I visited Yellowstone National Park back in September of 2010 but during the Winter – my first visit – wildlife is much more visible.  On a walk around and behind Old Faithful we came upon buffalo near the thermals feeding on the exposed grass.  We were so close to them I could hear their breathing. I’m not a dumb City Slicker out looking for Snipes – these buffalo were either facing away from us or laying on the ground – clearly not a threat to us.  We weren’t bothering them so they decided not to bother us – fortunately.

The countryside we have driven across – Idaho, Montana, and now Wyoming is only spoiled by the presence of man.  There have been some nice towns like Livingston, Montana but also some rather ugly ones like Butte.

The atmosphere in Yellowstone during the Winter is much improved over the Summer mainly because hardly anybody is here.  During a month like July there will be over 3,000 people here just as employees to serve the tourists while in the Winter the total number of employees and tourists numbers perhaps 1,000.

When I was here the last time there were so many people around Old Faithful I felt like I was standing in line to watch it erupt so I never did… I left.  Today, I saw only 1 or 2 souls sitting on the benches and have seen Old Faithful go off 4 times (none during the daylight hours – more on that later).

Thus far I’ve been in a Snow Cat, cross country skiied, hiked a few miles to watch geysers, seen buffalo, a coyote, and numerous birds. I am not a Granola Cruncher but Nature does have the power to move me (sometimes). I experienced a very emotional moment when, upon awakening at 6am, decided to bundle up as it was close to -11 out (and I don’t use no stinkin’ Celcius neither!) and walk the 1/4 mile to Old Faithful.

There I stood, at 6:15 in the dead and cold quiet with only a full moon illuminating my field of vision and a very light chill wind blowing. I stood on a buried park bench to keep my feet away from the ice and I did not know if the geyser would go off or not… I did not walk there to witness that.

Thinking about how many people over how many thousands (man was here 22,000 years ago) of years had stood there just as I was, Old Faithful did go off but in an unusual way… the water didn’t seem to shoot upward it was more steam but, seconds after it was finished, I could hear all of the ice surrounding the geyser begin to crack as the boiling hot water flowed underneath. Yes, I was cold but I got goose bumps from that.

Perhaps it was my Existentialist moment for the trip but it was truly a beautiful moment.

If you are able, visit Yellowstone in the Winter by all means.

Lastly, I was interviewed by Sergio for his Politics blog.  Check that out if you’d like!

Since I am on the road using my Android laptop/tablet I’ll do my best to attach some photos below.

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The suit, filed in October 2011, asked that the court declare that the orcas are “held in slavery and/or involuntary servitude by defendants in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

“It’s a new frontier in civil rights,” said Jeff Kerr, PETA general counsel, who described the hearing as a “historic day.”

Here’s what the 13th Amendment actually says:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

I’ve been to the SeaWorld in Florida and San Diego.  The Orcas are pretty smart (maybe more intelligent than some people I’ve met) but at they really slaves?  Expanding the definition of slavery into the animal kingdom is really going to help improve society?

SeaWorld is arguing the same thing:

The courts lack authority to extend the amendment to animals, which could “open a veritable Pandora’s Box of inescapable problems and absurd consequences,” SeaWorld argued in motion to dismiss last year.

Let’s be real here… PETA might be filled with idiotic Liberals but they are very clever about wanting to appear “cutting edge” and getting those all important celebrity endorsements.

This is yet another silly organization filled with Liberals and instead of doing something they are just wasting everybody’s time (your brave author included) instead of actually doing something which might make a difference.

Just imagine if animals had the same types of rights as people.  Would training your dog to fetch your morning paper mean you’re enslaving him?  Or teaching your parrot to swear might be stunting his future employment prospects.  Or, god forbid, having your pet hamster or mouse running on a wheel for the rest of its days.

Sometimes I think Americans have too much food, electricity, and comfort for their own good.  Afterall, I don’t think people in the 3rd World have the kind of leisure time we do to ponder these types of silly things.

And I’m out here in Wyoming… animals are for pets, work, or food.  Somehow I don’t think PETA will be getting many donations from people out here.

Cars are a lot like insects in the amazon: they are designed for a specific task and adapted to their environment.  If you live in a place where parking is almost impossible to find (like San Francisco) you might choose a Smart car which, at only 8 feet, 8 inches long can fit almost anywhere.  If you live on the Great Plains you would select a diesel pickup that would be cheap to operate and can handle the bitter Winters.  If you like to cruise on the open road there is really only one kind of car which makes the most sense to own: a rear wheel drive, V8 powered sedan (until recently that was the Crown Victoria, choice of police everywhere).

V8s have loads of torque (what gets you moving) and operate very quietly when you’re pushing down the road at 85 mph.  Rear wheel drive allows the steering wheel to do only what it is designed for: directing the car.  And having 4 doors gives you plenty of space inside and mass to keep you pointed where you want to be.

Unfortunately, V8 powered, rear wheel drive sedans are becoming an endangered species and so are people who know what it’s like to drive one.

On this 3,500 mile roadtrip I’m currently on I have selected the correct tool for the job: a 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E sedan.  It has over 164,000 miles on it but is as tight, quiet, powerful, and luxurious as the day it was created.  This is the last of the over-engineered Mercedes-Benzes to be built.  This type of vehicle is an “only in America” car.  In fact, Mercedes-Benz had been producing the W124 model for years before putting a V8 in it.  There were no plans to put a larger engine than the straight 6 into the car but then Toyota’s Lexus was introduced into America and their LS model had… a V8.

