The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Bill's Shop: Projects, Mods & Repairs => Topic started by: drbassman on July 11, 2008, 07:32:24 AM
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I never thought I could leave home for 13 days on vacation, but we did it and had a great time out west. Wireless internet sucks in most motels, no matter what they advertise. I only had like 4 days of service during the entire trip and that was at my daughter's and brother-in-law's houses!
I'm back and looking forward to getting back in the shop!
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Here I thought you shut down the computer and was furiously finishing project basses!
Now that would be a cool vacation.
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Yellowstone is unreal, what a beautiful place and the western states are so diverse. We loved it! We'll go again for sure!
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The guy I worked with went there last year and he said huge expanses of trees are dead due to some bug infestation?
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welcome back
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The guy I worked with went there last year and he said huge expanses of trees are dead due to some bug infestation?
Well, there is a lot of lumber laying on the ground, but there's 5 times as much standing tall and there are evergreens covering most of the 2.2 millions acres of the park. Most of it, I thought, was due to previous forest fires. Didn't hear anything about bugs or vermin doing it. Nature seems to be handling it as far as I could see. A beautiful place nonetheless.
And it's good to be back!
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There are huge expanses of pines killed by a bark beetle infestation in Colorado and it's spreading gradually into southern Wyoming. But the dead trees in Yellowstone are from old fires or old infestations.
And welcome back, Bill.
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Welcome back Bill, we missed ya !
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Welcome back Bill, we missed ya !
Thanks Scott! The only things I missed was you guys and my workshop! Otherwise, 2 weeks away from work was glorious!!!! ;D
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Nice!! I just got back from wellfleet,cape cod myself.. It did not suk! Nice to have u back
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Cap Cod sounds nice too! We love going to Maine in the summer, great part of the country!
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cape cod is great.plus they have one of the last drive-in movie theaters
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We have one in Fairlee Vermont,Drive in that is .
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We've got one left about 20 miles from here. Does a good business too!
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We have a two-screen drive-in here in Fort Collins (northern Colorado, about 40 miles south of Cheyenne, WYO). The cool thing about it is that although they still have the old speakers-on-a-post, they broadcast the sound track for each screen on a low power FM frequency so that you can listen with your car stereo. In my case, I've backed a pickup into the parking spot, put a pair of 2x12's across the bed by the cab to form a seat and put camp chairs in the end of the bed toward the tailgate. It makes 2-tiered seating. The kids can fort up against the cab on the 2x12 platform with blankies and pillows, and the grownups can sit in comfort in the camp chairs. We bring a boom box with fresh batteries, sit it on the cab and tune it to the FM frequency. My daughters went to The Dark Knight and another movie two nights ago...they're big enough to drive themselves now, so the 2x12's have been retired (note: if you do this, put a cleat under each end of the 2x12 so they can't slide off the sides of the pickup bed...)
About Yellowstone - you may recall they had huge forest fires in that region in 1988; those fires burned about one-third of the region that year. We only live a day's drive from there, and we have visited a couple of times since the fires. A lot of the dead and downed trees near the road are due to the fire. However, since then, the pine bark beetles have become a problem throughout the entire west. I don't doubt that many of the old trees have been killed by them. My view is that the pine bark beetle is part of a cyclic phenomenon and we'll eventually realize that we need to ride it out and let nature restore the forests over (a lot of) time.
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I went there as a kid and the Grand Teton (french for Breasts) mountains. The guy I work with went there and he took pictures of them. There was hardly any snow on them anymore.
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I've driven the area around Jackson (fun town - get your old west portrait taken on the square), the Tetons and Yellowstone a number of times. The thing that tends to surprise easterners is distances out here. Yellowstone and its nearby attractions aren't near ANYthing. In the west, we measure travel by miles, not hours...because miles roughly equal hours. The issue isn't traffic, it's distance.
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Yeah, drive ins are a hoot. We'll have to go again. We kinda stopped when the kids went off to college.
As for nature, that's just what we'll have to do. Wait her out and in her time, things have a way of healing.
Hey, Ft. Collins, I'd love to live in that area. Maybe I can find a job out that way, I've been looking, but I think I'm getting a little too old for most universities to take me seriously! The wife's brother lives in Boulder. We'd love to move out to CO.
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The door's open and the coffee will be on if you visit. Boulder is just 40 miles away, so you might even have an excuse to stop by!
I like this area, too. Ft. Collins is a VERY cool town of around 130,000 and it's a very happening place. The only places in the US I'd move from here are north and west...since I came from Washington state, and it's hard to beat the Pacific NW.
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I've actually applied for a few positions, I've got the credentials but being 58 is a liability when you're looking at jobs out there! I always figure what's meant to be is meant to be!
If I'm ever in Ft. Collins, I will look you up!
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I knew you were a Fine Fellow, etc., etc.
Why?
I turned 58 on June 11th. ;D
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Yeah, I'm 58 and I've had several offers in Ohio (where I have a lot of connections), my 3rd. choice and my wife's not a fan of the close midwest. First choice is CO or the surrounding states, but everyone is looking out there! So, what's meant to be will come to pass.....or not!