On to the Yukon

Our trip today took us from Fort Nelson B.C. to Watson Lake Yukon.  We headed into the Rockies.  To build this part of the highway the Army used local trappers, hunters and bush pilots to plot out a route.

Today was a day for spotting animals.  We were not far outside of Fort Nelson when I spotted a lynx in the dry grass about 25 feet from the road.  He looked right at me.  We were going too fast for a picture.  But 60 kilometers further down the road we came upon caribou licking the road.  It had just rained in this spot and there was something they liked.  We had to drive around them.  Caribou are about a smart as cows.  Not very.

At Summit Lake a marmot popped his head up for a picture.  Really marmots are beggars. Since the Lake was still frozen, pickings had been slim for him.  He was probably hoping I would throw him a sandwich. No such luck.

Not much further on we saw some moose. Right before the big sign that said Caution Moose!

William coaxed them to turn and pose.

Toad River was the color of glacial melt water, blue-green opaque.  An elk with a big rack of antlers was hanging around the road near Muncho Lake.  The ice was cracking up on the lake.  A lot of the businesses along the highway seem to be either closed up or for sale. William says the tourist traffic to Alaska has been down.  We have met Alaskans rushing home to plant their gardens and other people headed to Alaska to visit like us.

Above Muncho Lake there is a big sign Caution Bison!  Along the cleared roadsides, about 50 feet wide, there are piles that really look like Buffalo Chips.  Finally we spot Buffalo at the Laird River.

We stop for lunch and a dip at the Laird Hot Springs. No charge as it is really not officially open yet.  But the Hot Springs are always available.  We walk about a 1/4 mile along a nice sturdy boardwalk to the springs.  There is a changing room and the pool is lovely.

We saw many more bison on the last leg of the day into Watson Lake.  We had our choice of the one RV Park in town that is open and functioning.  It has good wifi here in the laundry room and is right next to Wye Lake.  William went for a walk around the lake while I was blogging.  I was afraid he would take his discs with him and lose one on the lake ice in this howling wind.  The RV owner said it has been windy non stop for two years.  "It never used to be like this." 

The Alaska Highway

We started out from Lynx Creek Campground early this morning as we had 5 or 6 hours to drive depending on what book you read.  Since it was early, we saw about 8 deer in groups on the edge of the road.  Thankfully none of them decided to run across the highway.  Since they are just the color of the dead grass at the edge of the road, they were harder to spot than the big darker animals.

Finally we turn the corner on to the Alaska Highway. The US Army built the Alcan in 7 months in 1942.  In the days before privatization overtook the military, ordinary soldiers did the construction work. Thirty thousand of them.

This highway has become vital for the oil and gas industry in B.C.  Roads lead off on either side to fracking sites.  Huge work camps have been set up.  Portable buildings with 3 "apartments/rooms" are set up in rows.  

Mostly the road is dreary.  Wide mowed shoulders make it easier to watch for animals. But all we see is a small black bear running across the road in front of us near Pink Mountain. This is not my picture. But it looks like the bear that ran into the woods.

The facilities along our route  to Fort Nelson consist of widely spaced pullouts with litter baskets, bear proof.

We were delayed at one flagman stop for quite a while.  When we finally went by the site workmen were hosing off the road and I spotted a vehicle tires up off the road.  This was at the bottom of a long steep grade with a curve at the bottom.  We decided the firetruck we had seen go past in the opposite direction might have come from this accident.

The forest is odd. The trees are close together, spindly and almost like a pygmy forest in most places.  There must be a problem with the soil, because at times the trees were robust. If we had seen an office of the Forest District when we came into town, I would have liked to stop and ask what was up with the forest.

The gas gauge was approaching empty and we might have stopped for gas when we saw a Shell sign.  But it looked like the owners had just abandoned the shop.  Maybe they just took off to work in the gas fields.

The museum in town won't open until the weekend of the 19th of May. Some big Canadian holiday.  William says Victoria Day.  The visitor center was supposed to be open, but had a big closed sign on it.  The RV park cashier speculated that they were cleaning up after some big trade show that they had over the weekend.

We made good time, so we stopped early. But this is a good spot and William needed a break.

