Vladimir

Years ago, during the 55 mph speed limits I learned to follow the truckers. If they were speeding....so was I. If they were going 55 MPH so was I. I must have been pretty funny since I was driving a 1600 cc Datsun pickup in the middle of semi's. Later while towing through urban freeways I learned to follow a "thru truck". Yep, they pretty much knew the lanes to stay in and ALL I had to do was stay far enough away that it was safe to follow and allow the "urban" drivers the ability to pass in front of me. But IF I kept the following distance close enough, none of them lingered there. Well, today I was heading south on I-5 in the Stockton area and picked up a "trucker navigator". He was going somewhere between 5 and 10 over the speed limit. His load was light enough that he never had to slow down on the slight uphill sections. In California, three of more axles and your at 55 mph. So there I am with my 1-ton truck and 3000 lb trailer doing 55 mph. So I thought I would just follow him.....IF he and I were speeding then the CHP really SHOULD pull over HIM and not me. And he was a good driver. He did know how to pace the traffic and his passes were generally limited to one every 20 minutes or so. It was great for almost 150 miles!!! He would pass and I would wait for car traffic to clear and then pass and once again pull in behind him. I quit worrying about making decisions when to pass, who to pass, where to pass, etc. I just followed my "trucker navigator". Best trip ever...down I-5. Picked up a blues station and listened to that for the entire time. Totally comfortable, without a concern in world. I did have to follow far enough back for safety, but close enough that NOBODY wanted to slip in between us. I did have a great advantage that my one-ton diesel and small trailer meant I could pass quickly and easily after my "navigator" had completed his pass. I did catch him a couple of times turning slightly left and right so he could see me in his mirrors. He was probably wondering why I NEVER passed him!!! Well, you never want to get ahead of your navigator!!!

Working as a forester for 50 years, I have seen a winch used ONCE. It was pretty much my first day working for BLM and the forestry tech was taking me out to a BLM timber sale when we ran into a gate on a BLM road. He undid the winch, hooked it to the gate and yanked the gate out of the ground. He then came back to the truck and wrote a short note...."this is a public road, DO NOT GATE IT.....signed BLM. That's it. If you need a winch to get you out of trouble, well your showing bad judgement in the first place. I would rather walk, than unstick a vehicle.

I thought long and hard about this.....finally came up with. Spring is fishing season, don't want to miss that. Summer is travel season. Can't miss that. Fall is hunting season......can't miss that. That leaves November, December, January and Feb. Most times I want to be in Arizona during those days. So....ALL the medical appointments are for November at the home base. Anything found amiss and I get to spend time in the snow and clouds doing medical appointments. That's fine....last year I ended up with medical tests and could not leave until the end of January. Pick a time.....when you don't want to be somewhere else and schedule all your appointments at that time. Leave room in the following months so the follow up tests don't infringe on your PRIMARY time. I found some decent Doctors....don't want to go through the routine of finding new doctors.

Second on Credit Unions...even worked in Canada. Credit Unions are service oriented.....so they tend to help.

I don’t agree....but the original question was “which of the American legacy car manufacturers will fail”. I believe GM has failed TWICE and both times has been bailed out by the Federal government. I bought one GM vehicle and inherited two others....NEVER AGAIN. So yep, one of these days the the Federal government will let GM go under. Fiat-Chrysler....I think they have ALSO been bailed out by the Federal government TWICE. Really an awful company, making awful vehicles, EXCEPT for the RAM truck division. That will survive. Ford??...I don’t know. Never owned a Ford vehicle in my life. Never bought one, but then again I am probably not the typical car buyer. Electric vehicles are fine for urban areas. There is a definite market for them. As soon, as one has a range of 200 miles (in mountain terrain) and around 20,000 dollars I will buy it!! But I will ALWAYS own a large diesel truck and maybe a decent sized SUV will towing capacity. So that leaves that cheap, electric vehicle for the third car.....and depending on how handy it becomes...it might be a shared vehicle with a per mileage charge. BTW...IF I stay in Wenatchee with .027 cent electrical rate I would love a electrical car with a 200 mile range. IF I move to Arizona with a .15 cent electrical rate I probably will be more skeptical.

I camp in colder weather during hunting season. On my 5th wheel, my water lines freeze up when temperatures drop to 25 degrees. I am guessing that your 5th wheel will freeze up at that temperature or slightly above. As others have mentioned keep the temperature up in the trailer and disconnect the outside water line. But at 25 degrees it is the water lines inside the trailer that will freeze. I have gotten up many times in the middle of cold nights to run a couple of faucets and watched the faucet gurgle and then finally run water!! A couple of times I didn't wake up to run water.....and I had to defrost in the morning. You might want to keep your trailer temperatures warm at night......I don't and didn't. My water lines were pretty much limited to one basement storage unit and on really cold nights I would put an electric heater and run it for a half hour or so......I never did feel comfortable leaving the electric heater running down there without me being around. Hope this helps.

