More Observations While Traveling About The West

. Americans, by and large, are prissy slobs. In their personal bubble they need to be pampered and smelling good but are casual despoilers of everything they touch. That's why I previously admonished to wash your hands very often. On the road bathrooms are always suspect.

. Oregon law dictates the entire coastline is public property but access to the beach is another matter.

. Wal-Mart politics suck, but they were savvy enough to do one thing. If you find yourself without a place to stay they let you park at a store to spend the night without trouble. They're generally open 24 hours to use the bathroom but spend a dollar or two and park in the back of the lot.

. You can tell a mormon temple by it's spire and no cross.

. Angel's Landing at Zion is listed as one of the 5 hardest hikes in the national park system and is one of the most staggeringly beautiful things you can do.

. Pronghorn aren'y antelope, but are related to goats. Their meat is, well, interesting.

' The 4 corners monument where AZ, NM, UT and Co meet is a dusty rip off to be avoided. When you speak of the 4 corners area though it means a vast part of the Colorado Plateau.

. I have a suspect generalization, but I'll stand by it. A huge change ocurred in this country in the 1800s. The adventurous, energetic and restless souls had the moxie to pick up and leave the east to venture west. That left slower, content and I've got to say, less intellectually curious people behind to affect later generatioins. That's not an indictment; but the effects last to
modern times.

. Utah has a love/hate relationship with booze shops. The state gets revenue from sales but wants the stores out of sight so they're on side streets and hard to find.

. Mountain blue grouse are no challenge to hunt. You can walk up and hit them over the head with a stick.

. Wildflower activity in Death Valley varies from year to year with blooms dependent on rain amounts in late fall. I think it was 2005 when it rained so much the desert was transformed into a colorful paradise with people kayaking on an unbelievable lake at Badwater, the blisteringly hot lowest elevation on the continent. I'm keeping an eye on rain reports at desertusa.com.

. The Civilian Conservation Corps was one of the greatest projects in american history. You can see their magnificent achievements across the west. Roads, bridges, structures, you name it, their attention to detail and beauty was amazing and their work will last far longer than anything built
today.

. Moose are usually placid as cattle except during rut. We'd shoo them out of camp when I worked for the forest service in Wyoming.

. The restaurant at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle slowly revolves.

. Saguaros don't even begin to branch until about 75 years old.

. Mount Shasta reportedly has remnants of the Lemurian civilization living underground. I didn't meet any of them.

. The Wallowas in eastern Oregon are called the american Alps for good reason.

. More Arizonians smoke than any other people I've encountered.

. A very handy thing to have while travelling is a cheap little AM-FM radio. Good to listen to while doing chores and the little pocket unit I have from Radio Shack actually gets excellent reception with th nightly AM skip. Having trouble sleeping with other people noise, car doors, coyotes, partner snoring? Tune it off station and turn the static up as white noise. FM is better.

. Sorry to say, Wendover on the NV - UT border was the butt ugliest town I've ever passed through. Too many towns in the west are beautiful to name, but the view of Moab from a mountaintop was sublime, like a green jewel nestled in folds of red rock under an achingly blue sky.