24/7 Chat About Anything

[maki2]

I was thinking I would have to drive the 65 mile round trip journey to Flagstaff to get the size of poplar wood I need for my current cabinet project in my trailer. But today I discovered one more piece that is just the right dimensions right in the back area of my tow vehicle. I also have enough aluminum angle to finish the frame. But I will be short a piece of 1/4" thick plywood. But not a big deal as that is the last piece that gets installed and it can wait until I change to a new campsite closer to Flagstaff.

After that cabinet I will have one more to add, a shallow depth one with sliding doors against the wall that rest on the top of my kitchen counter. It will function as a mini pantry. I do not have the materials for it on hand and the siding door track has to be shipped in from Amazon. I am so looking forward to having all the the "clutter" hidden away out of sight. Much more restful feeling in a tiny dwelling space when you do not see a bunch of stuff everywhere.

 

[NctryBen]

And Maki2... it stays put better should you forget to put something away... my biggest thing is I think I’ve got everything secure and new situations arise. My biggest mission is to have everything buttoned down so tight I don’t have to worry at all...
Boy, about eight years ago a family moved to town and the two boys (7 & 8 at the time) followed me everywhere helping me out. Then they moved out just down the road from me. After some events where the dad took off and their mom would drive them two hundred miles every Friday night to see their dad. Well in August it’ll be two years ago she didn’t make it home. A semi blew a stop sign and killed her. Very amazing gal! Her oldest son now pushing 16 is in and out of foster homes. He has always had issues and I don’t want to get into that... but I get to have him here three nights. Basically two full days and maybe a half... I’m pretty excited! On top of everything his dad being kind of a turd and losing his mom people think he’s pretty messed up. While I sorta agree, he’s really a good young man. I’m hoping at some point my second son will be able to have him some. They know each other and Jace is exactly what my son was... two or three years and Jase will be eighteen and they’ll throw him to the wolves. My son wants to really give him a chance.
My older son will be heading this way in a couple weeks or so... summer is getting busy! Gotta feeling it’ll go by pretty fast!

 

[maki2]

The new cabinet areas are mostly about making it easier when I am estup in camp and in production mode. I need more flat surfaces to store the cutting mats I use in my vinyl cutter so I can cut cardstock. Plus easier access to the lidded office supply boxes I store cardstock and packing materials in. I also need another flat surface so I can leave my printer out while in camp. And I will gain a bedside table too!

Adding those two cabinets is also a good move for resale value as it creates that U shaped seating area someone might want to convert into a wide bed. Not that I will be needing that for myself for additional seating or a bigger bed. For me it is all about a more functional office setup. However, it is simply a habit that I typically think about keeping an eye on resale value after having remodeled and flipped a number of stick and brick houses. I have no plans to quit this lifestyle but then again I have no magic powers and can't fortell the future.

Well it turns out I will need two more lengths of 1" x 1/8 aluminum angle. The local hardware store stocks it so I might buy it when I go in town tomorrow to ship out an Etsy order.

 

[WanderingRose]

Kudos to you, Ben.

You could make the difference in this young man’s life.

 

[NctryBen]

Thanks Rose... I hope I can. At least help him know he’s ok! I think losing his mom really made it that much worse.

 

[Morgana]

I remember, at that age and a bit younger, just how much even a small kindness meant, and how valuable even a short time in a calm and happy household was. Kids are resilient but they need something to hang onto.

And I don't think I would have been able -- or that it would have even dawned on me -- to tell the "good guys" how much I appreciated them. That's just not how your head is wired at that age. I was too busy trying to read the cues on what "normal" is, and thinking "hmm, I hope I can have some more of this normal," but it never would have occurred to me to say that out loud.

I'm sure your time together will plant some good seeds -- and water some existing seeds. Good luck to you both. And here's to the good guys!

 

[maki2]

Moved over to the Flagstaff area dispersed camping today. While driving slowly down the forest service road hoping to spot a good campsite I pulled over towards the edge to get a truck behind me go by. It turned out to be someone I had camped right next to at the October 2021 HOWA caravan in Pahrump. He was camped with others from that same time period. So I got led right into a fine area with lots of space for us all to spread out into. Good company is good to find!

I am glad I got an early start on the day and even had time to drop into the Home Depot on my way to the campsite. I got all settled in before the first thunderstorm of summer arrived. I do hope it dumps enough rain so that any lightening strikes don't set the region on fire! These storm cells also bring some strong wind gust plus there is going to be up to 45 mph gust on this coming Monday. This is not a tall tree area of the Cconino forest so I will be feeling those gust at close to full strength. Mostly Junipers and some Oaks along with a few Pinon Pines in this area. But at least the ground is pretty well covered with sage and grass so it is not all that dusty during the wind storm.

