Cattle Guards ... revisited per requests from readers

For those of you who have never traveled to the West or Southwest, cattle guards are horizontal steel rails placed at fence openings, in dug-out places in the roads adjacent to highways (sometimes across highways), to prevent cattle from crossing over that area.  For some reason the cattle will not step on the "guards," probably because they fear getting their feet caught between the rails. 

A few months ago, President Obama received a report that there were over 100,000 cattle guards in Colorado .  Because Colorado ranchers had protested his proposed changes in grazing policies, he ordered the Secretary of the Interior to fire half of the cattle guards immediately.

Before the Interior Secretary could respond and presumably straighten him out, Vice-President Joe Biden intervened with a request that before any guards were fired, they be given six months of retraining.

Passed on without further comment.... are we in good hands, or not?

On another subject ...

I watch the Tour de France, I don't understand it, I don't know WHY anyone would want to subject themselves to such torture, unless they just enjoy the scenery like I do. They don't have the advantage of that helicopter though. The shots they take are marvelous. I can see why Hitler wanted to own all of that.

Their crowd control leaves something to be desired. Some riders actually have had to try to beat people off, and I don't understand why, someone wants to run along with the bikers for a few yards or so. The crowds are almost hysterical, and they only get a few seconds view of the riders.

It has to be one of the largest sporting events in the world, when you add it all up. I learned what the peloton was, they could just as easily said the "group." I have heard three different pronunciations of the word.

I am sure the educated know what is happening, I don't, but I love that scenery. I think in a previous life I was Bavarian. Those alps are beautiful, the architecture is extraordinary, as is the scenery.

I wonder, also, some of those roads are quite old, they don't seem to deteriorate like our highways do, wonder why that is. I don't think I have seen one orange barrel. Wonder if they build their roads to last. The Autobahn was build in the twenties, wonder how much maintanance they have had to do.

In Columbus, Ohio, I think they build their highways to last for five years, then resurrface.