Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Just close your eyes and kiss the girl and go where the tilt-a-whirl takes you.” ~OzarkHillbilly

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

You cannot love your country only when you win.

“Perhaps I should have considered other options.” (head-desk)

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

People are weird.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Stand up, dammit!

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

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On The Road – frosty – 2024 National Park Road Trip – Eastbound (5/6) Waterton Lakes National Park

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Having done Going to the Sun Road and Many Glaciers, we had a spare day in our schedule. Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta was only 40 miles from where we were staying on the east side, so off we went into Canada for the third time. We shared multiple confirmations that we had our passports before we took off!

The park is part of the “Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.” We drove a scenic route to a lake in the mountains, reminiscent of Lake Louise, then spent some time at the justifiably famous Prince of Wales hotel. Another beautiful historic hotel with a stunning setting.

On The Road - frosty - 2024 National Park Road Trip - Eastbound (5/6) Waterton Lakes National Park 8
Waterton Lakes NP

In September 2017, the Kenow Wildfire burned through the park, covering 39% of the its area. We saw lots of dead, burned trees and fireweed blooming.

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MobiusKlein – In Memory of His Dad – The cycle of life thru a lens of plants

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We have a very special On the Road post this morning in honor of MobiusKlein and his beloved dad, who passed away yesterday.  May it bring him comfort as we share in his grief and honor his dad.

MobiusKlein

I promised to share some pictures in honor of my dad, who is going thru some very medical situations.  He’s in the ER now, 250 miles away, and in great spirits.   But still it makes me reflect on the cycle of life, and the struggle for existence.

Here I have a collection of plants and assorted other things I hope tells a story of sorts.

On The Road - MobiusKlein - The cycle of life thru a lens of plants 8
Shell mound in Buckeye Canyon, San Bruno Mountain CAJune 21, 2025

Probably centaurium pulchellum, which is not native to the area. Regardless, the super small flower standing alone, defiantly proclaiming it’s right to be.

We have been hiking the Buckeye Canyon many time before, and seen the trail sign for the shell mound, but never actually found it.

This day, we were hiking, and on the way out, sat in a clearing and bemoaned we never figured out where the damned thing was.   Then I looked down, saw the ground was covered in crushed shells.   What do you know.   It’s a mile or so from where the bay historically reached before landfill.  A long walk with uphill to process / eat the shellfish, so we had to wonder of the full story.

This would have been near a Ohlone / Ramaytush settlement. We tread on the ground of others, always. https://www.ramaytush.org/ramaytush-territory.html

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On The Road – frosty – 2024 National Park Road Trip – Eastbound (4/6) Glacier National Park – Going To The Sun Road, East Side

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We moved to a campground on the east side of the park on the Blackfeet Reservation. The east side gave us access to Going To The Sun Road without a timed entry ticket, to the Many Glaciers part of the park, and to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. We saw all three while we were there.

We kept an eye on the weather forecasts and it looked like the last of our three days on the east side was least likely to have any rain so that was the day we saw the other side of Going To The Sun Road. The plan was to cover the route up to Logan Pass then go a little further and see a little of the west side that we missed on the Red Bus because of the weather.

We wanted to stop at as many scenic viewpoints as we could but not surprisingly, they were jammed and there were no parking places at many of them. Oddly enough, the ones on the west side of Logan Pass were almost empty. When we headed back east later in the day the viewpoints had cleared out and we got to stop everywhere we wanted to.

On The Road - frosty - 2024 National Park Road Trip - Eastbound (4/6) Glacier National Park - Going To The Sun Road, East Side 8
Glacier National Park

Wild Goose Island. “One of the most photographed places in the park.” The view of the lake and mountains is spectacular, but even more so, this is the first big viewpoint as you head up the road. You can see a faint outline of the mountains beyond the lake in this photo.

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On The Road – frosty – 2024 National Park Road Trip – Eastbound (3/6) Glacier National Park – Going To The Sun Road, West Side

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We stayed on the west side of the park for two full days. Like Mt Rainier, there were timed entry tickets for access to the Going To The Sun Road, which I hadn’t been able to get a reservation for. Instead, I reserved two seats on the half-day Red Bus tour up the west side to Logan Pass, then back. The main benefit of the bus is not driving so no need to watch the road and instead you can watch the scenery.

The buses are an iconic part of Glacier so we were very happy to be able to get the reservation and get on board. It was unfortunate that it was cloudy and raining intermittently the day of our reservation. No rain checks of course. The driver did a good job of describing weather patterns, forest types and succession, and how the moisture (rain) fit into it all. Basically giving us a good trip even with the cloud cover.

On The Road - frosty - 2024 National Park Road Trip - Eastbound (3/6) Glacier National Park - Going To The Sun Road, West Side 8
Glacier National Park

The Red Jammers. These 17-passenger buses were built by White Motor Company in 1936 and have been transporting visitors ever since. The nickname “jammers” comes from the sound the unsynchronized transmissions made when the drivers missed a downshift while double clutching up the hills. 33 of the 35 original buses bought for Glacier are still in service, but with a lot of changes. The entire fleet was renovated by Ford in 2000-2002, removing the wooden framed bodies from the original chassis and fitting them onto a stretched E350 frame with all new running gear.

Over 150 of these types of buses were in operation in the 1930s in seven National Parks. Other than Glacier only Yellowstone still operates them today. They bought back eight from private operators, renovated them similarly to Glacier’s and put them into operation. All the other buses from Yellowstone and the other National parks were sold to private collectors or scrapped.

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On The Road – ema – Éire I Mo Chroí

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ema

New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (24:12) is one of those events that requires very little from you and delivers quite a lot in return.

The essentials are all in place: bagpipes played with unwavering commitment, uniforms that suggest deep tradition, and a procession that moves with impressive precision.

Then come the dogs. Irish Wolfhounds, calm and self-assured, as if they’ve done this before. The most Irish canine in the city, less certain but no less committed. And, announced without hesitation, “Cindy Mindy in the City,” possibly the most confident participant in the parade.

Somewhere along the route, the distinctions blur. Music, regalia, crowd, dogs. It becomes less about any one moment and more about the accumulation.

I am definitely upgrading this parade from “recommended” to “must see.”

(Éire I Mo Chroí = Ireland in my heart)

On The Road - ema - Éire I Mo Chroí 9

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On The Road – Albatrossity – Duck finale

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Duck, duck, goose.

Followed by the St. Patrick’s Day parade and then 3 national parks!

On The Road - Albatrossity - Duck finale 10

Albatrossity

There may be sighs of relief among the jackals, since I have finally run out of ducks. But no worries; there will be a goose (or ten) in your future!

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Near Manhattan KSJanuary 18, 2025

Mergansers are sturdy (but also pointy) fish-eating ducks found worldwide; currently 6 species are recognized. Sadly, one of those is extinct and two others are endangered. We are fortunate to have good populations of the remaining three in North America, including the Common Merganser (Mergus merganser). The brown-headed female (left) has, per usual, a more subdued plumage that the male at right. This species nests in tree cavities near large lakes and rivers in North America and Eurasia (where it is known as the Goosander). In flight they have an elongated look, leading with that thin pointy beak that gives them the overall impression of a missile or javelin. Click here for larger image.

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