My trailer is oriented for solar but as a bonus I do not see other people's campsites. They are close enough for walking over a visit but distant enough for privacy.

So a stressful start of packing up and highway driving turned the day around into a spirit lifting time. Which proves yet again you just don't know what might happen during a day in a nomadic lifestyle.

Last time I moved camp I had 3 different people unexpectedly messaging me for a pin drop who wanted to camp nearby. Likely because I had headed to a location that was warm enough and had tree to block the persistent wind storms. This time camping with others was an entirely chance meeting while driving down a road. Literal truth for the statement I will see you down the road. I just missed seeing Bob Wells who had also been camped here a short time ago.

Don't be too worried newbies, you might start out alone on the road but if you are open to meeting people and put yourself in the way of making friends you will make those new friends.

 

[abnorm]

We're S L O W L Y traveling to Oregon for the summer.....At the moment headed to a meet-up in Lassen Volcanic Natl Park in North California.............HiYa JacqueG

While traveling thru beautiful green forests we suddenly saw a mighty BLACK scar on the horizon.....
The 2021 Dixie Fire............ California's largest wildfire..........Damn what destruction !

We're camped in a city campground in Evergreen..........the "town" was burnt to the ground but they are rebuilding.....The fire spared the little campground.... it's basic with toilet and tables but it is FREE.......looks like one resident camper (Big gas bottles)

Big wood.....the Ponderosa Pine next to the van measures 10' in circumference....that's 36" diameter

Today it's raining...........

 

[maki2]

Hot time today near Flagstaff. An arsonist set fire to the forest 6 miles north of Flagstaff. The fire is not heading towards where we are camped but we are close enough to watch the aerial tankers flying in to deal with the fire. It is very windy today and even higher winds coming tomorrow so this is going to be a hard one to control.

There were apparently some witnesses to the arson and the call went out for a BOLO for a white truck with a camper on it with Louisiana plates. That individual has been apprehended.

There are 8 people camped in my group. We are just being sure to get stuff put away so we can leave quickly should an order to leave happens. But the fire is headed Northeast and we are south of the fire. No wind direction change predicted until Weds and only a brief few hours of change. Of course long range weather predictions several days out are not sure bets.

Flagstaff airport is not a large one. The slurry tanker aircraft are coming in from Albuquerque NM and the water tanker aircraft are coming in from Prescott AZ. The big planes are visible from where we are camped with no need for optics but the plane spotters in my camp who do have binoculars are certainly having an interesting afternoon of plane watching.

Tomorrow wind gust of 50mph are predicted. My shade cloth will have to come down for that as well as my popup roof. It will be warmer than I like inside and not that great outside either. That is full time camping life, some days are just not going to be very comfortable weather. Just glad I did not decide to camp in the area where the fire is. Those people had very little ahead of time notice to evacuate. Highway 89 north going out of Flagstaff is now closed.

 

[tx2sturgis]

The big planes are visible from where we are camped with no need for optics but the plane spotters in my camp who do have binoculars are certainly having an interesting afternoon of plane watching.

If you want to impress the plane spotters take a look at the flightradar24 website...you will be able to tell your neighbors the make and model of the planes you see overhead. (it will be OUR little secret!)

Just tap or click on a plane to see it's flightpath and information.

https://www.flightradar24.com/35.2,-111.63/10

 

[shadowmoss]

I was just coming here to warn folks about that pipeline fire. Glad you guys are on top of the information.

 

[maki2]

Thanks, I know about the app. There is a list of the aircraft at the Albuquerque fire tanker base which is located inside the air force base.. There are also recent articles in the news about that base which just received a large amount of funding for expanding the base for the largest sizes of tankers.

 

[travelaround]

I hope you will stay safe Maki. The fire that destroyed my mobile home started just six miles up the creek... on a windy day, so the fire traveled six miles to town in only two hours, consuming a lot of homes along the way. But it sounds like you've studied wind directions and I just hope you're in a safe place.

Nothing new to report in my life. I stay home. I read books. Today the TT rocked back and forth due to wind gusts a lot. I wonder if it will ever return to normal around here - because I never felt these strong winds in the area until the night before that fire in 2020 - and now it is windy frequently.

Yesterday I managed to make friends with my daughter's dog. I saw him off his tie-out chain, barking at the chickens that now occupy the kennel that used to be his. He was not happy about that! They got his dog house too. He never liked to use it though... anyhow, he and I came to an agreement that he wouldn't bark and I could put him back on the tie out chain. And I didn't even get bit. He didn't like the dog biscuits I offered him. He just let them fall to the ground, then looked at me to see if I'd give him another.

