Anyone seen Jenni?
Never mind. Shutter speed on camera was too quick.
The richness of the land is stunning. Notice in the distance the icon, 'Weaver's Needle'.
From the Peralta trail to Freemont and down on the other side, we get close to 'Weaver's Needle', a week later.
The other day we were in a large store, stocking up with provisions. I got talking with a woman who was rather large and so it was difficult to keep the recommended distance down one of the aisles. I enjoyed her approach to life. We met again at the check-out counter, each in our own line (queue). The store had painted wait-positions 6 feet (1.8288m for the metric populace) between each customer, allowing people to maintain the recommended distance apart. Someone forgot to think about people standing next to the register on each side of the same aisle within two-three feet of each other. Perhaps, we agreed, the virus only attacks from a full-frontal position. We don’t know but it looked like a half-measure of precaution. We wonder whether one can contract a partial dose of the virus. Anyway, we feel confident that as long as our 'fearless leaders', all powerful and full of um...confidence and caring, have agreed terms and conditions with the virus as to do's and don'ts (essential stores and services), we should be okay.
These are very serious times and one should take them in earnest and yet without humor, we would lose everything, not just our jobs, money and freedom. Seems like money is such a serious issue as the government continues to create it out of ‘thin-air’ and distribute it about, often in a random manner. We ‘love’ the concept of non-repayable loans but loath the idea that we don’t qualify. Frankly, we have difficulty understanding the term 'non-repayable loan'. It's a catchy phrase but perhaps the less exciting description such as old-fashioned subsidy would be more accurate. I suppose we're being pedantic during this time of pandemic but that's academic.
After the last financial crisis in 2008, we learned about negative interest rates. Our economic logic, our approach to life, the idea of trying to save money rather than borrow and spend has been upended. We are not embarrassed to admit we are confused by the new world, both it’s finances and type of values. Perhaps, we are old-fashioned and still understand the workings of the civilization that exists as it always has—the one outside the cities and big towns. Anyway, for years now, we’ve been trying to fathom this conundrum. Should an institution borrow money and find that the lender is actually incurring interest charges, who in fact is the lender and who is the borrower. Is the lender the borrower? We remember the phrase, “Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be” and wonder whether this modern situation was envisaged so many years ago...(continues below)
The long and winding road through a desert that's vibrant.
The lake from a different angle. We don't know about you, but it seems wherever we travel we come across treasures that appear hidden. Actually, very little is hidden: The treasures exist mostly in the open; it's that we often fail to make the effort to seek them.
Ocotillo adds to the desert's charm. You want impressive: We can even pronounce it correctly.
With the government spending an awful lot of money it does not have and people who don’t need the funds or should not receive them, benefitting from this policy, it makes one ponder. The issue of moral hazard and distortions in the system, make us fear for where this is heading. However, what do we know—our minds developed in a different era and now we’re at an age that makes it unpalatable to adopt these new concepts. We admit we are foolish. We saw much of this new behavior leading to 2000 and 2008 and the concept of rewarding those who have behaved poorly, while punishing those who were prudent. It does not sit well...in fact, it’s immoral and should be illegal.
So we continue to plod along, finding such beauty, challenges and adventuring about the world and recently, particularly in the western United States. In fact for the last seven weeks, we have based ourselves in the glorious state of Arizona. Should we not get out soon, we might just relegate Utah to our second favorite state. (Because we are not entirely without sense, we tend to close our eyes to the summer periods in these desert regions and avoid them). Nevertheless, to spend time together in Arizona, seeking and finding great places to hike, pushing the envelop a little here and there while enjoying the surge of adrenaline is at times an incredibly rewarding struggle and at the same time a privilege. With its warts and virus, the world teaches us something each and every day. In addition, there are people who really make a difference.
You don't want to hike or climb, then paddle.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
One more of the lake to cool off.
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