in Idaho... knowing that next week, you will be where YOU decide...

Knowing that your life is not owned by some mini tyrant's time clock. Nor owned by some banks payment schedule.

Life is to be lived. It is to be squeezed with all your strength. To take no risk is to not take a full breath. That isn't to say you go crazy... It's to say you reach farther than you ever have before. It's to say you must learn to trust in, have faith in, your own ambitions and dreams.

It's to say Live like there's no tomorrow. Laugh like a drunken cowboy. Ride like you stole it! ;)

and when the fear they throw at you starts to wear you down... pick up your sap... and Whack Whack Whack! :)

Thumping My Way Through the Doubts
Brian

The Joy of Being An Un-Satisfied Yondering RVer... ;)

It always strikes me as "funny", how often Mark and I, without communicating about it, strum the same mental string, on nearly the same day... Tee Totally... by stumbling along in our own individual and peculiar ways but ending up at nearly the same "place"... The timing is just wierd...

Kinda like being identical twins with different Mothers. ;)

It could be said, with a mite of accuracy, that neither one of us have much in the way of a capability to ever be completely satisfied, for more than maybe... six minutes.

Now, don't misunderstand me here. This is NOT a vice.  In sure and certain fact, it's my opinion, that inability to secure a satisfied contentment is one of the biggest contributors to making us a pair of genuine western Heroes without compare! :)

Though I'll say that Mark is juuuuuuuust a mite more modest than the other guy.

It's not that we want more than we have... just different... changing. What is wanted is to go more, see more, do more, know more, experience more... to NEVER Stop Being More. Neither of us, I think, is willing to ever Quit... at pretty much anything.

Every time I am obstructed by some "Thing" or some "One"... I'm all... "Oh! You're telling me I CAN'T? Really? HA! Stand back out of the way Sparky! Ever'body sit down, shut up and hang on! 'cause it's 'bout to become a Bumpy Ride!" :)

It seems that as soon as either of us... especially THIS yonderer, achieve just about anything, before the dust of success has settled, our eyes are already looking on past it. Like a kid at christmas running from package to box... the foremost thought is; "I wonder what's over that next ridge... around that next bend... how changing this or that would work...

OR... What it would be like to be Yondering in THAT rig! ;)

No matter how well I have done, what I have done, what I have built, what I have achieved, I ALWAYS look at "It"... and just 'bout the first thought in my head as I survey my "Doing" is; "If I could have just one - more - crack at it... I can make it better.

So it is with the RV Houses we use to wander and yonder. We're always cogitating, dreaming and striving it seems to work out the perfect rig... or to simply try different rigs. To devise the sweetest combination of comfort, economy, function and sustainability...

... and as soon as it's found... "But, if I change this here... and tweak that there"... :)

... I expect to turn 85... doodling out a sketch of the NEXT perfect rig. :)

Long winded way of saying; We've hauled this fifth wheel around behind three different trucks for eleven years. I've made multiple modifications to adjust it to our way of going... as our Way has changed over the years.

In, addition there have been several repairs of RV systems and structure along the way.

I don't guess anybody can say I/we have been fickle when it comes to where rigs are concerned. We've squeezed all the good there is out of this RV Evolution.

How-some-ever... after hauling it long and hard for these many years... and two especially wide circles the past two years... we've (I) have decided that the changes I want (to adjust to the changes in us) just can't be fit into this rig any longer.

Now... I've got a PLAN... which for a bit shall remain a closely guarded secret! :) Ya'll is gonna just have to guess 'bout it.

I not only have to fit all the myriad of pieces generated by the fevered muscle sitting between a Cowboy Biker's ears into a rig... but I've got to knit the thing together within the confines of that Cowboy Bikers anemic budget... While... sizing the thing to IMPROVE our access to more back road sorts of places.

That's penciled out now in a three or four stage enterprise... which is likely to be spread out over the next 14 or 27 years!

But... there is something that is becoming pretty clear in all that... The ROAD ... I LOVE... the Open Road.

I don't mean I like traveling... I mean... wandering, yondering, the changing view through the windshield or over the handle bars is not a like... it is a lust that without I will suffocate. It is not an option I can do without. It is a NEED. A visceral, systemic requirement of who I am. It is the AIR I breathe.

We've talked about leaving the road... at least for seasons... to deal pragmatically with costs and such... and each time I/we get to leaning that way... my liver starts vibrating... and pretty soon breaks into a debilitating quiver. So... the likelihood of some landlocked termination of my wandering yondering ways is probably not in the cards...

Pragmatism be damned... I'm gonna split the wind!

Satisfied Dis-Satisfaction
Brian

Most Good Sams Are, Just That... Good Samaritans

You know what? The four days of driving Tram for the Good Sam Rally was a mixed piece of work. For a bit I was hot as a griddle from the comments and actions of a tiny minority...

After a bit of "reflection" and time to cool out, I've decided that this event was akin to finding a big ugly wart on a gorgeous gals behind. A little bit of bad, with a whole lot of Fine. This is a time that a fella has to be careful to not cut down a whole tree... just because he found one bad limb.

I've had the Good Sam Road Emergency Road Service for probably ten years or better. I've used it I think four times and received excellent service each time. The last time was just last year when we were broke down way out in the Utah desert. They took care of me. It's been Well worth my money. 

They have the care facility down in Texas. (*edit: uh OOPS! That's actually Escapees :) I told you I fried my brain! :)  )Good Sam runs a lot of good and worthwhile programs. You don't have to like everything the club does to be able to rate it as overall a good outfit.

So... it was disheartening to hear at the recent rally, that had massive difficulties... that the top officers of the club were blaming PIR employees for the problems and dishing out verbal abuse.

You can call me names, you can throw things at me... and to be honest... most of the time I'll just laugh at you. But, I'm kinda quirky... start making improper, and even fabricated statements about and to the good people I work with and my shorts get pulled up painfully tight... buzzsaw quick. Do that and we're likely to have us a difficulty.

Here's the deal folks. PIR provided the Facility and the trams, with drivers... and that's it. Everything else was Good Sams call and responsibility. They have no right to try and blame PIR for choices made by Good Sam officers.

Good Sam executed the venue layout, and ALL traffic control. Good Sam Officers elected to only hire 80% of the tram capacity. Yes, our capacity to move folks was Contracted to be nearly a quarter below our ability. Then a tram route was laid out that further degraded our transport rate, and made achieving safe tram operations a horrendous task.

During a race we've moved nearly 14,000 people in about an hour and a half. At this rally? A fraction of that... because the experienced advice of the people at PIR was refused.

Only a portion our Transport capability was contracted, it was then further obstructed repeatedly over the course of the rally. When the "turkeys came home to roost" those obstructing officials became angered because that reduced portion of our tram fleet failed to perform equal to the whole. Well gee, imagine that!

At every major event during the rally, whenever we needed maximum transport to handle the surge in people, one of those trams was diverted by club officials for skits... to move "Dignitaries" ... and for "Possible" use for "Other" actions.

When told that would degrade even further our ability to move people, my boss was told; "Whatever, that's what we want." People traffic is much like auto traffic jams. Once it slows up... it backs up geometrically and just stops.

They chose to put all vendor exhibits and the RV show, in the infield of the track, accessed only by the Choke point of the tunnel... Rather than out in the Midway area, with Multiple points of access, as has been NASCAR practice at races with far more people, for years. That advice to my knowledge was given and ignored.

They had tram traffic, vendor golf cart traffic, Good Sam Officials Golf cart traffic and Thousands of Rally Attendees in personal vehicles and walking, combined with vendor commercial truck traffic, ALL funneled through the choke point of the access tunnel to the infield. A tunnel primarily designed for the movement of the trucks moving 50 or so race cars maybe twice a day when the racing changes to a different category.

Good Sam's Venue plan also had all that same traffic combined and intermixed the length of the Midway. They had trams driving through heavy, congested foot, vendor and official golf cart traffic, personal vehicle traffic, vendor trucks and cars, and even RV's being moved by vendors... the entire length of the midway.

