America the Beautiful

I recently took my first vacation in more than two years, other than holiday trips to family, and it might have been the best one ever. My wife and I went to the American Southwest, our favorite part of the country. We visited five states, four national parks, three of Utah’s amazing state parks, and two national monuments.

It was so great to get away from the awful atmosphere of Trump’s toxic Washington, and to be reminded of the fundamental decency of most people and the stunning majesty of so much of this country. Although I was mostly avoiding politics, it was great to hear people in rural Arizona and Utah talking excitedly about the April 5th demonstrations, and to be getting texts and emails from all over the country from people who were planning to participate and had gone to events in their hometown.

What struck me the most while I was out there was the incredible foresight of the American leaders who created our national park system in an era where the robber barons and industrialists were mostly running the show. When you get to see the mind blowing canyons, mountains, buttes, ridges, bluffs, and mesas of the American West without having to look at drilling equipment and industrial waste and ripped apart landscapes, you thank your lucky stars that we had leaders like Teddy Roosevelt with the vision to care about generations of people centuries after them.

Quite the contrast with Donald Trump who cares only about his own short-term power and greed.

I came back with a cowboy hat, the first one I have ever tried on that I thought looked good on me. I decided it was time for progressives to get their cowboy toughness going. We have a big fight ahead, and I want to be ready.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.