24/7 Chat About Anything

[Sofisintown]

I guess you are right, Maki, you always are. I promised myself to not let life get in the way and miss the people I care about.

 

[Jeffroe]

We made it to Quartzsite today. 102 for the next couple days and then dropping of to a high of 87 by Saturday. It’s hot but beats lows in the 30’s we left back in Missouri on Thurs AM. Not many people here but wanted to say that they are definitely Selling the LTVA pass for winter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[travelaround]

@jeffroe, glad you got out of those low temps. Did that last winter. It was a terrible thing, to be too cold to enjoy life. 102 degrees for a few days sounds so much better.

I still have no idea where I'll spend the winter. Waiting for ideas from FEMA and Red Cross. I'd like to know what's available to me before I make a decision. Meanwhile.. will go read a book.

Currently reading Lincoln in the Bardo. Creepy, but so appropriate for October.

 

[Jeffroe]

Yes the cold isn’t real fun, but compared with what you have been through it was nothing! We spent part of the summer with our son near Florence, Oregon and fell in love with the area. Our son is still there and luckily was mobile and stayed safe but the pictures he sent and stories he told! I am not ashamed at all to say it made this grown man cry[emoji24]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[maki2]

I am definerly out of touch with the current news on the west coast wiildfire situation. I have no TV and I don't  have a radio in my trailer other than the one in my ear muffs I use for hearing protection. The heat in the southwest and the wildfire smoke has me lingering in WA state instead of heading south along the coast. But it is the shoulder season and the leaves are turning colors, the clouds are coming back and the days are getting shorter. I am feeling grateful for having shore power this early AM while camped in the woods along Sequim Bay.

I guess since I woke up so early and dont feel sleepy I will get up, make coffee and prepare rhe Etsy store otders that came in this last weekend for shipping out this morning. Then a quick trip to the post office in Sequim
.
This will be the last sunny day this week which also means it will be fleece and wearing layers weather once again. Wont be much longer before I head south. I will have to figure out where to go that is not too hot or too cold or too smokey or too high in elevation or too rainy. but I suspect  fall means I will get days wich include at least one or more of those items.

 

[Sofisintown]

Good morning, Maki
No rain today here either, and the forecast shows no rain for the next 5 days. The leaves just started turning a bit yellow, but not full colors yet.
I was up early too, and getting ready to work on the van with what I have on hand. until the rest of the stuff comes in.
Have a pleasant day , everyone!

 

[shadowmoss]

TA, I have been following your situation and have been sending thoughts if strength and support, but only silently until now. I appreciate your updates here that let me follow along on a journey that many folks seem to be in the middle of this year. I live in the pines of northern (somewhat...) AZ and we were in alert a couple of times this year to evacuate due to fires. Nothing made it this far, thankfully. Since I live in my motorhome evacuating is a bit easier. Still not something I want to experience.

Maki:. The area of AZ on both sides of I40 between Williams and Flagstaff is high enough in elevation to be comfortable, has lots of BLM land and is easy striking distance of Q for when the temps start dropping there. If you want some ideas of good camping areas just either ask here or pm me.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks Shadowmoss - I never knew so much about fire survival until I had to do it. People are so generous! The Red Cross is still feeding us every day even a month later... nearly.

Good idea to keep all your things on wheels. I wish I had stored my things in the cargo trailer and not in the mobile home. Hindsight = 20/20.

Today I'll work more on organizing boxes in the van. My son is coming to Yreka tomorrow morning and will help me empty the cargo trailer and clean it, then he will take it.. he will be using it to move to Reno, and will have to make two or three trips. Eventually I hope to get the cargo trailer back and then can start using it again. During the last month of hauling it everywhere I've gotten pretty good at pulling it around and even backing it up, and parking it... all that. I find it remarkable that it just follows me around everywhere with just one hitch. One little hitch!