  

Further North More Wildlife

This morning started about 2AM when I got up to use the bathroom.  I saw the supermoon and pulled the upper passenger window curtains to have a good view.  William said it would have looked better low to the horizon, but there were too many trees.
We headed north out of Prince George B.C. on 97 and saw a lot of wildlife in the next 100 Kilometers.  We were looking at the snow on the side of the road and partially frozen lakes.  But thankfully kept an eye on the road.
First before Bear Lake we saw a small black bear, less than 2 years old,  who changed his mind about crossing the road when he saw us.  Not too long after we saw a moose about the same age as the bear who also turned back from the road.
Then there was a highway sign. Accident ahead, stop for flagman.  When we were waved past there was a twisted and burnt up RV that had been loaded on a flatbed.  You could still smell the smoke though the accident had obviously happened hours before. Some other workmen were shoveling ash? off of the roadway. This was on a straight stretch of highway.  Maybe the RV had swerved for an animal?
Four eyes were watching carefully for anything on or near the road.  Not long after we saw two caribou. One just stood in the roadway and another with antlers in velvet just loped across in front of us before they ambled off together.

Finally we got to Chetwynd.  I took this picture of a Sikh Temple that was right next to a grocery store we stopped at.
Tonight we are camped near Hudson's Hope.  The wine was purchased in Canada.  They don't let you bring much in.  This was not a great wine. Took two nights to finish it. Note the screw top.

This picture is looking across the Peace River at the bluffs where we are told elk often come to graze.  No elk now, but plenty of terracets on the hillsides that are evidence of their passage.

Eagle in the ditch

May 5th
Today we continued north.  Some of the light rain was snow spit.  We came upon a huge blood spot on the road from a road kill and there was a lovely eagle sitting proudly on the kill in the ditch.

Pretty uneventful day otherwise.  We went through a nice museum in Quesnel.

They have a big festival called Billy Barker Days in July.  So I asked who was Billy Barker and was told that he was a miner who really struck it rich in the nearby historic town of Barkerville.  He died a poor man however as he spent all his riches on whiskey and women.  We are staying at SouthPark RV Park outside of Prince George.  Snow at the edge of the swampy hiking trails.

First day in Canada

May 4

We went through border security this AM.  Not too bad. We did get pulled over, but just to get rid of some broccoli, cauliflower and an apple.  The other fruits and vegetables we had were OK.
Most of our trip today was through steep u shaped valleys.  Probably glacial shaped.
When it was sunny I spotted a marmot sunning on a boulder.
We traveled on mostly back roads from Osoyoos to Cache Creek. Near the end of the day we passed "Otto" driving the empty school bus back, smoking what might have been a cigarette, or not.  He was really racing along.  The only time we could beat him was up hill.  He knew all the twists and turns.    

Poised at the Border

May 3
We had to stop to get a leak in the gray water system fixed this AM. Luckily it was not too involved and we headed back up 97A to our next stop, the Rocky Reach Dam.  Only one lonely fish on the fish ladder.  But the Museum was interesting and very well done.  We stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe, the Apple Cup.  Always careful with the calories I opted for the veggie wrap and cup of soup.  The wrap was 90% shredded lettuce with a whiff of cream cheese.  William had the beef super burrito.  It looked like a tank on his plate.  He brought a chunk back.  We traveled through more semi arid country with apple orchards watered by river irrigation.  In Oroville we are staying at the River Oaks RV Resort.  After I did the laundry we took a hike around town before dinner. The weather continues to be cloudy and cold with misty rain.  The locals have said the springs recently have been much wetter than normal in this country that normally gets only 10 inches of rain per year.  Tomorrow we head into Canada. 

From April to May

Days 4,5 & 6

April 30, May 1 and May 2

Days are flying by but we are traveling slowly as we are stopping to see the sights on the way and we go through museums very slowly. Bill says, “ We keep the old lady docents awake when we are there.”

We both found the Yakama Nation Museum in Toppenish WA a lovely spiritual experience. It was a place to slowly meditate through. We boondocked this night at a free BLM campground in the Yakima River Canyon. We crossed the river on a suspension bridge and hiked along a long trail next to the river.

The next day we stopped in Cashmere and went to the Cashmere Museum and Pioneer Village. The Museum had its high points and low points. I am less fond of museums that are just collections donated by individuals. The natural history dioramas were worth going to the museum.
The Pioneer Village which is on the museum grounds was impressive. The individual cabins were moved to this location and furnished authentically. Very worthwhile.

We spent last night at the Wenatchee Confluence State park. No rangers, just a rather poor method of self pay for campsites. This is blamed on funding cutbacks.

This morning we spent a long time hiking around the Ohme Gardens. Interestingly the State gave this site over to the county to manage in 2008. The county had a county jail inmate crew weeding.

We hiked up and down across the park on stone paths and stairs. Amazing stone benches and lots of waterfalls.

