Traveling

[neoplacebo]

So the summer hasn't been anything at all what we originally had planned, but overall we've done pretty well with the conditions we had. Staying mainly along a line north of I-90, we've managed to have some good walks/hikes, fun road trips, and see some interesting places. We spent a little time in Montana, considering another trip to Glacier until we found out it was so crowded this year that to even get on the Going-to-the-Sun road to spend the day bumper to bumper you had to be on line up at the gate by, like, 6:00a.m. So our Montana time was spent in Polson, hanging around Flathead Lake. We did an easy version hike on Mt. Ranier, and a somewhat miserable vertical hike on Mt. Spokane. Had some good local handmade brats in Leavenworth, and salmon fresh off the boat in Seattle. Got closer to Justin Beiber than I would have ever wanted to be (same town, Coeur' D'Alene), and lived through several 100+ degree days. Next month we'll start heading back south, at first by way of the Oregon coast. Hopefully the fires will be diminished by then. In a lot of ways, our life may not be too different from what it would have been without the pandemic, but we're reminded every day that pretty much everything is affected in some way. And then there's a sense of waiting - waiting for the pandemic to pass, waiting for the election, and it's still complicated to make anything other than short-term plans. But it's still a good life - one for which we remain grateful

Well, that beats my ordeal.....I ended up in a town called Poison hard by Fuckhead Lake with a bunch of sovereign citizens from Coeur D'Alene who were all wearing MAGA hats and carrying flamethrowers. I had to humor them for six hours before making a middle of the night escape. It is good to be alive and away from wingnuttery and dumbfuckery.

[O Really]

So you saw sovereign citizens with MAGA hats and flamethrowers. At least you didn't have Beiber.

[GoCubsGo]

Perhaps Covid is not all bad news.

Cruise ship dismantling booms in Turkey after pandemic scuttles sector

[O Really]

Well, there's no problem with air quality now in Salt Lake City and so far it's been good weather - 70ish days and not very cold nights. Sunday it's supposed to snow, though. Damn. Anyway, I've got some observations:
The central city area of SLC is quite attractive, with some good architecture not even related to their famous capitol building or the temple.
They've got a strange street naming convention - like S 600 St., N 2300 E, etc. And pretty often the street name on Google maps isn't exactly the same as the street. Like "University Blvd." is a main street, but the exit off the freeway is marked "400 S". And the streets have a habit of changing numbers at intersections for no apparent reason. I also would not have expected to find streets named "Harvey Milk" and "Caesar Chavez" in the middle of Mormonland, either.

Bit of context, I learned to drive in eastern cities where aggressive driving was a survival skill, and have driven in a bunch of weird places including many years in Florida where yellow means go faster and speed limits are suggestions. With that in mind, I'll say SLC has some crazy-ass drivers.

There are a lot of good places to walk/hike, many with good views but almost all with steepish hills.

Utah went for Trump, of course, but there really aren't very many political signs around the SLC area of any sort. And Salt Lake County and the surrounding went strongly Biden, along with Grand County (Moab et al.)

I don't know what "Utah food" might be, but they've got at least one really excellent barbeque shop.

[Vrede too]

... Utah went for Trump, of course, but there really aren't very many political signs around the SLC area of any sort. And Salt Lake County and the surrounding went strongly Biden, along with Grand County (Moab et al.)....

My experience with SLC is dated, though it was never negative other than mild annoyance with their booze laws.

... Less than 50% of Salt Lake City's residents are members of the LDS Church.... That surprised me the first time that I learned it many years ago.

Mormons can be as right-wing politically as anyone, but I've never found them to be hateful like the average Trumpette or con Baptist. I've always thought that they are decent, kind and generous on a personal level.

[billy.pilgrim]

Well, there's no problem with air quality now in Salt Lake City and so far it's been good weather - 70ish days and not very cold nights. Sunday it's supposed to snow, though. Damn. Anyway, I've got some observations:
The central city area of SLC is quite attractive, with some good architecture not even related to their famous capitol building or the temple.
They've got a strange street naming convention - like S 600 St., N 2300 E, etc. And pretty often the street name on Google maps isn't exactly the same as the street. Like "University Blvd." is a main street, but the exit off the freeway is marked "400 S". And the streets have a habit of changing numbers at intersections for no apparent reason. I also would not have expected to find streets named "Harvey Milk" and "Caesar Chavez" in the middle of Mormonland, either.

Bit of context, I learned to drive in eastern cities where aggressive driving was a survival skill, and have driven in a bunch of weird places including many years in Florida where yellow means go faster and speed limits are suggestions. With that in mind, I'll say SLC has some crazy-ass drivers.

