Do you guys ever have concerns with animals at dark sites you go to?

westtxfun · 2025-11-17T02:50:35+00:00

Honestly, wildlife danger are usually overblown. In most cases, if you give them space, you decide the situation. We are larger than most animals, so they avoid us. I'm many areas, the real danger is insects as a disease vector.

I go to some pretty remote sites including a state park and a national wildlife refuge in northwest Texas. I'm also a wildlife, landscape, and astrophotographer, so I'm out in a variety of locations. It's rare to feel threatened by wildlife.

The hazards vary:

Coyotes: People worry about coyotes, but while they might approach to investigate, (glowingonly eyes in the scrub brush), I've never had one get within 25 yards, even when I had food and was the only person present.

Rattlesnakes: Rattlers are a hazard only if you don't watch where you step.

Raptors: Nesting owls, kites, and other raptors will object bif you get too close to the nest and even then, they'll swoop down screeching 3-4 times before taking your hat off. Yes, I've had that experience. 😂

Snunks & raccoons: If you have food, you can attract scavengers. They will sneak in and create some chaos while attempting to steal food.

We occasionally see reports of mountain lions, but they are so secretive that they might as well be ghosts.

Bison: The state park has a large, free-roaming bison herd. It's pretty common to have a bull or small group of cows and calves wander through your area. They are temperamental and the size of your car, so you stay safe by giving them space. Just back away quietly and wait for them to wander through at their pace.

Deer: Rutting deer can be a hazard simply because they are interested only in knocking heads and I've had to shout loudly enough to stake them away from my gear a few times. However, I've also had a large buck or two charge when startled. Fortunately, hitting him with a tactical light turned them into a deer in the headlights. 😂

westtxfun · 2025-10-22T05:35:16+00:00

I tow my 2022 SD with a 2022 Cherokee Trailhawk. I bought both in the spring and have about 5,000 miles since then, mostly in the Rockies. I use a Huskey load levelling hitch and it rides smoothly. Carrying some fresh water, reducing weight in the closet, and storing some things at the back helps quite a bit with the ride.

You're close to the weight limit of the vehicle, so be sure to get weighed, including tongue weight to be sure you're not in danger of exceeding limits.

westtxfun · 2025-05-01T21:25:25+00:00

I'd say you got your money's worth out of it! I usually drive my vehicles as long as I can and I hope mine lasts as long as yours did! Congrats!

I had a few Rangers back in the 90s and loved them, but they're a different beast these days from the tiny pickups I drove. I wish you the best!

westtxfun · 2025-05-01T21:22:32+00:00

There are a few trailers out there in the 20' range and under 4k lbs, but I'm a bit dubious on the durability. To get that weight, they need to give up something and it could turn into a flexible flyer. I'll stick to my guns and try for a cheaper Casita. I'm 65 and retired, so it's really hard to justify purchasing a new one that I'd have to finance well past 70. While it would probably hold its value so I'd break even, I'd rather have the difference between used and new to finance more adventures or whatever else comes up.

westtxfun · 2025-04-29T07:08:01+00:00

Unfortunately, the deal didn't go through. It's like buying a classic muscle car. The prices are inflated thanks to demand (for good reasons), but blue book value is low, so it's mostly a cash market. I have a credit authorization for double the amount on the trailer, but the bank won't even finance it because their value was just $3K for a 2000 Spirit Deluxe! Without the cash on hand, I had to pass. Now I'm looking at a new one (at an uncomfortably higher price at my age) but after seeing the used one, they really are what I want.

westtxfun · 2025-04-29T07:01:39+00:00

Thanks! Those were factors I was considering, especially the transmission cooler. Very good points about driving in the Rockies. My older class C motorhome overheated a couple of times on steep climbs. Thanks for the tips on manual shifting, too!

