2026 Bear Hunt Day 2 - In Camp

After a much better night's sleep than the previous, I was up wwwaaayyy too early.  I read the entire internet before packing up and hitting the road.  I know they don't like it when I get to camp too early, but I can only putz around my hotel room for so long.  When I briefly thought about turning on my work computer, I knew it was time to go!

Not being in any hurry, I methodically made my way toward the border.  There were almost no other cars on the road, even in Warroad.  I got to the border and had a brief conversation with the Canadian Officer, then parked and headed in for the firearm paperwork.  I always appreciate the professionalism of the Canadian Border Security Officers.  I handed over my paperwork, had another brief friendly conversation and was on my way - a guest in a foreign country.

I continued on into Canada.  Traffic stayed exceedingly light all morning.  The drive was wonderful - scenic and easy.

I stopped once for coffee when I saw a sign for a "Coffee Bar", but that was a mistake - a big one.  The coffee was terrible, little more than brown water.  It was actually worse than the hotel coffee earlier in the morning.  So it goes...

I was glad when I finished Lies My Teacher Told Me.  OK read?  Meh...  Recommend?  No...  I finished the drive with some Garrison Keillor and an older podcast before turning everything off and just thinking back to my first bear hunt all those years ago.  I do that a lot on the final stretch of road.

I got gas and made my final few km into camp.  I parked at my cabin and walked to the lodge.  Carter and I talked for a bit; Maureen also stopped by.  It felt like visiting family.

I threw a lure for a bit while waiting for the cabin to be ready.  I caught two pike - this has to be a good sign - right?  One of them was even a reasonably decent size (not a monster).

With my cabin ready, I allowed myself a brief nap.  It was going to be a good week.  Another pike at the dock and a bit more forced down time before heading into the lodge.

Dinner was chicken cordon bleu while we all started to get to know each other.  The real adventure starts in the morning.

2026 Bear Hunt Day 1 - Driving and Driving Some More

The hotel was ... 3 stars at best.  I can't blame the hotel for all the other denizens slamming their door, but I can blame the hotel that every single one of them felt like it shook the whole building.  I had to resort to turning up the AC fan and wearing ear plugs, even then it seemed like my neighbors were coming through the walls.
Not surprisingly, I woke up with a headache.

But a couple cups of barely adequate hotel pod coffee put me in a good start.  I wasn't in a hurry so I stuck around long enough for hotel waffles.  There were ... ok ... maybe hotel waffles should be reserved for motorcycle trips.

I was on the road right around daybreak.  Traffic was minimal at first.  It picked up around Madison, Wisconsin (predictably), then slowly drained away through the day.  By the time I was in northern Minnesota, there were so few cars it was almost eerie, but in an oddly tranquil way.  It started to rain around Wisconsin Dells and rained for several hours until I got somewhere just south of Superior, Wisconsin.  Most drivers were taking it easy, so it wasn't a bad drive even with the rain.

I continued listening to Lies My Teacher Told Me.  It didn't get better and didn't get worse.  I learned a little, disagreed a little and drifted off a little.  While it probably helped make the drive more enjoyable, I'm ready for it to be done.  My biggest take-aways from it are 1) History is complex and 2) History is better explained as the unintended consequences of millions of poorly-made decisions (and I still say Loewen should STFU and write a better textbook...).

I watched the miles count down through the day, stopping for some new and ever more questionable snacks.  With my recent oral surgery, I still feel the need to be a bit careful about what and how I eat.  At one point somewhere Squaw Lake, I looked at the beautiful scenery, the near complete lack of any other cars and just thought, "This is absolutely incredible."  And I meant it.

I kept driving, stopping in the town of Baudette to get gas before stopping for the night.  In the morning, I'll be crossing the border on my final leg to the land of black bears (and wolves and pike and smalleys and, and and).

2026 Bear Hunt Day -0.5 - Sometimes Struggle Is The Solution

A picture came up in my history feed a few days ago from our 2017 Total Eclipse adventure.  It reminded me of how much things have changed in the last nine years.  Minor health issues; reminders that my body has an expiration date even if I don't know when that is.  A special needs dog; the universe revolves around her as she slowly becomes the dog she might have always been.  It's been three years since I've done any kind of motorcycle trip and six since S/O and I have done one together.  Work responsibilities have increased, even if I'm convinced most of what I do doesn't matter.

