HG's thread of miscelaneous stuff

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

If u mean the straps holding them in roll form, I don't think they spring much. Now the straps holding them to the trailer, might be harry if the chocks shifted. They have picture posted in the shipping/receiving office showing a roll of steel the full width of the trailer that was dropped while unloading. The overhead crane busted the cable and dropped a few feet off center of the trailer. It was a twisted wreck. You could see the broken cable end in the photo.

While I'm posting I might as well get another pic loaded. This was a few minutes earlier. Love the sunsets but not at freakin 5:00. Stupid daylight savings.

I imagine they're not light...I hate daylight savings too!!!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

I happen ro like snow..but for me it's a recreational choice to go to my cabin or not. I don't live in it. I don't know how you guys do it... I'll post a pic of my cabin I have here at work.. OK.. I lied I found more pics..

Nice place you got there. It's a little different when you live in it for a good portion of the year. We lived in Detroit Lakes, MN for a few years. Three of the nastiest winters ever. Not just there, but the entire area for those 3 winters. What the old-timers would refer to as a good ol' fashion winter. We moved in on New Years Eve 1993. There was about 2' of snow in the driveway and we couldn't get the u-haul up to the garage. The realtor called a local that does snow removal around the lake neighborhood we were moving into. He showed up in a huge Cat front loader. Drove up the driveway, dropped the bucket about 6" from the garage door and drug it back. Cleaned out the 100' long driveway in about 4 minutes.

We unloaded, and settled in. We had just 1 kid then and she was toddling around. It snowed every single day for the next few weeks. Sometimes just a little, sometimes quite a bit. The guy with the Cat had a deal where you paid a set amount per month and he cleared your snow whenever it was needed. We were an hour west of Fargo and the word was that Fargo broke the record that winter for snowfall. That winter I got my moneys worth.

The 1994-95 winter was another rough one. Not quite as much snow, but bitter cold. The Minnesota state record for low temp was broke that winter. It was -60F in Tower, MN or Embarrass, MN. Maybe both. In Detroit Lakes it was -56F when I got up to warm up my truck that morning. It was parked outside. We were set to help my parents move into their new house that day. The truck started ok but never got heat to the cab. The heater hoses were frozen up with slush and wouldn't flow. So I got my company car going instead. The heater worked but we weren't gonna be able to haul anything, which was fine. There would be enough other trucks.

So we drove the 100 miles to Little Falls listening to the news reports along the way. It was kinda surreal to be experiencing a record breaking cold in a place known for having record breaking cold. The U-haul truck stalled when the fuel jelled up. We ended up using a livestock trailer and pick ups. The high that day was about -33F in Little Falls.

My last winter in Detroit Lakes, 1996-97, the snowfall record from 2 years ago was broken again. We were moving out to western WA the beginning of April 97. The day we loaded the U-haul the snow pile along the road was so high that when I stood on top of it the power line running past my place was at chest level. That night a blizzard went through the area with a lot of freezing rain with it. I-94 through North Dakota was closed. Power lines were down everywhere. We could see the broken powerline poles laying in the snow along the highway with wires that were about 2-3" diameter with a coat of ice. Just as we were getting to Fargo they opened it back up.

Now I'm no wimp when it comes to winter driving. I grew up in it. I learned to drive in it. I drove a good 40,000+ miles per year for work and a lot of those miles were in terrible conditions. But I would've smacked the crap out of the idiot that opened I-94 that day. We were in a toyota 4 runner. The wife and I, 3 kids and a dog and cat. Packed up for a good 3 days on the road. My youngest was about 3 weeks old. My boy was 15 months old. I was in 4 high the entire day and could barely stay on the road because of the packed ice and uneven grooves in the road from the semi trucks that had braved the trip before it froze hard. It was a single lane of slow misery. No thought was given to the idea of passing slower vehicles. Not by me, or anyone else on that highway that day. You know there is always that yahoo in the big 4x4 that thinks everyone else is a dottering fool and he can roll through no problem (I'm sometimes that guy even in my little car), but nobody the entire day even bothered to attempt a pass. It would have been a quick ride into a ditch in North Dakota, where just about every square mile can be considered "rural". No offense to you guys in ND, you know what I'm talking about. Help was gonna be a long time coming for anyone stranded.