We lunched out in Wenatchee at a small restaurant recommended by the young cashier at the Gardens, The Tropical Salvadorean. We tried for authentically Salvadorean dishes. William had a hand made corn tortilla cooked with meat and cheese inside and a sandwich of some kind of fry bread with chicken and avocado. I had a plate that was called a salad with fried cassava root, pork, slaw and hot sauce. We will have leftovers and a few more vegetables for dinner.

We walked to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Much of the downstairs is being redone, but we enjoyed what was available. The Great Northern Railroad diorama was fun. I put in quarters to run the train and sound the whistle and horn. A docent demonstrated how all the old apple sorting machines worked. She had to take the lift back upstairs. We were OK with the stairs. William liked the apple labels and the crouching man statue in front.

Tonight we are back at the Wenatchee Confluence State park. The campers on either side of us must be here for the Apple Blossom Festival that gets into high gear tomorrow. We don't plan to stay. They both have raging bonfires and stacks of wood, fancy tablecloths and pots of flowers on the table.

Three Days Closer to Alaska

4/29/12

This morning we spent an enjoyable couple of hours in the warm mineral pool at Kah-nee-tah. I thought to get some exercise by treading water in the 10 foot deep end. The only problem with this is I float well anyway and even better in highly mineralized water. I was out there more than ½ hour. Maybe I got some exercise.

We took off at about one intending to go on a back road through the reservation, but we had forgotten that we turned off the main road to get to Kah-nee-tah. We had to turn around and backtrack a few miles.

After we crossed the Columbia we went up to the Stonehenge replica that Samuel Hill built as a memorial to the local World War I dead. We were here before in 1979. We took the kids out of school in 2/79 and traveled up here for a spectacular total solar eclipse. Our first ever. We watched it from the parking lot of the Maryhill Art Museum.

After visiting the replica we decided to camp nearby at Peach Beach Campark. A few geese here and 13 babies. I don't think 13 will make it to adulthood. Maybe 2 or 3. But geese can't count, so it will be OK.

Now I am finally posting.  My laptop was having a problem and it took the high speed internet here at Peach Beach to fix it.

Snug As Bears

4/28/2012

We were as snug as two bears in a nest under the down comforter this morning despite the cold temperature. But William got up to start the coffee. Darn. The bag of coffee was a bag of whole beans. We rushed around and pulled out of Collier State Park in 45 minutes, looking for coffee.

We stopped at Diamond Lake Junction Cafe. We were the only ones there. The waitress also did the cooking. The food was very good but not very weight watchery. We both ate just half and took the other half in to go boxes. The waitress/cook was not good at addition however and William had to correct her addition on our bill.

After we found an Albertsons in Bend to buy ground coffee (we also ground the bag we had). We went on to Smith Rock State Park outside of Terrebonne. It was really crowded, mostly with rock climbers. Thankfully there was a spot left in the RV parking. We walked from one end of the upper area to the other and all along the Rim trail, stopping to look at the tiny climbers inching their way up the huge rock formations.

After lunch we drove on and stopped at the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint. Three hundred feet straight down the cliff face. “Watch your dogs. Many dogs have died here.”

It was getting time to stop for the night so we headed to Kah-Nee-Ta in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. We will soak in the hot springs pool in the morning.

We Leave Redding

4/27/2012 Time to get busy writing. Our trip officially began today as we pulled out from our friends and almost relatives house, Frank and Robbin Borden, in Redding. We are heading north to Alaska. Our first side trip was outside of Weed on highway 97. We stopped at the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden. Ten huge and unique welded sculptures capture many feelings about soldiers and war. You can tell that a lot of emotion went into these sculptures.

Photo of The Nurses sculpture.

 As we passed through Klamath Falls I reminisced about my family's move from Florida. Dad was looking at a trade school in Klamath Falls, but when we arrived he did not like how it looked, so we headed down to the bay area. What if we had stayed in Klamath Falls? Children are at the mercy of where their parents take them. I certainly would not have gone to Berkeley.
 We wound up in a tiny apartment in Richmond. I slept in the living room on the couch. We went out to pick fruit and mom canned in the tiny pullman kitchen. I was almost 12 and was let to ride public transportation to the library and wander around the neighborhood. We were in the East Bay about 2 months before moving to Daly City across the bay.

 Our next stop was at the Collier State Park Logging Museum. William appreciated the logging equipment more than I did. Although the wood fired locomotive nicknamed the old GOP (get out and push) for its habit of running off the tracks, was funny.

We are nested in at the state campground just across the highway at the confluence of Spring Creek and the Williamson River. It is quite cold and spit a few bits of snow. I think the Hungarian goose down comforter we brought along in case of cold weather will be just right.

 William has prepared the typical Baker bonfire for later.

