lots of miles, Independence Day, and Water.....

In a few minutes, I'm off to my (weekly) drive back to Yakima County. Since about February or March I have been making the commute from Spokane to my folks' place to be with my family. Some might say that can be a pretty boring drive on the eyes, but that opinion is all in the eye of the beholder. You can make the most of the drive or you can let it suck you dry. I try to make the most of it, and I won't lie to you: a cell-phone makes it a heck of a lot easier. It becomes a pretty amazing feat though when you really start to pay attention to what is around you. We need to remember how lucky we are in this state that I can drive from the far east side of the state to the lower central portion in just a few hours. If we were in Texas I wouldn't even have left a corner in that time. Washington is truly a beautiful place if you really stop and look around. We live in a truly biologically diverse part of the world and no part of this state is the same in pretty much an hour within any direction. On my drive I go from some light timber, rolling hills of dryland crop country, Columbia basin, Columbia River Gorge, sagebrush, irrigated crop-ground, and my drive ends with close views of both Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier in front of my windshield. The next time you think a drive across Washington is boring-head to the mid-west. I guarantee you won't see the diversity you can here!

This 4th of July make the most of the day. I truly believe this holiday is a sign of the times to come. Already patriotism has virtually died in our nation, I feel. I don't know about you but I haven't heard much about "Independence Day" in the days leading up to Saturday. In my opinion that's because our country doesn't much believe in our "Independence" anymore, so they sure as heck don't want to remind us of it. Teach your kids and grandkids what this holiday is for beyond hotdogs, fireworks, and Popsicles. Teach them who fought and died for our country so many times over. Teach them how important the freedom we do have left, is and instill in them a sense of pride and work ethic to maintain that independence.

This Independence Day brings one of the biggest battles I think our state has seen. We are in a fight for our lives with stockwater in Washington State. I encourage you to reflect on your own life as we enter into this next era and decide how important your freedom is to you. Are you willing to stand and fight in this "war" of the 21st century or are you going to lay down and surrender? How will you proceed and what kind of legacy do you want to be known for? This next chapter will reveal peoples true character, strength, resiliance, and passion.