I had a "interesting" black lab. When I was hunting with her I found a fully functional transmitter. I took it as a message from GOD, that I should get a collar to fit the black lab!!! You can ruin a dog by overusing a collar. So pay attention to the video or training manual. That said...my current dog earned his "good citizenship" collar at 16 weeks. He is currently dying of bone cancer at almost 11 and has lived with the collar all his life!!! He is perfect when hunting, I just use the collar to hear the beep if he goes on point in heavy cover. Day to day living, well he views himself as a "free" citizen. I tried explaining to him that Constitutional rights only apply to humans not dogs, but he ignores me. Hence, the collar. One HUGE advantage to a collar is the tone control. You can teach your dog to sit on the tone. Handy, when you don't want him to investigate a skunk or porcupine. On a repetitive tone, you can train the dog to come back to you. Sure does beat, yelling or blowing on a whistle to get your dog to return to you. If your dog roams the neighborhood, this is a great way to get them to come back home. My wife bought one for her Bichon, my daughter bought one for a dog smaller than a Bichon. They work, just be careful not to overuse the shock portion. Get them trained on the tones. You will never go back to yelling. I bought my collars from SportDog. Great American company. I even asked them for a collar with ONLY the tone control. After awhile, you will NEVER use the electricity portion. If your dog lives on a leash.....thank you, but I feel sorry for your dog. Quite frankly, at 100 lbs I don't think I can control my dog on a leash. His is the perfect gentleman with the shock collar. BTW....I once met a woman being dragged by a dog on a hiking trail. He was adament about attacking my "unleashed" dog which was sitting on command by my side. When he reached my dog.....I released her and she nailed that "leashed dog". It isn't about a leash. IT IS about controlling your dog. For large dogs, your really do need a shock collar.

Thanks guys, I just ordered the BF Goodrich KO2 at Costco today. They were on sale. Still 943 dollars for a set of four. I did learn lots about the Costco warranty....or should I say...the lack of it. When I complained about the mileage on the Michelin tires, the first question was "did you rotate the tires every 6000 miles". Yes, but at Les Schwab.....that invalidated the mileage warranty. Costco had no record most of the tire rotations. BTW....when I had a warrenty issue with Dodge....same thing. No oil changes. I pointed out ALL my oil changes were done at a Dodge dealer.....BUT the dealers did NOT put them in the database!! So it might be worthwhile to keep a paper record of your tire rotations and have the Costco employee sign and date it. Next issue.....set of four Costco tires. One failed on the road and I had the tire replaced. NOPE, not covered by the Costco warranty since I no longer had the tire!!! Guess I will keep the tire next time until I can get to a Costco store. I did talk to a guy that ran a tire shop and his quick comment was "yep, we all run the same warranty practices". So heads up on that warranty!!! Thanks to everybody for the info on BF Goodrich.....

I used one for snow on our 5th wheel. It worked well. There was a door opening so you could get into the 5th wheel without taking the cover off. It did hold on in the wind. Gave it away when the 5th wheel moved to Arizona. It is rather large to store. As others have said....a structural cover is a much better solution if you can do it.

Not your bad. The different agencies that manage the public lands are different. Having worked for the BLM, FS, and NPS I can tell who has management responsibility just by looking at the road standards. It does make it confusing for the public, but knowing who is the managing agency will pay dividends in allowing you to enjoy your public lands without interruption. It is the FIRST thing I check when I encounter public lands. That pretty much tells me what I can do and where!! THANKS...for linking to the Coconino forest site. I learned some new stuff. Vladimir

Thanks for the update.....BUT The area in question is Forest Service NOT BLM. Folks can get the travel plan maps from the Coconino National Forest. The Avencia site might have the Coconino travel plan maps for a free download.

One “temporary” solution to the internet connection problem is to go HIGH. Get a phone amplifier. When you need a internet connection find a HIGH PEAK or RIDGE and camp there. I have my “fly-fishing” lakes. Current batch of good fishing lakes...zip for data. My up high astronomy sites....great TV, great FM, and great data service. But I have to drive if I fish.