Little of the traffic that we had to run a 20,000+ lb tram through, with 52 or more living bodies aboard, would yield the right of way to tram traffic, as is our Routine safety procedure. Golf Carts would cut us off, people would step out in front of us, try to board our moving trams, try to offload from our moving trams.

It was far more difficult than ANY race has been... and half of those race fans are pickled.

At PIR, Trams have right-of-way over ALL other traffic except for emergency vehicles ON an emergency run. A Tram running upwards of 22,000 lbs, fully loaded, is not a highly maneuverable, quick stopping vehicle, and so it is given Right-of-Way. the safety of the 52 and more people on that tram, as well as those on the ground is dependent on adherence to our safety rules and procedures.

The word I had heard weeks prior to the event,was that the advisement was given that their "Plan" would not, Could not work... the reply was basically; Whatever, that's what we want.We know what we're doing.

The end result was that our ability to move people was impeded and reduced well in excess of 50%... maybe even 75% or more.

The "Rub" came in... when the advisement of the major faults in their plan proved to be true. The Official response that came down the grapevine was; "We will never come back here due to the poor performance of PIR personnel. This is your fault."

***Only the skill, patience and the co-operation with each other, of the Phoenix International Raceway Tram Drivers and the Volunteer, Hosts/Hostesses from the Good Sam Club, got us through the entire Most Difficult Four Days with not a single, solitary, injury attributable to Tram Operations. 


Our commitment to the safety of the folks we transport made the people I work with at PIR shine!***

It is that commitment to doing a difficult job, keeping their cool in the face of frustrated, angry passengers, and obstructing, clueless officials; and to doing everything possible to transport safely, our NASCAR Fans, and now the Recent Good Sam RVers that has given us the Finest Safety Record, to my knowledge, of any NASCAR Track. If Not THE finest, I'll bet both my kidneys and half my liver we're one of the Finest Tram Operations in NASCAR.

So... When someone, who has screwed up Badly, not only fails to man up and shoulder Their responsibility, but choose to attempt to pass off their bad decisions and arrogance of authority as being the result of a fault in someone else's performance, defaming good people in the process; it puts my shorts in a knot.

Now... Let me say right here, 99.9999999999% of the Good Sam Folks that I hauled, drove past and met at the rally are fine and good people. The several people I had work with Me, my Good Sam Volunteer Tram Hosts/Hostesses, Carol, Joanne, Colleen, Wayne, and a couple others who I must admit embarrassment at the fact their names are lost in the "Fog" of the past week, were AWESOME.

Jane, our primary contact  with Good Sam was Awesome. She saw how we accepted every obstruction and found a way to get the job done in spite of it. Our only problem was she wasn't far enough up the totem pole to make any changes.

The hurtful and false accusations made by those who laid out the Rally are defied by the significant number of folks, who actually rode our trams, who walked up to our trucks at stops and thanked us for the Job we were doing. To those people, I believe the majority of the Good Sam RVers at the Rally I say, Many Thanks, It was a pleasure.

With renewed knowledge of where "corporate heads" are poked... I'll keep my Good Sam Services for now and just keep an eye open.

To the officials who CHOSE to force things to run as chaotic and poorly as they did, who chose to go against the counsel of those who had the experience to know better, I say; Shame on You... Cowboy Up and Learn from your membership how to be a Good Sam.

Happy to Have Met the Good Sams...
Brian

I Think I Fried My Brain! Or At the Least Stripped a Gear or Three

ZZZzppppTTTTfffffTTTT!.... CLUNK!  :)

Ah.... yup... 55 hours in four days... 14+- hour days... no lunch... two breaks... One of 9 minutes and the other about 15... I think I smell smoke! :)

We'll be pulling out of the track sometime this morning, heading for parts as yet unknown. Can't seem to get enough brain cells workin' to make a decision! :) I'm suckin' down a fresh pot of coffee, but it may take more'n that.

I am needful of some quiet and space without folks in it.

Buuuut.... I got an appointment back in Phx come the 5th of April... so I can't go too far... yet... We shall see where I find a roost to wait a few days on that last desert commitment,  I guess... maybe I can catch my breath there :)

'course, I got plenty of my own work to get done! :) There just ain't any rest for the wicked huh?

But spring is bouncin', the sun is shinin' and it's Time to be workin' north with the wild geese... HooYa!

Beyond Ready to Rattle and Roll
Brian

Good Sam Club Management :(

... Is a group that had a LOT to learn about respect and character.

... I'll have to give it a few days to digest, before I say more, but having experienced their behaviour first hand for three days, with one more to go... I am going to have to give Serious consideration about whether I will continue any membership in their "club".

I am displeased with them to say the least... And thoroughly, and totally... Disgusted.

Unhappy with the Not so Good Samaritan... Good Sam mgmt.
Brian

A New Track Star At The Good Sam Rally at Phoenix International Speedway

I don't know how many rigs are parked here... but from what I could see up on the hill when I was fueling my tram, there's more than the last couple of races. I know they had 3300+ pre registered... I'd guess there's over 4,000...

And I gotta tell ya... today... driving a Tram from 0800 to  2100... makes for a loooooong bit of sunlight!

At the NASCAR races... you get a couple of hard rushes but the rest of the day is generally pretty laid back... this here was like we were running a daylong sprint... folks just kept coming at us, all day long... Never let up. Whew! I'm a weary pup this evening...

So... while I'm out hauling Rally folks to the infield for the nights entertainment... Miss Heidi... unknown to me is playin around... Inside the track... and ON the track!

Yeah, since she got upgraded to tram driver the last time we were here her head is swelling some little bit.

So... she managed to put herself in the right place at the right time and got picked to drive for some part of the nights entertainment! She was hauling the possee of Good Sam Directors or some such... as part of some skit they were putting on...

The photographic record came from her cell phone camera...

She started out hurtling her tram around a turn...

*Heidi's Drivers Eye view of the PIR Track*

... and down the straightaway...

At the blinding, asphalt burning speed of ... fifteen miles an hour! :)

coming out of the turn into that straightaway I'm betting Earnhardt Jr. NEVER had to dodge horses!!!

or Folks walking down the track! :)

*Hurtling down the wall in a Tram at PIR!*

 That's right... it takes a special skill to be a NASCAR Tram driver!

Those folks in the Good Sam Club knew what they were doin' when they hired the PIR Tram Drivers! ;)

So... a one mile track and she made something over two laps in a tram! :)

How many folks do you know ever got a drivers eye view of the fans in the stands at a NASCAR Track?

*Good Sam Rally folks in the PIR Grandstands*

... and... according to her... It's a dang sight harder to keep a tram screamin' along at 15 mph from fallin' off the banking than it is a race car goin' a hundred and eighty! :)

Well that's the big news from The Good Sam Rally... But I need to hit the rack... another 13 hour day starts in the morning... and do my a favor... don't say nuthin' to her... she already thinks she's some sort of Tram Drivin' Prima Donna ;)

Spinnin' Tires At PIR... Again!
Brian

Talk About Gettin' Behind on a Job...

I started this partic'lar project back 'fore Christmas! It's the wiring setup to hard wire in my Ipod stereo Dock and the electronic photo frame into the trailer's 12Volt system I'm talkin' about.

If you remember, I had it wired in and up and runnin' but was warned that the little bit of voltage above 12 volts that comes out of the solar system (up to 14.2 or so) can wreak havoc on some Consumer/RV electronics... With a lil' bit of lookin' I'd tracked down the hardware to string in a voltage regulator to protect each and finish up what I started.

...and then... I found one excuse after another to do something else. Those parts have sat in the cabinet I built at the same time, since we got back from Christmas in Colorado.

Well, I finally decided it was time get to sizzlin' copper! I pulled the bits and pieces out this afternoon and started soldering.

Yeah... about that...

Ok... I'm a damn fine horseman. a top notch Leather Craftsman, I'm right up there as a scooter driver... and a fair word whittler... but, uh... an ee-lek-trishun? Skilled at soldering up delicate electronic bits?

... Not so much! :) Have you ever heard a guy refer to himself as a "Chainsaw Carpenter?" ... well... this was pretty much Blow Torch Computer Technician stuff! :)

There weren't no sparks... and I think the first setup is put together proper... but there was dang sure smoke! :)

*12 volt voltage regulator*

I only got the first one soldered up... after some gyrations workin' out how to hang on to and manipulate a pigtail, a regulator, some solder wire and the soldering gun... all at the same time, with only the two hands I was born with.

