By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host
Yet another one of my friends has fled from California. The liberal left Democrats have a strangle-hold on us here in the once Golden State, with a rising gas tax which will place California above all States by a wide gap in gasoline prices, a tax on grocery bags that requires you bring your own or pay for reusable bags (that take 28 times more energy to produce, but are used only a few times before discarded - making them less environmentally friendly than the thin plastic grocery bags we were using before), automobile registration fees that have reached into the stratosphere (my truck was already $180 before the rise in fees), emission standards that remove most older cars off the road (my last two cars ran great, but because they could not pass smog, and it would cost me thousands of dollars to bring them into compliance, I was forced to send them off to a junk yard, and purchase a newer vehicle - placing me at a significant financial disadvantage), among the highest State income tax in the country, an allegiance that borders on worship of Obamacare - which has left me without health care because the rates have risen too high for me to afford it but we make too much money to get a subsidy (California, last year, actually considered full socialized medicine in the State, and the only thing that stopped it was the reality that the cost of it would exceed California's already astronomical budget), a high cost of living due to the hostility towards businesses that includes high business and corporate taxes along with growth killing regulations, unsafe community conditions due to prison realignment, unsafe conditions due to the decriminalization of a number of crimes, unsafe conditions due to the reduction of felonies to misdemeanors which has placed more violent criminals on the streets, rampant voter fraud that includes 11 counties with more registered voters than the number of eligible voters in the county, unsafe conditions in public places due to the vast rise of criminal illegal aliens in our communities, a drain on State services with the State's unconstitutional sanctuary state status which leaves less for money for services for citizens, the inability to defend oneself with draconian gun control laws and upcoming ammunition laws that will make it nearly impossible to purchase the ammunition needed to load one's firearms, water restrictions due to poorly invested funds regarding water retention, billions being spent on a high speed rail that nobody wants nor will ride, an open "Top Two" primary ballot system that often places two Democrats on the ballot without any opposition by the GOP during the General Election in November, ridiculous traffic conditions (one time it took me over six hours to get home from L.A.'s South Bay - and the traffic conditions are getting worse as the powers that be in Sacramento refuse to add lanes and are actually reducing lanes for the purpose of adding bike lanes) and poor road conditions (we noticed how bad the roads are compared to Arizona, Utah, and Idaho in places along the California Desert, and especially the moment we hit local roads after the descent from the Cajon Pass from the High Desert into the L.A. Basin) but the money is being spent elsewhere (pensions, Jerry Browns high speed choo choo, illegal aliens), the worst public education system that sucks more money than elsewhere yet is dead last in most standards because its designed more to indoctrinate the children rather than teach them what they need for the next stage of their life (we also have, statewide, among the worst graduation and drop-out rates), high crime rates in the cities that are among the highest in the nation in all crime categories (and the crime rates continue to rise rapidly), high electricity rates which will likely go higher once the CCAs (regionalism taking electricity out of the private market's hands, and into a sort-of government co-op's hands) kick into place, property taxes that are high (my property taxes for the tiny little lot my house is on in Murrieta is five times as high as my property taxes for 80 acres with a house in the State of Oregon - and they want higher property taxes as the politicians in Sacramento continue to try to monkey with Proposition 13), a threat of fine or jail if you use the wrong pronoun when addressing someone (if you are in certain jobs), I am being ticketed for having a brown lawn but my neighbor got a warning for over-watering his lawn, I am being ticketed for having dead leaves on my tree (combined, my tickets require me to pay nearly $2,000), a law that requires pro-life facilities to advertise abortion mills (recently paused thanks to a judge in Riverside), a law requiring pro-life facilities to not discriminate in their hiring practices at all (meaning they could be sued if they refuse to hire a pro-abortion employee, or a transgender individual), and a supermajority of Democrats in Sacramento doing whatever they want while there is nothing the Republicans can do to slow down the madness - or and as bad as Jerry Brown is as governor (at least he vetoes a few of the insane bills), we are looking like our next governor will be the even crazier hard left former mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom.
