Sometimes, we come across some interesting items. But there sure is a lot of stuff that's a complete waste of time. Most of it is on facebook! We like keeping up with the activities that our family and friends are doing, but we increasingly find that political stuff (from all sides) is totally annoying. And with election crap coming from both sides of the border, it's getting to be a bit much.
Obviously we spent a lot of time on the internet researching our travels and finding deals related to that. And we like keeping up with other RV'ers too. I also check the news and the weather at least once a day to keep up on things.
So yesterday I came across a fire and smoke map. A lot of the news this summer has been related to forest fires here in North America and we noticed over the last couple of days that things have become a little foggy and hazy around here. Now we know how widespread the smoke from these fires really is.
Smokey sunrise this morning here at the park.
Check out this map...
We are right about where the blue dot is.
So when the wind blows the right (or wrong!) way, things get a little smokey here!
Usually that map also shows a smoke overlay, but I can't get it to work this morning. You can try yourself here...
Oh...here's an interesting photo posted to facebook the other day...
Huge grizzly bear paw!
This is a grizzly bear that was tranquilized and tagged as part of a research project in British Columbia. Holy crap...it's frickin' huge! Look at the claws. He probably weighed over 1,000 pounds!
And finally, if you haven't yet seen the winners of this year's National Geographic photo contest, you really need to take a look. Fantastic photography! Here's an example...
First Place winner - Whale Whisperer by Anuar Patjane
You can see the rest of the pics here...
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We are in NW Washington state in the Cascade foothills and the smoke got pretty bad here last Sunday when the wind changed directions and blew the smoke over the Cascade Mts our way. It was so thick we were having trouble breathing. The east side fire in the Okanogon is the largest wildfire in Washington history. My husband and I were wildland firefighters back in the day (that's how we met) & I am sure glad those days are over. This summer has been a tough one for firefighters. Hopefully the rain will come soon. My one greatest fear is the grizzly bear! I am from Montana and those things have scared me since I was a small tot!
ReplyDeleteWow, I bet you are so glad that you aren't wildland firefighters this summer. You are right it seems to be a really bad year this year. I sure hope that they see some rain soon so they can get a handle on the fires. We have another hazy day here due to the smoke.
DeleteWe would love to see a grizzly on a hike but from a safe distance!
I agree with you. The once enjoyable RV and travel blogs I've enjoyed for so long have now turned into political griping blogs with a few camping and trail photos thrown in. I don't do facebook so can't comment on that. I read the travel blogs as an escape from politics and other news.
ReplyDeleteI luckily haven't come across too many travel blogs that have any political stuff in them but then again I haven't really been reading very many because I just don't seem to have much time this past little while. I do find lots of crap on facebook though, which I skip over. I have managed to find a few groups on there that I really like and seem to stay on topic, mostly hiking and backpacking, with gorgeous photos. I agree with you about wanting to escape from the politics and other bad news!
DeleteI too like to read travel blogs, but not the politics.
ReplyDeleteHope those fires clear up soon.
I bet you are hoping that the fires clear up seeing you will be headed right towards some of them or at least all the smoke from them.
DeleteI've dumped a couple of RV blogs, too, that got too political. I understand a blogger's right to post whatever they want, but I also exercise my right not to read them. Too many great things in life to enjoy instead of rants over this political view and that political view. ;c)
ReplyDeleteWe totally agree with you Paul and Marti, after all they are travel blogs not political blogs! ;-)
DeleteBoth BC and Washington state have large fires. This weekend will bring rain and hopefully some relief for the fire fighting heroes...
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you are right about them having rain this weekend, they really need that extra help.
DeleteHehe, I'm glad I'm not the only one who realized Facebook was a complete waste of time!
ReplyDeleteMuch of it seems to be a waste of time but there are somethings that at least "I" enjoy, I just have to weed through the rest of the garbage to get to it.
DeleteMuch of it seems to be a waste of time but there are somethings that at least "I" enjoy, I just have to weed through the rest of the garbage to get to it.
DeleteBTW that airnow.gov link you provided might only work in the USA---a lot of .gov sites work that way. I used this variant http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=airnow.local_city&zipcode=97850&submit=Go to check air quality where I was camping the past month. Click on the Current AQI or AQI Loop tab to see current conditions, and click on the map to change the map's centering. Scary stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Dugg, that should help people out that might be in or around those areas or thinking of heading to those areas.
DeleteHow's Ruth's Whip-poor-will?
ReplyDeleteNot sure how the nighthawk ;-) is doing Judy, I didn't check on it yesterday but we are not really holding out any hope for it as we are pretty sure that the wing was broken.
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