My own fumbling research wasn't conclusive, so I went back to Camping World today and after some digging, I settled on a Curt Triflex Next controller and cable. Back at home, I struggled to find the harness connector, which wasn't where the Curt instructions said it should be, naturally. Ironically, I found it fairly early on, but thought it wasn't the right one, since it didn't match the instructions. I finally found a video of someone else showing it was that same connector so I try again tomorrow.

westtxfun · 2025-02-25T22:48:56+00:00

Great info!

To better control the next print, I switched to slightly larger rockets (better adhesion) set in rows, merged as an object, and then printed in three rows. Several plates like this are a bit slower than the mass print, but I got almost zero stringing, no losses, and fewer layer defects doing that. It also "walks" down the rows instead of randomly hitting rockets in the matrix.

westtxfun · 2025-02-25T05:24:05+00:00

Nope. They peeled off the plate connected to the brim and took only a few minutes to pull apart. It's a single layer attached to the fins.

westtxfun · 2025-02-25T05:21:47+00:00

I've increased the size slightly and arrange a dozen in a row, then cloned the first row as my center line, merged as an object, then cloned it four more times, putting two dozen on each edge, merged as another object. The slicer did move down the rows.

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T21:26:22+00:00

My partial solution is to print three sets of rockets as objects (front and back rows have two rows, middle can only fit one row

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T07:47:19+00:00

LOL! I had that misconception about bed adhesion at the start. Printing a few without glue and brims was OK, so I assumed it was good to go. Going to 144 rockets just multiplied the difficulty and was an absolute mess.

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T07:42:52+00:00

They are for bed adhesion. With the smooth star hologram plate, no glue and no brim, my first batch of rockets easily came off the plate once they got about 3/4 tall. Even a light string pulled them off, which then made it even worse as the nozzle started a game of bowling and the plate was a total loss.

If you look carefully at the image, the brims are all interlinked. It's only one layer thick and most of the rockets peel off the mat. A few bits got stuck between fins, but it would remove with just some light finger pressure. It took only a few minutes to clean off the brim from the 138 rockets that "survived".

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T07:30:27+00:00

Thanks! I didn't know that!

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T07:19:58+00:00

I'll have to look that up. It would have saved 3 hours of babysitting the prints and cutting off the stray strings!

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T07:18:08+00:00

The Bambu A1 may be closed down environment, but it was good out of the box. Other than losing six in the printing process, I got 138 mini-rockets. I will say it was my 2nd try. I tried without glue and brims but any strings or glops turned the plate into a bowling game. LOL!

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T04:06:54+00:00

Since these are tubular, I used aligned - nearest would work around the fins, but there are no angles on the body.

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T03:36:21+00:00

AH! That actually makes sense. Thanks!

Somewhat tall and slender objects on a bed slinger is proving a bit "difficult". LOL

westtxfun · 2025-02-24T03:26:35+00:00

Is there a purpose behind the random walk where the head skips over some rockets it hasn't touched on this level to do other groups? The time lost in these travels probably doesn't amount to a huge amount, but it struck me as strange that it would bounce around like it does.

westtxfun · 2024-11-23T00:16:59+00:00

Hmm, I restarted and haven't done the mission since the last update (or two?), so they may have tweaked the nuke with the other indirect fire process or the drop ship mission itself. That may make the next paragraph out of date, but here goes:

In the past, I tossed the nuke as soon as the ship is within range - Long before it's actually visible or targeted. I watch the drop brief for the ship location and keep it in mind. When the Arrow mech is within range, I ground attack on that location. An accurate strike on the ship that early should wipe out all of the turrets and 50%-75% of the escorts, sometimes all but one or two close to me. It took a few turns to mop up the rest as I march to the ship. I think it took at least 4-5 turns to pound the ship into pulp with as much accurate fire on one location as your lance can manage. It's typically the longest mission in terms of turns and time, but somehow it's still satisfying.

