Oregon and Washington BS thread

"I paid all these monies for deez badazz lightbarz on my brodozer, ya goddamm right Imma runnin' 'em all da time!"

Just a small step below the guys who put in the "off road" only headlight bulbs and say "but the cutoff is good, and I don't flashed!"

 

I left my ditchlights on one morning commuting into Portland. They’re canted outward - no telltale glare off the hood to notice. I passed at least two cops and a sheriff that morning. They didn’t seem to care. A young woman in another Tacoma pulled up beside me to let me know. I got covers after that. Still embarrassed.

Mistakes happen, but I’ve probably seen the same guys you're describing. There’s no shortage of yahoos around here.

 

I was going stir crazy... and knowing that @mrs.turbodb would be unable to resist a trip back to the Alvord Desert - and for our first time, Steens Mountain - I knew that would be our destination.

It'd be a relatively short trip - four days total - but I figured that even at that, we could do a couple things we'd wanted to do for quite some time:

1. We could get to the top of Steens Mountain, which on every previous trip has been covered in snow. The highest road in Oregon, this is something we've wanted to do for years, since we first saw it while visiting the Malheur Refuge. In fact, @mrs.turbodb mentions Steens so often that it's become a running joke.
2. We could make another run at Big Sand Gap on the east side of the Alvord Playa. Because we had a score to settle from our last attempt. Not that we're hard-headed or anything.

So, it was in the very early morning hours of October 10, 2019 that we piled into the Tacoma and headed south...

Read the first of four parts in
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain





If you don't want to miss a bit...
​

 

Hoping to catch the stars as they danced through the sky, you may recall that I'd setup the camera to take as many 30 second exposures as it could, until its battery ran out, through the cold night. As morning rolled around, I grabbed a second camera battery and popped out of the tent into the 21°F weather to take a look.

...Only to discover that my second batter was also dead! Eventually though, I got the battery charged and I finally had a chance to check out the previous nights display. Not. Too. Shabby. At all.

Read on: Unfinished Business #2 – Highest Truck in Oregon







.​

 

I noticed a few articles about astronomers getting caught with the starlink satellites causing issues. Did you see any of that kind of stuff?

 

Great suggestion I will use this myself. My 2010 Tundra does the same thing.

 

I didn't notice any issues in my photo. I did have a few plane trails (and they are still in the pic, but you can only see them at reasonably high resolutions). I was actually hoping to capture some satellites or shooting stars, but didn't get any this time!

I found that this funnel is great for burping the radiator. Allows you to fill up past "full" and then new fluid goes in as the bubbles come out. I used it when I was doing my timing belt, and couldn't have been happier with its performance. When done, just put any excess still in the funnel (which has a valve on the bottom so it doesn't spill out when you remove it) into the overflow reservoir.

Lisle 24680 Spill-Free Funnel

​

 

I was at Alvord Hot Springs in the M.A.S.H. unit style sleeping containers this last weekend.
I am not at liberty to discuss the top secret op that we were filming (search Facebook for the movie Megaforce (not kidding)).
Bombed down there on Friday AM.
Filmed the "shot".
Bombed outta there on Sunday late AM.

Day was 70 degrees.
Night was 30 or less.

We did zero offroad exploring...

Edit: we stopped in Ukiah - scary...

 

Why did you find Ukiah scary, did something happen to you?

 

...We spent a good hour - or more - making our way around and over various parts of the Alvord Playa. Our GPS track looked as though a toddler had been scribbling frantically with a large crayon - no rhyme or reason evident in our movement. But, we were on a mission - one that was ultimately a success ... because eventually - in the south west corner of the playa - we found what we were looking for. Three distinct impressions of Jessie's final runs.

read the whole story and see all the pics in
Unfinished Business #3 - We Find Jessie Combs Last Track​

Hope you enjoyed the story!​

 

I feel like I need a winch on my truck soon. I'm thinking 15k. Before telling me that is oversized, just know my truck is about 7000 lbs daily driving, and getting about 17mpg doing it.

Before getting a winch, I want to get a bumper to put it in. More steel, better protection. After that, I might need to upgrade my stock suspension for something a little stiffer, but it is already a 3/4 ton...
Anyway, if anybody wants to donate to that cause, I'll gladly accept the financial support. Otherwise, my next steps will likely be getting a gooseneck mount and gooseneck trailer.

 

Nah, but when you travel around the USA and there are some parts that aren't as welcoming to travelers as some other small towns are, you get a vibe. And $18 for a gl of antifreeze/coolant is not more than a giant FU to visitors...

Ballarat in Death Valley had a strange vibe also.

And on the 395 in CA outside of Ridgecrest at Atolia (zombie town)

 

If anyone is interested I get the same deal as Colby with the Columbia Store, if interested dm me...

UPS is exclusively invited to access the store from December 6th - 29th only! The bulleted information below is a helpful guide to share with your team, if needed.



WHAT THE EMPLOYEE STORE HAS TO OFFER:

• EMPLOYEE discount, meaning items are marked with Employee Pricing (40 – 50% off regular retail pricing)
  
  
• All of the latest product from the Columbia Sportswear Company family (SOREL, Mountain Hardwear, prAna, and of course Columbia Sportswear) 
  
  
  WHAT TO BRING TO ACCESS THE STORE:
  

• The attached invite (printed or shown on mobile phone)
  
  
• Work /organization ID (business card, badge, pay-stub, signature of work email, uniform, membership card etc.)
  
  
• Personal photo ID
  
  
• This invite is valid for you + 4 guests (you must be present)
  
  
• This invite grants store access only (offer not valid online)
  

 

Anyone from the Seattle area headed to Bellingham this week (or from Bellingham headed to Seattle)? Wondering if you could pick something up for me at Grizzly.

 

Someone please help a brother out... currently in Afghanistan until February... this is a pickup deal only at the warehouse in Seattle. Toyota of Olympia refuses to honor the same price. Located in Lacey, anyone make a trip south on I-5? Live 10 minutes off of exit 109...

https://parts.toyotaoflakecity.com/...Bed-Mat---Long-Bed/69525697/PT58035050LB.html

 

when does it need to be picked up by?

 

TACO DOWN!!!
Not my truck!! This was posted on Washington counties twitter page reminding people to slow down during icy conditions.

 

In no rush. I think it can sit there several weeks if need be.

 

Hey guys im finally coming back home to the PNW! Driving the truck from DC to JBLM in late Jan-early Feb. Looking forward to getting back and exploring the NW again. Any good groups for the JBLM crowd? Also any good shops down that way or anywhere maybe north as my parents are in Lake Stevens/Marysville area? Might need some work done once i get there if i cant get it done before the trip. Coming from the NOVA thread the last few years and looking forward to joining some of you on some trips.

 

What's up dude. Shoot me a pm. I live in Lacey! Currently over here in Afghan land but will be back in a few months.