24/7 Chat About Anything

[Qxxx]

We had dry lightening yesterday afternoon but I haven't heard of any new fires yet. That is how most of the big forest fires get started around here.

Out of habit, I track the fires in the west every summer, helps me to plan my summer trips. So far there are few fires in WA and OR, but there currently are 3 good sized ones east of you between Susanville and the OR border. Gold, Hog, and July. I have noticed in the past, too, that sometimes CA fires don't seem to appear on Incident Web, but do appear on Calfire.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/

 

[maki2]

I don't have any firm plans yet for where I will go. After I get done with the controller for trailer brakes installed on Weds I want to get the brakes on my car done. So I will have to call around and see who can do that, when and where. Lots of places to consider so I need to get busy on scheduling it tomorrow. I am going to try for a brake place such as a Honda dealer or Les Schwab a little ways north of Seattle. Parking for businesses in Seattle is pretty crowded due the high taxes on land. I can always overnight at a highway truck stop if needed for the night.

After that I might go up around Mt. Baker where there is some free camping. Then eventually over to the Olympic Peninsula and down along the Pacific coast. I just have had so much to concentrate on that a place to stay for a night or two has not been my highest priority.

 

[travelaround]

Sounds like a good plan, Maki. I enjoyed spending time around Mt. Rainier last year. Can't remember where I spent the night there. I think I parked in rest areas, not in the national park.

 

[maki2]

Interesting turn of events for my workshop mate/friend. His son who showed up a few weeks ago for a one night visit made such a pill of himself that now my mate who has made his home on a very nice sailboat up the street is letting his son and girlfriend move into there full time. My friend is going to stay in the spare room of a long time woman friend who used to work for him. But that is about a 45 minute drive south of Seattle in one of the satellite towns in the Puget Sound area.

Oh well I am glad to be on my way soon!

 

[desert_sailing]

But that is about a 45 minute drive south of Seattle

AKA...2 miles

 

[maki2]

Traffic in Seattle is not too bad this summer, Covid 19 made a real dent in it.

 

[maki2]

Huge amount of my stuff just got picked up by a local organization that is in the neighborhood. The rest will be in the dumpster or in a pile for the Goodwill store. Nothing else I can do about it, no time to go to Goodwill and my car is full of stuff so I can't take anything to them. The Goodwill does not do free pickups in my neighborhood.

 

[Qxxx]

What is LCV?

For some reason I thought d_s was in Sandpoint, but I guess not. Here is a Monday quiz for you Sofi ... just for you ... to test your topographical skills.

Look at google maps (in Satellite view) of the 80 mile area between Lewiston,ID and Coeur d'Alene, and blow it way up. See all the swirly wavy lines on the ground. What are those about? A for accuracy.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...fd839e364a42e!8m2!3d46.4004089!4d-117.0011889

https://www.google.com/maps/place/L...fd839e364a42e!8m2!3d46.4004089!4d-117.0011889

 

[Qxxx]

They look like tractor or agri equipment tracks to me. Unless they are crop circles from the UFOs, of course... Why?

Ha, I was gonna say .. don't guess crop circles. There is an area there of approx 4000 sq.miles going into eastern WA which is wheat land. There are interesting images of the hills there. Generally called The Palouse.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]https://www.google.com/search?q=eastern+washington+wheat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X[/font]

Cool place to visit, along with the "channeled scablands" just to the west where the great Missoula Floods came through end of the last Ice Age, 10,000 or so years ago. I spent a month in there a year ago summer. Palouse Falls is terrific. Being as yer Sofi, I just thought you might be interested.

https://www.google.com/search?q=palouse+falls&tbm=isch
https://www.google.com/search?q=channeled+scablands&tbm=isch
https://www.youtube.com/user/hugefloods/videos

 

[maki2]

Way too hot for working today without any AC. Still 90 degrees at nearly 7:00 pm! Oh well it will cool down to the low 80s tomorrow. No idea how I will fit all my stuff into the car. I guess I will find out what goes on the road and what goes into the dumpster or Goodwill.

 

[desert_sailing]

Ha, I was gonna say .. don't guess crop circles. There is an area there of approx 4000 sq.miles going into eastern WA which is wheat land. There are interesting images of the hills there. Generally called The Palouse.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]https://www.google.com/search?q=eastern+washington+wheat&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X[/font]

Cool place to visit, along with the "channeled scablands" just to the west where the great Missoula Floods came through end of the last Ice Age, 10,000 or so years ago. I spent a month in there a year ago summer. Palouse Falls is terrific. Being as yer Sofi, I just thought you might be interested.

https://www.google.com/search?q=palouse+falls&tbm=isch
https://www.google.com/search?q=channeled+scablands&tbm=isch
https://www.youtube.com/user/hugefloods/videos

Palouse Falls is just down the way from me about an hour and half... I was thinking that it may be one of my first out of driveway weekends to get the feet wet so to speak. It is closed to overnight activities at the moment and there is no water available.. so...maybe next year or maybe just a day and an afternoon nap.

The Palouse itself is incredible and soo calming. I could set up an easel and paint for weeks. At every stage of the growing cycle you get all the different colors and textures. It is really a pleasure to watch the wheat fields flowing with the wind. I had at one time thought how great it would be to have a little spot tucked in between the gently rolling hills... but..winter is horrendous.. very  very windy, cold, and lots of snow.  Why I chose WSU over Uni Hawaii..  I have no idea.. one of my worst decisions ever.

