I had planned to do this more often but other distractions have kept me from it. Some of this nonsense goes all the way back to when I was in North Dakota which was what, nearly 3 months ago? Actually the accompanying photo goes back even longer than that and I’d forgotten I had it. Since it didn’t show up in a quick review of the blog’s archives, here it is. I shot this somewhere in Chippewa National Forest (Minnesota) which would make it sometime back in June. Don’t ask me, though. All I know is somebody nailed some boards to some trees and strategically placed a toilet seat on them, clearly visible from the road with no sign of a curtain or something that would afford a little privacy. At least it looks like they used a wooden seat that fits with the surroundings. I think a white one would have been a bit to bright and not fit in well; much more natural this way.
I had promised to talk about this way back in notes #2 and it also fell by the wayside, I think. In South Dakota the state bird is the Ring-necked Pheasant. Fine. All states seem to have official state all kinds of things. Usually, however, they are something native to that particular state. Ring-necked Pheasants are not even native to North America, they were introduced (from Asia if I remember correctly) so that “sportsman” could hunt them. From the state’s website I give you this:
It was introduced to South Dakota in 1898 and is easily recognized by its colorful plumage. It is also known for its delicious meat. Since it is primarily a Midwestern bird, pheasant is considered a delicacy in many other states.
Great reasons for a choosing a state bird, eh? “Delicious meat” and "a delicacy”. This from a “red” state in which you can probably still find “freedom fries” in some of the small towns. Oh dear.
Passing through a small town in North Dakota, another red state, I happened upon a gas station with a sign that read UNLEADED – “$1.519”. Must have closed up not long after you-know-who was elected the first time since at that time the national average was around $1.25.
Irony Department: In Wyoming I passed by a Wildlife Management Area, all nice and marshy and set aside for waterfowl. On the other side of the highway was a “state recreational site”. It had been utterly stripped of any sign of native vegetation by the hordes of ORV’s (Off-Road Vehicles) aka 4-wheelers.
No Respect Department: Still Wyoming, while I was driving around the Big Horn Mountains at over 10,000 feet on a lonely mountain road I came upon a plastic bottle that some slime ball had idly tossed aside out in the wilderness. Actually I have seen far too much of that kind of stuff in the national parks (both U.S. and Canada). In Yellowstone I saw a park employee walking down the side of the road picking up trash. I’m glad this man has a job but it is a national park people. No you shouldn’t be tossing your garbage aside anywhere but least of all in a national park.
Given the possibilities, Butte, Montana would almost certainly vie for the title of least picturesque city in North America. The mountains on the city’s north side torn apart for giant open pit copper mines and it really is ugly in my opinion.
When you think “potatoes” you usually think Idaho, right? Well, just so you know, Grant County, Washington is the #1 potato producing county in the country. It said so on the sign.
Living near coastal Florida (and other areas in the southeast, one is all too aware of the signs posted designating hurricane evacuation routes. In the state of Washington you may come across one of these:
The first one I saw was just outside the entrance to Mount Rainier. Not to be negative or anything but, do you suppose if it goes with anything close to what took place with Mount St. Helens that people who are that close will need to worry about an evacuation route very much?
Similarly, in coastal Alaska I have seen quite a few of these:
They have them in Washington and British Columbia as well.
Much of my time of late has, of course, been spent in and around many small towns far off the beaten path. And a large percentage of the time I have had access to wireless internet in the RV parks. You would think you could find it in the big cities. Calgary? I found one park with WiFi – and they wouldn’t allow dogs over 30 pounds. Edmonton? One. Dawson City, population 2,000 and way up in the Yukon? No problem.
Speaking of Edmonton, I’ve been laying low here the last couple of days catching up on some stuff I need to do but took a break earlier today to visit the West Edmonton Mall “The World’s Largest Entertainment and Shopping Center”. Part amusement park, part shopping center with some 800 stores, restaurants, etc. I only took in a small portion of it since I had other things to do but did make a small purchase at a camera store while I was there. I was floored, however, as I was making my way to the camera store and walked past “The Love Boutique” – an “adult” store right there in the mall. No mannequins sporting the latest in kinky leather attire in the storefront, though, the windows were all blocked out (darn). Usually I think of these places being in the, well, let’s be nice and just say “older” parts of town. I wonder if the employees ever “talk shop” with the employees at the Christian book store a couple of doors down . . .
(Business must be good because, in perusing the mall's website, I’ve since discovered they actually have two locations in the mall and you would have to think somebody's buying up an awful lot of vibrators for them to afford mall space.)
Finally, I took Roxie for a walk at a small park in the city today and found, in addition to swings and slides, an outdoor ice rink. Just waiting for things to freeze up. And just a few blocks away another park had an ice rink, too. Lace ‘em up boys (and girls) let’s play some hockey! Ya gotta love it.
I think I owe some of you an apology because of the way I worded last week's quiz post. I used the words "American Southwest" in describing where you might find a Bushtit (the correct answer) when actually they have a much greater range and can be found as far north as British Columbia as well as alll the way down to Central America. Some of the answers came back "Wrentit" which is a bird whose range is restricted to the Pacific Coast chaparral of California and Baja California. I am sorry if my choice of words led to any confusion.
