I have followed many semi-marked trails that wind up through a forested mountain slope before reaching a beautiful summit. Sometimes, getting back down is not as easy as climbing up. The way down may take a different route and can be quite tricky. I’m not sure if it is always the National Park Service or just helpful people leaving stacked rocks to point the way, but I really appreciate whoever took the time.  Like breadcrumbs, those stacked rocks help me find my way home. However, just recently, I came across an article explaining the true history of these stacked rocks.
 
  For centuries, humans have been building such markers. These piles of stacked rocks are called cairns. From middle Gaelic, the word means “mound of stones built as a memorial or landmark.” Supposedly, there are plenty of these memorials built in Celtic territories, as well as in other cultures; indigenous peoples in the United States often used cairns to cover and bury their dead. I really hope that was not the case because in Moab and also Tuco, there were a ton of them everywhere, and they were not pointing in any direction. The possibility of those being graves… well, let's just hope they are not. With that said, you can't always rely on stacked rocks to find your way home. Most of the time, it is pretty obvious that the location of the stacked rocks is just someone leaving their mark, at lease I hope so. It’s always interesting to learn the history of the things that we do as humans.
 
 I give special thanks to the people who left appropriate stacked rocks at critical junctions to help me find my way through the wilderness

  Please share your experience below in the comments. 

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  I love my microwave. Hell, I can’t remember when I didn’t have one. For the last few months, however, I have been forced not to rely on the microwave because it requires my generator to work.

“We surprise ourselves with being able to survive – fuck you convenience” – Will Johnson

  I’m no scientist or biologist so I can’t confirm that using a microwave will slowly kill us nor do I really care. “They say” that the emissions may or may not be any worse than what our cell phones and laptops emit. Also, there are studies that report, “microwaves destroy more enzymes and nutrients than other cooking methods”. Fuck It… Let’s face one fact.. “We are going to die from something”. So this is not a blog about stopping people from using the microwave.

  When I sat down and thought about it, I really only used my microwave to re-heat food and drinks, with the minor exception of those frozen vegetable bags (those are so good).  I remember back in the day I would use the microwave for a lot of things like, breakfast meals, hungry man dinners, and my favorite, hot pockets. Who doesn’t like to pop something in a machine and have it ready in minutes? It gives us more time to do something else, let alone the number of dishes you don’t have to clean after cooking.
 
With that said, I think reheating food is the most important aspect of owning a microwave. Over the years I had learned how to reheat my food in a microwave without it getting extremely dry except for pizza. I never could figure out a good way to reheat pizza in the microwave. Now, depending on what I’m reheating, I will either steam it or place it in foil in a frying pan for a few minutes. For really saucy stuff, I try to keep a variety of sauces to add when I place it in the frying pan. I’m telling you now, that nothing comes out dry. Matter of fact, it actually tastes better reheated.
 
  For coffee, I keep a small pot on the stove to boil some water. I also use that pot for warm water. I can avoid using the water heater for small things like a warm cloth to wash my wash and hands on cold mornings and evenings.

  Being off the grid makes you think about all the things that you use and for the most part take for granted, because they seem unlimited. Seriously, I’m not living in a cave, but when you don’t have money, that’s when the fun begins.  I will write another blog about, “off the grid becoming a fun challenge”.

​ Right now my microwave is an expensive bread storage compartment. My next camper will have a “toaster oven” and a “stackable steamer” instead of a microwave. Don’t get me wrong… I may go back to using a microwave at some point in my life, but for now it’s just something that I can do without and may add some seconds to my life.

 Please share your experience with a microwave. Also, share some of your quick meal recipes to help avoid using the microwave.

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Thanks.