I was walking down the road the other day, and a truck passed by with one of those pickup bed campers

They are so big and bulky even on a 3/4 or maybe 1 ton pickup truck. Really not my thing — who wants that big-ass camper swinging back and forth on your truck bed as you go down the road? Then again, I’m really not into all that comfortable padding stuff and the comforts of home — while I like my camper shell, I’m quite fine with cooking outdoors and doing my business outdoors in the woods with a bucket. Rather keep the smells and moisture outside, and it’s bulky enough getting my big jacked up truck back in the woods to some of those remote campsites.

Well I Hope They’re Right About Passing a Government Shutdown Extender

I really don’t want a government shutdown as it could impact my vacation plans come the second half of October should the shutdown extend beyond two weeks — and they’re very aggressive about locking down the back country, by barricading off roads and putting up no-camping/hiking signs. But it seems like Congress has a deal or is close to it to keep things running for a while, which will hopefully avoid any impact on my vacation plans.

Empire State Trail

This Google Earth KML / KMZ file can be downloaded and used with your GPS or explored interactively.

Orange sections are on public roads with motor vehicle traffic, while green sections are without motor vehicle traffic.

House passes 45-day spending stopgap, sending bill to Senate

House passes 45-day spending stopgap, sending bill to Senate

In a significant last-minute reversal, the House has voted 335 to 91 to approve a 45-day extension of federal funding. The fate of the bill in the Senate remains unclear, though the broad bipartisan support in the House puts pressure on senators to accept the stopgap and avoid a shutdown.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced the plan to vote on the bill after a morning meeting with House Republicans. McCarthy has refused for weeks to consider any spending bill that would require the support of Democrats. But, facing the potential for a politically and economically harmful shutdown, McCarthy reversed course, specifically calling on Democrats for help passing the bill.