TABT - HuskieBear Edition

[chisoxguy7]

1 hour ago, Sugashane said:

A gas station near me in Louisville had to stop putting out a display for oil/antifreeze by the pumps because people got the biggest Uhauls and would knock it down constantly. Just would get gas then clip it when they went away. It seemed like it happened every month at least. But you have the same issues at Home Depot when guys don't know how to gauge pulling a trailer or a load that hangs off of it. I always laugh when I see a 16' header getting dragged on the ground because they have it strapped down on a small mower trailer.

Completely agree with the second paragraph. Was driving from Louisiana to IL to see the family before they came with me and it always sucked, and that was in my SUV. Going from Louisville to IL in the UHaul was absolute trash on my back as well, hell it was for my son and he even used pillows and blankets to make his seat more comfortable. Ugh.

 

A friend of mine is still making monthly payments to Sonic for the damage she did driving a U-Haul in there.

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

14 minutes ago, chisoxguy7 said:

A friend of mine is still making monthly payments to Sonic for the damage she did driving a U-Haul in there.

So I'm killing time waiting for my son and wife to finish a game of war that is taking f o r e v e r so we can go to the lumber yard, and I've laughed out loud at two things in ten minutes, the other thing is this idiot from a Hammond WI fishing page. 

 

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

Just now, BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW said:

So I'm killing time waiting for my son and wife to finish a game of war that is taking f o r e v e r so we can go to the lumber yard, and I've laughed out loud at two things in ten minutes, the other thing is this idiot from a Hammond WI fishing page. 

 

Like that's a legitimately hilarious image that only gets funnier the more you look at it.   Why the Portugal shirt?  Did he eat the fish? Was it accidental after joking for the pic? What's up with the lady in back? Did she actually eat fish from Wolf Lake and is now suffering the consequence?

 

The game of war continues.  They just had a runoff of like 16 cards that went my son's way when he was down to 3 cards.  We're never buying that wood. 

[chisoxguy7]

2 hours ago, Sugashane said:

A gas station near me in Louisville had to stop putting out a display for oil/antifreeze by the pumps because people got the biggest Uhauls and would knock it down constantly. Just would get gas then clip it when they went away. It seemed like it happened every month at least. But you have the same issues at Home Depot when guys don't know how to gauge pulling a trailer or a load that hangs off of it. I always laugh when I see a 16' header getting dragged on the ground because they have it strapped down on a small mower trailer.

Completely agree with the second paragraph. Was driving from Louisiana to IL to see the family before they came with me and it always sucked, and that was in my SUV. Going from Louisville to IL in the UHaul was absolute trash on my back as well, hell it was for my son and he even used pillows and blankets to make his seat more comfortable. Ugh.

 

Back when I was younger and more ambitious, my wife and I would regularly drive straight-through from Dekalb to Denver. We've done some pretty crazy stretches in the car, but never in a large vehicle. I think my record in the car is something like 14 hours behind the wheel with only stopping for gas and bathrooms.

I lied. When I initially purchased the bus and it was lighter and faster, I drove it from Ontario, California to Plainfield, IL over the span of 2.5 days. 40 hours of driving. Then I told my wife I didn't want to look at the bus for several weeks after.

[HuskieBear]

1 hour ago, chisoxguy7 said:

Back when I was younger and more ambitious, my wife and I would regularly drive straight-through from Dekalb to Denver. We've done some pretty crazy stretches in the car, but never in a large vehicle. I think my record in the car is something like 14 hours behind the wheel with only stopping for gas and bathrooms.

I lied. When I initially purchased the bus and it was lighter and faster, I drove it from Ontario, California to Plainfield, IL over the span of 2.5 days. 40 hours of driving. Then I told my wife I didn't want to look at the bus for several weeks after.

wait, have we talked about this before? I'm from dekalb too (and live in denver now). i've definitely made that drive before

I'm making the drive from denver to union pier, michigan (very SW corner of state) this summer. i'll do it in one go, 17 hours

[CBears019]

3 hours ago, BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW said:

So I'm killing time waiting for my son and wife to finish a game of war that is taking f o r e v e r so we can go to the lumber yard, and I've laughed out loud at two things in ten minutes, the other thing is this idiot from a Hammond WI fishing page. 

 

I’ve got a feeling this picture is ai-generated.  There’s no clear, tell tale sign, just a hunch i have.

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

1 hour ago, CBears019 said:

I’ve got a feeling this picture is ai-generated.  There’s no clear, tell tale sign, just a hunch i have.