Coyote Dreams

In August of 2011 William and I were on a houseboat cruise with friends to celebrate Barrie's 70th birthday. The first night we slept inside on a fold down bed and found it somewhat uncomfortable. We had brought a blowup mattress and William decided instead of putting it up on top of the fold out bed we would put it out on the front deck. We were tied up close to the shore with the bottom of the boat front actually touching the slope.
The night was quite dark. In the middle of the night I felt an animal come close to my face. I reached out and touched deep fur and pushed it away. I woke again a bit later to feel it curled up near my legs on top of the bed. Again I pushed it away and felt it sort of jump over William and leave.
In the morning I mentioned the animal and at the time thought it must have been a cat as I had never had any other animal other than a cat in my bed. Everyone thought I must have been dreaming, but I wondered about that.
If you are sleeping on a houseboat, would you dream that you are sleeping on a houseboat? I also thought that the animal I felt could not have been a cat as it was too large, the fur was too deep and there was no purring.
Coyotes will sleep anywhere that it is comfortable. I think I looked like a good place to sleep to a coyote. The trickster strikes again.

Impossible Vegetable Pie

Every time I decide to make this recipe I have to search my recipe file for it. I keep thinking it is Vegetable Pie. Tonight I made it with about 8 small mushrooms, cut up and placed on top of the chopped onion. I had no green or red pepper so I just left that ingredient out. The other vegetables, slightly cooked, were a leftover 1/2 of a zucchini and some beet greens. Served with a bit of medium hot salsa on the side it is superb. We also had a few baby carrots and sliced tomatoes on the side.

Impossible vegetable pie

2 cups chopped vegetables
Cooked 5 minutes in water and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper or red pepper (optional)
Mix vegetables in sprayed pan
Top with 1 cup shredded cheese
Mix 2/3 cup baking mix, 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper
Pour over vegetables and cheese and Bake 400 degrees 35-40 minutes

Cooking Again

Dinner last night was a delicious seafood pasta with a side of steamed rainbow chard from our farm share.

Seafood Pasta

Ingredients
8 oz fettuccine (I prefer fettuccine and linguini however it\'s also fine with spaghetti)
8 oz peeled shrimps or mixed seafood (you can use scallops, squid or mussels)
1 tbs of butter
extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup Mexican creama if unavailable use 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup sour cream
coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
handful of fresh basil leaves thin chopped
Method
In a large frying pan heat the butter and 2 tbs of olive oil. Add chili and garlic and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Increase the heat and add the seafood. Cook stirring until the seafood has a golden crust (3-4 minutes). Remove the seafood from the pan and keep warm.

Return the pan with oil and juices on medium heat. Add the wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Reduce the wine to 2/3 of the volume. Add the cream, lemon zest and heat. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Bring water to boil in a large pan, add salt and 2 tbs olive oil. Cook the fettuccine, drain.

Add fettuccine and seafood to the pan with cream sauce and mix well. Serve immediately sprinkled with fresh basil and grated Parmesan.


Dessert was watermelon balls with blueberries mixed together with a bit of sugar and a slice of banana bread.

Banana Bread

Ingredients
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix applesauce and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in bananas.

Sift together dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Mix until well blended. Pour into greased 9-by-9-by-2-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is all browned. Cut into squares when cool.
This is my old time favorite.


This morning it is time to make granola. I have been making this and storing it in quart jars since we lived in Sawyers Bar.

Homemade Granola

1 lg box oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 jar wheat germ
2 cups soy flour
2 cups milk powder
2 cups ground/chopped almonds
2 cups sesame seeds
2 cups sunflower seeds
Mix dry ingredients together

4 cups honey mixed with 1 cup of oil (Heating this mixture in a saucepan makes it easier to mix into the dry ingredients)

Mix all together and toast in large pans in 350 degree oven about 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir to prevent scorching. Store in airtight containers.

Root Soup

What's for dinner!

Root Veggie Soup (a riff on Briar Patch's recipe)
Makes 4-6 servings
8 c water and 2 knorr chicken bullion cubes
2 large white potatoes, diced
2 celery stalks
1 small onion, cut in medium pieces
4 small beets, cut in medium pieces
2 garlic cloves
fresh parsley
1 tsp ground nutmeg rounded
1 tbls chipotle hot sauce
4 ounces cream cheese
½ tsp black pepper
baked or fried tortilla strips for garnish
In a large pot boil vegetables in broth until tender, approximately 20 minutes. Blend vegetables in batches in a blender or food processor or use stick blender until smooth and return to the pot. In one of the batches, blend hot sauce and cream cheese. Add nutmeg and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 7 minutes.Serve and garnish with tortilla strips.