“The universe is Time's body.” - John Crowley, Little, Big

But sometimes it seems like something has been lost.  I have no reason to complain; I know I'm incredibly fortunate.  We lose things because we first have things to lose.

And if I look at it objectively, it is hard to say I've lost much when I'm on a 1000+ mile journey to hunt and fish.

I was mulling this over as the week before bears progressed.  I took a few hours of precious vacation time to mow the fantastically long lawn on Wednesday, packed up Thursday and had a final shortened day at work Friday.  I was able to leave with Inbox near zero so I'll count that as a win (big time).  I was on the road shortly after noon.

I easily settled into the drive.  Indianapolis was bonkers, but at least there was less construction than I recall from my last time through; Indy NEVER has no construction.  Then traffic lightened considerably for the remainder of the day.

I was listening to Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen.  It was mildly interesting and informative, but he certainly seemed to be selective on what he chose to complain about and his principles were applied erratically (so maybe the aren't really principles).  It wasn't bad, but it was too easy to let my mind wander, especially since it was quite repetitive.  I'll need to finish the book to make a final judgement, but all I can say is after writing a 20 hour book, he could have just written a better textbook.  But I guess complaining is more fun, and I suspect writing what he would consider a "good" textbook would end up being even more cumbersome than the 1000 page tomes he says are terrible history text books.

I easily found my hotel in Northern Illinois.  A quick gas stop and some soda from Walmart and I called it a day.  The real adventure is almost about to begin.

2025 Hog Hunt Day 7 - Home

I was up and on the road early.  I knew there was going to be rain and while I didn't see any snow forecasts, there is always a chance of the unexpected in the mountains.  

I made my way north and west while listening to Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational by Michael Shermer.  It was far better than the book I listened to on the trip down.  The first part of the book is more academic and I did find my brain wandering a bit.  The second part of the book was more conversational and fun to listen to.  Although the section on how to talk to conspiracy theorists was just off.  Just about everyone I've ever heard who holds nut-job conspiracy theories believe it as dogma, and it is not rational.  Maybe just my personality, but I'll continue to nod my head and quietly judge (while enjoying the ride).

I missed not one, but two turns on my route.  I have no idea how I missed the first one - just a total brain fart I guess.  But Tennessee - why the snot do you have I-26 labeled as "Future I-26"??????  Maybe we are now in the future...

I was trying to figure out if the Cherokee Reservoir was low because of dam issues (Helene?) or if it was just a really dry year.  But the lake was basically a mud pit.  If I lived in the area, I'd wait for it to freeze in the coming weeks and go find all my lures I'd ever lost!

US25 through the mountains was tolerable, if a bit frustrating once I finally did get behind the conga line created by a single slow driver.  I just used it as a reason to practice my patience.  But overall, the US25 route was far preferrable over the West Virginia tolls.

As I got closer to home I started to see snow again.

Once at home, SO had left for family issues so I had the house to myself.  The dogs were thrilled to see me.  This also left taking care of the hog as a solo job.  I didn't even bother unpacking the truck, but spent most of the rest of the day cutting and grinding and freezing.  I had to remind myself that if I could get the entire pig taken care of, that would leave me two blessed days to recover.  While part of me was a bit disappointed I could not shoot one of the hogs in the two wads of them - my freezer is thanking me.

As always, the pig hunt was a great way to start the year.  I still have some things to mentally process about this year's hunt.  I'll have time to do that in the coming days and weeks.

2025 Hog Hunt Day 1 - Snow Fever

The last few winters at home have been a bit boring but boring in a good way.  The few heavy snows that I can recall were mostly weekends or near holidays.  That changed the previous Monday when about a foot of snow fell near home; the drifting made it worse.

A second round of snow, if slightly less significant, fell Friday.  This created some anxiety about the drive south, but at least I was leaving on Sunday.

