My buddy Bink recently finished a quest to visit all 63 “named” National Parks. Here’s a quick writeup in his van group newsletter:
The sense of adventure, the laughter and tears, the silliness from exhausted moments, the challenges we set for ourselves, the things we’ve learned from park rangers and the awe-inspiring wonder of nature - is what I’ll remember. I could not be more grateful to the National Park Service for preserving and protecting these special places.
Couldn’t agree more.
We’re contemplating an electric cooler for weekend camping trips and longer road trips.
Does anyone have a suggestion or a strong opinion they’d like to share on what we should look at, avoid, think about, etc? We don’t need dual zone or icemaker. The new Anker ones look interesting…
Planning out some road trips, which could include routes within the highlighted areas.
If we haven’t met yet, you can use this form to add yourself to my list of folks to meet up with if my route and schedule allows (I try!). I’m always looking to turn virtual relationships into IRL friendships!
It’s still a dozen years away, but I bought my wife a retirement countdown clock for her office.
Plotting out a May road trip, and well…it’s escalated a bit. I think we’re in 10,000-miler territory at this point. 😬
Apparently we went to 776 places during our trip, as defined by a location we stopped for longer than 30 mins. (via Rond)
Not sure if I mentioned it, but I completed my 50 Before 50 quest during our big trip—that is, visiting 50 countries before I turn 50. My quest follows the official TCC list, which includes far flung territories “that are of significant interest, as distinct destinations, to serious travelers.”
One of the first things I do each new year is sign up for a California Campfire Permit, which is required to use a campfire or gas stove on all BLM and National Forest lands in the state. It’s free and takes less than five minutes of your time, so go get yours right now.
The easiest tell of a financial scam is when they ask for the money in bitcoin or gift cards. So what happens when the government actually starts holding or accepting crypto? These scams are increasingly sophisticated, and a whole lotta people are going to lose money paying fake fees & bills.
So, my first two out-of-state trips I’ve managed to plan since returning are…for baseball games? Who the hell am I? 🤯😱😂
I’ve been participating in a recently launched forum and forgot how much different forums are from what became known as “social media.” Nearly every one of my responses there is essentially a blog post. Short posts or replies are fine, of course, but this format also allows for much deeper and better conversation.
We’ve been gone long enough that I can’t remember what day the trash goes out, so I’ve been patiently waiting to see when bins start appearing on my street. Apparently, it’s today.
Very nearly pulled the trigger on a campsite in JTree for this Friday night, but then checked the weather and came to my senses. Brrrr!
Here’s something you should do: Remove your phone/address/email/etc from bullshit sites easily accessed via Google.
Does anyone know of a free service that checks a specific webpage for changes and sends you an alert? I want to keep track of when more details are posted to a webpage that lacks any sort of system changes/updates.
America’s playground
#the100pics
I just updated my /uses page a bit before posting it in a forum response, in case you enjoy seeing such things.
Dew drop in when you can #the100pics
Life in 2025: it costs $3 more to have our bed comforter cleaned than to just buy a new one. 🧐🤨
This morning’s thought after being in foreign lands for more than three months:
DRIVE ON THE RIGHT, SCOTT, DRIVE ON THE RIGHT 🚙👉😂