West The 'Accidental Tourist & Traveler'

[369goose]

Couldn't help myself...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~ Robert Frost

Always keep in mind that "not all who wander are not lost."

[369goose]

*"not all who wander are lost."

[Thalweg]

Originally Posted by The Ice Man

Thalweg may be a convert, but I've yet to have the batteries in my maps die. And when you get to those mineralized areas where the compass swings twenty degrees as you walk, your watch and the sun will help you find North as Ray suggests. Of course you have to use the time the way the Lord and the Union Pacific intended and not the Government's Daylight Savings Time.

I am far from a convert. Like I've said, there are no complete substitutes for map and compass, and you'll rarely find me in an area that I don't know without both. But GPS's are great in the fact that I can locate and collect data in seconds, instead of spending 15 minutes triangulating a location.

I've tried using the wrist watch method, but it never clicked with me. Also, that will only tell you what direction is north. That's not navigating

[Thalweg]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

For not a lot of money (like $3) you can buy the guts of a perfectly fine L1 GPS. It won't have a display, but it will spit out navigation information to whatever you want to read it with. The world of silicon is crazy .... why they still go with the tower approach is beyond me.

Bob

The point I was trying to make is that many of these systems will give you basic geographic information. Without a proper map, and the knowledge to use it, the information is just a series of numbers. I find that few people have that knowledge.

[Thalweg]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

FYI, the Boy Scouts still teach navigation by map and compass. Ask my young Army nurse son how he was able to navigate while the so-called infantry experts got lost. All my sons are Eagle Scouts, and learned a lot of wilderness skills from that.

I've found that Scouting is only as good as the leaders. Some troops are great, others, lacking. From what I've seen, emphasis on orienteering has diminished in recent years. I've been an assistant Scout Master for several troop over the years. I've tried teaching map and compass, but the interest is lacking. The kids just want to pull out a Garmin. When presented with the "batteries die" issue, they just come up with various ways of charging batteries. I end up frustrated and so do the kids. I've had troops request that I teach them GPS use. I've agreed to do that with the caveat that we teach map and compass use first. I've never been take up on that idea.

I've worked with numerous Army Infantry soldiers. Some have been the most skilled land navigators I've ever met. However, they seem to struggle converting to civilian maps with different coordinate systems. Once they wrap their heads around the coordinates, they're very good.

[Thalweg]

Ray and I have discussed, on numerous occasions, the merits of collecting data on our "accidental" sites; and then we've discussed the situations that we'd divulge that information. Ray, being rather "old school" and much more organized than me, has all of his in Gazetteers. I've got some in Gazetteers, some on other various maps, some in my poor memory, some on GIS maps that I've personally made. It's all pretty disorganized. I've recently started collecting the data via my I-phone. I can get it all on a single photo.

[Ray Eklund]

As a general rule, everyone expects to wake up in the morning and everything remains the same. Those who dig into 'rocks' have differing opinions. Everything changes on a planet with a molten core. Climate change? That is small potatoes in geological time.

Every rock formation is evidence of Climate Change. Oceans to beaches to mountains and back to beaches. Give it time, lots of it and change can be visual and if you have a rock pick... take a sample of a fossil sea shell on top of... Mount Everest. Oops... Blame it on India slamming into Asia and it has not quit.

But... maybe someone can explain Magnetic Reversals and Pole Wandering to a layman. I have heard that the magnetic poles have weakened... and every couple hundred thousand years the polarity reverses. Is this a Y2K hype... or while Boondocking someone needs to be wearing a aluminum foil cap?

OK found it... National Geographic has as good a explanation. I am happy to say that our Aluminum Airstreams will not be affected. Only the contents within...

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you *really* want to, there are GPS units out there sensitive enough to measure continental drift in reasonable amounts of time. Wander around and chart where the continent is going

Gravity turns out to be variable if you measure it carefully enough. Practical instruments to do this will not take up a lot of room in the trailer. People do wander around measuring this kind of thing and drawing interesting conclusions based on the results.

Truthfully, I can't imagine anybody wandering around outdoors without getting interested in geology .... It gets a bit scary when you can spot the state boundaries to within 10 miles by the roadside geology .... (yes, you do have to be in just the right place ...)

Bob

[Ray Eklund]

Thalweg and Uncle Bob gave me an idea for those who do not want to go too far back into the back country, but enjoy Geocaching.

- The US Geological Survey printed books for each state called Spirit Leveling, and maybe Thalweg is on top of it. It lists where all the makers were placed at the turn of the 20th Century. You could spend a life time with just your own state.

- Another book is the Mason - Dixon line monuments. Probably late 1890's was the print date, but it describes the large monuments and locations. I thought I have a copy around here but finding it is another story.

