@tour2ma said:

They were donated by Mic for the Bungle tailgate ... I only grabbed one, or I would send you one.

Zombo

@miktoxic said:

I'm 5'11 195lb.

Ride a bike 2,500 miles a year. Doesn't quite get rid of the beer gut, but at least I don't have to pay for two seats on a plane.

But you are right about walking without a cold one.

Zombo

@miktoxic said:

Mik, I totally understand that- it's what mountaineers call exposure- how far you can fall if you screw up. Back in my younger years,I was able to climb the Grand Teton. The first 7,000' of the climb are no worse than that previous picture. BUT. there are three spots in the last 500' where you have to pull out the ropes, unless you're a super stud guide, or just plain stupid. The first spot is called the crawl- for good reason- the guy I was with took one look and chickened out- and plenty of other people do. You have a choice of crawling along a 2 foot wide ledge that's 50 feet long, or going hand over hand on the edge, which is what I did- wasn't about to get all dusty. Yeah, that's why you use ropes- it's a vertigo inducing 2,000' straight down- the pine trees look like tiny dots, almost as far down as that lake in the other picture. Funny thing is if that was in your backyard, with no drop off, anyone who can walk could do it.

hell i always pictured you as a fat ass like stan and zombo that couldn't walk a hundred feet without a cold one.

good to see you're in fighting shape.

never had problems with climbing heights, it's the heights themselves that when i look down i get serious vertigo.

they showed a shot on the news the other nite of the guys on the spire of the new tower in NYC from like a wide angled lens....i almost puked.

@calfoxwc said:

If you want to do prospecting, I'd recommend the Black Hills. There really is still some gold in them thar hills. We did Harney Peak there as a warmup hike, and lots of glittery stuff on the trail. There's a thing called the Highpointers Club, (top of all 50 states) and Harney is the high point of South Dakota. Knocked another one off, but I'm never going to get all 50, and plenty of people have.

It ranges from the Elbright Azimuth in Delaware

to Mount McKinley, this one is out of my reach.

The highpoint of North America. (incidentally in this picture McKinley is over 20 miles away) I've been on McKinley a couple of times, and buzzed base camp in a Cessna. For those that have been to Colorado Springs, Denali (geez I hate to use McKinley) from there is double the size of Pikes Peak from outside of town. If you want to make the attempt, you can seriously die up there- and as the Ranger Station in Talkeetna says, you get in trouble up top, we won't necessarily be able to save your ass. It's one of the most hostile environments on the planet. The Arctic Research Institute put a weather station at high camp one year (17,000'), and the warmest it got was 17 degrees, Wind chills in a storm can easily reach -50 or colder. I was at the Sheldon Cabin @ the balmy 5,000' level the first day of summer, and it snowed.

PS you can ride a bike to the top of Indiana- Hoosier Hill, I'd hesitate to call it that, and Campbell Hill here in Ohio.

*****************************************

I was, Mik. On advice from a few folks, we stopped in Mo. on the way back,

locked it in it's case stored in the back, and drove straight through Illinois.

Fed law, you know. Otherwise, I was good the whole trip, cept in Texas of all places,

but locking it up anywhere is okay. You can't carry outside your car, unless it's just

to take it into your house/room/etc. And a tent is considered a place of residence,

at least in Ohio.

Interesting side note: When we went to the movie, I actually called the manager

and asked him about cc, noting that I never saw any "no guns" signs in Mo....

axplained I was from Ohio...

he said as long as it is concealed, it was fine. Cool.

Yeah, camping this time of year is a good bit...un-crowded.

And Mr. Hoorta, that is awesome ! Though, I can't see myself doing that hike, even

after

I get my new knee next year...maybe. But if I did, I'd do a bit of prospecting...

@miktoxic said:

Hehe- last summer may well have been my last big time camping trip. The Nephew wanted to see the mountains- and Uncle Larry obliged. So I took him up Middle Teton. Without going into too many details- yeah, It's damn spectacular- but I seriously paid for the 17 hour round trip ordeal to get back to the car. Landing a 300 pound boulder on my foot was just the start of it.