An exit tax is being discussed (again), as is the list of more government control and more taxes. Assemblyman Sawyer-Jones, when asked about the constitutionality of Sacramento's insane laws, said that this is California, "we do what we want," the Constitution doesn't matter.
The good weather can only keep one here in Southern California for so long. . .
That said, the whole time I was in Idaho (Monday Morning through Thursday Morning) the evenings were below freezing, and the days were in the forties. As we were driving back, we got word it was snowing in Buhl, Idaho (the town of a little over 4,000 people we were in). On Sunday they are supposed to get an even more convincing snowfall.
Nearby Twin Falls has over 44,000 people according to their last census (in the Temecula Valley here in Southern California we have over a quarter million people, and we are outside the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas - tucked in between a bit inland, to be specific). That said, the towns in Southern Idaho may be small, but everything you need is there. . . though in some cases on a smaller scale.
Rather than all of the conveniences of life being within a 5-10 minute drive from home, there most of the nearest conveniences of life are 15 minutes or farther away. However, your neighbors are further away, too - and that is definitely a plus.
Southern California's visual scenery never really changes. It's essentially non-stop city. Asphalt and homes. A smidgen of brown hills (or blackened - depending on when the latest wildfire was). A freeway system like no other. Sure, from my home I am about an hour or so (when the traffic is flowing. . . which is rarely) away from the beach, the desert, the mountains, lakes, San Diego, and various amusement establishments in the Los Angeles area; but the breathtaking scenery of the rest of the United States beats the hell out of what I have to look at down here in the southwest corner of the continental 48.
In Buhl, Idaho, the view out the window was peaceful and provided a situation that definitely won't make someone feel claustrophobic.
On the way out of town we had a number of waterways we crossed over.
The open landscape with mountains in the distance and a crispness in the air was intoxicating. In many ways, I really didn't want to leave. Don't get me wrong. I couldn't wait to sleep in my own bed, again. But, the scenery and the slower pace of life was . . . therapeutic.
The area outside Twin Falls and Buhl was farmland.
The hills and mountains stand around the valley like sentinels ready to protect the serenity of the area.
In the distance snow could be seen on the mountains.
And, not so distant snow could also be seen on the mountains - and understand, it is only late November.
East of the area we had stayed at, as we drove along Interstate 84 towards I-15, revealed that the beauty continues to delight the senses. The hills and open land continued to embrace us, bidding us farewell. . . hopefully for only a short while.
As we got further away, more snow-topped mountains revealed themselves.
We stopped at a rest stop as we got closer to the Utah State Line, and the trees got taller, and the mountaintops got snowier.
On the other side of the highway, the greenery and crisp beauty remained in view.
My wife didn't expect this picture. If you look on the map of Idaho on the wall, the white circle along the southern border of the State depicts our position at the time. . . as you can see, we were literally mere moments from exiting the State of Idaho.
My buddy, Ed, was happy to stretch his legs (as was I), and we were both sporting 2nd Amendment shirts.
One of the things we got a kick out of was the speed limits in these other States. In Idaho, the speed limit was 80 MPH on the highways, with the big trucks limited to 70 MPH. In Utah, except in certain areas near towns and cities, it was 80 MPH for all vehicles. . . including the big rigs! In California there is no place on any freeway anywhere that allows big rigs to go faster than 55 MPH. Any vehicle pulling a trailer in California will also never see a speed limit higher than 55. The fastest any other speed limit is in California, and this only happens in the open land areas, is 70 MPH. Many of the limits, however, are 65 MPH.
It was unreal, since my buddy liked hanging out between 60 MPH and 65 MPH (regardless of which State were were in) in the vehicle ahead of me, watching the big rigs flying by us at probably 80 MPH, or faster.
