24/7 Chat About Anything

[crofter]

“Lake Powell stripper boils video” Boils on a stripper? A hot stripper?
The reality is “Lake Powell striper boils”. A whole different kettle of fish.

Cant spell on a computer, but the fishin is better than good if you can believe it. Long ways from anywhere though. I usually stay in a river town of some sort, but spending time at the big dams is a special treat when you live in the west.
-crofter

 

[bullfrog]

That’s what I get for watching old Benny Hill reruns while trying to reply! Lol!!!

 

[highdesertranger]

the "New 49ers" In Happy Camp will have the sifter screens. they used to have masks but might be out. good luck I believe we are all pulling for you. highdesertranger

 

[nature lover]

Amen - ditto HDR

 

[maki2]

Got most of the errands I wanted to do in Seattle accomplished. it was food to see my former workshop mate again. i rwill go back over to Seattle for a couple of days of urban camping before I head south. i still have some things in that space that need to be sorted out and given aeay. a few other items he will hang onto for me until I get back there next summer.

His dog was overwhelmed with happiness to see me. Of course the dog just knows me as his "human mom" since I helped take care of him since he showed up as a tiny pup. We had a couple of errands to run and each had our car to drive. The whole time the dog was at the windows trying to keep his eye on me so I did not get separated from him. Plus whining, barking and trying to get to be with me. Of course it made me tear up when it came time to leave and come back to camp. I am happy to be on the road but I do miss my friend and the dog too.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks HDR and Naturelover.. had a nice day downriver but the property is a mess. Nothing much survived and I didn't take anything except pictures and video. Didn't sift either. I'll have to wait for CA Environmental Health to remove the mobile home skirting, roof and frame before I'll be able to get in there and sift.

I recognized a few broken coffee cups and my charred bicycle frame. Nothing to get excited about. I didn't find my other cat. Hope he's a survivor somewhere somehow. People are still finding and rescuing cats that were lost in the fire.

Hopefully the environmental health agency will eventually clean it up so I can at least park my van there again, to sleep in. I'll be saving money to build something there.

 

[maki2]

T-A it sounds as it is meant for you to be living a nomadiic van life after all. At least for a few years time until you get everything sorted out on that property. Might be time to find a storage place so you can have the van and cargo trailer ready to move into and to get your build done. There will be friends from the forum around in Arizona who will pitch in some labor including myself.

 

[maki2]

Getting light outside now. I have the trailer warmed up. My little electric hezter died yesterday but there was a sppare one at the workshop where I was yesterday soo I grabbed it to bring back when I picked up the birdhouses.

I dont get to be a lazy lady of liesure today. I have orcers to ship, minature brickwork on the birdhouses to repair. Plus the first job which is critical to both of those, shifting stuff out of the trailer and back into its storage place in my vehicle. I barely hve room to move around at the moment. Today should be rain free by lunch time and no rain predicted for the next 2 days. i had better get my act together and take advantage of that and get work done.

 

[travelaround]

T-A it sounds as it is meant for you to be living a nomadiic van life after all. At least for a few years time until you get everything sorted out on that property. Might be time to find a storage place so you can have the van and cargo trailer ready to move into and to get your build done. There will be friends from the forum around in Arizona who will pitch in some labor including myself.

I agree - it is starting to look like vanlife is my only choice... not that I mind, because I wanted that in the first place. I'm staying here for now because my daughter is expecting a baby at the end of November and I still have to make sure my property doesn't get passed over for being cleaned up at the state's expense. Other things also might be happening - like a lawsuit if it is determined that the power company caused the fire, and FEMA - I need to know what they can offer that might help.

I actually did look for a storage space so I could empty my van and get work done on the build - but no... not one storage space is available in this area. I've never run into that before. I should keep on calling - maybe something will open up.

Anyhow, I appreciate the offer of van build help - in case I can actually get to Arizona this winter!

 

[maki2]

Got all my orders cut and shipped out today but 2 new ones came in so I will be heading back to the post office tomorrow. The closest post office to me is in Port Gamble, WA. Port Gamble is a very charming turn of the century lumber mill town on Puget Sound which, because it has always been privately owned, has kept up all the old buildings. It is on the national historic register of places. Good place to stop get out of the car and walk around if you come up to this area.

It was a busy early evening when I got back to camp as I wanted to move over to a different site that gets more sunshine. It is further away from a line of tall trees to the south of my site that was blocking the sun most of the day as the sun is not very high in the sky right now. I ended up moving the trailer after dark. Fortunately yesterday at Home I bought 2 sets of 2 small rechargeable LED lights. This campsite has some fence rails along the front and the sides to divide it up from adjacent sites plus a picnic table and a fire ring. It is a pretty dark campground at night, no big overhead lights anywhere. I was able to use those little lights as my "runway" markers setting them on the top of the post, the table and one on the fire ring as well as the post for the electrical hookup. Worked great, I was able to line the trailer up nicely without hitting any obstacles. Very handy little lights for taking outside and also using inside my travel trailer or car. Here is a link to them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commerc...-Cabinet-Task-Light-2-Pack-NCL10-20/308724030

The weather report for the next week is pretty typical for this time of year, slight chance of rain most days with partly cloudy skies. If the forecast was for pouring down rain everyday I would have left WA state earlier than planned.