I went to visit my cat today. I get the idea I'm not her favorite person... only had her for 8 months and never really bonded with her well as she was an outdoor cat who didn't spend much time with me. But, I go visit her every couple of days and daydream about giving her a home in my van if it comes to that. Alternatively I could leave her there for fostering or even re-homing. The other cat, Robie, has never been found. Just talked to the animal control officer while I was there. She said she hasn't seen Robie but she puts out food and water and it keeps disappearing. I wonder if the skunks and raccoons are getting it - or scaredy cats who won't come out and be friendly in the daytime. (That was her thought on this... but I know the area is also home to a lot of wild scavengers.)

 

[maki2]

was able to book for Saturday night at this same campground and it is the easiest of the spots to back into! That just leaves Friday night for urban camping. I check the parking regulations for Sequim and it is OK for me to park on the streets in town for up to 24 hours in the same spot. Of course there is always the Walmart here which also allows a 24 hour overnight camping stay. Tbey do not stay open all night, they are keeping Covid 19 hours closing at 10pm

Saturday night is supposed to be stormy so I will be glad of having use of my little electric heater at the campground.

I had my eyes on a small, not very heavy tea kettle and some brand new mylar faced camping pads at the Goodwill here in Sequim. I had to to into town this morning to mail out some orders so I stopped in at the Goodwill. It was senior discount day and the camping pads had dropped in price by 50%. So I got all those items. I am going to be cutting the camping pads up to fit into the interior glass channel on my sliding windows for heat control in summer and in winter. The windows are opposite identicals on left and right side of the trailer so I can swap them back and forth so that the mylar is reflecting the source of heat be it the sun in summer or my heater in the winter. EVA foam is a good closed cell insulation that does not absorb water and is naturally mold resistant and it is also flexible which makes it easy to store and also easy to install into the window channel. If I want to get more of the same pads that is easy, they are sold on the internet. I have had the same type before which I used for other projects and it was durable. Better than Reflectix as the EVA foam layer has more R value and it deadens sound too.

 

[VanFan]

...some brand new mylar faced camping pads at the Goodwill.

Good score on the camping pads, and the Saturday night camp site, too!

 

[nature lover]

Hello everyone. I got some early good news today it’s only been four days since I’ve been tested and the test came back negative. So all I have Now is the end of a very bad cold.

Travel around, do you know a Hunter who might loan you a trail cam. they can get some nice pictures at night You’ll find out who’s eating that food and if it is your cat they might do a harmless box trap or something like that.

It looks like I’m gonna be heading to the mountain for sure now - I’ve got to stop around and get a key to my cousins cabin because I lost mine. I just use the cabin as a back up in case we get some bad bad weather. about 10 years ago I was camp Hosting at the State park in that forest and we had 10 inches of heavy wet snow. I was in a my large wall tent. The leaves were still on the trees and that snow brought down many whole trees and tons of limbs. I was warned of the storm and got everything packed up in the van and pulled out of the camp as the snowflakes started. I will also be able to store some grocery type things at the cabin so I won’t have to go back-and-forth to town at all. But I don’t think I’ll camp on her property because she has neighbors too close. If you remember earlier this year I told the story about the ladies from California. Close neighbors that gave me an education. Our forestry department has over 100 free campsites scattered throughout that forest many of them are way back in the woods. Officially it’s a limited stay of 10 days but I’ve been camping there so long that they know me that I don’t have any problem with extending it if I want to. If they’re not busy they don’t mind at all they are rarely real busy. After Thanksgiving hunting season might get them busy but I like to be out of the woods during hunting season if you know what I mean. I just love the smell of the forest in the fall the hemlocks, pine And cedar fragrance seems “richer” and the dying leaves ? just I don’t know there’s something about it. I’m getting very close to the finishing touches on the van in fact when I go to the mountain I’ll buy a can of stain and start staining the cabinets which is one of the last steps I have to do. Might be good that I have the cabin to sleep in if the fragrance of the stain gets too much. Still planning to be around till Thanksgiving probably the day after Thanksgiving I’ll head south and as I understand it that’s a day that hundreds or thousands takeoff from the north to head Florida. I don’t have campfires at my sites down here in Lancaster, Lebanon and Berks Counties but when I get up to the forest I’ll be able to have campfires and practice with Dutch oven‘s and probably gain a few pounds. God bless the nomads each and every one.