Nope. Was going though a bunch of pics of some fishing derby and Portuguese sushi kid is in a bunch. 

Thanks for the reminder though that we're living in the future but it's a Phillip K **** future and not the next generation future. 

Edited January 28 by BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW
Are we really sure the answer isn't trade down, trade Fields and see what Rosen is up to?

[Sugashane]

4 hours ago, chisoxguy7 said:

Back when I was younger and more ambitious, my wife and I would regularly drive straight-through from Dekalb to Denver. We've done some pretty crazy stretches in the car, but never in a large vehicle. I think my record in the car is something like 14 hours behind the wheel with only stopping for gas and bathrooms.

I lied. When I initially purchased the bus and it was lighter and faster, I drove it from Ontario, California to Plainfield, IL over the span of 2.5 days. 40 hours of driving. Then I told my wife I didn't want to look at the bus for several weeks after.

I drove from IL to Macon, GA once with my dad and it sucked. We use to drive to Fort Myers almost every winter to be there for 3 weeks and home one week.

I thought I was being nice but the ear beating I got proved he didn't agree. Lol

[chisoxguy7]

5 hours ago, HuskieBear said:

wait, have we talked about this before? I'm from dekalb too (and live in denver now). i've definitely made that drive before

I'm making the drive from denver to union pier, michigan (very SW corner of state) this summer. i'll do it in one go, 17 hours

We may have, my wife grew up in Cortland, I grew up in Lisle. It's a long drive for sure, that east side of Colorado once you pass through Denver is usually a doozy for me, for you I suppose it's the final stretch, for me it was on the way from Phoenix back to Illinois. The hardest trip was the one from Phoenix to Illinois and back where I built a platform in the back of our Honda CRV and my wife and I plus two dogs slept in the back of the car in the Colorado Springs Bass Pro Shops parking lot on the way to Illinois, then in a gravel lot near Pueblo on the way back to Phoenix.

That said, Arizona has run its course for me. Northern and northeastern Arizona are pretty neat, but I won't ever return to Phoenix unless I absolutely have to.

[chisoxguy7]

3 hours ago, Sugashane said:

I drove from IL to Macon, GA once with my dad and it sucked. We use to drive to Fort Myers almost every winter to be there for 3 weeks and home one week.

I thought I was being nice but the ear beating I got proved he didn't agree. Lol

My wife's Dad and his wife talk about retiring to Florida and keep insinuating that we'll visit a lot. I like the idea of Florida, but I don't know that any of my best vacations have been to Florida, and I've been there many times to visit family. Need to get down there one more time at least to do its National Parks, which I've never been to. Would like to do all of them before I die. So far my favorites have been Bryce Canyon, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain. Yellowstone was very cool and unique, but very busy and the boardwalk system made it feel very amusement-park-like for me.

[Sugashane]

2 hours ago, chisoxguy7 said:

My wife's Dad and his wife talk about retiring to Florida and keep insinuating that we'll visit a lot. I like the idea of Florida, but I don't know that any of my best vacations have been to Florida, and I've been there many times to visit family. Need to get down there one more time at least to do its National Parks, which I've never been to. Would like to do all of them before I die. So far my favorites have been Bryce Canyon, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain. Yellowstone was very cool and unique, but very busy and the boardwalk system made it feel very amusement-park-like for me.

Most of my time has all been in the SE for trips and vacations. I love the beach. Furthest west I've gone was Lubbock, TX I think. At least on my own i guess, bro had a CDL and I took a few trips with him but I had a decked out Gameboy for those trips, so idk where the hell we were going most of the time. Lol.

Kids really want to go to Disney World so I'm probably going to cave for that this year or next.

[dll2000]

7 hours ago, chisoxguy7 said:

My wife's Dad and his wife talk about retiring to Florida and keep insinuating that we'll visit a lot. I like the idea of Florida, but I don't know that any of my best vacations have been to Florida, and I've been there many times to visit family. Need to get down there one more time at least to do its National Parks, which I've never been to. Would like to do all of them before I die. So far my favorites have been Bryce Canyon, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain. Yellowstone was very cool and unique, but very busy and the boardwalk system made it feel very amusement-park-like for me.

I’ve never done a national park vacation.  What are they like?  Been thinking about doing that sometime soon.

Since I opened my own business vacations are really hard. My last two I still had to work much of time I was away.  

My mother in law owns a beach condo (gulf shores) and we go there almost every year because price is right.

