A Rare Coinhabitant ...and A Sense of

      the mystical saguaro exists in only 4 places-

the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, the Whipple Mountains of San Bernardino County of California, the Mexican state of Sonora and Imperial County California

     These images come from Arizona, where the Sonoran Desert is home to the largest population.

    The icon of the desert southwest often live to exceed 150 years. Those with arms, produce their first after 50-75 years. 

       They dwell from the valley floor to the top of buttes and share the space with other cacti, and a plethora of birds and creatures including lizards, sidewinder snakes, scorpions, rats, squirrels, tortoises and cotton tails. One walks with care in this desert. 

  the chola 

 the barrel cactus

sentries of the desert  

the sense of the voter

     I used to get paid to pay close attention to political campaigns,  now I do it out of habit. 

     Back when I thought it was the true national sport, we spent time on buses, flew on planes, and we took turns in small groups of having close up access to the candidate after which we would write what is called the pool report, that was then distributed to all media. 

     All of us also did reporting we called "the Sense of The Voter." David Broder of the Washington Post was probably the best. You go out and talk to everyday people, mostly listening. Today there is social media and attitude driven cable nets also crowding the traditional media and press corp in reach for the public.

     It's always changing, not only in personality but in the nature of the campaign. It is, if you will, the appeal to the soul of the US. What we see these days speaks volumes about how we have changed, and what we've left behind.

     I think we've devalued our national experience by not doing a good job of teaching civics, government, and critical reasoning.  We need wise "understanding media and persuasion classes."    

      Politics has become a profession, and a cash cow industry. Public service is not the prime motivator, no, now it is personal, financial or ideological. That is how it is.

     So this old boy offers a "sense of the electorate" to any candidate or organization.  The nexus of your strategy, the focus of your attention should be the women and men who are working, but struggling as they see the future shrink away and diminish just as the middle class is in decline. If I were to put a face before you, I would post a working woman. What are her needs and expectations and how can the federal government play a responsible role?

       Next to that would be a picture of a family, however it is constituted. How are they doing? Can they afford health care, or sending children to college, what kind of retirement future do they have? Do they have benefits? 

       The economic balance is out of kilter and there are bad consequences for all including the selfish class at the top. The divide in wealth, and the corrupt and broken tax code bears the omen of a struggle and demise that would be profound.

       There are other matters that cannot be ignored: Climate, personal freedom and dignity, a clam and steady hand in our role in the world community and a more civilized way achieving common good.  But the key is to hear and know the needs of what we used to call Middle Class America and to guarantee its existence and future. Everyone still deserves an American Dream, and a sense of security. 

     In 2016 there was a pandering or an ignoring. A winning candidate should act on their behalf, by offering ideas, with sound economic footing, showing a path and explaining how things can be paid for. Be specific. Most voters, especially hard working women and men know as much or more than the many politicians who have been bought and sold by the money that bets on government outcome="follow the money!" 

      Whatever color, race, sex, gender, age, origin, or whatever there are basic needs. Too many of us are not getting a fair shake. A public servant can work to change that. Start there.

        That I think would be a winning strategy by an insurgent Republican or Democratic candidate.

a hard working boat

the Ragamuffin of Los Osos

people work for their living here

      See you down the trail.

     

ADJUSTED & UNDERCOVER IN THE TRUMP FEVER TENT

New Horizon

    There was more than one left turn as our friends Bruce and Judy drove us beyond scenic Jerome Arizona into Verde Valley Wine Country!  Yep, Arizona Wine Country! Who'd thunk it?!

   Their good recon work put us outside Cornville at scenic Page Springs Cellars.

    Judy is the undisputed queen of the picnic. Lana has been emulating her since an incredible repast in Red Rock Canyon country on a first visit many seasons ago.

    In cooling shade and near the Page Springs flow just off the nearby Oak Creek, the culinary magic happened again.

 Green white soup accompanied the cheeses, pate's, olives, fruit and more.  

    Arizona Wine Country offered up its own special charms as well.

   After a previous tasting we settled on a bottle of Vermentino as we sat near the budding crop.

   OK, full disclosure here. I was skeptical. After about a decade of living in the Paso Robles appellation, I guess I have become a "California snob," but winemaker Eric Glomski does a fine job. He did his training at a California winery and is helping to establish a burgeoning wine culture in Arizona.

   Page Springs Cellars is a lovely spot, featuring menu items grown in their nearby garden. It has lovely views and even a massage tent near the vines and the flowing Oak Creek.

    I belong to the school that believes wine is one of the great socializers of the world. Through history wine has been a source of collegiality. Most states now boast of wine growing and Arizona's adds to the virtues of The Grand Canyon state.

