The ever-quotable Samuel Johnson once said, "As I know more of mankind I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man upon easier terms than before." So is the Fourth for me.
No longer is it necessary to concoct desperate schemes to escape the urban hordes, each of whom tows the GDP-equivalent of a small, emerging economy. And most of that junk has a noisy engine!
The trick is pretty simple: just stay off the roads, off the trails and out of the campgrounds. Consign yourself to unglamorous land that is 5 miles away from the postcards, where the eye candy will be 90% as good. And on the busiest holiday weekend of the year you'll be completely alone and unbothered.
Last year I spent the Fourth at the consummate tourist trap of northern New Mexico, Red River. I camped completely alone at 10,400 feet. During the day I would go down to town and take in the craziness. I was surprised that it amused me.