Yet being a chronic worrier, I still left early in the morning worried about road conditions, worried about the route (I-40 remains closed), worried about home, worried about the dogs and SO, worried about work.  But I was also leaving anticipating another week of wild hog hunting.

Sunday morning came and after taking care of the dogs and a quick shower, I was on the road.  Early morning felt like even less traffic than usual - maybe a lingering hangover from the roads.  I made my way south.

I listened to The Knew by Sarah Kendzior for the entire trip.  I thought it was going to be a book about conspiracies that were/are real and it was ... sort of.  The book was really repetitive and rambled all over at times.  It seemed to often confuse and equate that which is illegal, unethical and just distasteful - which greatly distracted from her main thesis.  It also came across as though once someone has done something that fits into one of these categories, everything they ever do will be criminal.  I can't say I disagree with some of what she said, and there were some good nuggets.  But it was all doom and gloom.  I suspect if you gave Kendzior a delicious tuna sandwich, she would look at it and assume that four sea turtles were killed in its preparation.

She ended up in a circular firing squad by insinuating that everything bad could have been predicted by listening to prognosticators of conspiracies, but didn't seem to acknowledge that for every conspiracy theory that ended up being mostly correct, there are probably 80 of them that are mostly wrong.  The book was a solid 1.9 stars; while some books make the drive very short, I think The Knew made it longer.  I ended up finishing the drive with a podcast about coffee and caffeine - which was far more enjoyable.

But overall the drive went well - I can't complain and no sea turtles were killed.  There was lots of snow near home and significant ice remaining around central Kentucky.  I was able to see a glorious sunrise near the Kentucky-Tennessee border.

Instead of stopping at my "usual" place for gas and coffee, I went a little further.  I was glad I did since the gas was a bit cheaper and the coffee was not terrible.  I'll take both as wins for the trip.

Precipitation decreased once out of the mountains until it was gone as I descended into South Carolina's low country.

I was ready to be out of the vehicle by the time I got to Rick's.  Weather was a balmy mid-40's and very sunny! 

As I was unpacking, I realized I forgot my soft gun case for while going to and from the stand.  I always forget something, and I guess this year it is the case.  Overall not a big issue - most guys don't even use one.  But I guess it will be something for me to worry about.

Rick had vaporized shortly after I got to the lodge, so I had the place to myself as Gary (hunted with him a couple times before) was already out.  This gave me a chance to recover as much as possible from the drive.  I probably should have walked down to the river, but just didn't feel like it.

I had a noodle bowl for dinner and shortly after dark Gary was back.  He had seen one deer but no pigs.  Claude and Denis are staying at Denis's house, leaving more room in the lodge!

The adventure was just beginning.

2023 SC Deer Hunt Day 1 - Dark Matter

I didn't start hunting until I was in my 20's which is unusual.  Generally if someone isn't born into that tradition, it doesn't take hold.  This does allow me to look back on those first few years - even those first few hunts - in a more lucid way.  The anticipation, the frustration, the mistakes - oh the mistakes...  One of the biggest struggles then - and now - is where to hunt.  Hunting magazines always talk about the accessibility of public lands in the US, and this is both unique and amazing.  But the reality is finding places to hunt continues to be a challenge.  Public lands near where I live can be "busy" during the hunting seasons.  And I won't say they don't know what they are doing, but I've run into too many people in these places who have a very "unconventional" hunting style.  I no longer hunt public land.

I've been privileged to have access to private land and am so grateful for this, but this can also be complicated (for many reasons).  So when 30 acres went for sale early this year I saw it as a chance to own my own destiny - until I saw the price.  Reality took over and the price decreased over the year until it became more tantalizing.  Then it dropped again; SO and I talked it, and looked at the property and put an offer on it.  The reasons why we were outbid are numerous and hopelessly complicated.  There was enough deer sign to make it interesting.  We could have afforded to pay more.  I wasn't afraid of the phenomenal amount of work it would take to make it into my playground.  But ultimately I realize the reasons boiled down to simply:  I didn't fall in love with it when we looked at it.  Our bid was, and is, open-ended.  And if the current sale falls apart, I would still buy it.  But I did - and do - have to admit that on a rational level, buying it doesn't make sense when the annual property taxes alone would pay for a good chunk of out-of-state guided deer hunting.  But I'm not always sure the rational and feral circles in the Venn diagram that is my brain ever really intersect.