 

[travelaround]

Thanks for the link, Maki... more light is always helpful. That's one thing I learned about vandwelling during the short time I was actually doing it. More light = less depression, and I love my fairy lights to be on and slowly changing colors all night.

Just got done with a brainstorming session with my daughter, regarding my van build. Looks like FEMA denied our major disaster declaration for now, so I need to get work done on the van build and plan to move into it. There aren't going to be any FEMA mobile housing units for us before winter apparently. Our governor will appeal FEMA's decision.

Red Cross seems interested in having people leave the hotel, as I heard from others here that earlier today some Red Cross workers appeared at their doors to ask them if they would like a one-way train ticket to relatives in another state, or alternatively, a tent, sleeping bag and grill. My neighbor in another room here laughed about that, as the rainy season is coming up so quickly now. Tents don't seem to be a great choice. Not knocking Red Cross - they've done an amazing job of housing us in hotels and feeding us during the last month and helping in many other ways.

I can just imagine these people joining the ranks of the homeless sleeping down next to the creek behind Walmart. Definitely not what we want to do. Of course for me, not a big problem as I have the van. I might be giving a lot of people information on vehicle dwelling pretty soon!

My daughter bought a pretty nice older RV yesterday. She's been saving all the money people sent her to help out after the fire, plus some of her own. I got to see it today. For creature comforts it beats the bus! However she'll keep the bus and continue working on converting it into a more comfortable living space. She wanted the RV to be able to move back to town and get the kids back into school.

People ask me why I don't apply for one of the trailers the Tribe has for loans for people who lost their homes in the fire... well, it is because I don't want to pay space rent. Doesn't matter how nice the trailer is. Space rent at 400 per month comes out to 4500 per year and I could instead save that money for building something on my land in a few years. People are so hooked into paying rent... but we know there are other ways to get by. My daughter was paying 700 in rent before the fire so now paying 400 seems like a good deal to her.

Had a pretty good day meeting some neighbors I'd never met before. One woman lived about 4 houses away from me in the neighborhood we were in but I'd never met her before. She said she just got finished renovating the entire interior of her home when this happened. I know at least two other people who did major renovations just before losing their homes in the fire. Sad stories! I've also met others, like me, who just bought the properties within the last year. Lots of people didn't have any fire insurance, which was extremely expensive in our area and hard to get.

 

[bullfrog]

In eastern Kentucky people used to make a living paying themselves to redo their houses with insurance money every year all most. They owned property with flood insurance and built two story houses with a balcony. The first story was concrete block and the second story was wooden frame. Flood water usually only came up 5’ or so in spring floods. One family had a tire with an inner tube on a telephone pole to tie his boat to so when it flooded it floated up to his balcony. They would really do up the first floor nice and document with photos and bills which included their friends construction companies that they worked for. Each year they would get paid to build back their flood damaged first floor. When everyone else was unemployed they had a job!

 

[maki2]

Travel, hang in there for the free motel and meals as long as you can so that you can be close to your daughter. Someday your land will once again become your home.

Find out from the county if you are allowed to put a metal shipping container on the property. You will need a good secure place to store materials and household goods. If permitted then you can have one delivered there. It will be the fastest no-build solution until you can afford to build something that is pretty much fire proof.

 

[maki2]

hooray, the big monster RV that moved into the space next to me has left. Now I have a view of the woods out of my desk window again!  But now the person who was to the south of me just moved into that slot but at least it is a much smaller camper van, a Pleasure Way.

They day is getting along, I had better get the orders that came in yesterday ready to ship out. When I get into Poulsbo to mail them I am going to stop in at Wallmart and pick up a 4' x 6' red popup canopy to put outside my trailer door over my adjustable height scaffold work bench/table. It is not very expensive or very heavy. I can secure some tarps around it for extra shelter from rain. As long as there is not high wind it will be a big help with dry workspace for cutting materials for my build such as the wood for making drawers, the cabinet doors and the interior trim pieces. Keeping that sawdust outside. If that little canopy works out I will sew up some proper tent type sides with zippered window screen openings, an entry door plus a detachable floor. Maybe someday I will have a easy and quick to setup Clam shelter but they are too expensive for my budget this year.

