24/7 Chat About Anything

[desert_sailing]

But the area I'm talking about actually extends all the way north to eastern OR and WA, and eastward to UT, CO, and NM. There are many nice living regions from 4000-6000', if you look around. For that matter, if I were sold on northern CA, I might head down river to the Eureka area, and out of the deep forests.

This is more or less the Great Basin?

I also like the Snake River Plain and the Columbia  Plateau regions.

 

[bullfrog]

I live most of the year at 4000’ in Utah with 11,000’ mountains within 20 miles. I would rather sit in the shade than throw logs on the fire. Summers are a little too hot and winters are a little too cold and windy but September thru mid December and April thru mid June are usually just right for me. January thru March I spend in Arizona which is usually not as warm as I like but better than Utah. March thru September we work so full hookups and air conditioning are required hiding from daytime heat, fish and swim at night, hit the mountains on weekends. We will soon travel the Idaho and Montana remote areas when we quit working summers. The biggest problem for me is most places there are just too many people. And as I age being able to do dentist/doctor checkups for medications and such. I think life is too short to not like the weather where you are at most of the time. Moving 2, 3 or 4 times a year from 2,000’ to 7,000’ isn’t a big deal if you keep things simple. Staying mobile or having yearly arrangements for spots to stay is the secret.

 

[nature lover]

Another cool day in Pennsylvania high in the mid 70s low tonight in the mid 40s. No rain in sight for a couple of days. But Sally could move this way and bring a lot of water. Still thinking of you folks in the west God bless you all especially travel around.

I had an interest in police experience today. Perhaps I should put this on do you trust the police. But it fits here too. I was at a local park that I visit every other week or so they have lots of butterfly bushes see them and other plants like butterflies love. I often sit there for hours on end in my van taking pictures out the window of the butterflies. Today we had lots of honeybees bumblebees little skipper butterflies and I saw at least six buckeyes. And a monarch So I move the van to the other side of the park and went in the Porta potty. As I’m sitting there someone wraps extremely hard on the door shaking the entire Porta potty. I said hey what do you want, I’m busy and there was a deep voice answered this is the police are you Donald. Yes I’m Donald and I’m busy what do you need? when you come out I’ll talk to you was the reply. When I came out he was standing by my van and I told him I really respect the police but not the ones with an attitude. I said you nearly knocked that door off that outhouse. You scared the crap out of me (literally). No I just knocked on it lightly blah blah blah blah and I said OK I’ll escalate this down what do you need? well he wanted to know what I was doing there. I was taking pictures of butterflies I said. Well there had been some calls about a van like mine in the neighborhood going around development and then they saw the same van parked over here so they called the police. Of course I explain to him I’ve never been in that neighborhood except to go to the park I never ran around the development. He seemed to and believe me. I told him I was just taking pictures of insects especially butterflies, he asked to see some of them so I showed him the camera. We had a good conversation both had calmEd down a great deal he took information including my address and such. Hopefully that’s the last I’ll hear from him. But I was not not expecting my time alone to be interrupted in the outhouse It did freak me out a little bit with the Hard knock on the door. What would he have done if I could not have given him an address and said Oh I’m homeless I just live in this van sir. Thank God I have a permanent mailing address and it’s the same one as on my license. As I pulled out I realized I had left both my canes leaning up against the van and they fell. I started to get my stool set out to get out of the van and he hollered I got them I’ll get them for you sir. Happy smileS and thank you sir and it’s over, I hope.

I now thinking maybe the people in that neighborhood are overly afraid because less than 2 miles away there are riots in Lancaster I know I’m tense over it being so close to home and I bet that police officers Are thinking about that too. Just last Sunday a Lancaster police officer shot a man who was Running toward Him with a large knife raised in his hand. and now there are hundreds of protesters at the police station damaging the station and setting a police car on fire.in Lancaster chanting “defund the police, the police are no good, hands up don’t shoot, no Justice no peace and the police are killers.” It’s a shame, the young man was suffering from mental illness. But when his sister called for help on 911 she didn’t mention that and what would my reaction be if a man came running out of the house toward me with a knife raised? Things get out of hand pretty quickly we need to drop to our knees and ask God for wisdom and peace.

God bless the nomads, everyone of us.

 

[maki2]

Important progress on being able to use my laptop to get on the internet. I was able to get my oldest laptop which is running Windows 7 to cooperate with my iPhone to get me on the internet. Yeah, now I can download files I need and transfer them to my other laptops so I can get them to also cooperate. I can also now buy postage online through my Etsy store and print it out instead of standing in line at the post office and having to pay more to send the package.