Which does get to an even bigger-picture issue: Why do I hunt?  Quite frankly, I don't like killing.  The grocery store is cheaper.  Hunting is time-consuming, difficult and can (at times) be mentally excruciating.  There are a million reasons to never fire a gun again, but there is a visceral gravitational pull - even if I can feel it without knowing its origins.  Dark matter.  I don't have an answer for this yet.  Maybe I never will.  And maybe someday I'll wake up and gravity will cease to exist overnight and I'll be done hunting forever.

With these internal Guantanamo Bay routines in my head, I headed out the door early to head south and hunt deer in South Carolina. This was planned well before ever thinking about buying my own property, and generally the deer around home are larger than in South Carolina.  But EHD has hit the local deer herd very hard, so it was a good opportunity to try it.  Rifle hunting in September though?  When in Rome...  At least it was the first full day of fall.

I was headed south by 4:00AM, having the road to myself.  The drive went fast and I got off the interstate near Corbin, KY, just as it was getting light.  I made my way southeast stopping at my "usual" gas station for fuel.  I risked getting coffee and regretted it.  It did help me stay alert, but it was absolutely terrible coffee.  The fog as I started through the mountains was intense in a few places, but also a very dramatic view.

I was listening to Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking through the whole day.  I was worried it was going to be too self-helpy, but it ended up being pretty good - a solid four stars.  It was a bit redundant and it did get me thinking about work a bit too much, but I was glad I listened to it.  I was able to relate to a lot of the book and even to the property we didn't buy.  The only part I hated was her bit about Tony Robbins - that guy is pure snake-oil salesman and he is so LOUD.

Traffic was far heavier than I'm used to seeing in January from around Asheville.  I was itching to get off the interstate and so took a new way once out of Columbia.  I was glad I did since the two-lane roads were almost empty, and much prettier.

I got to camp about 2:00.  I met the other guys in camp and talked for a bit.  Since it was still fairly early, I decided to go out.  It was crazy hot and humid - it felt like home in July.  So I put on a camo t-shirt and hunted in shorts.  I think I've only done this once or twice before.

I was dropped off at a box blind where one of the other guys had sat the previous day and seen a hog.  It took a bit to get situated, but once I did, it was comfortable enough.  It wasn't too long before deer started to pop out.  Deer filtered in and out through most of the afternoon.  A few times they ran off and I was hoping that the hog would pop out, but it never did.  At one point I had a mess of turkeys come in behind me right by the blind.  It startled me a bit when I first saw them - not as much as they were startled.

The only mildly interesting deer I saw was a crab-claw spike.  All the rest were does.  But it did give me quite a bit to watch through the afternoon.

It got dark quickly after sunset in the heavy pine trees.  I worked my way out and Rick was waiting for me.  We picked up everyone else and headed back to the lodge.  No one had shot anything, but everyone had seen deer.

Dinner was pork chops and taters.  After a long drive and hunting, I was ready to turn in.

2023 Bear Hunt Days 9 & 10 - Perspective

After a very late night (for me), I woke up and packed everything up as quietly as I could.  I met Vance and Dave by the boat house and got my bear loaded up.  It definitely wasn't frozen yet, but it was between cool and cold.  Since it was fully boned out, it easily fit into my two better coolers - including the hide and head.

Once settled up, I was sadly on the road.  Normally I like to be on the road crazy early, but the late night made that impossible - plus a couple extra hours of time in the freezer would help.  Leaving always comes with the somber reality that weeks like this past one must come to an end.

It was getting light soon after I left but I still saw one last hazy Manitoba sunrise.

I again took the 30 miles of gravel a bit to fast, but the Maverick handled it like a champion.  Traction control may be nanny-state, but it is probably a good thing sometimes.  At one point I saw an enormous feline in the road which I am still wondering what that could have been.  Maybe a lynx?

