24/7 Chat About Anything

[Qxxx]

I hope you get to Quartzsite next winter TA, or you'll have to change yer signature, .

For the sake of the low elevation people, it's been in the low 80s here all this past week. High-Desert has its advantages.

 

[Qxxx]

Worst part was nothin' but Denny's open for dinner.

I didn't stop in Holbrook myself, so cannot say. I stopped in Winslow. It has an "authentic" old downtown area, although not really a lot going on, and I ate in a little mexican restaurant on the main street there. I always prefer those places to the chains.

I also stopped at the famous Meteor Crater near there, and that was a total ripoff. For $18 you got to go out on the terrace of the visitor center and look down into the crater, which was fenced off with no access. Poo.

 

[VanFan]

...little mexican restaurant on the main street there. I always prefer those places to the chains.

...Meteor Crater near there, and that was a total ripoff.

No chains for us either.  We also stopped at the Crater.  Once I set my gullibility aside and let the inner nerd out to read and squeeze some juice out of the experience, I learned a lot.  Couldn't tell you what  :s , but hey, it's been a year!

 

[Firebuild]

@Firebuild - Like millions of others, I know Assateague from having read Misty of Chincoteague - and I seem to remember a movie set there. Can't recall the name. I fantasize that it is magical to camp among wild horses. Were they good neighbors? I'm on the other side of the continent and there's not much chance I'll get to your area. I'm glad you enjoyed your expedition and hope all goes well with your mother's health.

Happy Sunday, everyone!  

As neighbors go, they're kinda pushy LOL. You're supposed to keep 40 feet from them but no one told them, apparently. There are "safes" under the picnic tables for food, because they will go through everything on the table. As soon as we got there, a group of about 8 came through and rooted through our bags. No food in them -  we'd gotten the message about that! But one of them literally pulled out my friend's 1lb propane bottles and tossed them.  One morning while my friend was asleep in her tent a group came by with a baby. The baby proceeded to lick the tent for a while, though my friend was snoozing and had no idea there was nothing but nylon between her and a horse's mouth.  They're pretty easy to shoo away with a plastic bottle filled with broken shells, though; I wasn't too interested in shooing but occasionally it got a little weird. 

They came by one night at about 10pm while we were at the campfire. Of course I had to shoot some video! Since it was dark I definitely violated the 40 foot rule, until a big brown horse looked me in the eye and was like, um... back off honey, or I'll hurt you!

The truly bad neighbors were the skeeters and the flies. I'm guessing I brought home a hundred at least in the bus. my dog likes to chase them down and dispatch them in midair with his mouth so he had a fun time. Not so much the humans. if you go, bring netting and every kind of bug killer known to man.

 

[Firebuild]

I didn't stop in Holbrook myself, so cannot say. I stopped in Winslow. It has an "authentic" old downtown area, although not really a lot going on, and I ate in a little mexican restaurant on the main street there. I always prefer those places to the chains.

I also stopped at the famous Meteor Crater near there, and that was a total ripoff. For $18 you got to go out on the terrace of the visitor center and look down into the crater, which was fenced off with no access. Poo.

 I did a video about the meteor crater but I didn't get to go in because they wanted me to leave my dog, who I'd only adopted like 4 days before, in their "Pet Ramada." I was bummed about what I missed but from your description doesn't sound like much.

 

[Firebuild]

No chains for us either.  We also stopped at the Crater.  Once I set my gullibility aside and let the inner nerd out to read and squeeze some juice out of the experience, I learned a lot.  Couldn't tell you what  :s , but hey, it's been a year!

Here's something they don't tell you at the Crater, at least I don't think they do: It's named after a post office. I was all baffled it's called meteor crater when meteors can't make craters because they don't make it through the atmosphere. I was thinking it was supposed to be meteorITE crater but it's actually named after Meteor Station, the closest post office at the time, which is the naming convention for formations like that apparently.

 

[Qxxx]

I was thinking it was supposed to be meteorITE crater but it's actually named after Meteor Station, 

That's interesting, but not worth $18. Just kidding. 

I guess the thing was, I already knew about how it was formed, so paying $18 to look down into from the balcony was a non show. I had noticed the fence all around it as I drove in, but thought maybe you could go into it from inside the visitor center.

FWIW, I think Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley is much more interesting, and worth the 100 mile round trip drive from Furnace Creek. At least people can walk around it.
https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/visit-ubehebe-crater.htm

 

[travelaround]

Wow, an astronomy, geology and history lesson all at one time. Thanks for the warning about the meteor crater and $18 entry. That does seem like a lot.

 

[travelaround]

I hope you get to Quartzsite next winter TA, or you'll have to change yer signature, .

That would be just terrible - I like this signature. Technically this small mountain town isn't a city, and if anyone owns me it is these cats I'm responsible for feeding. I should have thought twice before agreeing to keep them but I didn't want any mice in my mobile home. The only way I'll get out is if I can get a house sitter or fix the place and rent it out. My adult children who live nearby will feed them temporarily while I go get my things in Idaho... but that's not a good solution for long trips.