We made it through and eventually got to Washington. A week after our harrowing trip through the high plains Fargo and Grand Forks and several smaller communities along the Red River flooded. Grand Forks was burning and we were watching it on the news. That was my territory a week earlier and I knew those buildings and neighborhoods and many of the people having to live that little hell. I left just in time.

The point of my rambling story of winter hells gone by is that the first winter in western WA was mild. At least for us transplants to the area. I didn't even use a shovel that winter and it was a blessing. A much needed break from the hardships of the past 3 years. The 2nd winter in WA was pretty much the same, but felt so much different. We were starting to think a few flakes wouldn't be bad. Let the kids play in it. Enjoy the scenery, etc. The third winter we were missing it. The cold, the snow, the whole experience of a true winter. After 3 years away from the frozen hell of the Great White North we were rested enough to ask for more.

But we didn't want to experience that kind of winter in western WA. No offense to the locals there, but most of you have no business driving a vehicle when it snows there. It would be easy to say mean things about the locals and their lack of abilities in the white stuff, but the fact of the matter is that it's not their fault. There aren't enough plows. It doesn't snow enough for the locals to get and maintain proficiency in the icy stuff. It was always a wet heavy snow when it did come and frankly that's some of the worst stuff to deal with regardless of where you are. So I maintained my patience and composure when it snowed there for the most part, but spent a lot of time shaking my head in wonderment at the next insanely idiotic attempt at road travel by the locals.

I could write another hour on my experiences driving the snow covered roads of western WA, but I think you get the picture. The next winter we were back in MN. There was another period of adjustment, but we were old pro's and it didn't take long to get back into the swing of it.

I think that's enough story telling for now. It is snowing outside at this moment. It's not really cold enough for it to stick much on the roads. It will melt quickly tomorrow, but it is our first measurable snow. My story of winters past is told. I hope you enjoyed it.

[hgs_notes]

I almost made it to SEMA yesterday. Had lunch next door...
http://www.machinefinder.com/ww/en-US/dealer/082426

[hgs_notes]

Today is just some scenery from along the the way. Not the same sort of "cool" as the old rusty iron, but variety is the spice of life.

Couple more sunset pics...




This was posted up at the cafe where I had lunch. I honestly have not had turtle before that I can remember except possibly in some soup my grandpa made was I was very young. Nor have I tried fish jerky. Not sure I want to either. Otherwise the rest of that menu isn't too unusual for these parts. By all means give them a call and place your orders.


This next bunch is just pics of rural SE Minnesota. This is what's called bluff country. It's an area along the Mississippi river valley that wasn't scraped flat by the glaciers of the ice ages that rolled through the area eons ago. It's one of my favorite places for a drive and I wish I had more work in the area to get me there.













And lastly, a pic from this morning on my back porch. And so it begins...

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nice place you got there. It's a little different when you live in it for a good portion of the year. We lived in Detroit Lakes, MN for a few years. Three of the nastiest winters ever. Not just there, but the entire area for those 3 winters. What the old-timers would refer to as a good ol' fashion winter. We moved in on New Years Eve 1993. There was about 2' of snow in the driveway and we couldn't get the u-haul up to the garage. The realtor called a local that does snow removal around the lake neighborhood we were moving into. He showed up in a huge Cat front loader. Drove up the driveway, dropped the bucket about 6" from the garage door and drug it back. Cleaned out the 100' long driveway in about 4 minutes.

We unloaded, and settled in. We had just 1 kid then and she was toddling around. It snowed every single day for the next few weeks. Sometimes just a little, sometimes quite a bit. The guy with the Cat had a deal where you paid a set amount per month and he cleared your snow whenever it was needed. We were an hour west of Fargo and the word was that Fargo broke the record that winter for snowfall. That winter I got my moneys worth.

The 1994-95 winter was another rough one. Not quite as much snow, but bitter cold. The Minnesota state record for low temp was broke that winter. It was -60F in Tower, MN or Embarrass, MN. Maybe both. In Detroit Lakes it was -56F when I got up to warm up my truck that morning. It was parked outside. We were set to help my parents move into their new house that day. The truck started ok but never got heat to the cab. The heater hoses were frozen up with slush and wouldn't flow. So I got my company car going instead. The heater worked but we weren't gonna be able to haul anything, which was fine. There would be enough other trucks.