The border crossing was the easiest one I've ever had getting back into the US.  I think the border guard was more concerned that I didn't have a front license plate than anything else (this is no longer a requirement as of ~2020).  He asked if I had a license for my bear and walleye and said, "Have a nice day."  

I was listening to Ann Patchett's These Precious Days - I don't remember when I got this.  I had read her essay on getting rid of things and found it very good.  This was repeated in this book and unfortunately was one of the only good parts of the book.  Too much of Precious comes across as poorly attempted introspection, but falls into being self-centered instead.  As the book droned on, I was desperate for it to end and glad when it finally did.

Temperatures through the day rose steadily.  At one point I looked down and saw a temperature of over 100F and thought that my temp gauge must have been malfunctioning.  Nope...

This had me worried about the not-frozen meat in my cooler.  I talked with Little Sis a bit back and forth and she was able to find a grocery store that had dry ice - and! - went and got some for me.  She is absolutely the hero for the day.

Soon enough I was at her house and we moved my coolers out of the broiling outside.  Meat was cool, so it will be OK.  Even with the late start, we had a chance to visit for a while before letting the day end.

_______

After a couple cups of coffee with my sister, it was time to make the final leg home.  I packed everything up and hit the road.

The final drive home was uneventful.  There were only a few spots with moderate traffic, but being a holiday and relatively early, the roads were mostly clear.

There must have been some kind of Jeep gathering at a vacation area near home.  I realize jeeps handle like crap on the road, but live a little and use the right pedal a bit more...

I spent some time while driving reliving some of what was a very memorable bear hunt.  I've never been down to the wire like that.  While I never saw anything, I did like hunting the two mornings, although I don't think I'll immediately volunteer for this in the future.

I think for me, the short bit of time between when the sow with cubs had left and my bear came in really defines the hunt for me - as well as me as someone who hunts.  After the sow and cubs left, I said to myself that seeing them was a good way for the hunt to end.  And I meant it.  I'm still glad I was able to take a very large bear, but perspective is something which is helped by occasional reminders.

Once home it was a mad scramble to take care of all the bear meat, clean and pack thing away.  The next adventure is only a few weeks away.

2023 Bear Hunt Day 1 - Travels with Steinbeck

After a fitful night of sleep, I woke up way too early.  I tried to get back to sleep but once my brain started thinking about work, I had no choice but get up and make a cup of hotel-room coffee to start the day.  Stupid brain...
There was no reason to dither, so I got up and packed up as quietly as I could to hit the road.

Traffic was predictably low at the early hour and it was nice just poking along barely above the speed limit.  Winds all day trended from the north, so my mileage suffered; slowing down did help.

Temperatures were cool and they dropped all day.  There was a bit of rain in northern Wisconsin and into Minnesota, but never enough to really matter.

I listened to Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck almost the whole day.  I had downloaded this book quite some time ago, but with my canine issues the previous year, I just couldn't bring myself to listen to it.  I'm glad I didn't force it then since it ended up being the right book at the right time (mostly).  There were so many parts of the book that Steinbeck lyrically wrote about road trips - and sights and sounds and smells - that I could relate to so well.  There were also many quotes I tried to save, but I'm sure I lost a few.

The overall theme of the book is that one can't know America (or any country) by external means.  And looking internally will be affected by the what that is looked at and the external conditions and forces at that time.  I find this so true; some of the best meals of my life have been with SO while on Motorcycle trips - but were so good mostly because of the entirety of the day.  And as much as I've been to the same areas many times, they have never been the same experience.

Yellowstone is no more representative of America than is Disneyland.

Steinbeck also talks about how much the Redwoods, his former home area, had changed.  Having just taken a trip near my former stomping grounds, this is something I live frequently.  I loved that he didn't come to any conclusions or right/wrong about this.  But this builds on the theme of knowing a place and how it is experienced is affected by time.

[On Redwood Trees] Can it be that we do not love to be reminded that we are very young and callow in a world that was old when we came into it? And could there be a strong resistance to the certainty that a living world will continue its stately way when we no longer inhabit it?

Not all of the book was positive however.

