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Lineolated · 08-06-2019, 07:57 AM

Any woods, ponds, fields, streams, or a sewer treatment facility nearby? Could be birders in pursuit of a rarity.

InterBlog · 08-10-2019, 02:47 PM

I've been shuttling between the United States and Canada for more than 30 years, and have I learned my lesson yet about NOT making assumptions or taking things for granted?

Oh hell no. Case in point: I needed two Homer buckets with lids for squirreling stuff away on my off-grid property (to leave there permanently). Plus I needed a manual grass shear / scythe. Not a string trimmer. We do not use battery-powered or gasoline-powered lawn equipment on off-grid sites. I needed the old-fashioned swinging device.

Obviously there's no room in the van for two Homer buckets, so I said to myself, "No problem - I'll stop and get the Homer buckets in Canada, and if I'm stopping for them, I might as well get the grass shear at the same time. That will save me the trouble of having to strap a grass shear to the roof rack for the journey north."

Except manual grass shears are not sold at any brick and mortar in Canada. Not a one. And Amazon Prime does not exist here. My local Home Depot in Texas had them in stock, and was I smart enough to remind myself in advance that differences between the two countries are often larger than they might first appear, and not to take anything, especially the availability of goods and services, for granted? Nope.

Sigh...

Tincampers · 08-10-2019, 03:23 PM

You can’t order through amazon.ca?

https://www.amazon.ca/Truper-33034-3...y&sr=8-1-fkmr0

InterBlog · 08-10-2019, 04:13 PM

We are on the move too much to take delivery.

Tincampers · 08-10-2019, 04:21 PM

We traveled full time for two years and got Amazon and eBay packages delivered on a routine basis. Just takes a bit of planning ahead.

Alex AVI · 08-10-2019, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tincampers

We traveled full time for two years and got Amazon and eBay packages delivered on a routine basis. Just takes a bit of planning ahead.

TINCAMPER - Amazon drop ships to campgrounds for us (2day Prime or overnight for extra). Use it all time coz I travel with 2 high maintenance women

One time, I had to overnight daughter & wife's fav brand hair dryer/curler coz they forgot it at home. We were in camp in the boondocks of UT where no one would see them. I now have that, duplicate shoes, coats, towels, pillows, makeup, toiletries, etc. for them both

Tincampers · 08-10-2019, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

TINCAMPER - Amazon drop ships to campgrounds for us (2day Prime or overnight for extra). Use it all time coz I travel with 2 high maintenance women

One time, I had to overnight daughter & wife's fav brand hair dryer/curler coz they forgot it at home. We were in camp in the boondocks of UT where no one would see them. I now have that, duplicate shoes, coats, towels, pillows, makeup, toiletries, etc. for them both

Yep, we had stuff dropshipped everywhere, mostly to UPS stores. Anything sent USPS can be sent General Delivery to a convenient post office.

InterBlog · 08-11-2019, 04:59 AM

I'm thinking of having it dropped off at a local community center if I can get the community's permission, because every other destination we will be at either doesn't fit the timing (about a week for delivery in this area) because none of us will be at that location, or would require an extra 50-mile round trip for us.

Planning is great when the need is foreseen, or when one is remaining in America which is a service-driven economy well-versed in accommodating people. Not so much when the schedule has already been cast and the area is more remote.

InterBlog · 08-12-2019, 07:27 AM

Foul language advisory in the link - this RV-related commentary gave me a good belly laugh this morning.

rmkrum · 08-12-2019, 10:09 AM

That really gets to the crux of why I would never buy an RV with those ugly vinyl graphics stuff on them.

I’m an engineer, not an artist, but those dumb graphics are a total turn-off. The design department (DW) does not like them either.

What’s wrong with a simple color scheme or shiny aluminum? Nothing.

Hittenstiehl · 08-12-2019, 11:28 AM

Me three.

Hate the shooshy, droopy, check mark swish things. If you have to put something on it what's wrong with a broad line of color.

And for that matter why do they almost all have to be white. How about an actual colored trailer.

Current new home interiors are almost all the trending shades of gray. Maybe the RV box type should switch to Gray also. (Not)

Dull or shine aluminum for us.

Alex AVI · 08-12-2019, 12:02 PM

Me four. That is why I bought the Interstate, no swirls or ugly graphics. We once considered the LTV Unity and it's siblings. While we decided against LTV for different reasons, the graphics some of their models had (though much subtle & restrained than the likes of other bigger rvs) was still a turnoff. I think that what makes the Atlas classier looking than its competitors.

rmkrum · 08-12-2019, 05:29 PM

Not a lover of gray. The Navy paints their ships “haze gray”.

I’m long, long ago done with that.

Alex AVI · 08-12-2019, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Not a lover of gray. The Navy paints their ships “haze gray”.

RMKRUM - But you would love these factoids:

1. For the Engineer in you - a computer screen using the RGB color model can show 256 different shades of grey.

2. For the Artist in you - the human eye can distinguish more than 500 shades of grey.

I thought grey was a simple choice if undecided between black or white van

rmkrum · 08-12-2019, 09:19 PM

Gray, especially “haze gray” brings back too many not-so-nice memories of times long ago...just saying.