In Canada, they didn't take VISA only MasterCard. In US, they don't take MasterCard only VISA. For years, they wanted me to stop everything and get my picture taken. I finally told them that my religion did not believe in pictures, except in the case of government regulations. Give Caesar his due!! For awhile, they asked for my drivers license and then finally gave that up. SmartFood Service stores have basically replaced Costco for us. They provide food and supplies for restaurants. You can get that special desert....without going to a restaurant. Our other grocery store is Grocery Outlet. Those two have replaced Costco for us for shopping.

I have a friend that bought his FIRST RV and put it into the rental pool with a company. Full Disclosure....he had connections to a friend whose family owned the rental company. It pretty much is similar to renting your vacation home. In his case, he lives in a urban area with no room for an RV. So the rental company ends up being his "free" parking site. He is high income in retirement, so the tax breaks are significant in his case. The rental company takes care of his maintenance and it is split between warranty, rental, or his responsibility. Which he can deduct on his taxes. He has had some interesting discoveries. It really has not been that different than with our vacation home. His wife insisted on a larger RV than could haul their grandchildren, well that is more attractive for larger rental groups. All our vacation home problems come with large groups. So IF I were to do it I would get a small RV that limited the rental to ONE couple. Your mileage and experience may vary....the real benefits in his case. FREE STORAGE and quick on site repairs. I have not seen his tax return to comment on that aspect. My sense, if you don't need to tax benefits...have plenty of parking for your RV...and maintenance is not an issue. I would pass.

I don't know for sure...but the Census is gearing up for next year. They collect a list of HOMES and full-time residents so next year those are the sites they visit for the COUNT. They also GPS the new roads which become part of YOUR GPS system in a few years. In 2021, they will re-visit the sites that they did NOT have returns from people. In the 2010 cycle, I did the whole thing....since my wife was working for them and I figured I might as well do it too. The re-visit sites are the most fun. In my case, I got the National Forest areas and there was ONE cabin that ceased to exist. It was a mining claim that the Forest Service finally "removed" and demolished the cabin. Hey, I said...."I remember that one". They wouldn't take my word...had to go get a "current" FS employee to say that demolished the cabin. Just because your paranoid......doesn't mean that somebody is NOT out to get you. I suspect thought it isn't the government. But really folks.....the government doesn't really cares about a bunch of old farts living out their years. "

yep, need a snowflake rating.....not critical, but very helpful.

I need to buy new tires for the one-ton Dodge Ram. In the past, I had Goodyear Wranglers.....I really liked them. The did delaminate after seven years and did some damage to the rig. I also think they are only made in China these days. Les Schwab....Open Country All-Terrain Tires...bought these from Schwab and in Canada from a independent tire dealer. Ok, tires, but wore out quickly. Michelin.....LTX M/S....These came standard on the Dodge. Good tires....really liked them. They went to 70,000 miles. So I bought the same tires from Costco 40,000 miles later they are toast. So any advice on tires....given the two I liked?? Thanks.

Sometimes not. For years I had no issues going back and forth across the Canadian/US border. Living within a 100 miles of the border I did it fairly often......and then the trips to the little rooms started. I for the life of me couldn't figure why suddenly in my senior years I became a threat to the BOTH the United States and Canada. I took several years, but I finally determined it had to do with my birthplace......Venezuela. But I could never figure out what was special about Venezuela.....well, it turns out the Obama Administration put restrictions on Venezuelan's entering the US. Even though, I had a US passport....right there on the front facing page.....birthplace= Venezuela. That was fine, but I kept asking the border folks. I am fine, with the inspection, the little room, and special treatment, but why me?? NOBODY ever mentioned Obama's Executive Order. That was a public record, that granted most people were not aware of, but at least I finally understood why. BTW...found that out in the comment section of a newspaper article on immigration. The part I did to myself.....my favorite jacket, given to me by Columbia Sportsware. A camo jacket. My favorite hat....from Dave Smith Motors....a camo hat. Then I couldn't find my favorite polarized safety glasses in black...all out...so I bought the camo glasses since it was all they had. Then I crossed the Canadian border in my one-ton diesel truck, dressed up in camo for the spring fishing trip in BC. Yep, a real special trip to the little room. After a 45 minute wait after the Canadians searched for ALL THE CRIMES I had committed in my life I was allowed entry into Canada. They were really disappointed I had NEVER been arrested in my life!!! But I learned my lesson, ditch the camo when crossing the border.