- There are several 1848 to 1850 books that show the monuments along the Mexican and USA border. Many are four feet or so tall from looking at illustrations. Not a place where I would like to be camped at this time, but an option.

- Some people try to find the monuments where three State corners come together. They exist but access is by trial and error as they had no reason to put a road to the marker.

- The Oregon Trail is marked across Wyoming to Sacramento. Same with Pony Express, the Mormon Trail and various short cuts. Some have fallen over from decades of weather and if you find one over on its side... do like we did... lift it up and set it into a fresh hole.

- National Park Service also have Western Forts from the Indian Wars and earlier scattered around the West. Not enough left for a Park but get into the Historical side of their work. It is absolutely amazing what you can do in your Airstream if you get off of your butts and snoop around a little.

Your... and of course MY imaginations are your only limitations. This is just a little encouragement to get out there and do something other than sitting around and socializing every day. Be 'unsocial' every once in awhile. After awhile, with practice, you will enjoy the solitude and occasional visitor.

We leave Boulder City, Nevada Wednesday. Mentally I have already left Boulder City and, to tell you the truth... We have made no plans, have no idea where we will be camped any day we are on the road, 'don't plan' to be gone one, two or three weeks... No stress. No missed appointments. No RV campsites to make by a certain time to arrive, or to leave. Nothing at all.

Anyone can do this. Well, most... As my Mom with her Dutch accent would say... "No 'winkles' on my face from worrying."

Ask Iceman in Tucson. Another Airstream OTG Boondocker who takes off and leaves no forwarding address while gone. He also knows how to fly fish and the fish in Wyoming and Montana do not look forward to seeing him show up.

[Ray Eklund]

Before I call it an evening...

If you need a Good Sam RV Campsite directory or an AAA or AAAAA directory, or any free or a book sold by the Airstream Dealer for campsites... to take your Airstream to... camp. This Thread is not for you.

If your idea of camping is stringing lights on the awning, mosquito candles and watching a HDTV television sitting on a stand... get out of here... Geez.

My idea of dressing up is having clean underwear, less than a week, and boot socks when I greet people at the door of our Airstream. ...and they usually return to borrow some tools, or something. Although on the Wyoming Adventure I believed our Blue Heelers wanted back into the trailer... and when I opened the door, there must have been fifteen members looking at my... hat? I let the heelers into the trailer, put on my short pants and they were still standing there wondering... What in the H**L are we getting ourselves into on this Wyoming Adventure. I wondered the same, but it obviously was an Adventure.

Just keep quiet about the wonderful, if not exceptional, ideas that some of us toss out as fun and entertaining of this Thread. Thalweg and Iceman already are on top of this.

Look at it this way. With the taxes, repairs, upgrades and cost of your used or new Airstream... you could be on Cruise Ships for the rest of your lives. But why? So you can pay $20 to get your All you can Drink soda sticker?

Yes. I am packing and pacing. We are leaving soon. You will miss some of the others that are going to be out beyond reach for the Wyoming Eclipse and Mooning Party that Thalweg is tossing together.

Bless them all. They have no clue what they are going to be getting themselves into, either.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Interesting tidbit:

We did the "cruse ships for the rest of your life" math before we bought the AS. After talking it through, being out and away from things was a closer to what we always had done and wanted to keep doing.

===

You can track parts of the Oregon trail back at least to Olathe KS. It's certainly not continuously marked or accessible. If you are willing to root around there is still a lot of it you can figure out.

=====

If you are chugging through the west, I've found:

https://www.amazon.com/Roadside-Geol.../dp/0878424474

To be a very handy thing to have along. It answers a lot of the "what's that" sort of questions without getting so deep that you need to read six chapters to understand the answer. The series has books for a lot of states. I have not read them all. The ones for the western states seem to be a better bet than the ones for the eastern states.

Bob

[Ray Eklund]

Uncle Bob... Olathe, Kansas? How about Westport or Independence, Missouri? Anyone leaving from Olathe would be an Oklahoma Sooner.

When we first purchased our 2006 Safari I wanted to put together a Caravan from Westport, Missouri and to Oregon City, Oregon. I had the National Park Service books with maps of all of the campsites and 'main' route. I had the books. I was... like on this thread... fired up, loaded and... not one interested person.

I have pretty much done the route from Independence, Missouri to western Wyoming. We liked the Wyoming section so much, we kept stopping at Oregon Buttes, Wyoming and where various trails split off and said... enough is enough.

There is a new Thread about 'What do you do when you get to..." where ever? They may figure it out, hopefully, before making a major trailer purchase.