There are a lot of good places to walk/hike, many with good views but almost all with steepish hills.

Utah went for Trump, of course, but there really aren't very many political signs around the SLC area of any sort. And Salt Lake County and the surrounding went strongly Biden, along with Grand County (Moab et al.)

I don't know what "Utah food" might be, but they've got at least one really excellent barbeque shop.

Do you pull a car or have electric bikes?

[O Really]

Do you pull a car or have electric bikes?

We tow a car (referred to as a "toad" in RV-speak) and have real bikes.

[billy.pilgrim]

Do you pull a car or have electric bikes?

We tow a car (referred to as a "toad" in RV-speak) and have real bikes.

I'm buying an ebike and read that people are using them instead of towing a car. Seems like a good idea - maybe.

[neoplacebo]

I plan to soon invent the e horse and all of them will be named Lightning. I will also invent the e saddle for the discerning lady and gentleman.

[Vrede too]

I plan to soon invent the e horse and all of them will be named Lightning. I will also invent the e saddle for the discerning lady and gentleman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obX20UYG5oQ

[O Really]

Do you pull a car or have electric bikes?

We tow a car (referred to as a "toad" in RV-speak) and have real bikes.

I'm buying an ebike and read that people are using them instead of towing a car. Seems like a good idea - maybe.

We've thought about renting them for an excursion, and they're certainly appealing and allow geezers better access to steeper hills and other places, but I don't see them (or motorcycles) as a primary means of transport even though some do. Living in a motorhome isn't much different from living in a house except the environment changes. You still need to have a car if you don't want to be significantly limited.

Lady O was wanting to get a Tesla or something electric until she found out you can't tow it except on a trailer, which aingonnahappen.

[O Really]

So we've been in a really great spot on the shore of Lake Mead for most of the week, but a spot with really crappy cell/internet service. Anyway, we cruised the Vegas strip, hiked the Railroad Trail out to the Hoover Dam, and enjoyed finally being out of the cold. Had these people for neighbors https://rvcoders.com/ - they have the life Whack9 would probably like. Then we headed out across the desert to Lake Havasu, AZ, by way of including the Route 66 cruise through Needles. Walked over the London Bridge at sunset. We'll be here the rest of the week, with 80-degree sunny days.

Silly me, I thought if you were at a place named "Lake Havasu" you would be able to visit Havasu Falls. Nope. The falls is a couple hundred miles from here, 30 or so miles driving off the highway across reservation land, and then a 10-mile one way "strenuous" hike to the falls at which you're required to spend overnight. We'll pass.

[GoCubsGo]

So we've been in a really great spot on the shore of Lake Mead for most of the week, but a spot with really crappy cell/internet service. Anyway, we cruised the Vegas strip, hiked the Railroad Trail out to the Hoover Dam, and enjoyed finally being out of the cold. Had these people for neighbors https://rvcoders.com/ - they have the life Whack9 would probably like. Then we headed out across the desert to Lake Havasu, AZ, by way of including the Route 66 cruise through Needles. Walked over the London Bridge at sunset. We'll be here the rest of the week, with 80-degree sunny days.

Silly me, I thought if you were at a place named "Lake Havasu" you would be able to visit Havasu Falls. Nope. The falls is a couple hundred miles from here, 30 or so miles driving off the highway across reservation land, and then a 10-mile one way "strenuous" hike to the falls at which you're required to spend overnight. We'll pass.

No donkey trip down the Grand Canyon?

[O Really]

So we've been in a really great spot on the shore of Lake Mead for most of the week, but a spot with really crappy cell/internet service. Anyway, we cruised the Vegas strip, hiked the Railroad Trail out to the Hoover Dam, and enjoyed finally being out of the cold. Had these people for neighbors https://rvcoders.com/ - they have the life Whack9 would probably like. Then we headed out across the desert to Lake Havasu, AZ, by way of including the Route 66 cruise through Needles. Walked over the London Bridge at sunset. We'll be here the rest of the week, with 80-degree sunny days.

Silly me, I thought if you were at a place named "Lake Havasu" you would be able to visit Havasu Falls. Nope. The falls is a couple hundred miles from here, 30 or so miles driving off the highway across reservation land, and then a 10-mile one way "strenuous" hike to the falls at which you're required to spend overnight. We'll pass.

No donkey trip down the Grand Canyon?