And if you're interested- that's at the top of the SW Coulior of Middle Teton- One of the few routes in the Tetons you don't need to bring out the climbing hardware- that adds another 30 pounds of stuff you need to haul up there. The summit is only about another 100 feet or so. I wasn't about to stand on the summit block- its a 45 degree slab of granite, and should you fall the wrong way, it's about 2,000' airmail down to Lupine Meadows. Iceflow Lake is about is 3,000' below in the background, and that haze is damn forest fires that were burning everywhere last summer.

@calfoxwc said:

you and wifey can always invest in a roto scooter and have them customized and done up with brown colors and have like a big dawg head for a rain cover.

sounds like a great trip. i wouldn't go camping anywhere nowadays unless i was packing. drove through missouri many times, the only stop i had was late 1980 ft. leonardwood for basic training. yes it was winter and it was friggin colder than growing up on lake erie.

last time i went camping, i got the obligatory BJ on the picnic table, drank a 12 of busch beer (blech...trying to fit in with the yokels) and had a thunder and lightning storm in the middle of the night which scared my dog sooo much that she shit all over my girlfriend.

all the dogs we've ever had run to her and love her to death. either it's the peanut butter or the fact that i'm a mean miserable prick.

at least i don't get shit on.

-peace!

********************************************

Crap. I didn't know that. Learn somethin every day....

@calfoxwc said:

No, the Browns Board tailgate is also on the west side, under the Detroit Superior bridge.

And, Mr. Hoorta, we would have walked over to the Brownsboard

tailgate, but we were on the west side of the stadium, next to the lake, and you guys

are in the muni lot, which I think is about 10 miles away......

I would like to do that in 2014. Maybe a helicopter pickup there and back...

Canton Mike and I will figure it out....

@calfoxwc said:

Well Cal- you and Canton Mike are going to have to come down to the next Tailgate when the Brits show up in 2014.

@the-gipper said:

THE JERK!

"HE HATES THESE CANS!!!!! GET AWAY FROM THE CANS!!!"

a stitch in time saves nine, and .... I forget the others....

@calfoxwc said:

Well? Did she then jump your bones? (Otherwise what would have been the point, eh?)

only up to 87 percent finished.

BTW, I forgot one part in the middle. So, I think this will be called an addendum, maybe.

We had traveled about 1300 miles camping and adventuring. Remember I always man up

and walk my wonderful Wife to the bathroom in the middle of the morning?

Well, one night, at 3 AM, she hurriedly shook me awake, and asked me if I could

go for a walk with her to the bathroom. I had been fast asleep, and said "Always, Hon"...and quickly sat up

to throw my clothes on and escort her.

The next split second, she bear-hugged me, and pulled me back into our covers,

laughing in my ear, kissing me on my face, laughing, laughing laughing.

Yes, she had set her alarm for 3 AM, to wake me up...in our hotel room.

It isn't the first time I've thought to ask her if she is secretly kin to Tim Conway.

Oh yeah, and I tipped the really nice lady 5 bucks because I scrapped out the waffle maker...

Being big Duck Dynasty fans, we went to Walmart and bought their Christmas CD, the deluxe version

with stickers, etc, and words and other fun stuff with it. The album is professionally done.

And some songs are very funny. And several are very beautiful. This ranks right up at the very top

of any Christmas music I've ever heard, right alongside the old Alabama Christmas CD.

So, Texas was again boring. The usual. I don't like Texas. Red ants, too much traffic... cockroaches.

So, on we went to our finally vacation stop - Branson, MO. Branson had Veterans week there, and in different states,

it was really great to see veterans being asked if they were vets, and then thanked for their service.