My wife and I find the western USA the last Frontier of the lower 48 States. It is still sparsely populated and the culture is still western rural with some cities. Those who Boondock already, understand.

It need not be a National Park. It need not be a National Recreation Area. We did not purchase our trailer to mingle with large numbers of people and the quirks of crowded places.

Although a Rodeo is not excluded from our travels, if encountered. Watching livestock abuse cowboys is a real hoot.

People have changed and have become Camping... soft. When we return home, it is a reminder of how fortunate we are to have indoor plumbing and insulated windows.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Boxite

A compass and a MAP is your friend.

During my boating days, my first offshore trip was using a compass, chart, and the only technology at hand, a RDF. It's all I had.
Now my sailing days are past, and what I miss most was the map and pencil dead reckoning. I had parallel rules, laid out courses, time/distance, and managed to always find my way. You feel like Columbus when that marker turns up dead ahead!
Now, I pull out of a gas station on the wrong side and I'm lost. I need to add a compass.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

Uncle Bob... Olathe, Kansas? How about Westport or Independence, Missouri? Anyone leaving from Olathe would be an Oklahoma Sooner.....

.

Hi

They all are suburbs of "greater Kansas City" so sorting out what's what isn't going to be particularly easy. When we lived in Olathe, they were *very* proud of being "the origin" of the Oregon Trail Yes, as you have noted, there are a *lot* of places that claim to have been on the trail. Once you get back into the plains, it was not as well defined as further west. The cool thing is that you actually can go out an *look* at the evidence. Some of it is in little out of the way libraries. Some of it is on the ground in even more out of the way / inaccessible spots.

Bob

[Ray Eklund]

When you are not retired, you have a predetermined number of days for... vacation. Rest and Relaxation, well deserved. R and R we said when drafted into the Army.

When you are retired and active... with an Airstream sitting idle... that is a 'horse of a different color'. You are flexible, for some. Not so for those who are retired with family commitments, social commitments and so on.

But... this is directed to those near retirement or already there wondering... how much time do we need to put aside for this next... accidental traveler?

Only the amount of time you... need.

I compare it to the Two for One Buffet at a local Nevada Casino. Only EAT as much as you want, and not one bite more.

Same with your Accidental Travel planning... only as long as you want and not one day more. Neighbors asked us yesterday how long will you be gone? We replied "one, two maybe three weeks". Where are you going? Don't know, we will know when we get back.

As at the beginning of this Thread... "north on Highway 95 and coming back south on Highway 93". Maybe more, maybe less... we have no clue, until we return. That is about all the details right now. No more, no less.

Try it on your next trip. Take a dart, toss it at your State Map. THERE is your next Accidental Traveler point of reference... the Reno, Nevada... dump. Better luck next time.

Good luck. We are nearly packed and leaving Wednesday AM full of ambition, anxious to get started and when we return... a sigh of relief that we made it back, home. Exhausted.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

One of the "planning steps" for this retirement wandering is really weird. In "normal life" the scheduling of doctors / dentist / HVAC checkup appointments pretty much does not matter. They tend to spread out in a uniform "layer" throughout the year. If you want to be able to "just take off", that's not quite the same as "take off until 8:15 AM a week from Tuesday. Around here, these appointments get locked in and become a bit hard to change. Much easier to work out in advance when "appointment" week will be. A week (or two) every six months will be *really* busy. The rest of the time .... you can wander. If you are not into winter "stuff" then it's more like month or two then and a tight schedule later in the year.

Bob

[Ray Eklund]

Doing 'Accidental Traveling' through Nevada, Idaho, Montana, western Wyoming and central Utah... some States are better than others for just... look for a road going towards what looks interesting, turn on to it and follow the ruts.

We always mark Boondocking Sites into our Atlas's for each State we travel. Date. Insect counts of zero to man eating mosquitos, yellow jackets, licking or biting flies, etc.. Also, if it was worth returning to in the future.

Often: "Nice campsite. Nothing to do." Which for me is saying... "I will only return if there is nothing else".

Wyoming and New Mexico are favorites. Hunting and Ranching in the mountains is big in the National Forests. Lots of well maintained roads.

Nevada. Millions of acres of vacant land. Not one road for access. Over half, maybe more towns on the Nevada maps are Ghost Towns in Progress.

Western Montana and Idaho. The valleys are farmed with all of the water available in Idaho. Few roads into the steep mountains. Western Montana is bushy and dense forests. RV camps are along lakes and rivers. Few into the back country. Unless you get into upper NW Montana and then bushy, insects are prolific and more Bear than people.