So we drove the 100 miles to Little Falls listening to the news reports along the way. It was kinda surreal to be experiencing a record breaking cold in a place known for having record breaking cold. The U-haul truck stalled when the fuel jelled up. We ended up using a livestock trailer and pick ups. The high that day was about -33F in Little Falls.

My last winter in Detroit Lakes, 1996-97, the snowfall record from 2 years ago was broken again. We were moving out to western WA the beginning of April 97. The day we loaded the U-haul the snow pile along the road was so high that when I stood on top of it the power line running past my place was at chest level. That night a blizzard went through the area with a lot of freezing rain with it. I-94 through North Dakota was closed. Power lines were down everywhere. We could see the broken powerline poles laying in the snow along the highway with wires that were about 2-3" diameter with a coat of ice. Just as we were getting to Fargo they opened it back up.

Now I'm no wimp when it comes to winter driving. I grew up in it. I learned to drive in it. I drove a good 40,000+ miles per year for work and a lot of those miles were in terrible conditions. But I would've smacked the crap out of the idiot that opened I-94 that day. We were in a toyota 4 runner. The wife and I, 3 kids and a dog and cat. Packed up for a good 3 days on the road. My youngest was about 3 weeks old. My boy was 15 months old. I was in 4 high the entire day and could barely stay on the road because of the packed ice and uneven grooves in the road from the semi trucks that had braved the trip before it froze hard. It was a single lane of slow misery. No thought was given to the idea of passing slower vehicles. Not by me, or anyone else on that highway that day. You know there is always that yahoo in the big 4x4 that thinks everyone else is a dottering fool and he can roll through no problem (I'm sometimes that guy even in my little car), but nobody the entire day even bothered to attempt a pass. It would have been a quick ride into a ditch in North Dakota, where just about every square mile can be considered "rural". No offense to you guys in ND, you know what I'm talking about. Help was gonna be a long time coming for anyone stranded.

We made it through and eventually got to Washington. A week after our harrowing trip through the high plains Fargo and Grand Forks and several smaller communities along the Red River flooded. Grand Forks was burning and we were watching it on the news. That was my territory a week earlier and I knew those buildings and neighborhoods and many of the people having to live that little hell. I left just in time.

The point of my rambling story of winter hells gone by is that the first winter in western WA was mild. At least for us transplants to the area. I didn't even use a shovel that winter and it was a blessing. A much needed break from the hardships of the past 3 years. The 2nd winter in WA was pretty much the same, but felt so much different. We were starting to think a few flakes wouldn't be bad. Let the kids play in it. Enjoy the scenery, etc. The third winter we were missing it. The cold, the snow, the whole experience of a true winter. After 3 years away from the frozen hell of the Great White North we were rested enough to ask for more.

But we didn't want to experience that kind of winter in western WA. No offense to the locals there, but most of you have no business driving a vehicle when it snows there. It would be easy to say mean things about the locals and their lack of abilities in the white stuff, but the fact of the matter is that it's not their fault. There aren't enough plows. It doesn't snow enough for the locals to get and maintain proficiency in the icy stuff. It was always a wet heavy snow when it did come and frankly that's some of the worst stuff to deal with regardless of where you are. So I maintained my patience and composure when it snowed there for the most part, but spent a lot of time shaking my head in wonderment at the next insanely idiotic attempt at road travel by the locals.

I could write another hour on my experiences driving the snow covered roads of western WA, but I think you get the picture. The next winter we were back in MN. There was another period of adjustment, but we were old pro's and it didn't take long to get back into the swing of it.

I think that's enough story telling for now. It is snowing outside at this moment. It's not really cold enough for it to stick much on the roads. It will melt quickly tomorrow, but it is our first measurable snow. My story of winters past is told. I hope you enjoyed it.

Like I said, I don't know how you guys do it. I guess it's what we're used to that makes us comfortable. That's some beautiful country back there. Your back yard made me shiver... Thanks as usual

[Low Elco]

Pretty country! God, I hate winter.