The 400E (and later the E420) was only sold in two places – Germany and America (two countries that love their cars and highways).

What is it about America that, until recently, allowed the V8 to thrive?  Cheap gasoline was a big reason but so is the fact that not only are the distances in this country vast but our Government does not do things that happen in other countries where cars are taxed according to the size of their engines.

Because for most of its history the U.S. Government never told people what kind of engine to get in their cars people bought what they wanted and that just happened to be torque and power… all things the V8 has aplenty.

And so being on the road for 8 or 10 hours at a time with the speedometer showing 85 mph but the tachometer only turning about 2,000 RPM it is so quiet that I can hear the sound of the cassette deck spinning the adapter I use to play my iPod in the car.  Even at 90 mph if you put your foot down you’ll be slightly pushed back in your seat and a big smile will come over your face as you realize that with great power comes great responsibility.

The 400E is not an Aston Martin.  It only has 269 hp and 295 pound feet of torque but compare these with a 2012 Toyota Penis (134 hp and 105 pound feet of torque) and you’ll see what a V8 can give you.

But as happy as this car – and its engine – makes me feel there is also something very sad about it all.  Silly Global Warmers, Liberals who fly private jets, and bean counters looking to plug budget holes with new taxes are closing in on the V8 (and even the V6 for that matter).  In most of Europe not only are cars taxed on engine displacement but a new measurement is arising – how much CO2 is emitted – to force car makers to produce smaller and smaller engines.

Except for a few niche cars the V12 and V10 are dead.  This is a shame because I’ve driven V12 powered cars and they truly are like what I would imagine riding in the hand of god would be like.  For the V8, the writing is on the wall.  Luxury cars like Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes are pushing small 4 cylinder turbo-charged engines on their customers and V8s are falling by the wayside.

This is all very sad and worrying.  There is plenty of oil left and man has no control over Global Warming.  It’s all artificially created scarcity invented by Liberals intent upon punishing the car owner and taxing him or her out of their chosen powerplant and into some tin can wind-up toy car.

These groups already killed the air cooled engine (found in my Volkswagen Bus) and now it is on to other powerplants.

In Kalifornia there is even a name for this: CARB (California Air Resources Board).

But the saddest thing is that we have an entire generation of Americans who have never ridden in (or driven) a V8 powered car.  They will never know what they are missing which will make it even easier for Liberals to kill it off.

And so I will enjoy the 2750 miles remaining in my trip and press the gas pedal down with glee when its safe to do so knowing that each time will be one less time I can.

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Like let me put my camping backpack on and walk to the store and carry everything back like a pack mule.

There is a reason people around the world struggle to live the dream and own a car.  Cars are great.  I’m driving my car 3,500 miles across 5 states seeing the countryside at my own pace and going where I want.  If I were walking, flying, or taking the train that wouldn’t be possible, would it?

But in San Francisco, a very anti-car city, there are parklets popping up everywhere.  Basically, several parking spaces are legally confiscated and converted into some kind of a makeshift patio.  When I lived in Paris, France the sidewalks were wide enough to accommodate sitting and dining areas without impacting parking but not in San Francisco.

I lived on Haight Street (the site of the parklet under discussion here) for 6 months.  The parking situation there is, as you’d imagine, tough because the neighborhood gets a ton of tourist traffic.

The average San Francisco parking meter produces $1,600.00 in “revenue” (installation cost is $1,000.00) not including how ever many parking tickets are generated by expired meters.  Since the average meter ticket is just under $50.00 that parking space will make a lot more money than $1,600.00 for San Francisco (which is broke).

A parklet, on the other hand, costs $1,000.00 to apply for, $650.00 for two parking meters to be removed, then $221.00 per year renewal.

Including parking tickets that certainly would be issued, these parklets actually cost the city money every year.

Here is a photo I took a few days ago of a typical parklet (this one is on Haight Street):

Another reason to hate Haight Street.

Parklets also remove two parking spaces from the street 24 hours per day, 365 days per year even though the business they serve only use them for 8-12 hours per day.

So the other 12-16 hours are wasted.

That’s what we call Liberal Efficiency.

The residents of the neighborhood are the ones who really pay the price.  I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to be driving around at 10pm on a Sunday night looking for parking and being unable to park somewhere because there is a parklet (going unused because the business around it are closed).

These quasi-permanent structures are also magnets for graffiti because they are unattended overnight and because legally they cannot be used solely for the business which sponsors them the homeless also like them.

The parklets seem to appear only in front of cafes, bars, and restaurants (which can increase their seating capacity) but how does taking 2 parking spaces off the market help other businesses like hardware or furniture stores which depend on people getting their via car?  And since even the silly Liberals who run San Francisco wouldn’t let every bar on a street have a parklet some companies benefit more than others do.

Part of living in the modern world is dealing with cars which transport people into urban areas with money to spend and economic activity to create.  Despite the best attempts by Liberals to change reality, it won’t work.

Parklets cost San Francisco more money than they produce, the discriminate against other businesses, and punish neighborhood residents while discouraging consumers to drive to the areas in which they exist.

There’s a reason why I do most of my shopping and spending outside of where I live… it’s more convenient (and the sales tax is less, too).

In fact, the only place you can find Redskins or 49er Superbowl winner is at the retirement home!

Capitol Commentary hopes you enjoy the game and a Bronx Cheer for the winner.

In the meantime, please enjoy this week’s ObamaNation: