[admiral]

Is saying "I was outside" a lie?



If you want to know the answer right now, skip to the end. If you are patient, read and view my day in pictures. The answer can wait.



Well, as of last Tuesday, November 2, election day in America, one of my days off, I realized I hadn't been on the TW for awhile except for a few quick trips up to the mail box and back. I use the EXCUSE of having to go get the mail, in order to get on the TW, even though it's just a short jaunt.



So I'm sitting in my chair reading the newspaper and sipping some coffee, when I come up with the bright idea to ride the TW to the voting station. What a great EXCUSE this is to get a quick ride in. Ah, but it's kinda cold out and I abort this plan. Boy, I sure wish I had mentioned to the wife that I would meet her for lunch as she was heading out the door for work. That would make a great EXCUSE to ride the TW. But I saw her take her lunch with her, so that idea is out.



Ran out of EXCUSES to ride the TW. Guess I will be regulated to doing things around the ranch. After all I need to feed the mules, fix the girls basketball hoop etc..... Not "honey do's" mind you, but "my do's". (That I don't want to do)!



So after trying to stall the inevetable, and being all full of energy and ready to get going for the day (at 11:00 a.m. I'm still sipping coffee), the phone rings. Well, the wife calls to check up on my progress, I think! She didn't really ask any questions, I'm just guessing thats the reason for the call. After a couple moments of idle chatter she say's "would you like to meet me for lunch"? Heck yeah, I say. EXCUSE to ride the TW is full on! Yippee!



So, I quickly get dressed (remember I was still drinking coffee just a moment ago), warm up the TW and head off to meet the wife for lunch.



Oh, and did I forget to mention that meeting my wife for lunch was not only an EXCUSE to get a ride in on the TW, but I now have an EXCUSE to get a little geocaching in too! Also, to get to the caches, I need to ride off the main roads to get to them. I'll count this as an EXCUSE also.



Here is my EXCUSE ride in pictures.



As QWERTY mentioned in the riding on gravel post, I'm letting the TW "Gravel Dance". And boy did it dance!

And after lunch I must take these roads to the caches. Well, actually the caches were just off tar roads, but I gotta get home somehow don't I!

First cache. Easy find. Only interesting thing is according to the cache discription, this was donated land to be a city park and was apparently not used so much. Cache hider said that if the gate is locked, use the "man entrance". So I did.

Views from the cache site. Old picnic table cement slabs, super secret towers, and nearby orchard.

Cache contents.

 

[admiral]

On to the next cache near this old radar site, "Norad" as the cache hider called it. Years ago the Air Force had an electronic bombing range (no real bombs) nearby and I assume this may have been one of the tracking radars.

Couldn't find the cache here. Previous cacher stated they couldn't find it either. Must be really well hidden or gone. From cache #2 I could view the area of cache #1.

Now, from this point it would only take me about 15 min to get home, but....I took the long way. 2 hours to get home! giggle. An EXCUSE to ride you know!

So off I go.

Problem with government public land (BLM in this case), is some folks use this land as their own personal dump. This is the downside of this wide open space. I wrote the BLM a couple of months ago offering to help pick up some of the trash if they would pay the cost for dropping it off at the county landfill. I've had no response yet!

Tires and animal carcasses all over the place! Ugly, Ugly sight to see!

Apparently the BLM has a wayside rest stop for us weary travelers.

Well, I make it home and before I get my helmet off, the phone rings. It's my wife. She's been trying to call me for over an hour and asks me where have I been!



I said "Outside"!



P.S. Before I pickup the girls from the school bus stop, I quickly take apart the basketball hoop stand...to make it look like I had accomplished something off my "my do" list!

 

[brownie2]

Sounds like something I'd do and say.

Do you get as much snow as they do in Island Park area just west of Yellowstone. I love to snowmobile there.

 

[Rohnsman]

Guess your wife doesn't read the forum huh?

 

[Gerry]

Good for you.. You are getting out and having fun. I met a fellow a couple of years ago up in the hills. I was on the TW and I think he had a big late model Dodge 4 wheel drive pick-up and duel axle trailer. This guy looked to be well into his 70's and was climbing up out of a pretty steep ravine. He indicated that he hooked up to a couple of refrigerators and was getting ready to winch them up into his trailer. He said he liked doing this and contacted his local Assembly representative. Seems the official said, send me the dump receipts, and I will send you the cash. I was told, this win/win situation has been going on for a couple of years. By the looks of it, he had been working hard, and my guess is, he will fall dead winching up some 'low-life's' box spring and mattress.



I shook the fellow's hand, and said thanks.... Just one of those guys that has to stay busy... Still wonder how he got that big truck (one ton ?) and trailer.....in and out of that spot. Gerry

 

[elime]

Funny, as I sit here reading this post I am sipping coffee and it is 10:55 AM and I am thinking about taking my TW for a ride, of course after I get presentable for the outside world. And I too have chores that can wait. Enjoy the day.

 

[admiral]

Do you get as much snow as they do in Island Park area just west of Yellowstone. I love to snowmobile there.

We don't get near the amount of snow on our side of the state down here in the valley. When it does snow, it usually melts away in a day or two. In order to snowmobile, we have to head to the mountains. But I for one wish we got more snow, except when I have to commute to work!

Guess your wife doesn't read the forum huh?

Naw, she's not a "hard-core" TW rider like we are! giggle (Noting the motorcycle review you posted). A few weeks ago she was going to ride the TW from her parents house back to ours, about 1/4 mile, until she realized she had to shift it. She's use to our automatic ATV.

He said he liked doing this and contacted his local Assembly representative.

Gerry, thats another good step. Since I got no response from the BLM, I was thinking of writing our county commisioners asking them if I could dump the BLM land trash for free or something like that. I'm thinking they may have an issue thinking I would mix in my own household trash in with the BLM trash. My solution was to take pictures of the trash and GPS the location as proof, but don't know if this would be good enough for them. Most of the stuff is tires and large items like chairs and couches. I also noticed a large amount of pop and beer cans, but I think I will collect these myself and turn them in for the cash. A slight offset to the cost I will incur using my vehicles and gas to collect the trash.



If no luck with the county commisioners, may state representatives as you mention. Thanks for the insight and comments.

 

[Gerry]

Thanks Admiral... Some folks have a hard time thinking "outside" the box. I suspect the fellow I met picks up loads of crap and has a good time in the process. I think your idea/approach is a good one. Hope you have an 'outside the box thinker', and I will say as well, I truly appreciate you (anyone) that is willing to make my world seem more respected...



Over the last 3 years, I have seen a VERY old guy pulling weeds and rakeing 'stuff' on the side of the road (s) in Paradise (My town). Seems he is out mid-morning and moves about the town tiddying-up as he sees fit. I suspect I like him because he wears a 'silly' bright orange vest.



On many occasions, I have felt that I owed this guy a "Thank you", but most of the time have found an excuse not to stop and awknowledge this fellow. As things in life are frequently presented, I just 'stumbled' (yea right) upon the right time. I actually 'had to force' myself to turn around and go back to where this guy was raking pine needles. Now when I say force myself, what I am saying is; the moment before, I was so caught-up in my silly/busy life that I could not afford 7 minutes to tell an 80 year old human being that I appreciated the work he did to make my world a cleaner place.



I hope I can offer YOU, what he presented me. A life less hurried, a cleaner place to live, and a smile that left me knowing that I left this fellow glad he lived one more day............ We can't do it without each other.......(my opinion) Gerry

 

[peruano]

I've been waiting for the day when the sheriff's car pulls up to cite me for littering in reverse. I have a gully behind my house that begs to be stabilized a bit so I keep my eye out for the too frequent dumping of broken concrete by contractors on the vacant lands near where I ride. So I return with the truck, load up as many of the movable pieces of rip rap as I can and figure I'm de-littering the desert. At a glance it might look like I was dumping and not pickup concrete pieces, but its a risk a guy has to take to get free fill and make the desert a bit less ugly. I'm not sure how far off the road you have to be in New Mexico to get away from aluminum cans but I seem to get a daypack full every time I take a hike, even in remote mountainous areas. Ain't idealism great. Tom

 

[Bagger]

Ad,

Great mindset and story!!



Bag

 

[admiral]

Bag,



Made another (repeated) excuse to roll out the TW today. I have to get the mail don't I! Options are taking the car/truck, walking (which I should do), or riding the TW. Granted not the longest trip in the world. My main reason for going "to get the mail", is to test an improvement I made to my camera mount. I know it's just another quick video of my driveway, but what the heck, it's winter, and I had to go to work later so no time for a longer ride. Gonna post the video in a couple of days when I get the editing done.



Take Care



Kris

 

[sinophilia]

I love your photos! That blue sky hurts! I'm in the fog right now.

 

[[email protected]]

Missed your post and pictures the first time around, glad it came back to life. Looked to be a fun day, thanks. BTW in Alaska when we use the term "outside" it means the lower 49 states. "I am going outside next week," would indicate that I am heading south, and, actually, with recent temps in the -35 to -40 range I wish I were! The TW is but a fleeting memory at this point.

 

[admiral]

with recent temps in the -35 to -40 range I wish I were! The TW is but a fleeting memory at this point.

Goodness gracious, that sure is cooolllllddddd! I grew up in Southern Minnesota and I remember hitting -30ish for a week or so, but nothing like your neck of the woods! Your temps remind me that I should never complain when it's plus 30 or so here. Even still, I'm waiting for warm temps like a lot of "outsiders" are.

Stay warm by the fire!