This is great. Wonderfully tasty!

This is Reagan

This is an article sent to William by Alan Bier that is well worth repeating.

President Obama may choose between giving in to Republican budget-slashing demands or defaulting on US debt for the first time [GALLO/GETTY] 
As things stand today, the US is hurtling toward a budget showdown in less than a month. Either President Obama will once again capitulate to extreme Republican budget-slashing demands, making Democrats seem as much of a threat to Medicare as Republicans, and virtually ensuring a GOP electoral sweep in 2012, or the US will default on its debt for the first time in its history, most likely plunging the world economy back into another five-continent recession, also costing Democrats the 2012 elections. These are the options left for a president and a political class completely divorced both from reality, and its own history of how one of the three greatest US presidents of all time steered the country from the brink of collapse eight decades ago
Entirely forgetting the real history of how Franklin D Roosevelt used activist government to save American capitalism from itself, the entire US political establishment is instead hypnotized by the false history woven around its most over-hyped president of all time: Ronald Reagan.  Idolatry of Reagan's supposed tax-cutting wonders propels the now widespread economic belief that up is down, that cutting government spending is the way out of - rather than into - a severe recession. At the same time, idolatry of Reagan's supposed political wonders propels GOP extremists to ignore all other considerations.  
Because of this hypnotism, America's political establishment has barely even begun to notice two unconventional possible ways out that remain, neither of which require anything from Congress, but both of which need bold presidential leadership ala FDR. 
The first is to ignore the debt ceiling, relying directly on the 14th Amendment's statement that: "the validity of the public debt of the United States … shall not be questioned". The second is a proposal from maverick Republican Ron Paul to have the Federal Reserve Board destroy the $1.6 trillion in government bonds that it currently holds, which progressive economist Dean Baker recently wrote, "actually makes a great deal of sense". It might take some arm-twisting on Obama's part, but Congress has no say over the Fed, and central bankers have no great love of spreading financial panic.
In anything close to a sane world, either one of these two bold strokes would be widely hailed for avoiding a reckless threat to the still-fragile world economy. But we do not live in a sane world, and the idolatry of Ronald Reagan is one of the principle reasons why. This is why it behooves us to review some of the principle lies involved with Ronald Reagan's record, focusing specifically on the economy. What follows is but a brief rundown.
The idea that Reagan produced a uniquely booming economy is false
First, Reagan's record on the economy was not just exaggerated by his boosters, it's almost exactly the opposite of what they claim. It was a fairly ordinary time by the most common measurements of economic growth, looking good only in comparison with a selective time-slice of the 1970s. But once you start looking beneath the surface even the tiniest bit, the picture turns very dark indeed.
In terms of the most basic measure of economic growth - increase in gross domestic product (GDP) - the vaunted "Reagan boom" was an unremarkable period of time. If we look at Reagan's eight years, and compare them with Clinton's and JFK/LBJ's, Reagan comes in dead last, with 31.7 per cent compared with Clinton's 33.1 per cent and JFK/LBJ's 47.1 per cent. Only Nixon/Ford's eight years make Reagan look good, with a mere 26.2 per cent growth.
The idea that Reagan brought prosperity is true only for those at the top, not for average American workers
If we examine incomes, we discover that Reagan's eight years marked a real take-off for inequality, while average incomes stagnated. The income growth of the top once per cent was ten times that of everyone else during his term: 61.5 per cent versus 6.15 per cent. Under JFK/LBJ, the bottom 99 per cent actually did better: gaining 30.9 per cent compared with 26.9 per cent for the top once per cent. And while inequality continued to rise under Clinton, the bottom 99 per cent did more than twice as well as they did under Reagan, gaining 16.7 per cent compared with 56.6 per cent for the wealthiest one per cent.
The idea that Reagan was good for the American economy in general is false 
Reagan was a disaster for the American economy in at least four fundamental ways: 