I am supposed to decide today (and was asked just on Wed.) if I and family will go to Cuba this summer for a week on a missions trip.  That would certainly be different.

Never done a missions trip before.  I am not 100% sure what plan is for trip or if I am going.   Going to ask some questions today.

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

Your bikers and RVs story has me recalling our trip to South Dakota when we stopped by Rushmore.  Could not believe how crowded the little roads were there.  Absolute chaos in 2021 with cyclists, bikers, motorhomes, regular cars all trying to wind around the same corners and pass each other. Was really certain we were going to get to where we were staying and have to peel a bike shorts wearing dude out of our wheel well.  If you ever need a cool place to stay we spent a week on a ranch in Hot Springs SD that was super cool.  

Never been to Cuba but have talked to a lot of people that have been.  Food is supposed to suck. Interesting culture. 

Underrated trip in IL:  southern IL Giant City state park.  Very cool spot with good hikes. Snakes though.  Went there last spring and are goign back this spring to watch the eclipse. We saw the last eclipse in Missouri and it was super cool.  

[chisoxguy7]

6 hours ago, dll2000 said:

I’ve never done a national park vacation.  What are they like?  Been thinking about doing that sometime soon.

It really depends on what you are looking to get out of the trip. Some parks are great for hiking. Others are great for sighting wildlife. Some are very historical, some are very busy, some you will see very few people. Obviously the climate will be different depending on where you go. They're all beautiful, but there's a big difference between parks like White Sands (New Mexico) and Great Sand Dunes (Colorado), and others like Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, Glacier, or even Hot Springs National Park. If you're looking for quiet reflection, consider Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, located near Gunnison, Colorado. It's the least visited National Park in the entire country annually. If you're looking to appreciate and learn about ancient civilizations, consider Mesa Verde National Park, also in Colorado. Local history? Hot Springs National Park is a cool place with a quaint little town built around the Hot Springs.

We never made it out to California/Washington/Oregon, but all have beautiful parks. Obviously the area you travel to will dictate the cost as well as how far in advance you will need to book. Some parks (when we travelled, it was limited to Rocky Mountain and Glacier) require timed entry passes (free) to access certain areas of the park (the most popular areas, for example Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP, Many Glacier in Glacier NP, and Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. If you are unable to secure a timed entry pass, a limited amount are released the day before, but there are also time periods where you can enter these areas without a timed entry permit. For Rocky Mountain's Bear Lake, entry passes are required between 5AM and 6PM. For Glacier's Going-to-the-Sun road, it's 6AM to 3PM. There is one workaround if you're unable to get an entry pass, you can go to a ranger's station and try to get a back-country camping permit. Even if you don't intend to back country camp, this can get you into the park.

To give you some perspective, when we hiked Glacier's Highline Trail to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook (17 mile hike, 5300 feet of total elevation gain) we arrived at the Logan Pass parking lot at about 4:30 AM, and the parking lot was already half full. Part of this is because it's the main parking lot for the Highline Trail trailhead, but also the park really is that busy.

If you have some more specific questions or know what kind of trip you're looking to take, I'd be happy to point you in the right direction.

[chisoxguy7]

5 hours ago, BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW said:

Your bikers and RVs story has me recalling our trip to South Dakota when we stopped by Rushmore.  Could not believe how crowded the little roads were there.  Absolute chaos in 2021 with cyclists, bikers, motorhomes, regular cars all trying to wind around the same corners and pass each other. Was really certain we were going to get to where we were staying and have to peel a bike shorts wearing dude out of our wheel well.  If you ever need a cool place to stay we spent a week on a ranch in Hot Springs SD that was super cool.  

Sounds like you were in the area right around the same time the Sturgis, SD motorcycle rally happens. I've done Mt. Rushmore twice in my life. It's something to marvel at for a moment if you're able to get over the disrespectful history of how it came to be. Don't know that I'll ever go back again. You kind of just walk up and there it is in the distance. Certainly can't make a day out of it.

5 hours ago, BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW said:

Underrated trip in IL:  southern IL Giant City state park.  Very cool spot with good hikes. Snakes though.  Went there last spring and are goign back this spring to watch the eclipse.

Funny you should say that, we spent Thanksgiving at an AirBNB in Codben and spent a few days hiking Garden of the Gods and the surrounding area, including Giant City state park. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Giant City Lodge, it was pretty good. Award winning, but keep in mind that there's probably not a restaurant within 50 miles competing for the award.