That is a good thing about Texas. Went to the giant Pro Bass hq in Springfield Mo., near Branson. That is an awesome

place to go, I think it's about 3-4 times the size of Cabela's in WV. Still no Browns fans.

We also went to the Branson Veterans Day parade. I wonder why more folks don't have those. It was great.

We missed Ollie North, who appeared at a book signing at Pro Bass, and also at the parade. He was late

getting in on the plane, and we didn't have all day.

We did see the Canadian Rockies Express movie at the IMAX. I got in free because I'm a veteran.

Veterans came from all over to Branson for this week. I never knew that. It was an honor to be around

all these older WWII veterans. They were everywhere. Anyways, that movie is awesome.

The other notable thing was, seeing the Armed Forces museum. It was pretty cool, and the different rooms

had the names of all those American soldiers who died in different wars. The room for WWII, was the only place

in the world where all those Americans who died in WWII are listed. The deep, long room has 10' high walls.

And on all three sides of actual wall. all those names are listed from ceiling to floor edging.

That's in about size 16 font, friends. It's stunning, and somber. I saw two very senior men walk out

of the museum as we walked in. They had WWII veterans caps and jackets on. They were wiping tears

from their eyes. When we got to the WWII section...we knew why.

Wrong time of year for football jerseys - we did watch the Cowboys play in Branson, but

fell asleep before the 4th quarter..

In closing, it's going on Thanksgiving, so THANK YOU to all veterans everywhere.

And, btw, Here's a book Christmas present tip:

Any book by the Duck Dyansty folks is funny, but also very serious about where they came from,

and how they struggled in the early years.

But we finished Phil Robertson's more serious one, on the way to Arkansas, and sent to two

other options. My Wife loves for me to read them while she drives.

One was Billy Crystal's book "Still foolin em", a story about his life. it sucked. Fbombs right and left, and weird, perverted

references to his sexual parts right and left and it wasn't funny. I quit after one paragraph, and skimmed

through it an eighth of an inch at a time, and kept trying to find anything different. Nope. More fbombs

and weird, sick references to his parts. I'm either going to throw it in the garbage, or sell it on Ebay.

I don't know what commission I'd pay on a quarter it would probably go for. Billy Crystal can be funny/quirky. But his

book is garbage.

The other book was Tim Conway's book "What's So Funny", a story about his life. I sprained my face, and literally had

trouble reading this book, because it isn't just funny, it's FUNNY. I nearly choked on a hamburger while reading to

myself for a few minutes, when I started to lol, This happened every page, several times. Finally, I had to take a break

because I think I sprained my face from trying to not laugh so I could read. And that was page 28. So, I had

to pace myself after that. My Wife was laughing so much while driving I had to offer up the box of tissues.

Seriously - I often laughed so hard I couldn't read anymore for a while. And this book would

be a great gift for anyone, young or old.

Tim Conway's book for Christmas. Trust me. He is surely the funniest crazy person on our planet.

And, it was the Browns bye week, so I didn't even miss the game. Can't wait til Sunday. The End.

days before,
and "Mean Judy" told me we'd be fine, to just pick a site that evening, tent camp,
and pay in the morning. Which, we did.

Tent camping is 8 bucks. Camping with a camper is 34. so, I went to pay
for our site. She asked which site we camped on, and I told her.
She said that would be 34 bucks. We were a bit stunned, but explained
that we were only tent camping. Mean Judy explained that we had chosen
one of the improved sites, with water, sewer and electric. We explained
that our tent doesn't have plumbing, and doesn't have wiring, either.
Mean Judy looked at us stupidly, and said "34 dollars, and you
didn't say you wanted a TENT campsite. We only have 6 of those, and
those are walk-in.

so, we said it was late, it was dark, and most of the campground was
EMPTY, and but she interrupted us, and said, "okay, I'll give you the senior
discount - 25%. That will be 27 bucks. So, we paid it, but please, if you
ever go there, tell Mean Judy she's a nasty, stupid warthog for me.

So, we headed for Louisiana.