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larryhammerSo last weekend, we snuck away from family obligations for an afternoon of hiking on Antelope Island -- where there are, indeed, pronghorn antelope. More surprising, though, was the presence of even more bison -- as in a couple thousand of them wandering around the preserve in their bovine way, for definitions of "bovine" that include large, shaggy, and wild. Not just on the green hills, either, but on the beaches, the roads, the trails, and so on. The sort of wild, shaggy bovines that you have to let wander off the way before you can continue on.
This brought up an important question. See, from years of camping throughout the American west, we've developed a rule-of-thumb definition for what counts as the Middle Of Nowhere: not just that there are cattle on the road, but that the cattle have just as much business being on the road as you do. (NB: this definition does not work in Europe, or indeed anywhere transhumance is practiced, and probably not the rest of the world.) What about buffalo, though? If they have just as much business there are you, is it still middle of nowhere?
Your opinion on this important issue is solicited.
---L.
This brought up an important question. See, from years of camping throughout the American west, we've developed a rule-of-thumb definition for what counts as the Middle Of Nowhere: not just that there are cattle on the road, but that the cattle have just as much business being on the road as you do. (NB: this definition does not work in Europe, or indeed anywhere transhumance is practiced, and probably not the rest of the world.) What about buffalo, though? If they have just as much business there are you, is it still middle of nowhere?
Your opinion on this important issue is solicited.
---L.