Utah. Wide open and landscapes exposed down to the last grain of sand. Find a road in an area that looks interesting. Roads can be great when dry. Mud Pits when not dry. Weather is important in Utah. May rain... resist going in too far.

Ten years ago we found Montana and Idaho difficult to scout out campsites. Still difficult. When you find them, there are many within a mile of one another. If you do not find a campsite... you will end up in Montana looking for something. Most campsites are along rivers and lakes. Some free. Some not. If they charge, you will get to know your neighbors... very, very well. Talk with a whisper or you could offend someone.

We did like the watermelon from Green River, Utah. The elderly lady was a true melon hustler and charges twice what a grocery store would get, but she could 'thump melons' faster than I could read $9.50 for the melon. The 'Cants' which is a local word for Canteloupes stink up the refrigerator, so eat them on site. Again this professional melon hustler will work you over on prices. There is a beat pickup sitting to the side of the large displays of melons, cants and some other melons. Her Porsche is no doubt, hidden behind the building. I looked and it might had been stolen, as it was not where I expected.

[Ray Eklund]

One last tip for the Accidental Tourist. Things that the majority never thought about or were concerned... until today.

Signs. Elk Crossing. Deer Crossing. Or unique signs that may gain the attention of the 'Local Yokel' toting a rife or pistol in their vehicle.

Often these signs are full of bullet holes. These 'fine citizens' of the area find it fun. They do not understand that the bullet may travel half a mile, unless something makes contact sooner, than later.

Be aware of these bullet riddled signs. Understand what direction these errant bullets may travel. If you are the home owner and the sign is in line with your home, you may want the sign moved to another location getting yourself and others out of harm's way.

I find many pistol, shot gun and rifle cartridges littering many campsites on BLM and NFS lands. Even loaded rounds dropped in the process. They seem to be shooting at about anything to sight of their rifle barrels, shooting skeet or plinking at beer bottles and cans at their campsite with a 357 magnum pistol.

Be aware. The noise is heard at the same time the bullet has been spent, or close to it.

Sure... they must have taken a gun safety class. Sure they are considerate human beings just having a bit of fun and mean no harm. These folks no doubt know what they are doing.

I find stray bow hunters arrows in the forest with their razor points. I find more shell casing at campgrounds than in the forest. The 'old timers' would save each cartridge to reload for next season. Today... that is old fashioned. So is gun safety and common sense.

If it is not earthquakes, floods, rock falls, poisonous snakes or man eating mammals at your doorstep... now idiots discharging firearms without any consideration of anyone down range.

... and then an errant asteroid arriving at a bad time? What else can happen to prepare for? Up to this point, most have not prepared for anything but when to... eat dinner.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

One last tip for the Accidental Tourist. Things that the majority never thought about or were concerned... until today.

Signs. Elk Crossing. Deer Crossing. Or unique signs that may gain the attention of the 'Local Yokel' toting a rife or pistol in their vehicle.

Often these signs are full of bullet holes. These 'fine citizens' of the area find it fun. They do not understand that the bullet may travel half a mile, unless something makes contact sooner, than later.

Be aware of these bullet riddled signs. Understand what direction these errant bullets may travel. If you are the home owner and the sign is in line with your home, you may want the sign moved to another location getting yourself and others out of harm's way.

I find many pistol, shot gun and rifle cartridges littering many campsites on BLM and NFS lands. Even loaded rounds dropped in the process. They seem to be shooting at about anything to sight of their rifle barrels, shooting skeet or plinking at beer bottles and cans at their campsite with a 357 magnum pistol.

Be aware. The noise is heard at the same time the bullet has been spent, or close to it.

Sure... they must have taken a gun safety class. Sure they are considerate human beings just having a bit of fun and mean no harm. These folks no doubt know what they are doing.

I find stray bow hunters arrows in the forest with their razor points. I find more shell casing at campgrounds than in the forest. The 'old timers' would save each cartridge to reload for next season. Today... that is old fashioned. So is gun safety and common sense.

If it is not earthquakes, floods, rock falls, poisonous snakes or man eating mammals at your doorstep... now idiots discharging firearms without any consideration of anyone down range.

... and then an errant asteroid arriving at a bad time? What else can happen to prepare for? Up to this point, most have not prepared for anything but when to... eat dinner.

Hi

.... If you are sitting out watching the wind blow the grass and you hear an unusual sounding bug (not quite a humming bird) go overhead followed seconds later by a distant "crack" ..... they are shooting your way and the rounds are going over your head. Don't ask how I know this ....

Bob

[TravlinMan]

I think gettin killed by an asteroid would be a pretty decent way to go. I mean, considerin all the options. Sure beats gettin killed by one of them sign shootin idjits.