I am not a big fan of the social culture either.. besides most of the rural land is owned by farmers and it sells for a very pretty penny... there is also the fact that nearly every farming household has at least one family member that has some sort of birth defect due to all the pesticides. I hold my breath as long as possible when I see the planes and choppers working, maybe give the car a bit more pedal to get out of range...

Western Washington gets most of the notoriety.. but Eastern Wa. is magnificent in its starkness. When I was younger it was just boring brown and sage brush and another farm.. now that I am older and slower.. I really appreciate the vast beauty and the life that exists. I see clusters of brush and think how nice.. a little family of sage living peacefully and I have to say.. I am a bit envious of it.

 

[Qxxx]

Ha Sofi, the "test" was just for fun. Actually, it had occurred to me that a really nice trip starting from Wisconsin would be to cross over to Yellowstone and then up into Montana and through Glacier Park, and over towards the coast. Into eastern WA state, and bypassing western WA (my preference), then down into Oregon, along the Columbia Gorge, and over to the OR coast (by far the best of CA, OR, and WA). Then down into CA, and eventually into Arizona. My head is full of air just thinking about that trip.

 

[Qxxx]

Palouse Falls is just down the way from me about an hour and half... I was thinking that it may be one of my first out of driveway weekends to get the feet wet so to speak.

Look for Corps of Engineers campsites along the Snake River. And I should think you could make a run over to Pahlouse Falls and back for a 4 or 5 day shakedown trip.

 

[desert_sailing]

Ha Sofi, the "test" was just for fun. Actually, it had occurred to me that a really nice trip starting from Wisconsin would be to cross over to Yellowstone and then up into Montana and through Glacier Park, and over towards the coast. Into eastern WA state, and bypassing western WA (my preference), then down into Oregon, along the Columbia Gorge, and over to the OR coast (by far the best of CA, OR, and WA). Then down into CA, and eventually into Arizona. My head is full of air just thinking about that trip.

Yes that would be a grand journey. That entire jaunt is breathtaking. The Gorge is outstanding and have thought about taking a similar route and working my way down.  I think one of the best features of Western Wa. is the Olympic peninsula and the rainforest there..you get to look for bigfoot too.

 

[desert_sailing]

Look for Corps of Engineers campsites along the Snake River. And I should think you could make a run over to Pahlouse Falls and back for a 4 or 5 day shakedown trip.

The Corps of Engineers maintains the levee system here in our town.. I was running errands one early morning and there was a sprinter van parked right on the "green belt" path..LOL.. I have never seen that before..  I wonder who arranged that. Every sign I see along there says no motorized vehicles. The had  a prime spot for sure. Of course there are some pullout Corps sites that I have seen others camping at.. never on the actual waling/bike paths.. LOL

The Falls are currently closed to overnighters... they won't reopen it especially now with the resurgence...

 

[Qxxx]

Pahlouse Falls is a WA State Park, but I was thinking more about the CoE campsites along the Snake River, per se.

And talk about eastern WA being the "Unknown Country" with mostly farms anymore. I drove the 80 miles from Grand Coulee Dam (utterly wonderful place) over to Spokane along US 2. I tried to find a breakfast place, but there was only one restaurant in the 5 or 6 towns I drove through. Not even a coffee shop in most towns.

I was expecting to find a coffee shop in each town with 8 or 9 farmers sitting there shooting the breeze. All I found was a Subway in one town, and wouldn't you know it ... there were 8 or 9 "old" farmers in there shooting the breeze. Only place open for miles around to have coffee. What a lonely area.

 

[Qxxx]

I'd rather disintegrate from old age naturally than get poisoned in a hurry.

Remember what the man said, Sofi ... do it now. (hey, that's what this forum is all about, .

 

[nature lover]

It was 93 plus both for temp and humidity In PA today.  Thank God for my beautiful pond which is spring fed and a little cool to swim in but I ain’t complaining.  It is amazing how this 2 acre spring feed pond can make its own tiny eco system which makes days like this doable.  And the luxury of a swim every day is spoiling me.  There are parts as warm as bathwater but near the input pipe is heaven.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am not celebrating with a cake.  I have a nice seedless watermelon which will be less than 40 degrees when we cut it.  The only candles will be citronella. Happy birthday to me.  My mom will call sometime (as she does every year) to remind me that July 28 1955 was the hottest day on record Here before I was born and remains today.  102 degrees and a small town hospital delivery room before AC.  Funny she thinks it was hot I don’t remember.  Also Funny that my first EMT job was in the same hospital and that delivery room was our break room and by then there was ac. 

I am Happy to be full timing now since June 1.  I am planning to be in Letcher county Ky soon and then Pinecraft Fla all winter. Pinecraft is the Amish snowbird village.  I am so blessed that the Church friend who owns this pond where I am camped now has a daughter and son in law on a farm next to a 58K state park and only 1/2 hour from Pinecraft and the gulf.  Yes that’s my free winter camp - oh I am blessed.  If I see any snow and ice this winter it will be in my rear view mirror.

 

[crofter]

Happy Birthday nature!
-crofter

 

[nature lover]

Thank you Crofter!