 ... along with a bit of practice stickin' two ends of some scrap wire together.

I'll give you a bit of free advice... I think what I done today'll work... but... if you ever have the opportunity to fly on a space ship, that you know for sure and for certain... I soldered on the controls of?

... take a tip from me... I'd be busy with something else that day if I was you!

So... What I did was, I chose to weld on three lil' one foot pigtails to ease wiring the things into the power running from the batteries to my electronics.

*Pigtails soldered in place*

To finish up the job I slid on some heat shrink tubing to seal the things up and make a good tight connection...

They're still not waterproof I guess... but then... if they find 'em selves under water...

... I'm pretty sure I'll be busier worryin' 'bout other things than if the electronics are gettin' wet...

... Such as... Can I swim all the way back to the bank of the river or not! ;)

*Shrink Tube applied*

The next four days are gonna be spent haulin' more butts at the Good Sam Rally at PIR.

Since I'm to be Haulin' from oh eight hundred of the mornin'... till twenty one thirty in the dark of night... It's a likely thing the job still won't get finished till after the rally!

But... now that I know I can do the solderin' without lightin' up a bonfire... I should get the job finished next week some time...

'Cause hookin the wires together behind the cabinet is the easy part!

Once that's done I'll edit the page I'd already built on the main website when I thought I'd come up with a simple and awesome idea.

I still think it's awesome... just not as simple.

Like I said we're runnin' hard the next few days so don't get all depressed and lonesome 'cause I ain't 'round for a bit... I'll be back!

'cause I gotta get book # three back to speed as well... Heck that was s'posed to be done already too... This  die-vertin' me onto other chores is gettin' way too easy for some folks!

Back at PIR... for the Good Sam Rally
Brian

Ping Pong Philosophers!

What is it I am trying to find? RV Boondocking, Motorcycle Touring... Writing... all the many trails...

I'm frequently left wondering and amazed at how life works the way it does. I'll have a thought bouncing around in my head; a fuzzy, stumbling, following-dead-end-trails-through-the-brush-in-my-mind Idea... I find myself back tracking and taking off up a new track branching off in another direction...

... only to come wandering back down a little bit later... not having found the Holy Grail... That I Seek.

And then as I poke around looking for a clue... I find some other word whittler... struggling with the Same Idea... weirdly at the same time... and BONG! Like a drum bangin' away in my head... the idea crystallizes into perfect understanding... for a short time...

Yeah... the idea bounces off one... and strikes a note with the other (hence the ping pong) that opens up a momentary revelation of understanding...HooYa! The Grail! :)  From Einstein... to one Sheltering in the protected crevice of the Box Canyon... to the fevered brain of a biker cowboy. :)

... and then, just as quickly, the trail runs back into the brush... and I'm back to being what I am coming to be comfortable accepting myself to be... a mostly insatiable, pretty much un-satisfiable and so a constantly and always... Yondering Seeker.

...Unlike Mark, I can't fit anything into a single word. :)

I constantly ask myself; "Why? Why don't you just play the game by the rules that are laid out plain? Why don't you just go with the flow? Why is it Always, against the wind? It could be so much easier... and quieter!"

Most of my life I've heard in one version or another, sometimes hidden in that sort of double speak where a person cagily chips away at your self respect, while on the surface pretending to lay on a compliment; "As smart as you are... and with your talent, you could do so much."

The unspoken being; "You have Done So Little."

In most all cases... any I can think of anyhoo... The "Done" they speak of, what they see as achievement is ALWAYS measured in gold. Somehow, I've never been able, though I've attempted to force feed myself, to become enamored with such trappings of Achievement.

The gold I seek is measured in ways that are so fragile and transient they slip away with the wind. You have to have eyes that are open to see them and a heart open to recieve.

They can be as grand and spectacular as standing on the lip of the Grand Canyon, subtle as the sight of muscles rippling under the shining hide of a running horse... or as soul shattering as seeing a bloody, filthy, exhausted soldier, weapon slung, clutching an infant to his chest, walking through the smoke... tears streaming down his face.

I seek out not only new vistas for my eyes... but answers to the question... Why?

Why is that single lone tree standing in the middle of a barren plain? Why didn't that island wash away with the rest of the stream bed? Why did one man stand while the others ran? Why do three people look at one single issue... and see it seven different ways?

I don't need to agree... only comprehend.

There's an old saying I'm sure you've heard; "You can't take it with you." Spoken in reference to folks and their things. My thought to that is that there Must Be something you can Take With You from this life.

Remember the Movie City Slickers ?... Remember Jack Palance's One Thing?

My hope is That One Thing is Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding... the Experience of Living a Life.

Damn... that's four things ain't it?

I seek, as my gold... simple understanding.

Why?

Just a Two Wheeled Cowboy Biker... A Yondering Seeker
Brian

I Ride Toward the Light

Out here... In the beauty that No Man Owns... The Chains of a grasping world rust away... All I can hear is the rain on the roof... and the wind in the Palo Verde Trees.

*To See the Glorious Light After A Storm, you must live outside sheltered Walls*

There is some sort of misconception that gets muttered when someone pulls up stakes and rides away, leaving the "accepted" ways behind. Be ready for it if you contemplate leaving kith and kin these days. Whether you do it by RV, Motorcycle or a Shanks mare Journey to unshackle your spirit... If you speak of seeking your Freedom you're going to hear; "But, What about Us?"

You've not the right to live as you choose... if others are not yet done with you.

It's often said, too often since it is a fabrication, that such leavers are trying to "escape"... Trying to run away from their problems and even their responsibilities.

Yeah? Well... yes and no.

If running from those who seek to chain you by deceit and derision, to their service, is "Running Away" then Running I am. But I think they miss the reality of how those like me think.

I run from no man.

We, us gypsies of the road, run From nothing... and Toward everything. We run toward the Liberty and Freedom that is our Birthright and away from the blind servitude that has always served man poorly, no matter what peculiar brand it might be.

Some are trained to serve the emperor, the king, the fatherland... The party...the president... the country. In modern times they are getting more clever and more devious... and simply label it a duty to society.

I serve No man. My duty is to family and friend.

That one man could conceive of the idea that he has the right to think for, decide for or own any or all of another is a thought beyond noxious. If you object to the usurpation of your Human right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, you are labeled selfish at the least... and often you will be ridiculed with grievous obscenities... even tormented with wished for scenarios of your demise, as if that was some legitimate form of debate.

I say to such as those... go... leave me be, I have no time for that.

I know for myself I make no effort to shirk responsibility. I never have. But the responsibility I seek is for my own life. I ask this for myself and require it of those around me. Be responsible. Have the courage to accept the consequences of Life and enjoy the fruits of your faith in your own intelligence and creativity.

That as I see it is the most honorable and valuable pursuit in life. To be the best person you can be. To live your life on your own two feet. To be measured, at the party that celebrates your life when that life is done, as a person who could be relied on when things got dark... who always found a laugh when the load got heaviest... A person who ran headlong at life and never looked back.

... and spit in the Devils eye as he kicked open the gates of hell.

Out here on the land that belongs to no one there are no free rides. There is no absence of responsibility. Liberty does not erase duty or responsibility. The responsibility is to live a true and honorable life. To take what you need and leave the rest. To make the world you pass through better for your having been.

What is right is not to worship the land but to honor it and husband it as the gift it is. What is right is to respect the rights of those I share this earth with, while requiring that they respect mine. What is right is to live my life in a manner that, to the best of my ability places no demands or burdens on others. What is right is to accept that my rights end at the moment I try to demand the sacrifice of others for my benefit.

For me, what is Right... is the sure and certain knowledge that the loss of Liberty is the loss of any value in breathing... and that a duty of those who live in Liberty, is to fight for those who can't.

Slavery does not require visible chains. It requires only force. If force, physical or coercive, is applied to impose one mans values on another, than he who has been imposed on, is enslaved. Pure and simple.

