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RV life gets expensive

Allen BestVail, CO Colorado

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. If you cringe when you fill up with gas, think about what its like if youre in your golden years, motoring around the country in the traveling motel room called an RV.The Jackson Hole News&Guide recently caught up with the Darbys, of Cabrillo, Calif., who four years ago bought a deluxe motorcoach with marble floors, two stoves, leather recliners and a ceiling fan. They figured to spend up to six months a year on the road. Theyre still travelling, but cutting it back after stops such as the one in Jackson, where they topped off the tank with $344 worth of gas. A full tank would have cost nearly $600.The newspaper tells the story of many commuters from outlying communities who have switched from pickups to Subarus, or started taking the public buses. The bus service, called START, is over budget 20 percent because of fuel prices.But its not just the rich and richer, but the very richest who are also shrinking their travel. Jackson Hole Aviation reports sales of jet fuel are down 13 percent. While many clients in the past have been unfazed by soaring costs, said Bryan Burns, the company vice president, hes starting to see people reduce private and charter air travel.Yet to be seen is the effect of higher gasoline prices on Jackson Holes summer economy. Summer there is typically much bigger and busier than winter, owing in part to the draw of the two national parks, Teton and Yellowstone, nearby.

WHISTLER, B.C. The Canadian government recently issued a formal apology to 80,000 Indians (called First Nations in Canada) who had been forced to leave their families to attend church-organized schools intended to assimilate them. The experience wasnt all bad, said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But those positive experiences are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children and their separation from powerless families and community, he added.The 19th century policy similar to one in the United States lasted into the 20th, with bitterness and hurt lingering even into the 21st century, reports Whistlers Pique Newsmagazine. Several First Nations tribes have extensive land holdings in the Whistler area.Chief Leonard Andrew of the LilWat Nation told Pique he was surprised at the thoroughness of the apology. Although not yet ready to forgive the government for placing him in a residential school, he hopes this marks a new beginning for him and others like him.Chief Gibby Jacob of the Squamish Nation also said the apology is a point of demarcation and now its time to move on. If we dont quit victimizing ourselves, we dont release ourselves from the prison we keep ourselves in, he said.


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