[hgs_notes]

Nobody chirping up that they love winter yet? I have friends and relatives that love it. We had a real mild winter couple years ago and I thought it was great. Just a nice break. But I had some fun in the snow yesterday and look forward to the next snow storm, as long as I don't have to drive in it.

Yesterdays 5 minute outdoor project. Happy Hallowgiving!


Last weekend the wife and I went to an auction. It was a lot of beer collectibles, outdoor sporting goods, etc. Didn't really buy much but got a couple things. I wanted a poster and there was a whole pile of them. They split it into 2 sets and I won the 1 I wanted.


It took awhile before I realized she was holding a beer. Then I just thought "Oh! For me? Why thank you honey."

As for todays road adventures, I was back in the cities. I do an inspection on a small heating boiler at a masonic temple every year. The main level of the building though is actually a tattoo parlor. And the owners travel a lot to asia. One of them is married to an indonesian woman I believe. Today I took some pics of some of their collection to share with you.

These carved skulls were from a father/son team in Java I think he said. I've looked at them sitting in the basement for a few years and they finally got them hung up.



Like I said, the building is for the masons. This is hanging in the parlor though...


This next piece is really cool. Its an Indonesian Garuda. All hand carved and painted. It was shipped here years ago. Unfortunately the change in climate from hot/humid to cold/dry winters made it split pretty bad. The details are awesome.




This is a Garuda mask I think. It hangs by the door and is about 2' from your face as you leave the joint. Happy Belated Halloween!




These are some puppets they brought back. The 1 on the right is another Garuda which he said was rare for the puppets.


More puppets...


A little info on the Garuda here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda

Here's an interesting picture...


Another...


More carvings...



This isn't real. I don't think anyway...


So if your needing some fresh ink feel free to stop by and give them a look. I can't vouch for their work, but they seem legit to me. Their business has grown the past few years and they added new artists and rooms for them to work. If I was wanting a tat I'd consider them...

[Low Elco]

Cool stuff. Nice to see they're working both ends of the tattoo deal!

[Ol Blue K20]

That is some beautiful stuff. I'm just letting this be known, once I'm dead I prefer not to have my skull decorated with carvings. Just sayin...LOL

[earl84]

I have been a lot of places in my life, and there is good and bad everywhere you live. For me, I have decided I would rather have 4 seasons and winter that I can play in the snow, than a summer that is 95 degrees and 90% humidity. To me, that is worse than cold and snow. You can't really do anything in that weather and enjoy it.
Putting my money where my mouth is, and next year, I'll be selling my house and moving to Colorado, probably. You can really play in the snow there.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Cool stuff. Nice to see they're working both ends of the tattoo deal!

If you're gonna use a pencil, might as well have an eraser.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

That is some beautiful stuff. I'm just letting this be known, once I'm dead I prefer not to have my skull decorated with carvings. Just sayin...LOL

Dang it! Now I need to find another "model".

Originally Posted by earl84

I have been a lot of places in my life, and there is good and bad everywhere you live. For me, I have decided I would rather have 4 seasons and winter that I can play in the snow, than a summer that is 95 degrees and 90% humidity. To me, that is worse than cold and snow. You can't really do anything in that weather and enjoy it.
Putting my money where my mouth is, and next year, I'll be selling my house and moving to Colorado, probably. You can really play in the snow there.

Best of luck to you. I love it out west. Wife is from Idaho and I was stationed there for a while in the navy (sand squid). I would definitely live out that way. Maybe I'll have to post some pics from my adventures out there.

[earl84]

[/QUOTE]Best of luck to you. I love it out west. Wife is from Idaho and I was stationed there for a while in the navy (sand squid). I would definitely live out that way. Maybe I'll have to post some pics from my adventures out there.[/QUOTE]


BTW, I grew up 20 miles west of Fargo, and have been to Detroit Lakes a lot. I know, at least vaguely, of most of the places you write about.

[Low Elco]

Get to Work! We need Pics! ( You thought your boss was bad!)

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Get to Work! We need Pics! ( You thought your boss was bad!)

Taking a vacation day. Gotta use it or lose it.

But heres a pic just for you...

[TennesseeZ]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Nobody chirping up that they love winter yet? I have friends and relatives that love it. We had a real mild winter couple years ago and I thought it was great. Just a nice break. But I had some fun in the snow yesterday and look forward to the next snow storm, as long as I don't have to drive in it.