UNDER COVER IN

THE TRUMP FEVER TENT

    He and a couple of his pals decided to check out a Trump Rally in their Utah town. They were there to see the spectacle and to let someone know their sentiments, should the occasion arise. He's a sharp young business man, the son of dear friends. One of his buddies was a former newspaper colleague who we were told is uninhibited in his political expressions, especially his disdain for all things Trump.

    As fate would have it they were in the right spot as the  Trump goon squad began syphoning in a couple hundred folks from the some 3 thousand who had gathered in mass. In a moment they found themselves face to face with secret service and other security, being patted down and frisked before being ushered into a tiny theater. These would be hecklers were front and center. Our friend said his first impression was "Hate and racism are alive and well in Utah." 

    Clearly the trio was outnumbered and since they were not wearing cowboy hats and football sized belt buckles they were immediately targets of suspicion.  That is when his heart started to pound bit more rapidly. It ticked a bit more when the Trumpeters began handing out signs and banners as they spewed their Trumpisms. He said of course he needed to take one of the signs, not to do so might have landed him on the front page as another Trump protester being pounded by the Trump true believers.

    A few Utah right wingers and political sorts came to "warm up the crowd." This is when our friends son thought he might just end up pulp.  As a Congressional candidate began extolling the virtues of Utah and a piece of legislation he had backed, the young man's uninhibited friend began to heckle the speaker with a sign he had turned into a megaphone.  He said he could feel the force move, that would be the dark side. He sensed they were being surrounded by the Trump cowboys. His friend continued to heckle the speaker saying he was a sell out, a member of the establishment, part of the problem in government. He challenged him as not being a true Trumpeter. This was when the young man detected a significant shift in the vibe. Now the Trumpeters were giving the razz to the earnest Utah Republican who was eventually jeered off the stage as being an establishment lackey. 

     Ah, the poetry of it!  True Trumpeters, being led in the insurrection by a guy who had turned up to protest the Donald himself. Instead he was able to whip up this Trump Rally into booing out one of the few republicans willing to show up.

     As for Trump himself?  They decided just to listen. Our friends son said in his 20 minutes on stage it was more about show business, a kind of call and response. "We're going to build that wall!"  Massive response! "We're going to make American great again!"  Massive response!  And so it went.

The young man said he can't recall Trump completing one full sentence, or for that matter a full thought without jumping into some line that drew a response.  He said it was clearly performance.  But the rabble loved it. 

     It makes for a great dinner story. But it also makes for great insight. And so the Trump movement-moves.

     See you down the trail.

A WONDER OF THE WORLD

ONE OF THE WONDERS?

     The sculptures at the Hoover Dam are the centerpiece of a tile inlayed plaza that is a type of earth calendar and cosmic communication piece.  It places the Hoover Dam in a league with the Pyramids and the Roman Coliseum. And
there is some truth to that.

   More than a hundred humans lost their lives in the building of the Boulder Dam from 1931 to 1935.  Later dedicated to former President Herbert Hoover, it was the largest concrete project ever undertaken and employed thereto for untested techniques.  It remains a colossal achievement.

    Built in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, it impounds Lake Meade.  Constructed under President Franklin Roosevelt, it is a hydroelectric generation source. A consortium of parties, Six Companies, won the bid and built the project for around $42 Million.  They finished almost a year early.
    Nearly a million people visit the Hoover Dam, now a tourist site as well.  Highway 93 used to run across the top of the dam, but the traffic has now been diverted to another amazing construct, the by pass bridge, just recently opened.

    Here on the border of Nevada and Arizona are a couple of
examples of human endeavor, built large and indeed planetary markers.

See you down the trail.

THE SANTA ANNA WINDS

HISTORIC WINDS RAKE CAMBRIA

The strongest blast of the infamous Santa Anna winds in more than a decade has complicated life from

this idyllic village of Cambria to Los Angeles and beyond.

Winds from 60 to 140 miles per hour have knocked out

power to hundreds of thousands.  This post is coming

from a hot spot in the village as we wait for power

to be restored at home.

High wind warnings are posted from Southern California north and into Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.
The Santa Anna's are extremely dry and gusty blasts
that come from off shore in Southern California and 
the Baja. They create a significant fire hazard and mental
health officials says the hot and dry winds can have
and adverse affect on some.
Most roads, drives, sidewalks, decks and roofs are 
littered with Monterey Pine needles and
other debris.

People talk of hearing trees groan and whip in the high winds.

Several of the shallow rooted and rare Monterey Pines were downed in the winds. 

In several instances the falling trees took out power lines in their tumble.

 A lot of sweeping will be underway.

Flags and banners needed to be well mounted or they too took a ride on the wind.

 Workers at the Community Presbyterian Church of Cambria
battled the winds as they set up for the annual
December Thrift Shop sale.  They spent a lot of time
chasing merchandise across the parking lot.

If your power is on, appreciate it!
See you down the trail.