I accept that there are timid souls who cannot, will not sail out into the raging and fearful storm of a Life lived in Liberty; Not when they can remain in the sheltered harbor of their Masters house. If that is an existence with which they can reconcile their hearts, that is their choice. I possess no magic elixir that can heal such frailty of the spirit.

However, those timid souls need to understand, simply because they haven't the courage to sail on such a glorious sea they are granted no proper Right or Authority to obstruct those that do.

I say to all who will listen, to all for whom Liberty is more precious than life; Men and Women Who admire Honor and Freedom are welcome at my fire any time.

Come, sit, fill your cup and we'll laugh in the Shining Liberty of the Mountains.

Life Can be Joyous... if You Let it Breathe 
Brian

Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back...

... And then... with SNAP! and PRECISION!... you make a Military "RIGHT FACE! Forwaaaaard... MARCH!"

Have ya'll ever had to quit something? or someone even? Ever had to simply force yourself to just, Turn Away from something/someone you really wish you could fix or change?

If you have you know what a tough road that is to walk. As steep and rocky a trail as you ever could find. The fact that turning away is the right thing to do, makes it not one bit easier. You just hate to quit. Losing leaves a bad taste in you mouth.

You try to walk away but, keep turning back thinking; "If I give it one more try, if I make one more run at it, with this new Lil' tweak, I can fix this. I can make it right. I can finally get it done."

Yeah? Me too. ;) Sorry... It just ain't so.

The sad truth is... some things, some people, some "Projects" you want to force into success are pure and simple - Lost Causes. No matter how much you work at it... You ain't changing the Laws of Physics. That is what makes 'em Lost Causes. They are defined by the Physics involved and THOSE are immutable.

???? I know... those big words hurt my lil' pea wit too.

... and now you can make sense of some of my recent Lost Cause foray attempting one more time to change soh-sigh-uh-tee's thinking as regards Liberty and politics. :)

It is what it is... and changing it just ain't in the cards...

So... one more time... I wander back into the wilds of the western states... seeking my solitude and pleasures where ever they might be found... and leave the lost causes stuffed in a box,way up high on a dusty shelf in a locked closet... hoping the key remains lost in the creek where I threw it.

... of course, come Tuesday morning that solitude is gonna likely be a lil' scarce for a few days as we do a bit of work to replenish our meager coffers transporting RVers at the Good Sam Rally...

Then... (afteranother lost cause effort :) at the dentist in early april) we haven't decided yet...which way we're gonna be working north this year... or... how wide this season's yondering circle is gonna be.

It'll be either a left hook though Utah to Denver or a right hook through New Mexico... of course... I might wake up on departure morning, find myself sitting at a crossroads and on the spur of the moment make it a straight jab right into Colorado. :)

As for the summer... fuel seems to be a high topic of conversation amongst full timers of late. Many are talking about making ever longer stays, and not going as far to stretch their fuel dollars. We've talked the same. It's on the board to stay farther south... only go as far as southern Wyoming, Utah and Colorado this summer...

... Now that's not a real hurtful thing is it? I mean... as we've been hurrying over the years to get OUT of Colorado to go see something... other folks have been streaming IN from New York, France... even NEW JERSEY! :) to see the sights of Colorado! :)

I've got so many projects sitting on the "shelf" waiting for attention... it might could be that a few less miles and a lil' more diligence would shorten up my "to do list"... but again... I speak of Lost Causes... ;)

From the Snowies out west of Laramie to the Maroon Bells in Colorado... to the San Juan Mountains farther south... there's plenty of country right close to the kids to keep us busy and out of trouble for a summer or thirty!

But, as always... none of us are gonna know which way I'll be goin' this summer... until I'm pulling back into winter camp this November... and can look back to see where I went!

One of the benefits of being a short attention spanned, yondering Cowboy Biker... whatever happens is as new to me as it is to you! :)

I Always Seem to be Wondering... What the Hell Just Happened?!! :)
...or... What the Hell is About to?!!!
Brian

Back to Normal Programing... or.. The Usual Disjointed Rambling...

Whichever way you look at it.

So... continuing my journey, and leaving the most recent troll behind, as helpful as he was ;) We'll be Hauling out in a few days headed back to PIR to work the Good Sam Rally.

We were to leave Monday...but... Heidi has been so busy with some stone work at the Quartzsite gem and mineral club that it's looking like we'll hang another 12 hours or so and be ready to leave bright and dusty Tuesday morning.

There's near a week of work there and then our winter time in the Arizona lowlands grows short. It'll be down to a couple of weeks.

We'd just go ahead and hitch and go... but I have to hold up for some limited dental work the first week of April at the "teaching clinic"... Been waiting on that with three visits, with nothing done yet... since before Christmas.

What Can I say... My adventure with the Dental Teaching clinic has not been a real productive experience...

Sometimes I think I'd just be better off to have what's left of the ivories just yanked out and subsist on oatmeal and beer! :) Just think of the toothpaste, brushes and dental floss I'd save to boot!

sheesh... after all the time spent at the "University" clinic... and them finally coming up with a fairly heft bill of Work to be done... NOW, they say they won't do any but a small part of some "Critical" drilling... until after I have had braces to straighten 'em up.

Uh? Say What?

59 worn out years old... Teeth are pretty much down to the "Wear Bars" ;) and they think I'm gonna spring for braces? With the junk I've got for grinders?

That's kinda like hiring a painter to shine up a house... that's so ate up with termites that it's being torn down tomorrow!... Or you total your car so you put new tires on it before it's carried off to the scrap heap... I don't think so. :)

So... maybe... I'll get this critical stuff done... and then maybe... give one of those Mexican Oral mechanics across the border from Yuma a crack at some patchwork in the fall.

Or... There is another alternative. I've got a set of channel locks out in the tool box... ;) UH..."Grab on to this one right here Heidi!" :)

Now it's Back to whatever it was I was doin'
Brian

I prefer dangerous Liberty to peaceful Slavery -Thomas Jefferson

My View of Toys for Better Living...

I think from some of what I ramble about, some folks get to thinking I'm one of those austerity freak, minimalists... Don't get me wrong... Toys and stuff are not a bad thing. It's only when you stretch acquiring them into the world of Property Gluttony that it becomes the mule crushing pack on your back.

Some rail about the  evils of booze... but just about any sawbones will tell you... sitting quiet of an evening, watching the shadows grow, sippin' on a cool brew, a glass of wine, or a shot of fine whiskey is GOOD for you. Suckin' down half a keg four nights a week... is... ummm... BAD! ;)

Toys are the same. Only better. ;) an ATV or a Motorcycle, or a Jet Ski... or a Mountain Bike... for each of you is good... Seven different colors from  four different brands... is juuuuuuust maybe a bit over the top.

That old saying about "All work and no play makes jack..." such sayings come from reality kids. "all things in Moderation" right?

Look. I say it again, simplicity, minimalism, anything along that line of philosophy should not mean living naked in the woods, eating on only what you were lucky enough to have fall off a tree... besides... you don't want to be out on a hike and blunder across ME... living naked in the woods... :)

You'll get no argument from me that you do need to pay attention to the responsibilities that go along with your Liberty... How-some-ever, you'd better also pay a lil' bit of attention to, and feed that Kid inside you... or life pretty quick takes on the patina of the inside of a rubbish can.

There's far more to life than being responsible. You have to be equally responsible to the needs of that Kid as well.

If you haven't seen that Kid around for a while... My advice is make finding that lil' bugger job one 'till the prankster shows up.

What is the use of seizing the day if all you're gonna do with it... all the time... is sit in the shade and scratch yourself? Resting on a washed up log, watching the surf roll in IS good... and that sort of thing IS an important part of living... just, letting the commotion of the day settle and find its place in your head...

But... at some point you gotta jump up, stomp your feet and play with your toys! Laugh like an idiot and embarrass your kids... or your old Folks! :)

It's all in finding the balance...

I'm one who can fall off into the woulda coulda shoulda's too easy. It's an easy thing to look back and get caught in the regret of worryin' 'bout the mistakes and the dead ends you followed. I'm here to tell you... But you Can't let yourself get lost in that dark jungle. You HAVE to crawl out onto the sunny slopes and make another run... 'till they're playin' taps. It's a deliberate choice you make. Whichever direction you go. You chose it.

