Camping In Northeast Washington Hoping Bears Won't Show Up

I drove along the 20 freeway in NorthEast Washington and went as far as I could before I was really sick of driving.  It got to that time so I pulled into the first driveway where I saw a tent icon on a sign.  After scouting the area, we found the last spot and pulled in.  Lucky for us, the nightly fee was only six dollars!

I am more afraid of a confrontation with a bear than a person for some reason.  I worried a bit in Yosemite when I was lectured by the bear police to keep all lip balms out of the car and put them in the bear box because bears, "love a good lip balm."  I'm glad he told me that because I found all of the ones that I seemingly "lost" and lined them up in the bear box...all 8 of them.  At least the bear will have a variety if it figured out how to open the bear box at the campsite.

Since then, I have calmed myself down a bit thinking that they wouldn't show up.  I read a few blogs from time to time and just when I had a calming feeling, I read the blog from Rich Luhr about a bear approaching his campsite at night, letting out a huge roar...my worst nightmare.

So, here we are again, camping in our tent.  I let it go and decided to relax and enjoy the beauty in the area.  The night was quiet and the next morning was relaxing.  I was having a cup of coffee at the site as the ranger came by.  I didn't think anything of it since I payed my whopping $6 fee.  As he approached, he looked at me and said, "did you see any bears?"

What?  Bears?  Are you kidding me?  I thought I was free from those thoughts and here comes Rick the ranger to put them right back in my brain.  I thought he was joking but he was very serious. You know, that serious ranger face look? Well, Rick had it. We chatted for a bit, he agreed for me to take his photo and later Max and I decided to go for a walk.  Needless to say, the walk didn't last long.  Each crack of a branch or rustle in the bushes made me jump so it wasn't the relaxing morning I had hoped for.  I know, such a big whimp!  I will get over it and not worry.  Good news is, I have plenty of lip balm handy.

Market Comments

Russell has been very strong as it is usually a good target for shorts in momentum moves and they have been getting smoked. The problem is that the Russell is very easy security to get burned with. We have seen it on this rise. The shorts got hammered so I was looking for capitulation. If you thought that 615 was a good short, then 630 seemed much better and finally 670 took you out - most likely a very damaging result.

Today struck me as a short capitulation day on the RUT especially for many reasons. The open sucked, so I shorted the TF and NQ  in a rare discretionary trade around the open. I covered that trade in the 663 area and am now left with the core short position. But what was interesting is that the leading index, (i.e. RUT) lagged big time today and its still lagging overnight. This is a classic capitulation setup. Strongest index at the open weakest at the close.

Matt Fraily/Breakpointtrades.com sent me this chart which also shows a potential for a major turn on the Russell...I think this is an interesting chart...

SSO Daily Swing Goes Short

ES RVS Daily Swing Adds another position

A Hike To Bridal Vail Falls And Back To The USA

Since I went through the hassle of getting through the Canadian border, I might as well take a hike and enjoy what the area has to offer.  In the morning, Kim and I decided to take a short walk to visit bridal vail falls in Bridal Falls, BC.

It was a nice, easy walk through the forest and as usual, I stopped to snap pictures along the way.  After I crossed the border, the drive into Bridal Falls was beautiful.  It was a bit overcast when I arrived yesterday but today, it was beautiful.

As I took a few photographs, Kim was behind me snapping away towards me taking pictures (I didn't know it at the time) and this one with me taking a picture of the waterfall is courtesy of her.

After the walk and a nice lunch, Max and I headed on our way.  We drove for hours on route 3 headed East.  The road winds North And South as it makes it way through the country.  I decided it was time to head back to the USA for now.

I was a little anxious to cross the border again since we had so much trouble on our way into Canada.  This time, I was able to say that I met with friends and not some strangers I met on the internet.  For some reason, that made a lot more sense to them.  After just a few questions, I was set on my way!  Yeah, FREEEE.....

I was a bit relieved to be back in the USA.  Even though it was a long day of driving, I felt a sense of pride as I drove on the highway.  As I turned on a smaller road into a forest, I passed a car going 20 MPH in a 50MPH zone on a two lane stretch of road.  As I passed, the nice gentleman decided to put his arm out the window to flip me off.

Ahhh, home sweet home in the USA.

Bank Earnings and Accounting Eccentricities...

"UBS rises on the SIX Swiss Exchange, having gained as much as 7.6% shortly after markets opened.

The bank's bottom line included a CHF595 million gain due to a fall in the market value of its own debt, compared to a CHF1.21 billion charge a year earlier."

There go the accounting rules again...I really like that rule as your financial condition deteriorates you make money because you are short your own debt.

ES RVS Swing Triggers Short