{"id":1163,"date":"2018-07-17T02:10:11","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T02:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=1163"},"modified":"2026-04-18T19:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T23:02:07","slug":"where-is-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is Everyone?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 47\u00b051’16.5″N 119\u00b007’45.9″W\u00a0<\/a><\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a>With 325 million-odd people (or 325 million odd people) in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is. Making our way across the country and stopping in some of the most famous natural landmarks in the world, we have consistently managed to avoid crowds of people. I\u2019m not quite sure how. Granted, at our first stop, Steamboat Rock State Park<\/a> in Washington, we grabbed the last available campsite. But from there it seems like there\u2019s been a bank error in our favor.<\/p>\n

In Idaho we pulled over at the Sam Owen Campground<\/a> high in the pan handle and bagged a prime site on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. In Glacier National Park, well known for its crowds, we pulled into Avalanche campground and had our choice of spots. Yes, some of the other campgrounds were full, but there was plenty of room available. Especially if you were willing to go \u2018primitive\u2019 and get off the beaten track a bit.<\/p>\n

Devil\u2019s Tower National Monument<\/a> in Wyoming is mostly famous for inspiring Richard Dreyfuss\u2019 mania in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It draws crowds from all over the world. As spectacular as this 867\u2019-tall butte is, we waited only a few minutes to get in and find parking.<\/p>\n

Perspective<\/h6>\n

Not far away is Little Bighorn<\/a>, the site of America\u2019s indigenous people\u2019s last victory and Custer\u2019s last stand. The skirmish wasn\u2019t quite as I remembered it. But it\u2019s been 40 years since I read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee<\/a> and I\u2019m a little rusty on the Plains wars. Like almost every other battle site I\u2019ve visited, Little Bighorn is both beautiful, nestled in rolling hills overlooking a wide valley that stretches into the distance, but also somber, with a weirdly spiritual vibe. Even though we arrived mid-afternoon, the parking lot was only half full.<\/p>\n

History almost never gives a real sense of location. We\u2019re told how the events unfolded, but too often how the roles of terrain and local knowledge affect the outcome gets lost. Basic stratagems, like taking the high ground, are supposed to work in a combatant\u2019s favor. But what happens when the high ground is accessible only by foot, with a steep climb of 300\u2019? Nothing goes to plan, as veterans of Pointe du Hoc<\/a>, the Devil\u2019s Den<\/a>, and, in this case, Reno\u2019s battalion<\/a> would tell you. Seeing it for yourself gives you a perspective that all the books or films in the world can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Mount Rushmore<\/a> was even more poorly attended. Perhaps everyone read the same history I had and discovered its sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, was an active supporter of the Ku Klux Klan. Something the visitor\u2019s center has carefully elided. However, I suspect the wet and foggy weather played a bigger role in damping the crowds.<\/p>\n

Badlands<\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a>And so it went on, through the Badlands of South Dakota, the glacial lakes of Upper Michigan, and even Canada, where we had no problem finding places to pitch our tent. Perhaps it\u2019s the increasing urbanization of modern society. Or our mass addiction to the internet (most of the places we visited had little or no signal to connect). Or that heading out and sleeping under (nylon) canvas and swatting bugs is viewed as an atavistic folly for the clearly demented. Whatever the reason, we were loving our semi-privacy beneath the stars.<\/p>\n

Should we be worried about the future of America\u2019s natural spaces? Legions of extraction businesses, including cattle ranchers, oil barons, and timber merchants have shared the benefits of government-managed natural resources with sportspeople for the last century and a half. American wilderness has once again become wilder, with bears and wolves returning to their natural territories.<\/p>\n

Upsetting \u00a0the balance between citizens and business that evolved over the past 100 years could mean the loss of habitat, harvestable resources, and billions of dollars in tourism. But if the people aren\u2019t out there enjoying it, well, we can\u2019t reasonably expect the bears to successfully defend themselves against an army of corporate lawyers. Can we? So get off your butt. Go camp in a state or national park. I bet you\u2019ll find an experience that\u2019s irreplaceable. One that as taxpayers we can all share in as a mutual benefit.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Position: 47\u00b051’16.5″N 119\u00b007’45.9″W\u00a0 With 325 million-odd people (or 325 million odd people) in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is. Making our way across the country and stopping in some of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[135,15,137,16,136,138,87],"class_list":["post-1163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-underway","tag-camping","tag-carol","tag-history","tag-mike","tag-national-parks","tag-point-du-hoc","tag-tai"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Adventures of Aleta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mike\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"headline\":\"Where is Everyone?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":732,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Camping\",\"Carol\",\"History\",\"Mike\",\"National Parks\",\"Point Du Hoc\",\"Tai\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Underway\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/\",\"name\":\"Where is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/17\\\/where-is-everyone\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where is Everyone?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Adventures of Aleta\",\"description\":\"She Called My Bluff - MMSI 367520170\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531\",\"name\":\"Mike\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\",\"width\":412,\"height\":412,\"caption\":\"Mike\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/aleta.life\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/aleta.life\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/captainred\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta","description":"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta","og_description":"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.","og_url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/","og_site_name":"The Adventures of Aleta","article_published_time":"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mike","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mike","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/"},"author":{"name":"Mike","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"headline":"Where is Everyone?","datePublished":"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/"},"wordCount":732,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","keywords":["Camping","Carol","History","Mike","National Parks","Point Du Hoc","Tai"],"articleSection":["Underway"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/","url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/","name":"Where is Everyone? - The Adventures of Aleta","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","datePublished":"2018-07-17T02:10:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-18T23:02:07+00:00","description":"With 325 million-odd people in the United States, we\u2019ve been wondering in the past couple of weeks where everyone is.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","width":2000,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2018\/07\/17\/where-is-everyone\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where is Everyone?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/","name":"The Adventures of Aleta","description":"She Called My Bluff - MMSI 367520170","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/#\/schema\/person\/540f61a1efd4d026d7b72e706e0d5531","name":"Mike","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1","width":412,"height":412,"caption":"Mike"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Aleta-Logo.png?fit=412%2C412&ssl=1"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/aleta.life"],"url":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/author\/captainred\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aleta.life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ERT-530-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9zLjA-iL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1163"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25020,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163\/revisions\/25020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}