Now that I have this Windows 7 laptop online I can get the VPN account setup and download software for that to USB drives so I can transfer it to my other computers so they can be safely put onto public wifi when I need to do all those pesky MS security updates they need that will take hours of time to download and install. This stuff is higher priority than making cabinet doors as I need to keep money rolling into my bank account so I can keep my wheels rolling along the road.

I am in the process of ordering extra batteries for my laptops. One of them is no longer holding a charge properly. Fortunately the new batteries are not all that expensive for the older laptops and I can still get them from Amazon Prime. Of course I also have my house battery as a backup but its primary responsibility is keeping my little fridge running and also running the power required for my diesel stove/heater on cold nights and mornings. I can charge spare laptop batteries with excess solar power during the daylight hours. With fewer hours of daylight in the winter I will want to be working in those early evening dark hours on the computer creating new designs without worrying about draining my house battery down. The hours fly by quickly when I am in design mode and the CAD program requires more electrical power than a light weight program or app.

 

[VanFan]

I had an interest in police experience today...  I was at a local park that I visit every other week or so they have lots of butterfly bushes see them and other plants like butterflies love.

I am glad to hear you were able to tamp the adrenaline back down and help diffuse the tension.  It makes me sad that this kind of thing seems to be happening more in local parks.  My husband spoke with a nomad in a park the other day who relayed a similar tale.  The officer said someone had called because he "was looking at them."  He explained that he does enjoy bird watching (this park is great for that!), and uses binoculars.

Several years ago, following an argument with my spouse, I drove the van a few blocks away and called my daughter to see if I might driveway surf while I calmed down.  It was around 1:30 a.m., and I was careful not to park directly in front of anyone's house.  Within minutes, I was blinded by bright lights.  I couldn't tell for sure, but hoped it was police.  The officer seemed relieved to find a little old lady behind the wheel, as evidenced by his body language.  Still, he asked me what was "going on."  In my slowest Southern drawl, I answered "Well... I'm a local resident... and I'm... talking with my... daughter... on the phone."  I did not like having to "explain myself".  He said someone had called.  That encounter might have been very different had my circumstances, gender, etc. varied.

 

[travelaround]

Guilty of driving a van! People are so suspicious these days!

Reminds me of last winter. I was so excited about buying that piece of property, but was forced to continue living in my van in the cold weather until escrow closed. I was also concerned about someone breaking into the mobile home while it was empty as we have had homeless squatters in various properties in town.

Anyhow, with all that in mind I drove through the neighborhood to look at my property-to-be a couple times a day... and a young mom across the street thought I was a dangerous person in a white van, and was calling me "the creeper" . . . to my daughter who let her know that was just her mom looking at the property she was buying.

I just met that young mom a few days ago at the Red Cross center. She also lost her home. It was right next to my son's home. So many homes burned.

 

[maki2]

. Let us be honest about it, it is not just sticks snd bricks dwellers who think that way.  From the conversations I have seen full time on the road folks are just as concerned about "sketchy" people in old vehicles camping in their temporary neigborhood vicinity.  A break in can also devastate our lives as well. It is not that unusual to see someone post that other people camped so close to them that th ey decided to move away rather than stay.

 

[maki2]

Another work day of cutting and packaging kits. But I did go to Goodwill this morning to find a new pair of jeans, also got a new shirt and chair cushion. My desk chair is a little bit too low for the desk but if I make the desk lower then it causes other interference issues so it was easier to put a thick cushion on the seat and call that a problem solved.
With. WA, OR and California socked in with smoke there literally is no sight seeing beyond a short distance from where you might be standing. So I might as well spend my time working and then I will have more time off late this fall and winter 2021 while in the SW to relax, play and do some more design work. 

I finally decided a haircut was way past due and there were no customers in the place so I did a walk in. Just a basic shag cut that is easy to wash and let dry with no fussing. Good style for camping when you dont have a hot shower in your rig. It does not take a lot of water to wash  or a long time to dry.

Almost but not quite looking forward to going into Seattle for a few days. I am feeling ready for a change of location.
Also wanting to get back to working on build task.

 

[Sofisintown]

I had a crew install carpet in 2 bedrooms and a hallway today.
Now 4 out of six doors need trimming.
I made a jig for cutting the door bottoms evenly. Thanks YouTube!
I didn't cut the doors yet though. It has to wait till Saturday. In the meantime, I have doors leaning on the walls all over.. :s

 

[travelaround]

Hello... so happy one of my two outdoor cats was seen eating in the meadows... my pastor, who lives 2 doors from my property, put out food for his own lost cat but my cat ate it. My other cat is still missing. He hasn't seen his cat either... but his home survived the fire.

I've been taking long walks around this town and my muscles are having reactions.....