Anything an employer provides is for the "convenience of the employer". Even as a volunteer, you are an "employee". I oversaw the volunteer program for a Federal agency, but two levels removed from the initial supervision. Volunteers are great. I made it a point to see that volunteers got the best assignments and living conditions possible. The advantage to the agency was that we had members of the public that understood our mission and could communicate that to the rest of the public. That was a huge benefit of volunteers. Lots of people in government think volunteers are "free". Their not, they do cost the agency lots of money. The ADVANTAGE to volunteers is that in almost in all cases you get REALLY GOOD EMPLOYEES!! One of my points was always was that it is a good pool to find future temporary employees!!! The best Ranger Districts for volunteers knew this. The worst....well, they treated the volunteers as someone that was there. The best Ranger Districts paid their volunteers the per diem rate. It wasn't much, but it helped the volunteers and definitely sent a message that they were valued, and got per diem just like an employee. One thing about volunteering. Do what you love. We had "volunteers" doing trail maintenace, butterfly surveys, photographing of historic sites, etc. Volunteering is more than campground hosts. BTW...IF you have handy man skills and can fix things like water systems, doors, tables, etc. note that on your application. Those are the folks that are really difficult to find. And thanks.....to everybody that has volunteered.

Your's was a fair question. No offense taken. Everybody makes mistakes, and after searching on the internet I believe she confused "medical advice, within the medical community" with a government mandate. Which is my comment later on down. To Kirk, she was BY FAR the best GP Doctor is ever had. On some of her analysis, I said...."yeah, right". She was right!! And they were really difficult areas to come up with a answer. She decided to move onto a speciality and had to drop all her clients. To Chirakwawa...I did respond that I was still looking for a lightweight 12 gauge shotgun. I did know her father-in-law, I suspect my views and hers did not match on LOTS of matters. But she was/is an excellent doctor, AND I hope I never see her again since she is now in Pallative Care.

The letter is from a government contractor with Medicare. I asked. It is "Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)". "Medicare evaluates how well each ACO meets these goals every year. Those ACOs that do a good job can earn a financial bonues. ACOs that earn a bonus a may use the payment to invest more in your care or share a portion directly with your providers. ACOs may owe a penalty if their care increases costs" They are assuming that you want to share ALL your medical records with Medicare. I believe, Medicare has access to my "treatments" for which they decide if they are going to pay....they don't have access to my medical records. My problem is I have to OPT OUT. I called to OPT OUT. "Oh we have no record of your medical provider, call back in a week". This after spending an hour on the phone with them. I want to know more about the program before I authorize Medicare to have access to my medical records.

She did say that. And the question was also asked when my wife had her physical. My wife, was more upset about it than I was. This was about six or seven years ago. I did a search on doctors asking gun questions and couldn’t find any such requirement. However, when you do the search there is lots of discussion in the medical community about asking the question with support for asking the question. Doing a internet search brings up lots of interesting discussion on the subject within the medical community. I am more concerned about the medical data basis. I have TWO comments that I have been trying to purge from my medical record. The question was asked of me “do you smoke?”. My answer was “only a cigar, when I fly fish”. That usually amounts to somewhere between zero and 10 cigars a year. This year.....THREE so far. That got the notation that I was a smoker on my medical history!!! After almost a decade of asking to get it changed....it still sits there. Then just today I get a letter in the mail from a government contractor that my local clinic is going to be sharing my clinic medical records with Medicare. That I should call the government contractor to op out if so desired. That was an adventure....still on-going. Did anybody else get the mailing?? Having looked closely at my medical records I am rapidly heading to taking the 5th when talking to a doctor or nurse!!! Particularly any open ended questions that are easily subject to mis-interpretation in the future.

Lots of good information....learned something new today....always a good thing. It was a “wellness” visit. I just wanted a physical. Then my doctor asked if I had guns in the household....my reply was...”not enough, I am still looking for a good lightweight 12 in a over/under or side by side”. She just gave me a dirty look and said she was required by the government to ask the question. Quite frankly....there is NO REASON in my eyes to see my doctor for a physical. Just take a blood, urine, and stool sample. Send the results to me and my doctor. I will send her my BP, and pulse readings. Then we can have a conference call and save the taxpayers a whole bunch of money!!! At my age, the thrill of being naked with another woman is definitely gone.

It is a long drive from I-84 to Lewiston....but worth it. From Lewiston....I would take Highway 12 over Lolo Pass and stop at Lochsa Lodge for dinner. Lots of FS campgrounds along the way, but you might be a little long for some of them. But you should be able to find a campsite. Keep you gas tank topped off at all times. From Missoula head north to Glacier Park.

We went through Moab a few years ago in October.......and ended up in Colorado that night. Check with the chamber for events and BLM, NPS for camping areas. We were headed home, so wanted to keep traveling in that direction. This was the first “open” campsite we found.... http://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2015/10/usbackroads-destination-highway-191n.html Moab is a LOT more crowded these days.