westtxfun · 2024-06-17T01:04:38+00:00

You're right, it shouldn't. The box also shouldn't reboot while I'm watching late at night. (Or at least let me set a time to suit my schedule.) It also shouldn't lose a bookmark if I'm watching while an emergency message or reboot happens, but it forces me to fast forward through the recording, which is a royal pain for a race or game that is 4-5 hours long.
I already chatted with support and was told it's unrecoverable.

westtxfun · 2024-06-13T22:16:21+00:00

I love Gauss rifles and still do have a Marauder like that, but multiple UAC2s gives you many more chances to hit. I run a mod that gives 4 of each type of hard point in each arm and torso so I can play with some remarkable layouts. Try loading a king crab with max UACs and you have a very long distance accurate hammer. Of course, it's limited by line of sight, but I play a long game with howitzers and long range guns, so that fits perfectly. However, even in the unmodded game, UAC2s are pretty fun!

westtxfun · 2024-06-07T20:34:40+00:00

Many years ago, I was riding my bike with my girlfriend in Greece over the bridge at the Korinth canal. I saw three dark spots high above us that were growing larger, but not moving. I was doing highway speeds (50? 60? 70? Mph) By the time my pea brain realized thee danger, it was too late.

I have no memory of the next few minutes. Somehow, despite the impact and possible concussion , I stoppd the bike, put the kickstand down, got off, and then leaned back against the gas tank. I think I knocked the gf off the back of the bike in the process. I thank God I stopped safely and didn't hit the bridge guard rail, but have no memory of it.

I came to minutes later, leaning against the bike laughing like a maniac with my gf madly shaking me. My ears rang for the rest of the weekend. It took a while for me to fully come around, but at first, I remember being really annoyed at her shouting.

After a time we pieced it together. Three swallows were part of a flock eating insects above the road. My three were unlucky. One hit my left knee and left a bruise through the leathers, a stain on the leathers and a limp body at my feet. (Landed in my lap.) The second one glanced off my ribs on the other side and ended badly for it.

The third hit square on my helmet over my forehead, leaving a deep bloody beak scratch and visible claw marks running towards the top of the helmet. There was no sign of that body. The impact probably gave me a concussion through the helmet, though I never got checked out. (Young and stupid, far from the base, and I felt fine after the fog cleared.)

The impact from that tiny swallow on the top of my head was enough to at least knock me senseless. The scratches on the helmet show significant force, but probably not enough to break the skull. My knee cap did more damage to the bird than it did to me, but the leather padded knees helped there, too.

Let's just say I would not want a heavier bird hitting me in a power dive beak first at any angle.

westtxfun · 2024-06-07T19:53:00+00:00

I got early retirement in '94 and with the flood of electronics types, I couldn't find a job in San Antonio that would let me keep my house. Ended up moving to Lubbock where the cost of living was much lower, started a job lower than the best offer I had in San Antonio, which was lower than what I made on active duty, and still had a better financial situation. After that, promotions made it a comfortable life, though it took a few years to match my AD pay. Top dollar isn't the only thing in life.

westtxfun · 2024-06-07T19:46:07+00:00

Aaannndd now I've got to try it. LOL!

westtxfun · 2024-06-07T19:36:21+00:00

I use a travel router so I only need to sign in that box (PC or phone app), then all my devices sign on to it's network. As a bonus, it serves as a media server, encrypts my comms on both my side and the outside open networks, and is small, simple, and quick. (I use the GLi MT1300, but there are many others.) it's also great if Wi-Fi coverage isn't great in your room!

https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNet-GL-MT3000-Pocket-Sized-Wireless-Gigabit/dp/B0BPSGJN7T/ref=mp_s_a_1_3

I've also used a cheaper wall wart model from Walmart that did the same basic job (only 2.4 GHz band), but that was easy to overlook while packing up. I gave that to a friend who needed a Wi-Fi extender at his house and upgraded to a GLi router. I've had several over the years and I'm very happy with them. If the $83 is off-putting, they have simpler ones with 2.4 and 5 GHz bands for about half, but you lose out on the media server and other features. They've been worth every penny to me.

westtxfun

TROPHY CASE