I'll be first. I grew up in SC, it would get bitter cold every year but snow was a scarce thing, maybe every third year we'd get some. Course they did have some 6"-8" blizzards (for there), and even if you can drive in it, as I can, you don't wanna be on the road with the ordinary drivers there.

But I love 4 seasons, have not yet seen too much winter, and I've worked all over. Fairmont MN 12hr nite shift entire month of Feb, left there and went to SD and ND till May a couple years ago. Been in lots of snow and cold. I can dress for it. Here we get snow every year, and it's mountains too, how could it get better than that? At least for me lol!

Tattoo shop: Love the art, been into stuff like that forever. Best tattoo shop name I ever saw was "Grinn and Barrett" in Omaha. I think I'm done getting them tho. Agree about having an eraser for them tho, I'm sure there's many to be removed, tho it used to be just cover them, that's why there was so many black panthers back in the day.

Mississippi River bluffs: Beautiful, but most of what I saw out there was flat and covered in corn. But when I drove west from Fairmont the snow was melting a little and I believe that was the darkest, richest dirt I ever saw.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by TennesseeZ

But when I drove west from Fairmont the snow was melting a little and I believe that was the darkest, richest dirt I ever saw.

Just east of Fairmont is a town named Blue Earth and a county of the same name just N of there too. The dirt is so black in that part of the state that it will almost get a blue shimmer to it if the light hits it just right. When the wife and I moved here years ago and she saw the clack fields in the fall after plowing she commented "They burn the fields off here too huh?" I asked wth she was talking about. She pointed to the field and said, "Look, it's burnt off." "No Honey, that's just the color of the dirt." She's from Idaho and the top soil is just light brown there.

[TennesseeZ]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Just east of Fairmont is a town named Blue Earth and a county of the same name just N of there too. The dirt is so black in that part of the state that it will almost get a blue shimmer to it if the light hits it just right. When the wife and I moved here years ago and she saw the clack fields in the fall after plowing she commented "They burn the fields off here too huh?" I asked wth she was talking about. She pointed to the field and said, "Look, it's burnt off." "No Honey, that's just the color of the dirt." She's from Idaho and the top soil is just light brown there.

Drove thru Blue Earth on the way to Fairmont, and also to Cabellas in Owatonna I think? But it was either snowing or dark every time. This was west of Jackson.
Black dirt, looked like potting soil. And not just the fields, it was between the fenceline and the road too.
Speaking of them parts, just found out a couple years ago Albert Lea (yeah that one) was born and raised 35 mi west of here. I thought it was a strange name for a town till I learned the whole story.

[Low Elco]

Niiiiice.

[hgs_notes]

Boring week for sight seeing. A lot of the same ol' same ol'. We had a bit of a cold snap here Mon and Tue. Single digits in the morning, highs in the 20's. Enough to freeze over some ponds and small lakes.


I drove through Belgrade, MN this morning. They have the worlds biggest crow. I don't know why. There is no explanation of it at the park, just the specs on it.



Kinda like having the largest ball of yarn I guess. I think the fact that Belgrade was the home of the first Menards store (think Home Depot or Lowes) and this little tiny town had one up until a couple years ago is probably more significant than the big crow. The founder is from there and his relatives have quite the door making business there now.

My first stop of the day was a cow slaughter house. And the most significant thing about my time there was that I hiked around the place, inside and out for about 2.5 hours and only had to walk through blood and gore twice, and they don't render there, so I didn't walk out smelling like that. Going through kill plants has never bothered me. I could eat a hot dog from a stand at the exit and ask for more with some sour kraut please.

After that I headed to Little Falls again and along the way there is a big sign, one of those rattle can painted plywood works of art, that says they buy junk cars. And from the looks of the place, business has been pretty good. I pulled in, but nobody was around. There was 1 cool hot rod in the driveway though.


Some of the biggest tires I've ever seen on a car. 33x22x15".


I took my mom to lunch. Her birthday was yesterday and it was a surprise for her that I could show up again. Did a little more work there and then headed home. I'm a sucker for a nice sunset though. Here's the parting shot...