   Debtor Nation Status: Under Ronald Reagan, the US went from being the world's largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in just a few years - and we have remained the largest debtor nation ever since. In 1981, Reagan's first year in office, the US was a net creditor to the tune of $140.9bn. By 1984, that had shrunk to just $3.3bn - and the next year, the US shifted from being a creditor nation to a debtor nation for the first time in almost 70 years. By 1987, the US was a net debtor by $378.3bn - the largest debtor nation in the world. The figure rose to $532.5bn by the end of 1988, when Reagan left office.
   Deindustrialisation: While the percentage of industrial jobs in the economy had been declining since the 1950s, with the growth of the service sector, the raw number of industrial jobs continued to increase right up through 1979, just before the 1980/1982 double-dip recession. From that year onward, the number of industrial jobs began declining, with a smattering of years when the number would increase. In addition to the raw number of jobs declining, the number of unionized jobs and the number of jobs with American companies declined even further. 
   Personal indebtedness: The income stagnation that began under Reagan has had a devastating impact on personal savings. While it fluctuated considerably, the personal savings rate had more than doubled between 1949 and 1982, from 5.0 per cent up to 11.2 per cent. Ironically, one of the main stated purposes of the Kemp-Roth tax cuts, the basis for Reagan's 1981 tax cut bill, was to boost personal savings. Instead, they plunged precipitously, falling all the way down into negative territory by 2006.
   Government Indebtedness: The idea that Reagan was "fiscally conservative" is false. The story of government indebtedness was even more bleak. Before Reagan, debt really wasn't a problem for America. From World War II to 1981, every president had reduced the debt as a percentage of GDP, except for the divided term of Nixon-Ford, which saw a tiny 0.2 per cent increase.  
The debt-to-GDP ratio is much more significant than the debt alone, since the GDP represents the nation's total capacity to pay off the debt. And from WWII to 1981, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell from almost 120 per cent down to just down to just 32.5 per cent. The sharpest drop came early on, but even during the supposed "big government" heyday of the Kennedy/Johnson years, the ratio fell by over 16 per cent in eight years. Conservatives then might have complained about the debt - and they certainly did - but no one knowledgeable about economics took them seriously, because the debt grew significantly slower than our ability to repay it.
During Reagan's term, this changed dramatically. The ratio rose by over 20 per cent, and it rose another 13 per cent under his successor, George Bush Sr. It took a Democrat, Bill Clinton, to get the ratio headed down again - by almost 10 per cent during his two terms, before Bush Jr sent it skyrocketing again - by almost 28 per cent. It's rising fast under Obama as well - but that's to be expected as a result of the worst recession since the 1930s. 
The idea that Ronald Reagan consistently opposed tax increases is false
The idea that Ronald Reagan always opposed tax increases is completely untrue.  He raised taxes dramatically as Governor of California in 1967 - by a whopping 30 per cent. But he also raised them as president - 11 times. Sure, his 1981 tax increase, along with three smaller increases, was much larger than his total tax cuts. But his willingness to raise as well as lower taxes would have made him at least somewhat compatible with President Obama, and totally unacceptable to movement conservatives today, especially Tea Partiers.
Bruce Bartlett was a leading supply-side economist in the 1970s, who helped draft the Kemp-Roth tax bill as a staff economist for Congressman Jack Kemp. He went on to serve in both the Reagan and Bush I administrations. In an April 2010 blog post, listing Reagan's 11 presidential tax hikes and four tax cuts, Bartlett wrote: "It may come as a surprise to some people that, once upon a time in the not-too-distant past, Republicans actually cared enough about budget deficits that they thought raising taxes was necessary to bring them down. Today, Republicans believe that deficits are nothing more than something to ignore when they are in power and to bludgeon Democrats with when they are out of power." 
Bartlett was obviously overstating his case, given how the debt skyrocketed under Reagan. But things would have clearly been much, much worse if Reagan had never raised taxes. And if Reagan were around today, he would no doubt be denounced as a "socialist" for all the tax increases he signed onto.
The idea that Reagan's tax cuts spurred job creation is false
As noted in Bartlett's table of tax cuts and increases, Reagan followed up his 1981 tax cuts with increases in 1982 and 1983. And for good reason: The unemployment rate - already high when Reagan took office - continued to skyrocket after his tax cuts were passed - peaking at 11.2 percent in 1983, when the jobless rate finally started to come down. The exact mixture of cause and effect over such an extended period may be subject to debate. But one thing is certain: Reagan's 1981 tax cuts did not magically result in job creation in anything like the way that conservatives nowadays mindlessly claim.
The idea that Reagan changed America's mind about taxes and the role of government is false
Political scientist James Stimson, author of Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings, has constructed an index of economic liberalism based on hundreds of public opinion questions asked repeatedly over the years. This index reached a low-point in 1980 and rose dramatically for the next seven years, reaching a plateau at levels not seen since Nixon's first term, as if Reagan's rhetoric were convincing more and more people of the exactly the opposite of what he was saying.  
This rise was reflected, for example, in four questions asked in the General Social Survey, the most-cited data source for social scientists after the US Census. Between 1980 and 1990, the number of people saying the government was spending "too little" nationally increased 27.4 per cent on health care, 32.9 per cent on education, 67.8 per cent on welfare and 46.7 per cent on the environment. The questions all reminded people that increased taxes might be required if more was spent.  
What's more, 20 years after Reagan's election, in 2000, federal tax receipts as a percent of GDP were up 8.4 per cent over what they had been the year Reagan was elected, indisputable proof that government's role had ultimately not decreased across that time-span.
The idea that Reagan was a singularly popular president is false
Reagan was quite fortunate in getting re-elected in 1984 when his popularity was particularly high, but that was not true of his record in general. According to Gallup, Reagan's overall average approval rating was only 52.8 per cent, lower than John F Kennedy (70.1 per cent), Dwight Eisenhower (65 per cent), GHW Bush (60.1 per cent), Bill Clinton (55.1 per cent), and Lyndon Johnson (55.1 percent). It's only modestly higher than George W Bush (49.4 per cent) and Richard Nixon (49.1 per cent). 
Summing Up
Surveying all these lies in a single panorama, it should be clear that neither Reagan's economic record nor his political one should provide any case at all for embracing conservative economics. Quite the opposite: They clearly point to failure on both counts. What's more, the only reason his mythology is possible at all is because he significantly backtracked by raising taxes, when doing otherwise would have completely exposed the failure of his principal economic intentions.
President Obama is as drunk on Reagan's Kool-aid as anyone else in Washington today. It will be difficult indeed for him to break the spell in time to save the country - and himself - from repeating the economic disaster that conservative policies led to just before he was elected.
One thing about Reagan is true, however: His wife did play a significant role in saving him from following ideologues into dangerous folly on a number of occasions. Perhaps Michelle Obama is America's last best hope.  Perhaps she can see what her husband thus far cannot.
Paul Rosenberg is the Senior Editor of Random Lengths news, a bi-weekly alternative community newspaper.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