 

[Qxxx]

You might ask abnorm about herding cats. (I think he's the one). Or Nomadic Fanatic. His cat made him rich enough to buy a Class-A.

 

[travelaround]

These two outdoor cats have never lived indoors and I don't think traveling with them is a good idea for any of us. Not sure what I'm going to do, but in the meantime will keep building out the van.

 

[Qxxx]

There is a joke about Behaviorists conditioning rats. The one rat says to the other: "I have the Behaviorist trained so that, each time I press this lever, he gives me a food pellet". (sorry).

 

[Qxxx]

Cliff notes version, don't tell me I have to read the book too?

It's funny. I decided to watch the movies they made of Atlas Shrugged (generally panned by reviewers) and mentioned this to my friend in the UK who does similar projects to me. So, JFTHOI, he downloaded the book. So, remembering your comment, I was quick to tell him to read the Cliff Notes copy instead, or just the wikipedia page.

 

[maki2]

That would be just terrible - I like this signature. Technically this small mountain town isn't a city, and if anyone owns me it is these cats I'm responsible for feeding. I should have thought twice before agreeing to keep them but I didn't want any mice in my mobile home. The only way I'll get out is if I can get a house sitter or fix the place and rent it out. My adult children who live nearby will feed them temporarily while I go get my things in Idaho... but that's not a good solution for long trips.

I do not know if there is a Humane Society near you. But if there is they have a special program for resettling "Barn Cats" into new homes. Your current cats would fall into the Barn Cat category. Barn cats are very useful to farms and other businesses that are located in the rural areas. There is no adoption fee involved for the person who adopts them but if it is possible they do like of course to receive a donation. It is also possible for you to keep them with you until a suitable home is found for them. That means no stress to the kitties such as being take into the animal shelter space.

Go to the website, write a request, take some photos too. It helps if you know the approximate age and such. They will give them a health check and shots before they go to their new owners.

I felt I needed to rehome my two beloved kitties before I went on the road. They were senior cats, they were a bonded pair. One had a fatty benign tumor on his neck my vet felt was risky to remove as he was sensitive to anesthesia but they managed to remove it before he was rehomed, they did dental care for both of them. Seattle has a super great Humane Society with personal suites for the kitties, with sleeping, playing space and of course litter box. They posted a video of them on youtube to help with the adoption and the kitties were so happy and content in that video, sleeping with each other, bathing, interacting with the volunteers. They found a new home pretty quickly after the one kitty healed from his surgery as they are great cats.

So I highly recommend you consider that Barn Cat program as a solution to finding a good home for the kitties where they can continue to live out of doors and be valued for what they do should you want to travelaround more often for longer periods of time And not to worry, there are usually neighborhood cats who are very willing to look for mice around your place.

 

[maki2]

My workshop mate finally came out with a list of rules of behavior at the workshop space. Not one item on it that I can't comfortably live with. I have no idea how his son feels about it, I am sure not entirely happy as he did not get his desire which was my immediate eviction. The rules have protected my belongings and my personal space. Now I can get back to work and get the build finished so I can meet what was already my goal, being on the road in the early fall.

Back to work wiring up the trailer lights, brake control with breakaway battery system. I need to feed some more wires tomorrow and put a ground wire on the trailer frame. Then test that the trailer tail lights got connected properly. Still some issues to sort out on the 7 pole trailer light wiring. Something does not see quite right about the diagrams I looked at as to color coding. But I will get it all sorted out now that I have less stress to deal with in other parts of my life.

 

[travelaround]

@Maki - what great news, that you now have ground rules that protect your needs, and the son has been given boundaries. I hope he will be less of a distress to you in the future.

Cats! I'm not ready to give them away, but when I'm ready to go back to full time vandwelling I will keep that barn cat program in mind. These two have already been neutered so at least I don't have to worry about kittens. There is a wonderful Humane Society shelter in Mt. Shasta. I've taken cats there before.

 

[travelaround]

There is a joke about Behaviorists conditioning rats. The one rat says to the other: "I have the Behaviorist trained so that, each time I press this lever, he gives me a food pellet". (sorry).

My cat will jump on the air conditioner outside the window where my desk is, and proceed to pester me until I give him back his food bowl at night if he is still hungry. I'm bringing it in at sunset to make my porch less attractive to skunks and raccoons.

 

[Firebuild]

These two outdoor cats have never lived indoors and I don't think traveling with them is a good idea for any of us. Not sure what I'm going to do, but in the meantime will keep building out the van.

My friend is a long haul truck driver who adopted 2 ferals. They've been traveling in the cab with him for 2 years now and seem to not be able to believe their luck. They never even try to get out.

 

[Qxxx]

My cat will jump on the air conditioner outside the window where my desk is, and proceed to pester me until I give him back his food bowl at night if he is still hungry. I'm bringing it in at sunset to make my porch less attractive to skunks and raccoons.

I recently watched the movie "Hell or High Water" (again), and which is excellent. One of the the last lines is "What we do for our kids" ... and pets.

 

[highdesertranger]

amazing the cats are feral but the horses are wild.

breaking news the are NO wild horses in the Americas, they are all feral.

highdesertranger