We took a rest day and headed into Moscow, Idaho (looking for connections between Russia and the Trump administration in Moscow) … and wanted to see the University of Idaho, home of the UI Vandals.
The rolling hills of agricultural land heading into Moscow are dry, tinder dry, as the fields of hay,
oats, lentils and green peas have been harvested and yet dry stubble leaves the fields a washed out ochre color. The horizon, as far as the eye can see, is completely obscured by the smoke of the fires in British Columbia to the north and west … and to the east is the smoke from the fires in Montana. Depending on which way the wind is blowing, smoke from the various fires invades the valleys throughout the northern panhandle of Idaho. It looks like a thick coastal fog obscuring the vistas …
The temperature is high … 95 degrees … it is all the folks in Moscow can discuss … our waitress at The Breakfast Club acknowledged that few homes have air conditioning and that she was glad that she worked indoors in an air-conditioned restaurant. When locals hear that we’re from Tucson, Arizona, we are accused (perhaps no so humorously) of bringing the hot weather with us. Frankly, it is possible that it is cooler in Tucson …
As we returned to the camp, we noticed that many people at campsites have built fires in their fire pits. It is 95 degrees, record heat wave, and people are building fires (with logs that have been purchased to prevent the introduction of invasive insects in the area from other infected areas). The entire area is under a Stage 1 Fire Warning (fires can only be built in fire pits) and the sky is obscured by layers of smoke from fires to the north, west and east, the temperatures are in the mid-90s and campers are building fires.
I understand the hypnotic appeal of watching the flames of a camp fire dance … a part of camping is the art of fire building … and, I suspect that several children are hoping for “s’mores”. One young boy was overheard stating that he was going back into his camper where he could cool off in air-conditioned comfort. Our air conditioner is on and we are grateful for the electrical connection that makes it possible to be comfortable in the heat of the day.
But, one wonders about whether we are actually able to see what is in front of our faces … our Western climate has changed and continues to change in ways that will make life much hotter, drier, and riskier for many.
Bambi is thoughtful about climate change today ...
1 comment:
We recently watched the new Netflix documentary on the demise of coral - 26% of an entire ecosystem destroyed in just one year! The oceans thus far have absorbed 93% of the energy from rising temperatures. Your observations from last year, coupled with those of this year, certainly are frightening about ecosystems on land.
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