Bluff, UT and rock art

We'll be staying in our little retreat in Bluff, UT soon. Bluff is a town of about 300 people. We go there to see the native American ruins and rock art, which is only slightly older than this house, okay maybe 700 or 800 years older. Actually, the house is called the Adams House and is an historical landmark! It's about 115 years old. I'll give you an idea of the shape this house is in. The electrician has no eyebrows! Just kidding! It's in great shape. There are some great hikes up Comb Ridge to see the ruins and ancient art.

Civil rights in Arizona

Dwight Eisenhower said, "The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters." The problem is, the media's exaggerations about immigration and the new Arizona law can't keep up with the facts! I still get a paper every other day. That way I don't have to read the denials.

Flipping a raft

I will be seeing my old buddies Paul and Jerry next week. Our last trip into the Grand Canyon is not forgotten. I'm just glad Paul and I weren't the only ones to flip a raft! "Will you join me in a bowl of soup?" "Is there enough room for the both of us?"

Who to blame

I remember fishing for red fish off the coast of Louisiana with my daughter Noelle. We caught quite a few nice ones, brought them home and ate fish for months. I suspect the red fish population is in some distress. Below is a photo of Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana. He's pretty unhappy with President Obama, to say the least! Okay, let me get this straight. If they have bad weather, it's the Republicans fault. If they have an oil spill, it's the Democrats fault. In California, the house shakes. Everybody quivers. When the state's in a snit, who do they blame? Some actor I think. What's the world coming to? Quit pointing fingers and do something productive. Help out.

Who is killing the Little Red Hen?

Here is a good example of the government going after the Little Red Hen's muffins, so to speak...

Click on the link above to see Nancy Pelosi's view of health care reform.

Democrats at "work"

In the story of The Little Red Hen we see someone who wants to make muffins. The problem is, no one wants to help her make them. She asks for help lifting the corn, but no one wants to help. She asks for help baking the muffins, but no one wants to help. Only when it's time to eat do people want to help. Sound familiar? Yes, it sounds like the government wants to reward people who don't work and take from those who do. Author Mike Delaney wisely said, "Any business or industry that pays equal rewards to its goof-offs and its eager-beavers sooner or later will find itself with more goof-offs than eager-beavers." The same truth applies to government policy.

Water in Waterton Canyon

At the end of Waterton Canyon is Strontia Springs dam and reservoir. It's 243 feet high and the 3 1/2 mile long tunnel carries the water under the mountains for some of Denver's water. What you see at the bottom of the dam is the South Platte River gushing out. I have some friends who won't drink the water. They know what fish do in it.

Waterton Canyon ride

Nancy and I rode our bikes up Waterton Canyon yesterday. Of course we had to stop for the traffic on the road. There is never a dull moment when we go up there.

When we got about 7 miles or so up the canyon, we were stopped by these guys blocking the middle of the road. Big horn sheep are commonly seen in Waterton Canyon. Last fall we saw a couple of them butting heads. This category needs no explanation, except that one of them takes up smoking each year.

Of course I had to go over and see how close I could get to them, in order to take a really good photo you know. They say that things can always get worse. What a thrilling thought! I don't know how fast we were going, but the needle kept pointing toward my...

How far apart are we?

And you wonder why people in Arizona might be a little miffed at the "holes in the fence?" So don't blame Arizonans, you'd be unhappy too. This photo was taken in a dry wash near Tucson. It was an awful night. Somebody else was wearing the same outfit she was. What will people be wearing next year? "The clothes they wore last year!" And this really is the sad part, we are so close but so far apart. Yes, we're unhappy about it and it certainly affects us but the real solution is probably bigger than a bigger fence.

Nice fence

I made a quick trip to El Centro, California this week on business. On the drive over from the San Diego airport, we stopped in Jacumba. This small town borders the border, so to speak. Below is a photo of the fence between the U.S. and Mexico border. I would say it was about 14 to 16 feet high at this point. However, when we looked up the side of the hill we saw something a little different...

Now I'm not stupid, and neither are our Mexican friends to the South. But don't you think the government has noticed this? Maybe this fence was built by the same contractor who sold the government the $800 hammer. Or, more likely the contractor is a small business owner and being taxed to death by the Feds and the State of California, and now he's got a new approach to fence building - unemployment. And now the government is sending him checks and providing him health care.

Cold, high mountain streams

When I go hiking one of the things I really enjoy is cooling my feet off in the stream. Feet are very important. Without them you don't have a leg to stand on. The problem is my feet get really cold in these high mountain streams with the runoff from the snow. In this photo, my feet were so cold they saw a politician with his hands in his own pockets!

A root canal

Somebody once told me that silence was the college yell of the school of experience. I would say that a good way to save face is to keep the lower half shut. These times remind me of Theodore Roosevelt who once said, "I took the Canal Zone and let Congress debate, and while the debate goes on, the canal does, too." The difference is, 100 years later we're getting a root canal.

House paint

We've been having our house painted this week. "Hey, can you clean the windows while you're up there?" I knew he wouldn't do it! He belongs to five unions, so he's always on strike! Actually, I admired his fearlessness. In this photo he is a solid two floors up and has one more to go (we have a walk out basement in back). Hard work never killed anybody. In this case, I'm sure he doesn't want to take a chance on being the first victim.

Neighbors

I just made a great deal with one of my neighbors. I'll stop trying to keep up with him if he stops trying to keep up with me! Nothing needs changing more than your neighbors habits.