There is no easy Trail... If you're trail is without effort, I'm bettin' you're missing a lot. You have to lean into the wind. Take the Bull by the horns and rope your dreams... or any other cliche' you prefer to call it.

Do it, force it, make it happen... no matter what sort of manipulatin' mongrel is trying to steal bits and pieces of your life away and tellin' you that you were wrong to try.

That is my perception of what life is all about... effort, experience, learning.. and finding a way to enjoy the ride and laugh each day.

Just don't sit in the bus station, playing with your fingers and giggling... that is just not gonna turn out well. 

Chasing the Sunrise
Brian

What Can We Do? My "Nuts and Bolts"

The longest, the rest, and the last of my story... or... how I make an end run around the socialist line...

I am not out to change the world or society. That is pretty much an exercise in futility. I seek only to sieze control of my little space in it. I seek only to own my own life, profiting from my good choices and accepting the consequences of those I've made that are... not so good... Demanding only my inviolate, non-negotiable Liberty.

What is it, in the end that they are after?

They don't give two hoots about you. They only want your assets, and to control your productivity. They want to control your labor and then have in place a myriad of mechanisms to siphon the assets produced by that creativity and productivity out of your pockets. Anything they do, they do, only, in the interest of improving your productivity intending to capture it for THEIR benefit.


So... where do we start? How do we build roadblocks that obstruct their ability to do what they do so well?

1. Structural changes in your perception of the world around you.
2. Basic reconfiguration of what you consider a "Living" to be and the Structural Reconstruction of your lifestyle
3. Basic reconfiguration of how you make your living


1. Stuctural changes in your perception of the world around you.
You must educate yourself as to who it is you are competing against. It takes litte effort to locate a myriad of sources from which you can learn to identify the socialists, often by their "Jargon". The buzz words and phrases that reaveal their true hearts. Knowing your enemy is the first step to defeating him. You need to learn how the wolf thinks, so that you can predict his actions. That way you know where he's going to be so you can either be somewhere else, or set your ambush.

Learn to trust your own intuition. Resist what "Hurts" you. Take care of YOU. If something angers you, there is rarely NOT a good reason, but of course you'll be conditioned and told there is not. You'll be told you're being selfish... Of course you will be told that... but understand this. Yes, YOU do come first. ALWAYS.

If you don't take care of yourself First... and your ambition is to take care of others, your family, your friends... None of that is going to happen... if you didn't FIRST, take care of yourself. Charity starts at Home! That reality is assaulted as selfish, when in reality it is intelligent, enlightened self-interest.

Second, you need to ensure, that you as a parent are educating and inculcating your children with the lust for Liberty. That is their greatest defense against Socialism. That, along with a solid and efficient BS Detector. I realize that many aren't going to have the time, they believe, to home school. I only homeschooled a single year. To make a long story short, after several years of clashes with horrendous "staff" in two public schools I pulled my daughter and we taught her at home for one year.

The result? She had left public school a low 'C' student. When she returned after a single year being taught reading, writing and arithmetic, along with "Critical Thinking" lessons being salted in, by a mountain cowboy, it took the public school two more years to catch up with her level! They didn't get to the material she was studying at the end of her home schooled year... for Two Years! and people... that was with (4) four hours a day, five days a week of school work at home... Kinda makes you wonder what the hell they ARE doing all those hours at school... Don't it?

From that point forward (7th Grade) she was a self disciplined 'A' student... with an Excellent BS and Socialism detector.

My point is, it is the responsibility of a parent to teach their children, NOT the state. Do not be surprised if after you have abrogated your responsibility, you find that the state has created another good little drone for the "treadmill farm".

I and my daughter, who went on to earn a marketing and design degree at Colorado State University, high in her class, and used to come home shaking her head in amazement at what she saw and what she heard there; are living proof that it doesn't take a state approved certificate to properly teach a child. That is state sponsered gibberish. It takes a parents love and commitment... and the simple wisdom Granted by the Boss... NOT the state.

My daughter missed the kids and so she returned... but I was committed to a close observation and much, much input to counter what she heard in "School". She was taught to think... By me... She was inculcated in socialism in school. Their main agenda. They failed... I won... HooYa!

Look at any Totalitarian regime. The schools are some of their first and major efforts. Few adults can be changed much. The children are like clay to be shaped and trained. Is yours going to be a drone of the State? or... a Free thinking Man or Woman... with their own minds and original thoughts? Make no mistake... Socialist society, ANY socialist societ... is a Totalitarian regime.

2. Basic reconfiguration of what you consider a "Living" to be and the Structural Reconstruction of your lifestyle
I'm not talking self flagellating austerity. I'm talking... backing away from "Property Gluttony". I'm sure you get what I'm talking about.

This is going to be a painful toughie for a lot of people though. We've grown accustomed to the "I want it right now", immediate gratification society that has festered into existence. The problem with it is... that society revolves around credit... right? Listen... I understand what I'm talking about. I promise. I'm a recovering credit "addict". But let me assure you, it is a poison that forms the greatest share of the economic chains used to bind you and I in servitude.

Do you really need six TV's, four cars, a closet the size of my fifth wheel, holding clothes you haven't worn in four years, twelve credit cards, in a 3500 square foot house? Honestly... how much of that house do you actually even use? I mean right down to the space within the rooms you do go in? I'll bet most people don't use nearly 2/3 of the space they think they "Occupy".  I'll bet most of your "Toys" also sit unused... 'cause you gotta go do some more work to make the payment! and you're too worn out when you do get home... even if you got home in time.

You're damn sure paying for 'em though, aren't you? When you tally up all the hours you work for the sole purpose of paying for those things you "have" but seldom if ever use... That is LIFE you can never get back. You are conditioned from birth to do that. But, it is slaving for all those things... and then turning your productivity back to the "Farmer" that enriches him and bleeds you white!

What if your "space" was that 2/3 smaller? or however much you can pare it. At $200 bucks a square foot give or take depending on where you're talking... reduce that by 1/2... or the whole, take it to the limt, 2/3. (1166 square feet is 1/3 of the 3500 house) how much of your "wages" would suddenly become available... to play with your toys? What affect would THAT have on your life?

I'm not talking a tent people, or even an RV like me... I'm talking what you need for decent shelter, not the McMansions they've trained you to believe is the "Measure" of your success.

Can't imagine living in that such a small space? Do a quick lil' google and find the average size of a family house in 1952... How did they live? Having been there done that I can say... Just fine! We all were pretty much taking vacations and living better than most folks are now... much less stress... and Most families were arranged so that it only took one paycheck to pay the bills... which left one of the pair to take care of the family... another HUGE plus... and let me tell you... having been Mr. Mom for several years. That is WORK... and a fabulous life! :) I never wanted to go back to the "Normal" life.

In that much smaller abode, how much property tax would now NOT go to the socialist master? and remain in YOUR pocket. How much could you save if you now waited to save the cash for that ATV... and maybe bought used... and DIDN'T pay 18% interest? that goes directly to the socialist master?

There are many more examples to be told but you get the idea. You don't have to do without... Put your lifestyle in some sort of a reasonable balance. You'll get a more harmonious outcome!

Be more patient, more ingenious, and more deliberate in how you achieve the things that shine up your life... as well as learning to steer yourself away from "Property Gluttony".

3. Basic reconfiguration of how you make your living
This is a BIGGIE. Maybe THE biggie. The reason is... it is the source of your cash, your beans...You're LIVING. It is THE way they capture the best of your productivity. They employ you on their "Farm".

 Working for the man ensures that you always have that time clock and that boss "owning" a huge chunk of your life. The threat of losing the source of your beans is the club the system beats you into line with. It never misses a chance to remind you of that fact, and prefers to keep you in a state of anxiety over it so you can never get your feet set to resist when they come at you with another demand.

Prying the bosses fingers from around that club... deprives the beast of  a HUGE weapon, and hands it to You!

When you are sitting quiet considering this idea, consider the words of another Cowboy Philosopher, Will Sturgeon, who left them with us just yesterday!

