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Post by Handy on Oct 25, 2020 8:02:28 GMT -5
Sunday morning 7AM, +8F and not -1F like the forecast predicted, so that is a win.
On the losing side 8" of new snow.
Eight AM appointment, here I come.
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Post by lwoetin on Oct 25, 2020 19:56:31 GMT -5
Sunday morning 7AM, +8F and not -1F like the forecast predicted, so that is a win.
On the losing side 8" of new snow.
Eight AM appointment, here I come.
Already? Which state? Still in mid-70s this week so I will throw more grass seeds on my lawn. Again. My soil sucks. |
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Post by Handy on Oct 25, 2020 21:22:13 GMT -5
Lwoetin, I live in Montana, Podunk MT to be precise.  The stage coach comes through town twice a week and we have the telegraph, when it is working. |
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Post by lwoetin on Oct 26, 2020 23:13:53 GMT -5
Mountain looks pretty and you can have lots of land there. I didn't realize Montana is such a big state. How do you stay warm there? Is the heater on the whole day?
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Post by Handy on Oct 27, 2020 1:06:39 GMT -5
Keeping warm is not a problem. Larger towns have natural gas for heating fuel. I have a 90% efficient gas-hot air furnace and it cycles on and off several times in an hour if it is really cold. During the day when the sun is shining the furnace doesn't come on as often. I have the thermostat set for 68-69F during the day and 65F at night. I wear a hoodie most of the time during the day and that is all I wear extra outside sometimes. I have 3 hoodies of different thickness or insulating properties and wear what keeps me warm. We have idiots that go shopping wearing shorts and sandals when it is snowing and near zero F. Next week the weather folks predict something close to +50F. That is much better than the +8f this morning at 7AM. Last year was mild. I didn't run my snow blower at all. This year I had my snow blower running for over an hour. The only extra clothing I wore was my medium weight hoodie and some really good gloves. I was perspiring so much my gloves got wet from the inside. My street shoes got wet from the melting snow because the sunshine was intense. Some parts of Montana (the western part) have trees and some parts only scrub sage brush (eastern part) so be careful when you say the state is beautiful. Beautiful is in the eye of the observer. The state has some barren but interesting bad-lands. One rule driving in some parts of Montana, no driving your car on or near empty gas tank. The next gas station north of me is 50 miles, then there is another gas station another 44 miles from that one. Then you have to go 119 miles to a small town and hope they have gas and hope the gas station is open. The gas station is on an Indian reservation and they have their own idea of business hours and how to run a business. After that the next gas station is only another 36 miles but on another Indian reservation. Some native Americans practice "Native American time'(NAT). A 2PM appoint by NAT could mean 1PM or up to 4PM depending on the people or circumstances. I just fill up at home (11 gallon tank X 34 MPG) and fill up at my friends house (250 mile each way) so the distances between gas stations isn't a problem for me. Most of the things in Montana are normal. I just pointed out some odd things.
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Post by DryCreek on Oct 27, 2020 11:43:25 GMT -5
Handy, I noticed this contrast in the state’s geography driving from Glacier down to the nearest large city about 3 hours away (Billings? Bozeman?) to catch a flight. While Glacier is gorgeous, mountainous terrain near the Canadian border like I always imagined Montana, the drive south was more like Nebraska - flat and dull ranching land.
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Post by Handy on Oct 27, 2020 15:48:58 GMT -5
DryCreek
driving from Glacier down to the nearest large city about 3 hours away ...That would have been Missoula if you went directly south. If you went SE you might have gone to Great Falls. Bozeman is about 6 hours from Glacier. Bozeman and south is a scenic area. Some areas near Bozeman are out on the prairie. Billings is out on the prairie, so yes it is sort of flat. You mentioned "ranching land" MT has a lot of barbed wire fencing. What makes traveling in any state for me is to buy a copy of a series of books "Roadside Geology for the state of ______________"
Watch Glacial Lake Missoula
You can also buy books about native plants and animals. The landscape might look boring but after you learn what is going on that you don't see, an area that looks devoid of anything interesting, now has potential of more things that might happen. There is a series of PBS like programs titled "The Back Roads of Montana" that shows some past and current points and people of interest.
I have an answer to images of the UK's Devon forest
and this is it! 
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Post by DryCreek on Oct 27, 2020 19:25:24 GMT -5
Yep, Handy, it was probably Great Falls. We had flown into Kalispell, but Great Falls had more than weekly flights to get back home. Not that ranch land is bad - it’s just not the mountainous Montana we’re programmed to expect. Kinda like the mountain forest and ski slopes of Flagstaff aren’t what people picture of Arizona (desert and saguaro cactus - which is what it’s like in my area... we literally get tumbleweeds rolling down the street during a good dust storm). |
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Post by Handy on Oct 27, 2020 20:49:26 GMT -5
I drove through AZ from Page to Mesa (East Phoenix) a few times. Once I took the Oak Creek Canyon road instead of the Interstate. My mother-in-law painted a picture of one of the rock formations and I wanted to see it in person. Nice drive BTW.
I also visited The CasaGrand adobe ruins and I think the Boyce Thompson Arboretum over by Superior. The Boojum Tree was a sight to see.
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Post by DryCreek on Oct 27, 2020 21:18:40 GMT -5
Page to Mesa is not a short drive. I hope you got to visit the slot canyons up there! Some of the sights you mention I haven’t even heard of, but then I’ve only lived here 35 years.  |
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Post by Handy on Oct 27, 2020 21:57:20 GMT -5
DryCreek, my last visit to AZ was 1980, no Internet so the only thing I knew was from paper maps. I visited the Grand Canyon, the dam at Page some sight in Mesa and the Salt River Theodore Roosevelt Lake.
In 1980 I bought 8 pounds of oranges for a dollar and in Utah between Page and Kanab I got a $30 speeding ticket for going faster than 55 MPH. The ticket was BS and just a money thing for the county coffers.
About your picture, I have seen it or similar ones before. Nice!
Barringer Crater (Meteor Crater) and the Petrified Forest were long time interests of mine. I could add other things to my list but I don't see it happening.
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Post by Handy on Oct 28, 2020 13:39:14 GMT -5
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timedelay
Full Member
Posts: 153
Age Range: 46-50
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Post by timedelay on Oct 28, 2020 17:46:14 GMT -5
I really enjoy all the snapshots of life from the different states that are shared here. Montana is still on my bucket list. I've been to Arizona but didn't get to see as much as I'd like. The short stretch of the old route 66 we found was a treat for us tourists. I remember the Roadkill Cafe in Seligman did great food and fun merchandise.
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Post by worksforme2 on Mar 5, 2021 17:38:39 GMT -5
I have been looking on the internet for an inexpensive security system....this is what I keep finding....  |
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Post by Handy on May 28, 2021 17:48:03 GMT -5
What are some people doing this Memorial-day long week-end? Me? Mowing grass and a little flower planting.
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The stage coach comes through town twice a week and we have the telegraph, when it is working.
