Sidetracked Charley

Dawn of Day Two The two bumps on the left side of the photo above are actual tops of the smoke column from the Ute Park Fire. I am on the safe side of that mountain. Though as a survivor of the Hondo Fire I know there is no safe side. That fire set a ground speed record (no crowning) of nine miles in a half hour. As the crow flies I am about 20 miles from the Ute Park Fire. Too close. But I set for 22 days within a mile of the Hondo Fire. Things I learned from the Hondo Fire 1) The longer you are given to evacuate, the less things you find important enough to take. Note that can include husbands.  2) Animals are important (maybe more important than husbands) and every evacuation plan should include them. 3) If you cannot take cows and horses cut your fences so they can flee. 4) Stay put until told when and how to leave. 5) You are never too tired to be totally (and instantly) awake the minute the wind shifts. 6) I will never forget the sound of an exploding Ponde...

Stand up I went to a Carson National Forest Planning meeting yesterday. I confess it has been a long time since I participated in this sort of meeting. Twenty-Five years ago I was deeply involved in saving our forests from clear cutting by logging companies. I lived in Questa and the logging trucks roared down our rural road. One day the brakes failed on one and it tumbled over into my front yard. There is nothing like that to wake you up to where the trucks were coming from and if they even should be on our road. The election of Donald Trump is a bit like that logging truck. It had no brakes, it was suppose to be taking the logs out by another route which was not lined with houses, he was driving too fast. And as it turned out he was clear cutting an area of the forest when his contract said specifically he was suppose to be leaving old growth islands. It was all about making the most money with the minimum amount of effort. I joined an organization called Carson Watch and we w...

Bluebird of Happiness To my city bound friends my new acquisition makes little sense. But if you live on the edge of a national forest in extreme drought you should consider it a survival tool: BUG OUT NECESSITY. Real estate season is beginning next month and so is fire season. While the flatlanders and out-migrators are looking for their castle in the trees abutting the seemingly lush forest us long term locals are reordering our Must-Go and emergency boxes in case there is a fire. Before moving to the wet side of the mountain I lived a half mile from the front line of the Hondo Fire for 22 days. I had watched the black and red billowing smoke signal its setting of the ground speed record of nine miles in a half hour. That was May. I bought my house in the large meadow with only one tree in November of that year. I thought I was safe. Across the street and one of the rare snows this year The hills around me are forested, however. I joke I would rather see the trees th...