No, we're not going by the Grand Canyon this trip. We were there a few years ago and decided that it's certainly spectacular and well worth the trip, but it's still pretty much a big hole in the ground not that dissimilar from many other places other than by size. We did look into the mule rides, but it turns out that you have to reserve your space way in advance - like months in advance. Same with the rafts down the whitewater parts, but in addition to having to book early, when the boat ride ends, you have to hike about 8 miles up the canyon side. We opted for a helicopter ride, but found out they no longer let them fly down into the canyon so about half the flight was pine trees, pine trees, pine trees ---big hole! - pine trees, pine trees, pine trees. We had intended to go back by there last spring, BC, and take the scenic train ride up from Williams, but that got wiped away with the covid. A really good trip, though, was the float from the dam at Page down to the start of the Grand Canyon.

[billy.pilgrim]

So we've been in a really great spot on the shore of Lake Mead for most of the week, but a spot with really crappy cell/internet service. Anyway, we cruised the Vegas strip, hiked the Railroad Trail out to the Hoover Dam, and enjoyed finally being out of the cold. Had these people for neighbors https://rvcoders.com/ - they have the life Whack9 would probably like. Then we headed out across the desert to Lake Havasu, AZ, by way of including the Route 66 cruise through Needles. Walked over the London Bridge at sunset. We'll be here the rest of the week, with 80-degree sunny days.

Silly me, I thought if you were at a place named "Lake Havasu" you would be able to visit Havasu Falls. Nope. The falls is a couple hundred miles from here, 30 or so miles driving off the highway across reservation land, and then a 10-mile one way "strenuous" hike to the falls at which you're required to spend overnight. We'll pass.

No donkey trip down the Grand Canyon?

No, we're not going by the Grand Canyon this trip. We were there a few years ago and decided that it's certainly spectacular and well worth the trip, but it's still pretty much a big hole in the ground not that dissimilar from many other places other than by size. We did look into the mule rides, but it turns out that you have to reserve your space way in advance - like months in advance. Same with the rafts down the whitewater parts, but in addition to having to book early, when the boat ride ends, you have to hike about 8 miles up the canyon side. We opted for a helicopter ride, but found out they no longer let them fly down into the canyon so about half the flight was pine trees, pine trees, pine trees ---big hole! - pine trees, pine trees, pine trees. We had intended to go back by there last spring, BC, and take the scenic train ride up from Williams, but that got wiped away with the covid. A really good trip, though, was the float from the dam at Page down to the start of the Grand Canyon.

Can you run by Utah and check out the monolith or obelisk or whatever it is?

Directions in the outer space thread

[O Really]

Can you run by Utah and check out the monolith or obelisk or whatever it is?

Directions in the outer space thread

Ummmm, no.
But it looks like it might be accessible from around the Moab area, and with hundreds of off-road enthusiasts around there, it probably won't be long before there are tours.

[O Really]

So after about 150 more miles of almost unrelenting desert, we find ourselves in Yuma, AZ, home of several climate superlatives - sunniest, driest, least rainfall (<2.5 in/yr). Also most winter vegetables grown in US, and winter home to 85,000 snowbirds in a year-round population of about 200,000 in the entire Yuma County. It's also a good place to see what Trump's border games can do to an economy. Before covid, American and Canadian tourism put about 380 mill into the economy, but Mexican visitors "spend an estimated $2.2 Billion on food, clothing, entertainment and other activities per year, representing more than 6% of all taxable sales." And that's just the American side. The town of Los Algodones just over the border is heavily if not solely dependent on tourism, with no real alternative sources of revenue.

RV parks all over, lowest rates we've seen anywhere. Some nicer than others, of course, but even a top of the line park with built-in "community club" features are a little over half of what it costs in California or South Florida. But then, Yuma isn't coastal California or South Florida, and that's pretty obvious. It is almost "California" which is just over the river, but that California is Imperial County with one of the worst covid messes in the country along with "high rates of diabetes and asthma, the county of roughly 181,000 also suffers from high poverty and an unemployment rate last month of nearly 19% — the worst in California."

[GoCubsGo]

So what do you do there to fill your days?

[O Really]

So what do you do there to fill your days?

Well, we're only here basically a long weekend - leaving Tuesday. But there are some interesting things to see. The Territorial Prison park is on today's list https://azstateparks.com/yuma-territorial/, and there's a very nice river walk, just beware the pigeon poop and sleeping homeless. We may ride out to the Castle Domes ghost town http://www.castledomemuseum.org/
I don't know if I care to go visit the part of Trump's wall that's near here. Too distressing.

[billy.pilgrim]

One of Dad's buddies from his neighborhood bought the town of Tombstone - in the 40s as I remember.

He had a dream.