The Debt Ceiling

I feel that I really need to write on this subject as too many people do not understand the threat. Just 6 months ago no one in the leadership of the Republican or Democratic Party was believing that the debt ceiling was going to be a problem. This spring President Obama was asked why he did not secure a raise in the debt ceiling along with the concessions that avoided a government shutdown. No problema. He did not believe that the raising of the debt ceiling would be a problem.
Republicans started out strong with the same hostage deal. Cut spending before the debt ceiling will be raised. They first held out an offer of some revenue increases, but have since said no closing of any tax loopholes for corporations or millionaires. The amount of the raising of the debt ceiling must be matched by spending cuts, preferably to Medicare and Social Security. Republicans want cuts to only impact the poor, middle class and elderly and defund safety programs and programs that will regulate Wall Street.
What is the debt ceiling? Many people seem to feel that this is a limit on future spending and will cause no real problems. Shut down the government? No problema. The debt ceiling is past budget obligations. All that deficit spending by 4 years of the Bush administration has now become a problem to Washington. Debt has been entered into and now the Republicans do not want to pay.
If we had not included the Bush Tax Cuts in the deal to avoid a government shutdown, the debt would be on course to be paid off in 10 years. A government shutdown would have been less painful than what is headed our way.
What will be the consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling even for a short time? Interest rates will shoot up. And you though it was hard to borrow now? The amount of the US debt will raise rapidly. The stock market will plummet sharply 800 or more points. The big earners are protecting their money with investments in short funds. Even if the sudden problems in the economy shake up the Congress so that they then pass a raise in the debt ceiling we will feel the pain for 30 years.
The economy will slow to a stop. No loans, no construction. Forget selling your house and moving to where you might get a job. The consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling will be spread throughout the world as banks are invested all over the world. Bank failures will pick up and even big banks will fail.
Because the unemployment rate will shoot up as we are forced into another recession, the Republicans will probably win the presidency and many elections in 2012. Even though people will initially blame the Republicans for the horror, it is 16 months until the election. Sixteen months of suffering will lead the people who vote to lash out at the closest target. Corporate funded advertising will redirect the blame to President Obama.
With a Republican president and Republican House and Senate we can expect a Ryan budget in spades. Destruction of Medicare and Social Security, no more cost of living increases for federal pensions. More war, less war who knows? For sure advancement of the Republican's social agenda. No abortions. No minimum wage. No rights for gays. Perhaps a return to laws against gays. No rights for workers. No workplace safety rules. Caveat emptor will be the law of the land.
I am fairly old, but I may live to see the thirty years of suffering that just failing to raise the debt ceiling may bring.