I did purchase the smallest size of wet/dry shop vacuum at Wallmart, my generator can run it when I am not on shore power. It is small enough to fit in the cabinet under my bed and not too heavy in weight to put there so it won't bother the tongue weight balance situation. I make stuff to sell and do some wood carving too which means I do make messes that are best taken care of with a wet/dry vacuum versus a broom. Of course there is also the issue of the wind in the desert turning the inside of our living spaces into a dust bowl.  I will have to create a filter for the exhaust on it plus and extension hose to hook to the exhaust port that can do double duty as a blower. A bit of modification and it will suit me just fine.

 

[Qxxx]

TA, did your son make it to Reno? I still think it might not be a bad place to rent a storage unit for a year or two while you travel and get resettled in HC.

 

[Qxxx]

Compared to other people, I did not find camping in the desert to turn the inside of my van into a dust bowl. First, I have 2 sets of shoes, one for inside the van and one for outside, so I don't track dust into the van. Secondly, I have a polypropylene carpet on the floor which can be taken out and cleaned in a car wash or just with water or a brush, so there is no permanently installed carpet that needs a vac.

Thirdly, I don't camp in places where the dust is enormous to start with. Eg, down by the river in Ehrenberg is high dust, besides being pack rat territory, whereas up on the mesa is much better. Fourthly, I also put down some mats outside the van door that I can wipe my feet on before getting into the van, and which prevents that area from turning dusty from walking over.

 

[Cammalu]

Nature lover check boondockerswelcome.com. There are some around sarasota

 

[maki2]

Photo of my newly set up camping compound for the next 20 days. As you can see I have a generous sized space that backs up to the woods. Very pretty here and there is also a beach to go down to. Nice restrooms, fire pit, etc.


I changed my mind and went ahead and bought a dome tent at Walmart. That is the one in the photo, I got lucky in that it is a color match for my car and trailer. It will be my workshop space as it is tall enough to stand up in. Of course if there is a really bad windstorm I will have to take it down until the storm is over. But usually those kinds of storms show up in late November so I should be OK.  I do have very heavy duty stakes holding it down.

The rangers said they don't care if I use some small power tools as long as it is not during quiet time. That I am going to be make less noise than they will during their fall cleanup time. With the tent my mess will be self contained for the most part. But I also have a picnic table for a workbench space right between my trailer and my tent. Not at all crowded at this campground now that it is the off season.

The tent will allow me to keep my trailer space set up for my Etsy store work as well as sleeping and cooking. The things I need to keep secured such as tools will be returned to my car or the trailer at night.

I guess I will go back to Walmart or Home Depot as I need another outdoor extension cord to reach over to the tent. Plus a 110v LED work light to hang over the work bench inside of the tent. Gets dark early and it is cloudy during a lot of the daytime in this area so I need to be able to see what I am working on.

 

[travelaround]

@Maki - Nice campsite! Love the matching reds! I like the shipping container idea. That would be a safe place to store the riding lawnmower I want to get.

@Qxxx - Today is my son's last day of work... yay! He phoned me earlier. He has some mixed feelings about leaving Happy Camp but will be better off in Reno we hope and he was planning on moving there eventually anyway to be with his friends and for recreational reasons like the Virginia City Grand Prix dirt bike race. I can look for storage in Reno before I go visit him. That sounds like a good central place between Arizona and Idaho.

News - Trump reversed FEMA's decision this afternoon after our governor phoned him... so it looks like we'll be getting FEMA help after all. I feel like we've been on a roller coaster over this for weeks now. I hope this will take away some of the stress. We will get help. One less thing to worry about.

I've already made a FEMA application. Will let you know what happens when they get back to me about that.

Yesterday afternoon I talked to a Red Cross worker who was sent out to verify the condition of three different properties in Happy Camp. Found out they had my street name listed wrongly - that could have been the problem? So I told her how to find my place... hope to get good news about that soon. Any financial assistance I might get would help with the van build or save toward building on the property.

Also heard a "mass tort" lawsuit may be in the works already against two large corporations that have insurance to cover incidents like this. That's pending the results of the investigation on how the fire started. Maybe I'll get some home building money. One can only hope. I think there should be some compensation because of the losses and inconvenience of not being able to use my land for a few years... or months, or whatever it will be. Probably years. We'll see.

 

[Qxxx]

News - Trump reversed FEMA's decision this afternoon after our governor phoned him... so it looks like we'll be getting FEMA help after all. I feel like we've been on a roller coaster over this for weeks now. I hope this will take away some of the stress. We will get help. One less thing to worry about.

The most amazing thing about fighting the fires is that, they are almost all on federal land, and the state of CA only owns 3% of the instate forests. The Feds seem to have money for everything except for proper forest management of their own damn lands. You'd think the states of CA, OR, WA, and ID would beat on somebody's heads to get them to wake up and do their jobs.

TA, in the meantime think of how much fun and adventure you're going to have hitting the road.