"Men have lost their focus on the true currency of Life. Time is a more precious commodity than money. Life is measured in hours and minutes, not dollars and cents. When you're out of money, you're just broke. When you're out of time, you're dead!"

Find a way to take yourself to the world of self employment. I mean it. No Excuses. I won't listen.

If a puss gut bald headed old fart of a cowboy biker can do it... you can. I've started leather shops, wood shops, built landscape maintenance businesses, playground installation outfits and done horse training. I've rustled railroad ties and mustangs. I've traded hay and traded horses. The only problem I've had was a short attention span. I see something new that captures my imagination and I'm off to try it out, from pure unrestrainable curiosity. I've lost count of the profitable enterprises I've been engaged in one time or another.

Virtually all my income, meager as it is, now comes from one self employed enterprise or another. From that income is deducted all the legal and appropriate operating expenses I can find. Truth is, I don't claim them all on the tax man's extortion forms. If I was to ever be audited, and he disallows this ten bucks or that twenty, I'll just pull out another hundred of legitimate, documented operating expenses. Likely he'll look at the the
minimal income we're talking about in the first place, realize he's engaged in an enterprise of diminishing returns and wander off loosing weight and looking for easier pickings. :)

"I don't have any talent to do that." I hear people say. Aw bull farkles! That's the man talking that don't want you to cut loose. He wants to keep you "On the farm" digging holes for him. You were ... Born... with all the talent you need.

To not go this route is a choice. You are well within your rights to make that choice but it is a choice. There are no disabilities that keep you from this. If you don't want the burden of being totally responsible for your own life, not a problem. The "Farmer" who's been milking you for a hell of a lot of years is perfectly willing to let you keep blessing him with the lions share of YOUR productivity.

Something you need to know and remember is that tripe about being talentless is just that, tripe. The greatest majority of talent is measured in sweat and perseverance. Now, if you're lazy, I can't help you. But the other is simply a matter of set your goal, figure out what you need to learn, what tools you need and go get it done.

OK... if you're gonna go into business running a bus route to Hawaii... yes, you've picked a tough start up ;) You'll want to invest in some pretty good flotation tires... and don't go claiming that "Education" excuse either. Steve Jobs proved clear and plain... you can achieve anything and you can educate yourself far better than the state ever will. It don't take no fancy certificate hanging in a walmart frame on the wall. It takes exercisin' that thing you keep your ears appart with.

As long as you make some sort of a reasonable choice... it's maybe 75% effort, 20% stubborness, 3% good luck and 2% talent.

If you say; "I can't", I expect you'll meet your expectations.

Pay close attention to what Will told us in his comment. Don't pick an occupation to only make money. Set something up to Build your LIFE. Something to feed your soul as well. Understand? Don't just set yourself in another "Job"... find something to do with your LIFE, that has you beating the alarm clock up 'cause you can't wait to get back at what is your life.

The thing that truly makes it a weapon for you is that now you control your TIME. You find that you also control a lot more of your cash currency as well. You lay every operating expense on there that you can. You guard the currency of your life like a Gladiator. You barter and trade and structure everything you do within the "rules" to treat your life like you were living in Bear Country.

Huh? What's bears got to do with this?

In camp, on the Alcan... I carried my groceries and any other things that might could attract a bear to my camp in a small bag. At night that bag was pulled up in a tree a couple of hundred feet from my tent. Out of reach of the bears... if one showed up. That's how you run a business. It's what you cannot do as an employee. You arrange everything, within the rules to separate as much as you can from the reach of the socialists.

If you can't see the analogy here and apply it to your own life... I don't know what to tell you. Think on it some. In time you might come to understand.

The main thing here is... With a marketable skill, product, service... whatever... You are the master of your future and off the grinding coercion of the treadmill. With that new Freedom in your eyes... you'll be amazed at the new Vistas that open up to you.

And that boys and girls... means I'm finally done!... for now anyway! ;)

"That's all I have to say about that!" - Forrest
Brian

What Can We Do?

****Ed. Note; I felt the need to make a  "Comment Reply" here before today's "Cowboy Sermon Continuation". I have today and tomorrow to present the balance of my "vision" of this world and my solution for individuals... and then we return to our Regular Programming! :)***

*Comment Reply* There are some who insist on missing the Philosophical Boat I've been trying to sail... I expect they always will. They insist on talking the % of income paid the % of net worth paid.

I won't play that numbers shell game. It simply gets you numbers bound with irrelevant numbers.

It is not about Dollars! It is about the stolen LIFE those dollars represent! It's NOT just taxes... it's the whole tilted system. Honestly, It matters not one damn whit to me who the dollars (Life) were stolen from. That Life remains stolen.

Do the 5% at the top take advantage of the 95% at the bottom? You bet. I have written ad-nauseum that they "game" the system. They always will. It's THEIR system! That does not release those at the bottom from culpability. The bottom 20% or so take their stolen treasures, given by the top 5% for the purpose of providing the cover they need to... RAPE well beyond their fair share, the productive People caught in the middle. That rape now extends far beyond taxes but through the entire fabric of society.

It is this perversion that "Paying your fair share" has become. To clean up the perversion they insist that the solution is that Everyone be RAPED their Fair Share. NOT that the raping be stopped. THAT is smoke screen BS that diverts attention from the true issues.

They argue that I stand in defense of the "Mitt Romney", Corporate Masters of the world. Seriously? That's your argument against me? Have you read ANYTHING I've written and you go with that? Snippets of words I've spoken are taken out of context and whittled on to fit another agenda. While not an unusual thing... I stand dumbfounded.

You "Hear" the statement that "Overspending is not the Problem", that the problem is we don't yet get enough revenue from some division of Society... Seriously? The problem isn't the debt we've piled up; but that enough revenue has not yet been stripped from, some portion of society? Do you hear the "Profit Motive" agenda of those I rail against hidden in there?

The unspoken and hidden part of this is the "shell game"... Those at the top will NEVER be taxed at the "Rate" you and I are. It is THEIR shell game. They find cover behind this argument but always maintain the "Loopholes" to crawl through. It is the game itself that is corrupt. Think about it. (end of reply)
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and now... today's post;

Can an RV Boondocker... or Anyone else contest Socialism and win?

I say he can... You Bet! But, it's not a walk in the park. It takes courage, sacrifice, hard work and steely eyed stubbornness. Oh yeah... a little bit of luck don't hurt.

How? Hell, I've been doing it to some degree for years! Let me just say, the trail I've gone is likely unpalatable for most... but it works for me.There are versions of it I am sure you can find agreeable.

A few days ago I opined that I could only control my own life. That I could not impose my views, and my values on "Others"... one of the many differences twixt me and a socialist. So what I say here are only my observations of this world. I have no power to impose them on you and wouldn't even if I could.

As I see it there are several options... Which as far as I'm concerned, though honorable, are exercises in futility.

Some will want to be all patriotic... Fight the advancing socialism at the ballot box... Yeah, right. Luck with that. If you still think that's a real deal, and not just a dog and pony show to placate the ones who don't look too deep, consider the recent "election" in Russia.

Now, those guys are a lil' bolder with their fraud than our boys are here at home. But it doesn't change the outcome. The crooks at the top own the game. They make the rules... and they choose the winner. Simple as that. Whether that "They" resides in Moscow or The District of Columbia. They have the power and they're not about to relinquish it without a fight... or a little bit of vote fraud.

You can think otherwise all you want... You can disagree with me... you'll have a hard time getting me to change my mind.

I mean, look at the not so far back fiasco in Florida. Many claim there was fraud there, and is what put Bush in. Whatever actually happened is so lost in the corrupt tangle no one can really sort it out, and that is the program anyway. Keep everything such a tangle you can claim anything and no one really knows.

There were I remember equivalent claims of fraud with Clinton and Nixon... Left, right, it makes no difference. They are simply opposite sides of the same coin and working for the same bosses, toward the same agenda. Our boys are more careful, and clever than the Russians; who don't seem to even notice that a lot more votes were cast than there were registered voters! ... With our crooks being more devious and secretive, it's harder to "See" their games... but see you still can... or smell... It's impossible to completely hide the stench.