The other interesting thing is that we saw "triples" quite a bit. Big rigs normally have one trailer, and in some cases, two trailers (doubles). In California, doubles is the maximum a truck can haul, and that takes a special endorsement on one's license. In other States, however, triples are legal, and we saw our share of triples coming down Interstate 15 through Utah. Fascinatingly, most of the triples we saw were FED-EX haulers.
Norther Utah carries the same kind of beauty and open land that Idaho does.
The roads were sparsely populated.
The roads were in much better condition than the roadways in California.
And the crisp brisk cool air continued to be the case as we began working our way down the heart of the State of Utah.
In the distance we could see farmhouses, and homes, and for a Californian, the space between the dwellings was quite impressive. There is, apparently, for the folks who live in these areas, plenty of elbow room.
In some areas the homes were closer together, but open land still surrounded the neighborhoods.
Sometimes the homes were larger than your average family home.
Sometimes the farms were even pretty massive.
Hills and mountains seemed to move closer, as we traveled southward, looming over the homes which dotted the landscape here an there, rather than dominating each and every inch like we see in Southern California.
Salt Lake City's Capitol looms above the city. When we were headed north on our "to Idaho" journey, it was nighttime, and the capitol was a well-lighted scene of majesty perched on an uphill location overlooking the greater Salt Lake City region.
Even for a city, the area wasn't always packed like we see in California. . . and the traffic was nothing compared to what I am used to on the congested Southern California freeways.
Here's a better picture of Salt Lake City's Capitol, perched up high, with mountains rising majestically behind it.
As we worked our way through the Salt Lake City area, mountains always greeted us in the distance. . . but since it is a big city with a lot of industry, we noticed that along the foothills we could see a layer of smog - though, I will have to admit, it was nothing like we see along the foothills in the Los Angeles area. The Great Salt Lake, itself, however, was not visible from the freeway's vantage point in Salt Lake City. We did catch a glimpse of it in Ogden, but it was short and quick, and gave me no chance to snap a pic.
Provo, Utah represented the southernmost part of the Salt Lake City suburban sprawl, and a big "Y" on the hill above Provo reminded us that Brigham Young University was somewhere, nearby.
Then, it was back to farmland, and open spaces that is foreign to the Los Angeles area (at least until you travel north, beyond the Grapevine).
This particular home in the center of this picture impressed us. It was sitting all alone, but looked large and luxurious. The church closer to us (and to the left of the house from our vantage point) was surrounded by, you got it, open land.
The mountains surrounded us as we approached Southern Utah loomed in a manner similar to those north of us, but minus the snow. I love traveling through the United States. The landscape is always a joy to observe. Utah did not disappoint.
Eventually, sunset caught up with us.
Darkness began to engulf our scenery.
After dinner in St. George at Cracker Barrel, and a quick curve through the northwest corner of Arizona, we began to trek through and past Mesquite, Nevada, until the Las Vegas metropolitan area began to reveal itself in the distance.
We pulled into Primm, Nevada near the State-line, to stretch our legs, and fuel up, before entering California.
Whiskey Pete's was across the Street.
We stopped in Baker and Barstow to stretch our legs. Baker is full of closed stores and restaurants that are boarded up, though a few businesses still remain lighted up. The nice thing is that when we were headed up last Sunday, the traffic from Las Vegas to Southern California on Interstate 15 was horrid - they were all coming home after a four-day Thanksgiving weekend in Vegas.
The final few hours of our journey home, without all of the "from Vegas" traffic, were still brutal. Fatigue was setting in, and my back pain was tearing into me. Nonetheless, we completed the journey without stopping after Barstow, and ater dropping off the truck I had been driving at Ed's Wildomar home, we took our humble little sedan home and arrived at our own house at 3:00 am.
Since Ed's new home in Buhl, Idaho is brand spanking new to him, it has no furniture in it, so while we were there we slept on blankets on the floor the first night, and an air mattress Tuesday and Wednesday Night. When I climbed into my bed this morning, it felt softer and better than I have ever experienced, before.
It was nice to be in my own bed. I finally slept soundly for the first time in a week.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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