Early in the book he talks about hunters in the most negative terms possible which was disappointing.  This ends up being hypocritical when late in the book he considers shooting a coyote but decides not to - suggesting only that he is too old to do this.  I guess since I'm headed out on a hunting trip, this whole bit about how terrible hunters are seemed hopelessly myopic.

I was excited when he started to talk about the Midwest since I think there are many areas which, while maybe not gems, are unsung.  But instead he goes on and on about mobile homes.  Granted this was a fairly new thing in the early 1960s and Steinbeck does talk about them quite positively, but it was disappointing that that was so much of what he wrote about.  Later he does talk about the hoards of them springing up in his beloved California as well, so I guess it isn't so bad.  He also talks about the genuine friendliness of the Midwest - which is something I truly believe having traveled around the country so much.

The book ends on a total downer when he spends about 15% of the text dwelling on racism in the South.  Granted his experience in 1962 was radically different than what I've experienced, but it was sad so much was devoted to this when - even then - the South was more than this.  Racism was also something he specifically looked for.  One would hope that if Steinbeck were traveling around with a poodle now, there would still be plenty of flaws to be discussed, but spending so much to end on the negative would take more effort.  Syntax is everything in writing.  I'll also argue a poodle was not the right choice in 1962, and would not be the right choice today.

Even with the negatives, the book made the drive go, if not always quickly, at least pleasantly.  There were hardly any slowdowns until ... Duluth.  Oh Duluth - what a mess you are for at least the third year in a row.  I'm convinced trying to follow the detour signs for US53 in Duluth is impossible.  At one point, there were 2 detour signs pointing in opposite directions.  As I have previously done, I ended up using a mix of GPS and dead reckoning to get where I want to go.  I did have an epiphany when I realized the reason Duluth drivers go sooooo sssslllllooooowwwwww - they must have learned that one wrong turn in a construction area could mean being stuck in an infinite loop that it is impossible to get out of - so every decision must be made with great deliberation.

Once through Duluth the drive got more northy.  I continued putzing along since I knew I was on target to get to the hotel way too early.  Trees were starting to change already giving me hope that the previous year's lack of bear activity might not be repeated?  Maybe that is a hopeful leap.

Once into International Falls I found my hotel - the same place I stayed in 2014.  I can't say the place has improved in the last decade, but it was good enough.  Since I was able to park right outside my door, I brought almost everything in - which looked ridiculous for one night in a hotel.  It is a bit hard to believe so much junk can fit in a Maverick.  So hunting trips go.

2023 Pig Hunt Day 0 - Unintended Consequences

I spent some time estimating my direct "carbon footprint" last year.  Regardless whether one believes in global climate change or not, extracting from the earth what it is trying to hold on to is rather nasty business.  And while I like to live in a warm house and would find life intolerable if I had to live within walking distance from the building I work in, I'd rather there was less pollution, less litter, better air, cleaner water, the list goes on...

I drove my 4-wheeled vehicles 7942 miles last year, burning 327 gallons of fuel.

I only rode my motorcycles 4260 miles last year.  I think this only included five states; this is a little sad.  I don't track my motorcycle fuel, but I suspect this is about a 25% increase in petroleum over my car miles.

I used 8641KWH of grid electricity - about 4.8 tons of coal.  Sorry world.  I used 414KWH of solar electricity, which I guess helps…  Geothermal allowed a year without buying any propane.

I rode my bicycle 1820 miles and walked my dogs 1609 miles.  This did absolutely nothing to help the earth since I wasn't "going anywhere."  It did help my mental health which is worth something to me, but likely not to the earth.  The universe doesn't care about me. At all.  The earth may be better without most of us.

Yet one of the biggest misses in all the talk about climate change is the lack of focus on population control.  In the doldrums around Christmas I read quite a bit and tried to be convinced by skeptics that say it doesn't need to be part of the solution.  But no one came close to convincing me; they are all wrong.  No problem of consumption gets easier in a world with 10 billion and every solution is more attainable in a planet with 6 billion.  So I guess I have that no-kids thing going for me ... when I die, my footprint dies with me.

