24/7 Chat About Anything

[travelaround]

Which makes me wonder...
Yo, ta... I know the Pacific Crest Trail runs along your way... have you ever done the trail angel activities?

 
I live 18 miles from where the trail goes through Highway 96. The hikers come out of Grider Creek Campground to the south, down into Seiad Valley (a town) and then they hike about a half-mile to the other side of town where they head north. The store, post office and café there help out the hikers.

I normally don't see them because I don't spend much time there - but one evening while I was driving through on my way home from Yreka I met a young couple who arrived hungry at the Seiad Valley Store after it was closed. I was happy to share my groceries with them, to see them through until morning when the store and post office would reopen.

I hiked in a bit on both ends of the trail when I was younger, but not far. I've thought about hiking the trail but right now my knees... not sure I'd be able to.

 

[travelaround]

Update on my brother-in-law. He died last night. Age 70 I guess - he was the same age as my sister as they went to high school together and dated back then. They went their separate ways but met again at a high school reunion about twenty years ago and got married. I am feeling so sad for my sister! This was not expected. She wants to have a celebration of life type memorial service in September near San Diego. I hope my van will be ready to live in by then so I can stay in the van instead of a hotel. I'm not going down there right now... the van conversion is supposed to start this week, with the roof work.

 

[user 30781]

I'm so sorry, TA.

 

[maki2]

TA, sorry for the loss of your family member. Never easy to lose a spouse st any age, espcially to an unexpected sudden death.


September is not that far off but if theb
team working on your van is an efficient one it might well be liveable enough for the trip, south. It would make for a good shakedown cruise before all the final installations are finished. If you have the basics done such as toilet, bed,  solar power for fridge and fan, the rest can get finished later. I know that by means of nearly a year of first hand expeience with living in a partially finished build.

 

[nature lover]

Hello TA so sorry for your loss. My little brother, 62 year old, died recently so I know a bit about what you’re going through. I just took time to pray for you And your sister. We often say I’ll pray for you and then go on and forget it I don’t wanna do that so I stopped in the middle of post one and prayed and I’m going Pray again after I post this. You can overeat,, overwork, oversleep, overspend, but you can never over pray.

 

[maki2]

Of course praying a whole lot might keep you from overdoing all that other stuff you listed. :angel:

 

[maki2]

Trip into Flagstaff got done, it was a successful errands and shopping excursion. On the way back across Flagstaff the mapping software took me through the streets where there had been flash flooding a few days ago. Lots of debris and mud along the side of the road and in parking lots but the streets had been mostly swept up. 

Not enough energy left today to start working on the additional cabinet. So I stuck the piece of 1/4" thick 2' x 4' plywood. I got from Home Depot under my mattress to keep it flat until I am ready to cut it to size.

Feeling lazy enough to just sit and watch a little chipmunk run around while I drink my beverage. Birds, cows and chipmunks are my campiing mates this week.

 

[user 30781]

My four kids and their significant others and I are going camping, we have reservations in late September. I went up there this part weekend to check out sites and I'm glad I did because they were not good. Son got into my reservations at home, sent me a screenshot of what was available that weekend and I drove around and picked what I liked better and we changed them.

There were SO.MANY.CHIPMUNKS. Omg we're going to have fun, we love chipmunks. Probably camp robbers too. And fighter jets flying over the lake lol.

When I've been camping up there years ago there would be one jet, then maybe an hour later another one. Almost as soon as I got up there Friday and walked down to the lake to get a pic, THREE of them went over one right after the other.

 

[GypsyJan]

Sorry for your loss, TA. I am glad you don't have to make the trip until September and hopefully the van will be enough ready by then...especially if you give your builders a heads-up now.

NL: thank you for the prayer reminder. I will pray a special one for TA and her sister.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks so much for the prayers. I am grateful for them. I've had a quiet day at home.

Just got a new more accurate blood pressure machine and have been using it - noticing how high my blood pressure is. The only real help for it is losing weight, maybe fasting as that tends to bring down my blood pressure quickly, and taking long walks would help. I'll go see a doctor here to ask for an increase in my meds in the meantime. This has happened before when I crossed that certain threshold with my weight. For today, I took an extra dose of the meds but if I did that every day I'd run out of meds before the end of the month.

RV guy came here today. He said he's helping the new carpenter guy get set up in business. The carpenter also lost his home in our fire last year. Can't wait to get this started! Probably tomorrow I'll go back to Oregon for building supplies.

 

[maki2]

TA is is amazing that not only is your build finally getting started but also that your land is now available for starting a build which thankfully is mostly on your daughter and son in law. It is not a coincidence that your blood pressure is also rising at this time. This is both an exciting as well as very stressfull one. Burn off the build up of those stress hormones with some sensible level of an increase of exercise. Take the grandkids for a daily walk with a goal for distance for aerobic improvement. Wash the window or the car, just get more physical activity going everyday. That is going to lower your blood pressure. Fasting can add more stress to your body and deplete your energy and essential vitamins and minerals as well as leading to dehydration, so take it easy on that routine. Without food in your intestinal track your body has no ability to store liquids and foods for slow overnight and all day time release of moisture and nutrients.

 

[maki2]

Everyday at this present campsite I think anout leaving. It is not a horrible site, just further from town than I like and not as nice as others I have been in.  But what is stopping me from moving is the work of packing everything back up for the journey.

So instead of moving today I am going to reorganize, consolidate and do another garbage run as well as taking more stuff to the thrift store. Hopefully I will be all done with the build activity in early fall.

