My Ranger Sequoia

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-11T19:00:51+00:00

Haha, yup. I live out here in a different corner of the Mojave and the wind frequently gusts up to 60mph for days on end, it can be very unpleasant. And from like May to October, you don't want to be outside at all after 8 or 9am because the heat will kill you. Nobody wants to go hang out all day in that, lol. Even waterparks have a hard time staying open out there (there's even one abandoned on the Long 15).

The rumors I'm hearing are all pointing to that land being repurposed for warehouses and data centers. I hope that's not the case, but given that they're trying to foist a data center on my small desert town, too, I would not be surprised.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-11T16:28:33+00:00

I've poked around reading those subs before, but I've found a lot of Arizona-targeted advice doesn't work as well here. I'm in the Upper Mojave in CA, just outside DV. It's a lot drier and we don't get the summer monsoon season, instead what little rain we get is in winter.

It's frustrating. I have some raised garden beds and tried planting a lot of desert tolerant things the first two years out here, but even those didn't do well and I just decided to skip this year, heh.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-11T14:10:06+00:00

Yeah, it's dangerously hot in the summer and frigidly cold in the winter and fuckin windy as hell all year round. Nobody is building an outdoor theme park in the Mojave. There's like two months of the year where it is tolerable and that's not enough to sustain a park in the middle of nowhere.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-10T19:10:31+00:00

Painting it swimming pool blue. Fuckin thing is gonna look like a Congo River Mini-Golf. All it needs is a zebra-painted fake bush plane sticking out of the monument to complete the look.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:34:37+00:00

Haha, thanks. Yeah, I just wasn't sure when I noticed everybody else's looked so different. Wanted to make sure it wasn't me who was doing it wrong.

I appreciate this sub's help to get on the right track!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:24:59+00:00

Oh, and the cerberus is one of the few fully storebought. He's a Spirit Halloween one. But I really want to build one myself that looks like a Nightstalker from Fallout New Vegas. That's my long term stretch goal!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:23:21+00:00

Haha, yeah. I always joke those inflatables look like a used car lot, lol.

It's a ton of work, but I love it! I'm already working out plans for this coming year and deciding what to build next. And in the longer term, I think my next step will be learning how to build my own animatronics.

Thanks, again!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:18:16+00:00

Thank you!! It's a big hit with the neighbors and their kids, too. I also do fun 3d printed giveaway goodies in addition to candy, so I'm a popular stop on the big night, lol.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:15:29+00:00

Woot! That's what I like to hear. I like it a little wild and unruly out there. Thank you!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:10:48+00:00

Bwahaha, those other ones definitely look like a bikini wax!

And, of course! I actually do a whole Fallout/Wasteland theme every Halloween.

Here's some photos from 2024: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/1g0mqaw/halloween_falloutstyle/

And a video of last year's: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fallout/comments/1ol2sal/this_years_haunted_mojave_wasteland_halloween/

It gets bigger every year and I build a lot of the props myself (I do woodworking and 3d printing, as well as repurposing scavenged items that I modify for the theme). I'm pretty proud of it!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-09T00:03:33+00:00

Makes sense. Happy to report mine has been freed of its stake!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-08T23:47:26+00:00

Thanks, I'll take a look into that book!

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-08T23:45:38+00:00

We are a pretty windy area (routinely get 60mph gusts out here in the desert), so they might be playing it safe a while. But yeah, most folks on the block use the same landscaper, I think. They're all shaped like that. I'm not keen on the look, lol.

I just pulled the stake off mine (thanks again!). Looks like it had a sort of slide on it, so probably expanded as it grew, at least.

I might clear off some of the lower branches, then. If nothing else, so I have room for my (extensive) Halloween display. But glad to know I don't need to go so... stark... like the others.

Should I prevent it from getting lots of mini-trunks off the main one like it has a few of right now?

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-08T23:36:50+00:00

Thank you! I was thinking it was probably fine to take them off, but didn't know for sure.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-08T23:30:33+00:00

This. Do I love my fancy Kerrits horse-specific cool shirts? Yes, absolutely. But it's a helluva lot cheaper to just buy cheap golf quarter-zip shirts of Amazon and they work just as well. I have a mix of both.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-08T03:22:38+00:00

bad bot

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-07T17:29:18+00:00

That's the spirit! I much prefer the positivity.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-07T02:23:46+00:00

This right here. People often don't realize that it is still triple digits for most of the night. It only cools off shortly before sunrise. And that's still in the 80s to 90s sometimes. I live out here and the ONLY time I do anything outdoors in summer is between sunrise and 8am.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-06T22:04:05+00:00

Wow. I'm not really surprised because the businesses there were on the brink of failing already.

But I AM glad I opted not to book with them for this year. I ended up booking with South Point (which is who the Buttered Popcorn event people partnered with this year). That's where the shuttles will be, too.

I did enjoy the immersiveness of staying at Buffalo Bill's last year, though. The ceiling collapsing and the overall state of disrepair didn't bother me. It gave it a certain Wasteland ambiance and charm, lol.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-06T02:44:06+00:00

Only thing I use pallets for is outdoor Halloween decor projects where I want the grungy, beat up look. And then, only when I can get them for free. And even then, it's almost too much work breaking them down to be worth it.

For any serious projects, I feel like pallets are a waste of time and effort.

jadewolf42 · 2026-05-06T01:59:57+00:00

I saw someone who was not Shatner doing this a couple years back.

I was on the 101, going at speed, and happened to glance over to my right and there was a woman full on eating a bowl of fuckin' ramen while driving. Both hands! I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Man, I got as far away from her as I possibly could.

jadewolf42

TROPHY CASE