When I drive into Texas, I wonder how long it will be before I leave the state. Months, usually. I left Kansas, crossed the Oklahoma panhandle, and am now in Shamrock. I'm following US83 which is certainly not a touristy route, though it does go through Abilene. The region is oilfields, cattle, minerals, cow food, and wind farms. The highway is sparsely used, mostly trucks and white pickups. With the exception of the wind machine blades, I...

I'm here to pick up US83 which runs south all the way to Brownsville, Texas, which is where I was headed. Now I'm thinking of going to Corpus first. Whichever, I'll be on 83 for quite a while. I'm in an RV park, next to a wind-turbine factory. They make those huge components that you see on the interstate now and then, and I am very close to the Texas panhandle which is littered with the things. It's quite a sight, a very big operation. Tomorrow...

About a year or so ago, Kansas and Nebraska sued Colorado for legalizing cannabis, claiming that Colorado weed was coming into their state, breaking their laws. They even argued that people were driving through their states, breaking their laws. The Supreme Court listened to them and dismissed the case. States don't sue each other over such trivial things. Yesterday the Kansas Attorney General complained that Colorado pot had "permeated" the...

Normally when I write about cannabis and Colorado it's about a major freak-out over something just discovered about how to regulate the industry. As of now, there isn't a big freakout, but still a few things of interest to the regulated states. Last week a law took effect that required marking edibles with a standard symbol, and restricting labeling of edible products. This in the name of "protecting the children" but in reality is likely more...

After doing my sightseeing (mountains, city, etc) I was about to leave when my water pump failed. I have a spare, but I knew from experience that the job would take a day. A rain day was forecast (for today) so I stayed on until I got it fixed. Tomorrow I'll head to Pueblo. The water pump is easy enough to replace, 2 pipes and 2 wires. Trouble is, the builder of my house installed the pump, then built the cabinetry, the furnace, and the fridge...

I'm parked at Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, next to Boulder. The idea is to reduce the number of miles driven every day, take some day trips into the mountains, maybe visit Denver proper because I've not been there. The weather will be a bit unsettled for a few days, especially in the mountains, but otherwise quite pleasant.

I'm at 7th Ranch RV Park nearby Little Bighorn, a place I first stayed at years ago, and it's even better now. The views are spectacular from here. I asked for a place on top, and got the uppermost space with a view of the visitor center out my back window. I saw my first pronghorn (this trip) yesterday, as well as prairie dogs. Blackbirds have assembled astounding flocks, the first of the vanguard heading south. My RV attracted thousands of...

Hypothetically, let's say you are traveling from Washington to Colorado through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. How do the pot laws compare? Possessing one ounce of cannabis is legal in Washington, as it is in Colorado. In Idaho, possessing up to one ounce is a year in prison and a $1000 fine. Spokane in particular, but all the Washington counties bordering Idaho show much higher average consumption rates than their native population suggests,...

It was cold this morning, 38. But today I made it out of Butte and over the last hump of mountains and could see some grass and big sky. Haven't spotted any pronghorns yet, but I'm watching. One option is to head to Tetons, but I don't think I want to deal with any more mountains. I got over the divide, and I want to stay on this side of it for now. Tomorrow I head to Big Horn National Monument, specifically a nice RV park just a few miles away...

You don't need to go far to get from Spokane to Montana. I'll be on I-90 for a while, but I set up today for dry camping. That means I can park anywhere no matter what the services. I'm in the mountains heading for more, and welcome it. I am in no hurry to get through them, but my goal is to get to the plains. Writing from Haugan, MT, at a free rv park behind a gas station next to I-90.

After the quiet of the other night's stay on top of a knoll overlooking millions of acres of irrigated desert, I'm parked up against a freeway in Spokane, actually the City of Spokane Valley, which is it's own city next to Spokane and seems to be devoted to the industrial side of life. It's a great location for exploring the area, but it would be nicer if there was some place nearby to explore. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, so I added another...

I hadn't planned on hanging out in Yakima as long as I did, but after waiting to get my truck fixed I added another couple of days so I could hang out at a golf tourney in memory of my brother. So now I'm heading east. The corn and tomatoes are excellent in Yakima right now. Hops seem to be taking over the valley. Yakima is the source for 75% of the world's hops, and demand has been increasing hugely. Meanwhile, demand for apples is going up...