Your comments, however, just prove there are many shades of grey.

( no pun intended, at this time...)

InterBlog · 08-13-2019, 06:06 AM

Alright, alright, alright. Here's another unprecedented trip discovery for you (I'm wondering if perhaps this is somehow connected to the fake license plates).

I was going to hold off on this post until I had created my own personal collection of ghoulish restroom photos, but this story is coincidentally on the front page of CBC Nova Scotia this morning, so I've chosen instead to riff off that.

Some people return ceremoniously to their home towns and are presented with an opportunity to indulge in warm nostalgic experiences and memories.

Me? I get to see the latest in shooting gallery interdiction instead. Ugh.

I mention it because it's a quickly-growing trend in America as well*, to the point where you are likely to encounter it in your own future travels (*I've read about it in Forbes, for instance). Blue lights installed in public washrooms to discourage heroin addicts from overdosing in them. Because nothing says "tourists get lost" quite like finding a dead body in the stall next to you.

Cape Breton businesses install blue lights to curb drug use

InterBlog · 08-14-2019, 05:08 AM

B-spotting yesterday in the parking lot of the well-known Middle Head hiking trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

I mentioned previously that Nova Scotia is B-mecca at this time of year. The parking lot only holds 20 vehicles, fewer if they are long wheel base and take up more than one spot. Five of those spots were occupied by Class B or B/C-like devices yesterday. Middle Head is also unusual in that the Google ground view extends the length of the trail. I've never seen that before. The Google guy got out and walked the trail with the photographic apparatus on his head.

LEFT: Front and rear of a Laika motorhome, an Italian creation that I've never seen before. Trivia buffs will remember that Laika was the name of the first dog in space. This is actually built on a MB 2500 Sprinter and it was not clear to me how it could handle all that weight (husband speculated that fiberglass helped to reduce the overall number).

TOP RIGHT: A converted military bus that goes by the Instagram handle @numberjuanbus (over ten thousand followers)

BOTTOM RIGHT: A stock Roadtrek Simplicity, looking a bit ordinary when surrounded by these other exotics (including us).

And a Google view of Cape Smokey at the end of the trail. Mr. Google Walker picked a wonderful day for his mission.

wachuko · 08-14-2019, 07:44 AM

Funny... seeing that School Bus setup...

Wife sent me this yesterday... like I need lots of temptation to take on yet another project

We are good for now... I do not need to start another project. I actually enjoy the fact that this one is ready to go at a moment's notice...

InterBlog · 08-16-2019, 04:04 AM

Signal mirror, aka iPhone demonstration.

LB_3 decided he wanted to climb this mountain which is called Sugar Loaf, whereas I wanted to walk Four Mile Beach instead (this area being north of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park).

We use walkies a lot (FRS radios) because cellular service is so unpredictable here. I have two Cabela's walkies that are USB-rechargeable. One of them stays turned on, and plugged in, all the time in the Interstate, so that I can hear all calls that come in. When the other one, the one being carried, starts to get low on battery, it is swapped out with the one that is plugged in. A very worthwhile investment in remote areas.

Anyway, LB_3 called down to have me look at him waving. I took out the binoculars but he was too far away - I couldn't see him. Too many trees. So he started flashing his phone instead. I was amazed at just how bright it was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBub8wTluxo

InterBlog · 08-16-2019, 05:02 AM

The next time someone tells you that you cannot have any plastic grocery bags because they are killing the turtles, polar bears, and the planet itself, think fondly of this post.

The amount of fishing industry trash on Nova Scotian beaches is simply amazing. Like every other area of human endeavor, the old, careful ways of doing things have been replaced with quick, sloppy, careless ways.

Case in point. In the Before Time, lobster bait bags were woven by hand, by individual fishermen and/or their wives. They were carefully curated and re-used many, many times because they represented a valuable expenditure of labor.

These days, lobster bait bags are cheap crap from China, machined and mass produced at almost no cost, and managed accordingly. The beaches are strewn with them, many of them appearing to never have been used even one time.

So in about a 5 minute period of time, I collected that big fistful of bags shown in the photo below. They are actually sorta pretty, and I hate waste, so I began wondering if I could upcycle them to create some storage solution for our Interstate?

Similarly, other types of marine textiles have been mass-produced in mind-boggling abundance, and now also litter the beaches because they are cheap and nobody cares to curate them. Whereas before, there would be carefully-hand-woven netting inserts in lobster traps, now there's every kind of plastic. And the same for peripherals.

The small scrap of netting shown in the photo below has no metal in it. It's all plastic, but it's as tough as nails. I wondered if perhaps I could use that material to create security enhancements? Maybe put a large piece on the inside of the vulnerable cab window or something. It could be defeated, but a thief wouldn't necessarily know that at the outset, and so it might offer some visual deterrence.

Just thinking out loud.