As an aside, when I think about any problem in the world right now, I never say, "You know what would make this better?  More people..."

Population reduction is also not a solution to helping the earth.  Newton's Third Law states every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  This is false.  Every action has significant unintended consequences.  There is no economic model that does not include an ever increasing population.  This unintended consequence is no greater than what we will see with the unintended consequences of any other climate action.  In other words, yes, we are doomed.

But what if we are wrong about everything?

Like many people, I've been reading a lot about Bryan Kohberger - the presumed murderer behind the killing of four college students in Idaho.  I actually did read the affidavit - painful as it was - and it's pretty convincing, even if this as a document is meant to be one-sided.  As smart as some police can be and as talented as forensic scientists are, in 1994 they framed a guilty man, resulting in O.J. Simpson's eventual acquittal.  Maybe this acquittal was justified, even if unjust.  Unintended consequences.

If the evidence against Bryan Kohberger really is just a series of radically bonkers coincidences, his life is over just the same.

With 700 miles of driving ahead of me to get to South Carolina, Kohberger's immediate crime may have been getting pulled over not once, but twice for tailgating in Indiana.  I've never been pulled over for tailgating, but if I were, I would almost certainly leave ample room in front of me for at least the remainder of the state I'm in; Indiana is only a little over 150 miles across.

Late in 2022 I ditched my ridgeline and bought a Ford Maverick.  Although not the sole reason, mileage was part of the rationale why I made this switch.  The Maverick is about 20% more fuel efficient.

There is currently much love for electric cars, "For most Americans, this many miles will work most of the time," is included in just about every article written about electric cars after the range of the vehicle is stated.  The word "most" is the word that gets glossed over here - what happens when it isn't.  My trip to South Carolina is 700 miles ... in the winter.  Only an exceedingly expensive electric car under ideal conditions could make this trip without recharging.  And recharging would add significantly to the time the trip takes, potentially turning it into an impossible trip unless my boss magically gives me extra days off.  So while an electric vehicle may make sense for "most" of my life, there are no solutions for the part that isn't "most." (I can buy a lot of gas for what the cost of a rental car would be and I'm not sure rental car companies will look kindly on me using their cars for hog hunting.)

Unintended consequences.

It does seem like we as a global community are looking at climate change much like a dieter looks at the cookie dough in the fridge, "I must eat it all today so that I can start fresh tomorrow."  The next day the grocery store is still only a few miles away and cookie dough is on sale.

But I think there is a critical need ignored in all of the messaging about climate change: Travel.  It is difficult to get out of our cocoons.  And whether it is across town, across the country or across the globe, the only solution is travel.  Seeing Valdosta, Georgia is not the same as reading about it.  Walking into a Las Vegas casino is not the same as reading about it on reddit.  Social media is a solution to nothing and probably is a bigger part of the problem.  No conflict has ever been resolved on Twitter.

I'm not saying I'm going to save the earth by driving to South Carolina to kill pigs, but not going is doing nothing - which is worse in the long term.

Unintended consequences.

These were my thoughts used to try to not worry about leaving.  Last year, my hog hunting trip ended early and I'm really hoping something like that does not happen again (I'm sure SO is hoping so too).  Additionally, the new beagle has made amazing progress, but it won't take much of a slip and she could be a sad feral beast again.  In all fairness, SO is probably more careful than I am.

So after a final walk of the dog, I was on the road.

Leaving in the afternoon meant there was more traffic compared to my usual early morning departure, but it wasn't too bad and I was in no hurry.  I made my way down to the interstate and headed south.

After listening to Hidden Brain on the radio (I have several HB podcasts on a thumb drive, so this one felt free), I listened to older Radio Lab podcasts the rest of the trip.

Traffic was moderate until after Lexington when the road opened up.  Eventually I got off on 25E and headed SouthEast making it to Middlesboro just as it was getting dark.  I found my hotel and made myself at home as best as I could.  The walls were a bit thin and the room was directly across from the lobby so headlights kept hitting my window, but it was a nice hotel at the right place and right price.

My day ended with a noodle bowl and some junk food.  The adventure has started.