It's a rigged game girls and the "House" always wins. Ask anyone in Vegas. Stop playing their game and you eliminate their veil of "Legitimacy".

Another alternative is public displays of outrage and protest. Force change by public opinion...

How'd that work out for the recent kids and such in the "Occupy" charade?  Again, a dog and pony show designed to give you the impression you've got a voice in the workings of our "Government by the People".

Did you watch the "Crying Wolf" video? The people of Montana worked within the system. There were Agreements made. Compromises agreed to. Not a one has been kept by the Federal Government. If they decide they don't like the original agreement they rewrite it or just simply ignore it. Trusting a Federal, is like trusting your drug dealer... you are dealing with people for whom integrity is not a big motivator and lies are a common and valued tool.

YOU, however are expected, under penalty of law to abide by any agreement... even if it was imposed on you, against your will.

Add in another lil' bit of reality. A reader made the comment in the past few days; "if you stick your head up too far, they'll Nuke it." And seriously, that's a fact. If you gain too wide an audience, and credibly criticise too loudly, if you attract the beasts attention... you're taking a serious risk... the man don't like opposition. Often, it will not be tolerated. So... shussshhhhh... don't nobody tell him I've been stirrin' the pot! :) But if you do... tell the bugger to pack a lunch. :)

Looking around the world, how has public protest been working out for folks in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tibet, or Greece? Shall I go on?

Socialism in any of its' forms doesn't work kids. It never has. It never will. It is a mathematical equation. The only reason it's taken France, Germany and the United States so long to slide to the edge is we started draining the entitlements out of rooms filled with untold riches... those treasures are now spent.

We're being told that to be Good Citizens we must steal the livelihoods of our Great Grand Children and commit Their Children to serfdom, paying off the cost of OUR living, So that we don't have to give up... anything.

Our descendants will be left without, because those selfish parasites gorging at the pubic trough today reufse to step away. The system is broken. It doesn't work. It not only steals from us, it steals, today, from those yet to be born. It's despicable.

But, there's a big problem when it comes to fixing it. Most see a world where the only cure that will work... requires that you kill the patient... in a sea of fire and blood.

And it is true that in conventional thinking, a "Ruling Elite", that holds on to its' Power by force, requires force to take it from their grip. I doubt you are likely to be wanting to engage in such horrors... It's a double plated fact that I ain't... Even if there was some hope that engaging in that obscenity had a whisper of a chance of success, which it don't.

So... is there another way? A quieter more genteel way? A way that not only remains well within the legal parameters of their socialist system, but also has the hope of victory and yields a pretty nice life in the doing?

In the words of a the Great Americans, Rowan and Martin; "You bet your sweet bippy there is!" :)

Ever hear of a "Safe Room"? A secure room in your house you can retreat to if danger threatens, right?

Using that analogy, think of it this way... What if... you lived in a "degenerating house" that threatened to collapse around you but; you couldn't leave the house. Everything around you seemed to be infested with parasites and mould. The "structure" around you seemed to be rotting and falling down around you.

What if... within that world you could construct a "bubble", a Safe Room... a structural "Bubble" that in large degree shielded you from "falling debris"... While at the same time opened up the space in your life to access art, and music... philosophy... to laugh with your kids and ride a fine gelding in the high up and lonesome... or as sweet a motorcycle on a Ribbon of Highway?

Sounds pretty sweet don't it?

I believe it is... in large degree a real and viable way of living. An alternative to the "paradigm" we live in. Big words for a puss gut cowboy huh?

And it's easy! It only requires structural changes in your perception of the world around you. Structural reconstruction of your lifestyle and a basic reconfiguration in not only how you produce your living but what you consider to be a "Living" in the first place. Like I said, easy huh?

The reality is... you can build yourself a "safe place"... a "Safe Room" in plain sight... succeeding at improving Your personal quality of life, starting today... or you can try to change the basic historical nature of society and government that has endured for eons... and fail tomorrow... and the day after that... and the day after that... and the day...

You see... if you start to form a monolithic resistance and protest the actions of those in power you trigger an automatic, "Hard Wired" response... you saw that with the aborted "Occupy" movement... the "society/bosses" tolerated it for a short time and then moved in with Whatever Force was Required... and stamped it out. Rather than allowing it to continue and risk losing control of it.

If those kids and such had resisted more strongly... if they'd stood their ground, I assure you, you'd have witnessed the American equivalent of Tiananmen Square... and you end up with... Syria.

That... is no place I want to go...

The real power behind the Powers that Be... is US! It is their ability to harness... US!

Our solution is simple to state... yet difficult to achieve. It is to summon the individual courage to simply, quietly, individually... with NO massed organization of people to be infiltrated and assaulted, without violence, anger or confrontation... Slip out of the Harness.

Without diving in to a Sea of Fire and Blood... You Possess the Power to Free Yourself!

You, me, all of us, have been conned into being our own Jailers. We Steal from ourselves! If you SEE those chains... if you can understand the bars on that cage... They Vanish!

It is our willing participation in THEIR system that benefits them... that gives them power. If that participation is simply, quietly withheld... they are, rendered impotent, without any ability to fight our actions... Neutered.

It is the Unintended Consequences of THEIR actions... against which The Powers that Be... have NO Defense.

I'm going to let that soak for a bit. Think about it.

I'll be Back!
Brian

My Story is Not Yet Finished...

... and I'm not without the words to finish it... You might be surprised! I actually have too many. :) The trouble is getting them sorted out into some sort of intelligible string.

I thought I had it last night... even posted it for a short time... but even I recognized it was too windy, too jumbled, too confused. The thoughts are there but they're coming so fast, from so many  directions it gets confused. So I'm taking a day or so to let things settle and clear.

A man shouldn't rip on what is... if he has nothing to offer as an alternative. I have that. But, to know what you've done, what you think is a Way, is one thing. To put all those thoughts and actions into words that will make any sort of sense to folks is something else.

Sometimes I feel like a hyper active squirrel, twitching and running from here to there, climbing spinning circles around a tree trunk... out of breath, chattering and climbing and racing... bing bing binnnnnngggggg! Just like Ol' Ricochet Rabbit! Remember him? :) Ok... squirrel... rabbit... either way I'm bouncing around like a hyper-active manic washing down a fist full of uppers with cups of hot, double tough coffee.

Started a "cooling" time yesterday. We took the truck and ran up the west side of the Colorado river above Parker. Took the truck thinking another big wind might be coming...

*The shadows in camp are always long just at sunrise*

We figured to go up and come across the Parker Dam.

Funny thing. I'm rolling along thinking about all that's goin' on and how tough it can be to stand in the face of it all... and a small little thing will catch your attention...

A tree... overshadowed by the massive construction of the world around it... growing out of solid rock. Refusing to quit... Refusing to say; "You Win". Carving out it's own little niche and saying; "Bite Me... I will Live my own life as - I - choose!" ;)

*Some Just Won't Quit*

And when you look around... They're not alone. There are others that find a way to survive. A way to prosper within their Own Piece of the World. It looks austere and bleak to some, but to them, it is Home.

And though the waters seem deep... you don't need to Part them. With a little of the imagination and ingenuity that the Boss equipped you with... You can build a bridge that carries you to the other side...

There is a way for those that might want it. I just have to find the words to describe it.

Today, We're gonna climb on the Raider and let the wisdom of the highway sort the jumble in my brain. Maybe tomorrow I'll have filtered out the mess and organized my thoughts in a way that NOT abnormal people can comprehend what I'm thinking. ;)

On my own lil' journey in the Desert
Brian

I Think Some Might Not understand me...

 So I offer a feeble attempt at explanation.

I am a man born for the open country. The open road... and possessed of a Passion for Liberty.

Born in Ohio and raised in Arizona, I started Cowboyin' at the foot of the Catalina Mts. North of Tucson. My Cowboy education continued in the Santa Rita Mts. East of Green Valley. From near the Mexican Border to the Southern reaches of Montana I've chased cows, trained horses, hunted coyotes, mined copper, bucked off broncs, packed mules and rustled mustangs. I've sold hardware, cleaned carpets, hauled tractors and even raised sheep! I've lived a glorious life.