Broccoli

I read where broccoli may be good for preventing bladder cancer. So, broccoli might be good for you! I think we'd all be in Paradise if Eve had tried to tempt Adam with some broccoli!

And, I think it was Dave Barry who reminds us that American consumers have no problem with carcinogens, but they will not purchase any product including floor wax, that has fat in it.

Grand Falls

Here is a nice photo of Grand Falls on the Little Colorado River in Arizona. Higher and wider than Niagara Falls, it's quite the site, but only once per year in the spring runoff. I remember hiking down to the river with my cousin Gail during a spring flood. The river was running at full strength and chocolate brown water rushed over the top from one end to the other. When we returned to the car we were muddy from top to bottom.

Cow Canyon

On recent trips to Bluff, UT we usually go out to our favorite restaurant, the Cow Canyon. Lovely isn't it! I know your first impression; "the only card this place takes is Blue Cross!" Not so... The food is actually wonderful and the views from the dining room of the Bluff area and the San Juan River valley are spectacular. But if you've come so hungry you could eat a horse, well you've come the right place, they're right outside. You're better off with the beef or lamb though.

Redmond, OR

I was in Redmond, OR recently and took this photo of the sun setting. There was a fire on Metolius Mountain nearby and it obscured the sun enough to get this unusual image. It reminded me of the words of Pascal; "Each man is all in all to himself, for, when he is dead, all is dead to him. Hence it is that each man thinks that he is all in all to every one. We must not measure nature by ourselves, but by itself."

A politician

I think Winston Churchill knew as much as anyone about what it takes to be a good politician, or at least an effective one. He said, "It's the ability to foretell what will happen tomorrow, next month, and next year - and to explain afterward why it didn't happen."

Hildebrand Ranch Park

We couldn't go to the Hildebrand Park dedication and opening because of the rain, so we decided to hike it the next day. Actually, the 5 mile trail has been here for years and circles our neighborhood. They really only dedicated the new parking lot and port-a-potties just off Deer Creek Highway. I did get a chance to buy a raffle ticket. The second prize is a car. The first prize is a parking space! Your tax dollars at work.

LA and NYC

It looks like Los Angeles might go bankrupt this year! Unless of course they're bailed out by the Feds. LA is different though and deserves a little more consideration. Where else can you find unemployment offices with valet parking? If LA goes down there is a good chance that a Republican can be elected mayor of LA while a Republican serves as Mayor of New York City (already Bloomberg) in the same year! Not long ago it was Riordan and Giuliani. This is a rare event. New York is different too. Where else can you buy mutual funds with your welfare check?

Hike on Mesa Trail

We went hiking in Chautauqua Park near Boulder, CO today. Below is a photo of Nancy looking at Boulder from the Mesa trail. The hike was great and the forest had that new smell in it, the smell of spring in the air. All the trees were leafing out and it was a beautiful day. After the hike we went to Cantina Laredo for Mother's Day dinner.

During our hike this sailplane, or glider was soaring overhead. It was a wonderful site. I'm pretty sure it was a U.S. plane. You can always tell the Italian planes. They have hair under their wings.

Arizona Immigration, Wake up America!

One of my friend's customer from Tucson, AZ sent this photo. Bankruptcy you see, is when you plan on early retirement but the immigrants beat you to it. The government has finally put poverty within our reach!

Nashville floods

I decided to cancel my trip to Nashville today. I had a meeting scheduled at the Opryland hotel but well... a picture tells a thousand words! We even had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry! Oh, well. This isn't the hotel where they put the Gideon Bible on a chain. It's a pretty nice place, or was a nice place. So, Nancy and I are home for the weekend.

The Goldman Sachs Case

I clipped this photo of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein out of the Wall Street Journal today. I remember taking a philosophy of science class in college. I recall a discussion about how we humans can read facial expressions. This discussion led to another discussion on how you can tell someone is in pain, after all I can't feel your pain but I can usually tell by the look on your face, if you're in pain. In this particular photo I'm reminded of a great Russian book, but I can't figure out if his face is the crime or the punishment. Maybe he has one of those platinum parachutes under his chair.

The media

Lyndon Johnson was a very direct President when it came to the media. At one point he walked up to Time's White House correspondent Hugh Sidey and put his face right into the frightened reporter. Johnson barked out, "Every reporter I ever met has a character flaw. What's yours?"

Cantina Laredo

Nancy and I are pretty excited. Cantina Laredo is coming to Denver. We've been driving up to Boulder, CO to eat there for the last year but it's just too far to drive. We first ate at the original one in Dallas years ago with Nancy's sister (see below). Finally, this summer they're opening one near our house!

Send the umpire out for drug analysis!

Okay the Rockies won the game 4-1 against San Francisco. But I still want to complain about the strike zone! This umpire obviously hates night games. The lights make it hard to sleep! UMPIRE: if the pitcher threw a beach ball, you couldn't hit it. PLAYER: if he threw a beach ball, you couldn't call it! The good news is, San Francisco is in real trouble. During practice the pitching machine threw a no-hitter!

Dirty rain

It rained mud in Denver while I was gone last week! That's right, mud! I came home and couldn't see out the windows! Evidently, dry winds from Arizona and Utah blew the dust into the upper atmosphere and it was caught in the rain clouds moving over Denver. This was the result! This window is dry, but still covered in mud. Now my computer is starting to act like a person. This morning it asked for a room with a window.