A few nights ago my daughter and family came home late at night after a trip out of town. I kept hearing a weird frequent irregular banging sound from the direction of her TT which is very close to mine. I couldn't figure out what that could be! My curiosity got the best of me, and I sent her a text message to ask what was happening. She messaged me back - "It's the pitter patter of little feet." Apparently her son (the one year old) slept in the car when she was driving, and then at home woke up and ran around inside her trailer a lot and that's what I was hearing. I guess he had shoes on. I don't normally hear him that way.

 

[maki2]

The cause of the wildfire just north of Flagstaff has been released. The camper (who is in federal NFS custody) put his used toilet paper into a hole and burned it instead of burying it. You can't cure stupid.

The fire is spreading like crazy in this high wind today. It has now spawned two more wildfires from the original fire that was named as the Pipeline fire. This morning we were outside watching the smoke when the fire raced up the mountainside. We could see bright flames as trees on the upper slopes exploded into flame. The wind is too strong in the area for the fire tanker planes to fly along the mountains and into the passes between them. So far no structures or homes have been reported as destroyed.

We are not in any danger at my current campsite and the smoke is not coming in this direction as the wind direction is moving the fire to the north of us. All my shade cloth is down and I can quickly hook up and leave if needed. Right now I have my tow vehicle acting as a wind block so that I can leave the window on the side that is facing the wind open without too much dust coming in. Most of this land is covered in grass, sage and Junipers with a few Pinyon Pines and very occasional Limber Pine. The blowing dust is from the dirt road tracks leading back in from the main graveled NFS road.

 

[shadowmoss]

Most of the Coconino NF north of Interstate 40 is closed now. From the closure map it looks like it is closed as far west as Belmont. This includes some of the area that folks tend to camp. Check the map if camping north of I40 is in your plans.

 

[maki2]

It was a tossup as to where I was going to camp in Coconino. One of my preferred areas is within the current closures. Fortunately I made the decision on a spot just south of interstate 40. The fire is going to put a lot of pressure on those south of 40 NFS dispersed camp sites. Thunderstorms predicted this weekend. There are currently not just one but 3 different fires near Flagstaff. On suspected caused by a camper. The other two suspected to be caused by the thunderstorm that came through here a few days ago. The strong wind likely turned a smoldering strike into a blazing inferno.

Last summer I saw a NFS educational exhibit that explained that a lighting struck tree can have an interior fire in the center of it that does not reach the exterior of a tree for a week or more. That is one explanation of how it happens that a wildfire does not become noticed until a number of days after a thunderstorm event. It is there but no external evidence is showing that the tree is actually burning.

 

[maki2]

Taking a strong guess as to why that dispersed camping area which is south of the burn area between interstate 40 and Hwy 180 to the west of Flagstaff, is now closed for recreational camping. A well maintained and graveled 2 lane wide forest service road FR222 links thru there that is also the closest NF camping to the Pipeline fire. The National Forest Fire management team just arrived in Flagstaff today. They might well be calling up to a thousand firefighters into the area and setting up mobile encampment centers with individual tents for the crews as well as showers, toilets, food service areas, etc. That is an ideal spot for them to be in as it has close by access roads off hwy 180 that lead to the Pipeline fire.

Last summer while I was camped in that section the camping spots adjacent to me became occupied by volunteer crews out of Colorado who came in and set up a similar camp. They were going into Flagstaff and filling up sandbags to be used for flash flood incidents. They got up early and went into town in large passenger vans and returned late in the afternoon.

So that is a closure most likely related to the forest fires near there but possibly being closed for a critical strategic function.

You can with a bit of keyword searching see news articles with photos of the NFS firefighters tent camp setups for recent California fires. Whole clusters of one man tents around larger temporary facility tents.

 

[NctryBen]

Wow Maki2... that’s crazy! There really is no cure for stupid! I hope they get that fire under control. Stay safe... also good info on fire fighter camps.
Traveling around... good job on the dog whispering... glad you are home!
Abnorm.... say hi to JackieG... another Tuesday I’ll miss chat. Town board meeting... more plans being made for my leaving my job. Six or seven weeks...
Really working hard to get myself outta here. Today I’m hoping the fog lifts and things dry to where I can cut grass. I drug the ballfield pretty good yesterday, but I’ll do one more quick drag before the games tonight. Then back to the cemetery...
90 degrees might not sound hot to you desert folks. But couple that with 200% humidity (maybe not quite that high)... that’s when you visit a good friend that has air conditioning or go to town and get needed shopping done.
Off to work I go. Sorry for that four letter word!

 

[abnorm]

Hey Ben...............PlayBall!

We'll be high in the Lassen Natl Park tonight......Chatroom signal ? I guess the 80's will have to wait........

 

[tx2sturgis]

I will hunt you down!