I admit to being... abnormal. Possibly an anachronism. I admit that in my words I express the belief that there is more to life than Healthcare. That Freedom Trumps Healthcare. That Liberty is of Greater Value and Treasure than Life itself. I freely admit that few hold that belief any longer, and that maybe my attempts to get that point across leave others as dumbstruck as I often find myself.

Do I have regrets? You bet. There have been heart ripping sorrows that still wake me in the night. Would I like to be able to go back and wipe those from my memory? At times, when I feel close to choking on them? I would... but then I think... it is those scars that have carved me into who I am. With all my many faults, I still like... Me.

For all of my life I've heard and been told that Cowboys were a dying breed. I should take on something more acceptable with my life. It would appear from some comments of the past couple of days that there's those that don't think I've done that and would appreciate the loss of one more of us. Sorry to disabuse ya'll of that idea... but I think I'll hang around and keep stirrin' the pot a mite more.

I love this land in ways I cannot put into words. I've served not only this land with my sweat, and my blood. I've placed my life in service to the people of this land, on more than one occasion. I've paid taxes since I was 14. I have NEVER complained about or tried to duck my fair share, and take offense at that Idea, made by implication. I do however complain when effort and success is punished and parasitism is rewarded.

I as well am astounded by the claims of those who try to tell me that I am required to seek the permission of a bureaucrat to wander around the lands not within the city limits fences. While the Wolf and the Coyote are "Granted" the right to go where and when they please, without permit or fee.

I claim the RIGHTS granted to Wolves and Coyotes. I will by God set my camp on uninhabited land without seeking the kings permission. The King does not, contrary to popular belief, own all the land and everyone on it. I will camp my rig on the Boss's land, where I choose to.

There is something I have noticed in conversation when the subject of service is discussed; Most of those, a heavy majority, who seek the entitlements that I have spoken of for the past few days always seem to have found such service inconvenient when it was their turn. They expect to be defended, hell they demand it! But lo and behold, when it's their turn to place their lives on the line in defense of their community, or just an individual within it... they are remarkably absent.

I have sacrificed my safety, my income and my future in defense of friends, and even on occasion in defense of those I never knew simply because it was the right thing to do. I don't say this as boast, but merely to define the code of behavior I was taught.

Does my ego, ideas, or intelligence make me in any way a person I believe worthy of climbing up on some pedestal ?... well, you bet!... If you set the damn three foot thing in a ten foot deep hole first.

Before I get back to straight up conversation about Yondering through the land I love, and a Life of Glorious Liberty... Granted to me by the Boss I serve as well... let me leave you with this film...



It is the amazing work of JD King, a young fella from Southwest Montana who has an amazing future ahead of him. Do Him and the states of Montana and Idaho a Favor. Get as Many of your friends as you can to watch this man's work. It contains lessons about far more than wolves. Amazing for a man of his youth.

I'll bet you didn't realize that the Wolf you tried to see in Yellowstone was all tied up in this mess too did you?

The film not only discusses a few truths about the Wolf in the Intermountain States... but opens a window through which you can glimpse the face of the resident evil I have described.

There is something to consider. All we have, is each other. The government doesn't care about us. It cares about it's power. It is simply a tool of the real unseen power that owns it. What we are left with is each other.

The divisiveness you see around you these days is no accident and it is The Threat. It is the tool used by those in power to keep us fractured and fighting each other. It is cliche'd but no less true - Divide and Conquer. Those doing the dividing have exhibited exquisite skill.

All of us together are difficult to control. But if we can be kept fighting against each other the smaller groups are easy to manipulate. We are used against each other, to control each other. We are serving as our own Jailers.

All we have, is each other. If you can SEE the cage we are keeping ourselves in, the bars disappear. Your awareness is your greatest strength. Our greatest strength. We have divisions and disagreements. And, we have two choices.

We can either work together to achieve solutions. We can Force Government to obey the will of the people and regain some honor and integrity... or...  we can all give each other a big hug, bend over and kiss our backsides good bye, because the game will be over.

Some Days You Just Have to Stand With Your Mouth Hanging Open in Amazement
Brian

What Does Any of This Have to Do With RV Boondocking?

It is the Very Basic Foundation of RV Boondocking. The life I've chosen is one which requires a certain specific ingredient without which it cannot exist.

Liberty.

If I do not Live in Liberty... I cannot pursue my dreams. The burdens, restrictions and life directions being imposed by an arrogant society threaten that Liberty. They Threaten and Inhibit a man's ability to Pursue his happiness whatever his dreams might be.

The remodeling of our culture from one of the Right to; "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" into this abhorrent Thing that is growing today; where so many believe they have the RIGHT, the Entitlement to possess virtually anything their neighbor has, and all they have to do is demand that the government transfer that "property" to them, is likely the saddest thing I've ever witnessed.

Make No mistake. Understand Clearly... That is what you are talking about when you speak of entitlement. You are stealing from your Neighbor.

Do you think the government paymaster walks up to some magic window with a bucket, pulls a lever and out flows the gold to finance all the lusted for entitlements?

Government produces... Nothing. Not one fake penny. It never has, it never will. To give you whatever wealth it grants... It must first TAKE that wealth from someone else, from your Neighbor. Redistribution of wealth by Brute, uncaring, Force.

Your Neighbor spent much time working to produce whatever wealth he's been fortunate enough to control. It is his. It was gained, in exchange for a large chunk of his very life. 

When YOU demand that that wealth shall be taken from him, your neighbor, it matters not one bit what you intend to spend that asset on. It is Stolen Property. A great part of his LIFE is Stolen, making him in the process, a Slave... and you, as the one demanding that action, a Thief.

... IF ... You are one demanding Entitlement.

The only thing I can say is it is unwise for a pick pocket to get caught with his hand... in MY pocket.

I don't say that all downtrodden be forgotten. What I say is that it should not be rewarded. It is only compassionate and generous when it is a voluntary act by each person. In the end, each of us is responsible for their own life. One way or the other. 

Life is not fair. It never has been. It never will be. Wishing it weren't so is like wishing the sun would rise in the west. You can wish it, but it is NEVER going to happen. Get Over It.

When I see a hurt man, or woman, I offer aid. When I've seen a destitute man standing in the rain I've given him a tarp to shelter himself. I've defended those under assault. I've put myself at risk in defense of others. Hell, I got an award from the State Patrol for diving into a brawl in defense of a Trooper. So the claims that I am a cold hearted motherless son fall on deaf ears.

I've always prided myself that even if I was in total, opposite, disagreement with someone, I could see, I could comprehend how they could believe as they did. I could understand how they'd come to their opinion, wrong though I might think that opinion to be.

Today, I often find myself dumbstruck, unable to comprehend the thought process that brought someone to the ideas they speak. Unable to understand how they cannot see the catastrophe they are producing with their twisted logic and disregard for the Rights of Others, while they pursue their Entitlements of convenience.

We are living in an age of unrestrained Government Power and Government Authority with all controls rapidly being removed.

It has been said that we live in a Democracy. THAT, is not, and never was what our Laws say. The Law speaks of A Republic, a Representative Democracy. A system where the Majority rules but the RIGHTS of the Individual and the Minority are protected.

A Democracy, Majority Rule, has been described by philosophers much greater in ability than I as "Mob Rule."

It appears that the Mob is in power. The actions of this society have been perverted with 1984 double speak. 

Because the thefts themselves cannot be defended it is always attempted to divert attention from the issues at hand by assaulting the speaker's IQ or labeling him/her with various names... such as misogynist, psychopath or other such insults... ignoring the points they spoke of, assaulting only the individual, with loud shouts intended to drown out the conversation.

Many will run and hide from such attacks... afraid of the consequences... I've been called every name known to man, or woman... Boo Hoo... poor me.

One name that will never stick, arrogant though I might sound is; Coward. 

If you want to speak of reality and solutions and compassion and co-operation, I'm all ears. If you want to promote entitlement, slavery, socialism (no matter how much you deny that entitlements are the very life blood of socialism)...

... you will find this worn out old buzzard an unrepentant, and un-yielding adversary.

- BK Gore