I boarded the plane at 10:00 AM Eastern Time. After two mechanical problems and sitting on the plane for 1 hour and 45 minutes, we finally took off. I was scheduled for a 52 minute layover in Phoenix. Looked like I would miss it.
Landed in Phoenix at 2:12 PM MST. Arrived at the gate at 2:15 PM. Ran to the next gate and barely made it. Of course my luggage is still in lost and found Hell. Landed in Palm Springs at 2:35 PM PST.
If you are camping or backpacking in California and build a fire, use any kind of stove or lantern with a flame, you must obtain and have on your person a California Campfire Permit. There might be some areas that are exempt, but it is best just to always have one because it can be difficult to sort out the regulations and many Government employees don’t know the regulations either. Normally if you are camped in a developed campground, a permit is not needed. However, sometimes there are exceptions.
This has been required for as long as I can remember, even in the 1960’s.
Permits are issued at most offices of the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But not always. You are dealing with government agencies. You can also get them online at these agencies, but not always.
Continue reading Don’t forget to get your 2014 California Campfire Permit
Even though I am tired of hearing about Christopher McCandless, this is not about him. It is about the lack of real heroes as role models in our society.
He was a young man who tried to live a minimalist life and died in Alaska because he did not have the skills or knowledge to survive. His life was chronicled in the book and the movie, Into The Wild.
There is even a website dedicated to McCandless and almost 7,000 people (as of today) “Like” the site. Whatever on earth “Liking” a website means.
It is probable that McCandless had some real-life dysfunctional problems that led to his demise, but our culture wants to romanticize his life and put him up on a pedestal. We want to make him a hero, because he was vulnerable.
Continue reading Can’t We Just Let Christopher McCandless Die?
The legalization of marijuana in several states has been the leading nightly news story lately.
It appears that a majority of folks on both the left and right of the political spectrum think marijuana should be legalized, but both sides are advocating for the wrong reason.
The issue of marijuana use involves two important thoughts that at first glance seem to be contradictory.
Joyce doesn’t like the idea of receiving appliances for Christmas, her birthday, or our anniversary. I think she has watched too many Chick-Flicks or Oprah reruns. Seems she thinks these celebrations should be romantic, which would indicate jewelry, diamonds, perfume, Dom Perginon Champagne, or fine art. So I took a big risk this Christmas.
It all started when we got married in 2002. She started grabbing all my change and saving it. She told me after a while we would have enough money to buy something special — which usually means something totally useless, like furniture. But what is a man to do? I took a chance and bought her an automatic coin sorter.