Thursday it’s our 44th wedding anniversary. I’m thinking of celebrating with a second honeymoon if I can find a young woman who would cooperate because my wife sure wouldn’t.

 

[VanFan]

I got some early good news today it’s only been four days since I’ve been tested and the test came back negative.

Yeah!!

 

[Sofisintown]

Yeah!!

Alrighty then! Good news!

 

[desert_sailing]

Whoever is doing this.. they need to stop now!

https://kimatv.com/news/local/someo...along-rural-multnomah-co-roads-its-outrageous

I currently have litter as well in my bucket..now I have to find a different medium.

 

[Sofisintown]

Whoever is doing this.. they need to stop now!

https://kimatv.com/news/local/someo...along-rural-multnomah-co-roads-its-outrageous

I currently have litter as well in my bucket..now I have to find a different medium.

Funny that the 'officials' expect whoever does that to 'come forward soon' as fess up!
Yup, they're on their way to the county office.

 

[nature lover]

The world is full of idiots. I may be the only exception.(That was supposed to be comic relief) This kind of thing angers me so bad I can’t express my feelings. Not only is it gross But it damages our community because people who don’t know any better will link it with us. It’s a gross thought but could they do the DNA analysis find out who the heck this is? If the problem is as bad as they say it is it would be worth the effort.

 

[maki2]

I am enjoying mt stay in the woods this week. Of course being among trees means there is not one single site that gets really good solar exposure, not even for portable panels. If I was not on shore power I would have to run my generator.


I find that I savor the small things a lot such as using my new little tea kettle to heat water this morning. I am Goldilocks and appreciate finding something that is just the right size. I suspect that is true for all of us who live and travel in such small spaces.

Meeting a friend for coffe this morning. We got acquinted last year when I did some downsizing and sold here my woven wool rugs I had put on craigslist. She was moving to a new house they had just purchased in here Sequim where I am camping. With c
Covid I can't  go visit her home so webwill meet outside at a coffee shop in town. I guess that means it is time to quit posting and get a shower before I head out for the coffee date.

 

[maki2]

Turned out to be a very beneficial coffee date to me financially. I had left 2 big birdhouse I made years ago in the care of my former workshop mate. He had moved them to a friends place for safe keeping. The woman I met for coffe had seen them in the hallway space last year. Today at coffee date she asked about them and if they were for sale. So I checked if I could get them and we agreed on a price. I wil go into Seattle on Monday and fetch them as well as pick up the part I need for my Stove/heater. These are very large, custum birdhouses. The sale will provide the money for trave from WA statet to Arizona, as well as funds for the LTVA fees and likely much of the dental work in Algodones.  So doing a happy dance this afternoon with that unexpected income boost! You just never know what a day will bring around. Sometimes it does bring good things

 

[Jeffroe]

Another hot day in Quartzite today. My thermometer says 104 outside and 102 in the trailer! No wonder there are so few people here yet. Oh well, if our state park reservations hadn’t been screwed up we would be arriving on Friday when it’s supposed to drop off to the upper 80’s. But this is definitely another chapter in our adventure. It definitely is more tolerable than mid 90’s in Missouri or Wisconsin with their high humidity. We are really enjoying watching the desert creatures, lizards, jackrabbits,quail and hummingbirds. I always wonder how they survive in this extreme climate. Where do they get water or food? This is one of the times I wonder how anyone can believe in the Big Bang theory! God is definitely great!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[maki2]

---

Survival of the fittest meaning those creatures that are able to adapt over time through evolution is  certainly compatible with the big bang theory.

Not arguing religious beliefs here. It is simply part of biology.

The process of change has not stopped, it is ongoing. There is proof of that all around us. Covid 19 is part of that ever evolving change in biology.