Although then I might start doing some stuff in the back of the car in the way of a platform with storage under it for my screen room, generator, fuel cans, tools, business supplies and such like that are not in daily use. I don't want it all in my visual sight in the car.

 

[travelaround]

It would be nice to be able to use the space, especially in the trailer, without having to put up the screen room and all that... for times when you just want to stop overnight or for a day or two.

One of my decisions was to keep everything inside my van in case I wanted to just leave. So far on my travels, I haven't put down roots anywhere. I guess I've been a total transient. [Not counting my long stay in my hometown which was supposed to be a short visit and turned into a major disaster.]

 

[VanFan]

TA:  Please forgive me if "advice" is unwanted/unwarranted, but I have some (which, of course, may or may not apply to your situation).  Oh, and a book recommendation.  First, a story (LOL):  my BP crept up on me when I wasn't looking.  At my (deferred, "annual" physical... cough), it was alarmingly high.  I agreed to monitor it twice daily and undertake lifestyle changes for a month, before returning for further evaluation and, most likely, medication.

The book?  Blood Pressure Down, by Janet Bond Brill, PhD, RD, LDN (e-book from my local library).  Easy to follow (relatively) recommendations.  In very short order, my BP now averages in the mid-20's systolic!  My doctor was thrilled!  The main factor has been a drastic reduction in dietary sodium.  I thought I was eating a fairly low-sodium diet.  Compared to many, that may be true, but my daily consumption was way over recommended levels.  It also seems balancing sodium, potassium and magnesium makes a huge difference.  Hydration is key, too.

Okay.  Enough.  Just want you to know that for me, personally, a very serious health issue has been side-stepped, and my energy level and sense of well-being improved hugely, with very little effort. YMMV.

 

[travelaround]

Oh, that is helpful. You just reminded me of potassium and I have some supplements I haven't been using. Thank you!

 

[maki2]

Enjoying my amusing campsite nmates this late afternoon. Blue jays doing hijinks with each. Other in thevtrees. Even more amusing hijink chases on the ground by several chipmunks. Then I got a real treat, a pretty little bird sat on a small nearby tree, bright red area on its head and a bright yelloe throat and cnest area. I looked. It looked if up using color reference and it was a breeding male Western Tanager. I have never seen one of those before. A lot of  birds in Arizona are ones that I have not seen in person before. Others are quite familiar to me such as the Stellar Jays. Bird watching is n ot one of my hobbies but I do enjoy loking at them and like building birdhouses now and again.

 

[travelaround]

@VanFan - Just got an audiobook copy of Blood Pressure Down and listened to the first three chapters. It comes with a PDF file with lists, charts, forms, and recipes. Thanks for recommending it to me. I'm hoping this will inspire me to make the right changes.

 

[nature lover]

I know you Rocky Mountain people don’t call my Appalachians real mountains. I’m only about 2100 feet up right now. But I’m at least 8 miles from the closest electric light. The stars seem especially bright tonight and the Milky Way is clearly visible. Now that makes me hungry for a candy bar. Camping out to see the bright sky is one of God’s best blessings to nomads. I know people who have never seen the Milky Way. What a pity. it’s 12:30 AM I hope I can get some sleep. God bless the nomads everywhere!

 

[user 30781]

^^ I read your post right before I turned off my light last night and went to sleep and it made me smile.

I'm right on the edge of town, so I can see stars, but not a lot of them. One night earlier this year, not only
could I see a lot of stars but I could faintly see the Milky Way. I've been here around 8 years and that was
the first and only time. I don't know what was different about that night.

 

[maki2]

Not the best of day of weather for switching to a new campsite. Got rained on while putting away the screen room and also while hitching up. But then a very pleasant 50 mile or so drive on AZ hwy 180 from Flagstaff to just south of the Grand Canyon. But the last 10 miles to the NFS 10--X campground were through a tyorrential thunder and lighting storm. The kind where you creep along with hazard lights flashing in hope of avoiding a hydroplane. I was not the pace car and was glade to have a cautious person in front  of me. These next two days of monsoon weather are supposed to be very heavy rain with a potential for flash flooding in some areas. I felt it worth being in a paved campgroynd area, with my senior pass the fee is modest, $10,.00 a night, no hookups but there is a potable water station, a vault toilet is next to my campsite plus there is a trash dumpster.

Not very many people here on a weekday in the rainy season. I only had 2 neighbors in visual site at my camping spot, a pair of elk! They are not spooky or aggresive in behavior. They just ignored me and kept on grazing eventually ambling off. I do have a photo of one with very impressive head gear on it. I will post it later. I am signed up to stay 2 nights, that will give me a chance to find nearby dispersed NFS camping for a 14 day stay. I just did not want to check out the NFS dispersed camping roads in driving rain while towing a trailer. If needed I will extend my stay at the paid campground another day or two until the rain lets up for an easier search. No risk of getting stuck in mud or by flash flooding at this site.

 I will need to fire up the generator tomorrow as I have orders to cut and ship and it is going to be too overcast for solar to meet my energy needs.. I can shelter it from the rain under the concrete slab, picnic table with a tarp spread over the table, down the sides and the bottom edges staked to the ground. Fortunately it is not very windy here, just very wet. Cell signal is not great but usable. Plus I am not that very far out of the town or the grand Canyon Park and can use the free wifi at places in town and in the park. 

Hope you all have a good evening wherever you spend it.