So Dale, is this a chicken day or a feather day? I honestly don't get the analogy.

[TennesseeZ]

Not sure I'd wanna drive that on the street, it looks more like a dirt tracker.

The crow is .... well, a crow I guess. Interesting someone would want it bad enough to build it. But it is what it is.

Good on you for taking Mom to lunch, it means the world to her.

Nice sunset, Im a sucker for a sunrise and set too.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

So Dale, is this a chicken day or a feather day? I honestly don't get the analogy.

Some days you catch the chicken, and can eat.
Other days the chicken gets away and all you have is a handfull of feathers.

[hgs_notes]

So yesterday was more feathers for me, but I think today was closer to chicken.

First stop was in Hamburg, MN. Across the street from my stop was what used to be an old gas station and the current owner is working towards getting that vision back. Couple of nice Wayne Mod 60 pumps there and the Conoco sign was pretty nice too.


Then as I was leaving town I saw this beasty in a driveway...


It's a Cat-A-Gator and was built in Minneapolis.


There's a few videos on youtube with them in action.

Catagator - YouTube

The guy had a pretty nice VW bug set up for fun too.



At first I thought this was a cushman but it's not...


It's actually built by Kromer Co, another MN company, which is still in business making grooming equipment for ball fields.



I wish the owner had been around to talk to. We have similar tastes in oddball vehicles.

Not much from the rest of the day, but the best site was seeing my oldest girl for lunch in Dinkytown (U of MN campus). We talked about road trips we want to take. She's just 21 and has seen almost half the states already, been to Paris, and is talking about going to Puerto Rico with her friends after graduation next spring. Her goal is to see all 50 states and keep going from there. That's my girl.

[hgs_notes]

Another good day for a road trip and site seeing. All while roaming around the territory for work. Today I headed NW and spotted a whole mess of chevy metal on a property as I was rolling into Clarkville. The nice lady that answered the door is the wife of a fellow chevy truck nut (he was at work) but said I could look around if I wanted. And I did wanna so here we go.

This one is in the driveway heading back to the big steel sheds and the first one you see.


The wife did say he had started doing old dodge trucks too and had a couple fords. But he mostly restored 61-65 Chevy trucks. Kinda a midwest version of Dino maybe, but keeping them more elevated.

Then around the shop yard are a few parts trucks. The wife said they just rolled all the parts trucks and rougher ones out in the yard and were keeping the nicer ones inside. I really wish she or her husband had been around to let me take a look at the good stuff. Another time maybe.



This 1 was probably the best of the ones outside and is probably in line for restoration.


Then in back I see a couple more.


And a couple more...


And a couple more...



And behind one of the shops is this bunch...


Closer look...






Then between shops is a sandblast area and more stuff...



That's all there was to see outside, so time to hit the road. As I was going through town this little foreign job was cruising in front of me. Those jap cars keep getting smaller and smaller...


So now I'm heading north on US 59 and at the junction with US 12 I think there is an abandoned property. I've stopped in the past and it hasn't changed much but I think there are fewer parts on the car left in the garage...





Couple more dodge products out back...


Gotta like the Ram Chargers


But I still have work to do so I don't linger for long. My next stop...




I can honestly say now that I have been to prison, or more appropriately, to A prison. Amazing how much of a difference that A makes. I know I'm only showing some electrified fence and lots of razor wire, but even that is more than they wanted me taking pics of. This prison is actually closed now and has been empty for a few years. It's a civilian run private corporate type prison. They were contracted to take prisoners for the state of MN until a few years ago when MN pulled them all out and I guess put them back into state run prisons. This one is still trying to get contracted to take prisoners from other states.

Anyway, just one more shot for tonight of a daily driver I shared the road with in St Cloud last week. And I'll finish posting the rest of todays pics sometime tomorrow. Good night all...

[Low Elco]

That one dude has a lot of stuff- and still keeps his game tight! Respect!

[68Timber]

That first stop looks like a slice of truck heaven. Especially digging the manicured and weed-free landscaping around all the cars/trucks/parts outside.

[Ol Blue K20]

Man!...that guy has a lot...he must live in the shop just to get some of them done. That Ramcharger or red C20 didn't look to bad. The prison didn't look like a place I want to live..LOL