Not much else new. It may be weeks before I'm allowed back on the property... meanwhile so grateful to be given this hotel room. Van is full of boxes.. big mess I need to organize better... cargo trailer too.

 

[crofter]

I bingewatched movies all day what a slouch. And they were all chic flicks. In my defense they painted the street in front of the van, so I stayed in all day. 
-crofter

 

[Qxxx]

I bingewatched movies all day what a slouch. And they were all chic flicks. In my defense they painted the street in front of the van, so I stayed in all day. 
-crofter

Pre-covid, I had netflix DVDs, but changed to streaming. Unfortunately, streaming has too many 2nd rate movies and series, many produced by netflix itself. One common formulaic script. They pop up 100s of suggestions, so I go through and quickly mark most with "thumbs down", hoping netflix with stop suggesting them. It doesn't work. They don't care what I reject. All they care about is "selling". They still suggest chic flix and everything else I reject. Money, money, money.

 

[maki2]

Right now I have Amazon prime account as I still need to purchase some items for my life on the road. So I stream the movies or TV series that are free with that account and getn more value for my money than Netflix.  There are also free books and magazines that come with the basic Amazon Prime subscription. I can of course rent Redbox DVDs when staying close to a town. My laptop has a  DVD player in it. my newest laptop is 4K and I have a portable blueray player that connects to it. that laptop has good battery life but I do have a 12V power supply for that laptop so no extra  invertor needed to run it from my house battery.

If you belong to a public library they are likely linked to several websites where you can stream free movies. There are some excellent films available to watch from the library system accounts including chic flics.

 

[Qxxx]

Yesterday, I am sorry to say, I watched Starship Troopers on netflix streaming. Definitely a chic flic, buff young pretty boys getting torn limb from limb by big bugs. They tossed a group shower scene in there for the obvious reason. Nice thing about streaming is you can jump forwards over the long repetitive parts and get to the end quicker, .

 

[maki2]

Trying to figure out how to pick up those evil Amazon prime package deliveries while I am on the road. Aha I can do it in the smaller cities along the way at Amazon hub counters. I did not really know about them, pleasant discovery. For instance the ones at Rite Aid stores, they will hold onto the package for up to 14 days. Wish I had figured that out sooner. It would have saved me a trip into Seattle and I would alreadybhave picked up thebthings that were sent to my private mailbox address. There are several of those Amazon  hub counters on my planned route down along the Pacific Coast. BUt unfortunately not one in Tillamook, Oregon where I want to hang out for a few weeks at the airport campground. But there are some in towns north and south of Tillamook.

Still gathering up bits and pieces for my celll booster l antenna cabeling. Also want a spare carborator for my older Honda generator. Plus a spare battery for one of my laptops. None of ihat stuff is available from sticks and bricks stores.

Todays chores, cut and package kits. Take some measurements from my Solar Panel. My friend is going to make kit of parts for custom tilt arms to put on it. That will be very  nice to have this winter.

 

[crofter]

Pre-covid, I had netflix DVDs, but changed to streaming. Unfortunately, streaming has too many 2nd rate movies and series, many produced by netflix itself. One common formulaic script. They pop up 100s of suggestions, so I go through and quickly mark most with "thumbs down", hoping netflix with stop suggesting them. It doesn't work. They don't care what I reject. All they care about is "selling". They still suggest chic flix and everything else I reject. Money, money, money.

BTW 119 degrees today in southern AZ, the heat came back.

Main thing I like about Netflix is access to series without any commercials.  I have watched series on there that I would never have watched on regular TV due to commercials. I once bingewatched all of the Nurse Jackie episodes during a major storm. Then after all that you get to the end and they script her out with a drug OD. Scriptwriters are truly evil when it comes to killing off their characters. Then there was the George O'Malley Doc character (played by TR Knight) in Grey's Anatomy who literally gets thrown under the bus by the producer. Here is the dirt, and more dirt: 
~crofter

Description: link to article some pics
https://ew.com/article/2009/07/27/g...Malley's lost Grey's,bus in last May's finale.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertai...alley-now-and-why-did-he-leave-the-show.html/

 

[Qxxx]

119, oof. Here in John Galt City, it's cooled off a lot, it definitely pays to be at elevation. But the winds have shifted so we're getting more hazy smoke. For that matter, my alternate friend in WI (not Sophia) indicated they were getting Oregon smoke all the way back there.

 

[maki2]

• 
  The series I miss is Longmire.  Netflicks took it over for a couple of seasons but quit producing it.Another great series to watch is "The Killing"

 

[wayne49]

Missing a spoiler alert.

 

[wayne49]

Longmire ran its course, they wrapped it up with ribbons and bows. It was a good run.