A Busy Weekend in May

On Saturday and Sunday Morning we attended the local Garden Tour. We took lots of pictures and now have to remember what we were liking about that particular garden.
This garden concept may be doable for us with small developed areas within a natural woodland setting. Of course we loved this huge garden with a surprise around every corner.

I think the boccie ball court is a possibility to replace the old badminton court at the bottom of the yard.

We have put in a few plants in the front. But more work in the front has to be done after the tree man pollards the two horrible trees in the yard. William will then get rid of the high stumps and plant something nicer.

Saturday evening was the Annual Democrats Jefferson/Jackson fundraiser dinner. I baked a pecan pie for the dessert run. I think all had a good time and a good deal of money was raised.

Sunday we had an early soul food dinner at the Hornings with a lovely black eye pea soup. I brought corn bread made with the stone ground corn meal I bought in the Great Smokies and another pecan pie. After dinner we all raced to downtown Grass Valley to attend the tribute to Aretha Franklin at the Center for the Arts. A great time was had by all.

Cinco de Mayo

We finished our little 9,600 mile drive on May 3rd by traveling over the Kingsbury Grade and down to Lake Tahoe. The lushness of the Carson River Valley is so evident from our high perch as we chug up over the grade.We stop at the scenic Emerald Bay rest stop, still closed by snow.And see that Lake Tahoe is still a beautiful blue.
We just happen to arrive at the Bridge Tender for lunch. No fries, we are fried out. But Moose Drool Brown Ale on draft sounds good to Bill. Our meal was great, but we were ready to leave. The waitress had left the bill, but we needed change to pay. We waited. Finally I got up and walked to the bar and caught her as she dashed past.

Home at last.

The plant in the entry is dead so I replace it with a few sprigs of the pink dogwood blooming in the back.Out to lunch on Cinco de Mayo at Amigos & Company. We both enjoy the fish taco lunch special next to the rushing water of Deer Creek. I am smart enough to ask for my Bud Lite in a glass. I may have plebeian taste, but I don't have to advertise it. Bill is happy with Negro Modelo on draft.

Dinner is some very good homemade tortilla soup and pecan pie. The soup was great and the pie was very tasty. I just have to work on the baking technique, so it comes out of the pan easier. I think if I not only spray the pan, but also slightly bake the crust before putting in the filling, it would work.

Why we drive 395

Since a picture is good for 1000 words I'll save time and offer this as a reason for driving 395 as we head home. The valley is dry, but the mountains are lovely. Not so windy today, so the driver is spared some work.We take a loop on 89 up over Monitor Pass.And stop for lunch on a broad paved turnout just below the summit.
Our purpose was to come to Grover Hot Springs.

Nice hot water but too much algae for me. I like the miracle cure mineral combination of Tecopa better. There was a fairly shallow hot water pool and a regular water deep cool pool. We met a couple who came to Sacramento from the Ukraine in the early 90's. They come here 3 or 4 times a year.
After Grover we head down to Minden and dinner at JT Basque Bar and Dining Room. The food is great, as long as you refrain from local specialties like sweetbreads or tripe and pigs foot stew. The service is friendly family style. If you are there for dinner, you get all the courses. Soup, jug of red wine, salad, rice dish, bean dish, entree, fries and dessert. Some locals indulge in too much picon punch and play bar dice too loud. But it is part of the atmosphere.
We just spent the night in the RV park run by the Carson Valley Inn. Nice and simple. And today we will just have a nice drive home around the west shore of Lake Tahoe.

Leaving Las Vegas

Since we are not Las Vegas affectionatos, we left via the highway and headed to Tacopa Hot Springs. But wait, there is the road to China Ranch Date farm. Deeper down in a wash than we remember. Good thing there has been no rain lately. I exit to the friendly advances of the resident weimaraner. It wants to hop in the RV to greet William, but is obedient when he says no. Then some other people come over with a small white fluff dog. The weimaraner wants to make friends and play. The little dog rolls over to play and its oblivious owners keep walking for a bit dragging it in the dust. Hysterical. Everyone else here seems to have come for a date milkshake. We bought some Deglet Noor dates, a small date loaf and some syrup. We have done the tour before so we head on to the hot springs. An hour of soaking in the miracle cure hot springs is good for what ails us.
Refreshed we drive on down the road. The Owens Lake basin looks better every time we see it. The City and County of LA are doing their best, under court order, to rehab their destruction. I still would never live in the town of Keeler.
Not a big flower year in Death Valley, but I would love to stay in the Furnace Creek Inn someday.
A fast drive through Death Valley still marveling at the scenery for the umpteenth time. We tool into the Boulder Creek Resort outside of Lone Pine and settle in to our #12 spot in the shadow of Mt. Whitney.