60+ year old thread.

'65 442 was my "baby", if I was to choose one.
But I had a bunch of cars.
'64 GTO convertible... bought for $400
'61 Impala... $275
'54 Olds 88... $20
'61 Caddy convert... $40
'57 Olds 88... $30
'55 Belair... $200
'66 GTO convert... $225

The '57 was a heavy boat but I rebuilt the engine in auto shop (for no real reason) and dragged State Street a lot. Raced people light to light for beer or cash, and if I lost went double or nothing on the freeway top end. Never lost on the freeway. That four speed hydramatic made all the difference. Even the Hiway patrol respected my car after they chased me and I lost them, but you can't beat a radio.

 

Well, shoot Ken!

Speaking of GAS prices, here in the East half of Texas and many other parts of the country - we have a winter blend and a summer blend. Summer costs more to make. Couple that with the annual excuse of "shut down for the switch over maintenance" they always pull, seems we had an enormous winter storm that gave them even MORE work to do. So gas prices (as normal) are increasing; to explain to someone who thought it was a different cause...

Gas prices near me: Winter storm shuts Texas refineries, lifting costs (usatoday.com)

 

Gas around here went from $2.21 to $2.69 gal in less than a month (Feb to March).

 

went from $1.89 to $2.63 here

 

I reckon ... still feel bad ... such a respectful, kind hearted, Cool Old Dude ... truly a mentor to me ... truth.

Thank you Mike.

Respect

 

It very likely did happen exactly that way. Welcome to the New World.

 

On a happier note, I started a little "heart" project to get back outside before my Wednesday procedure. I had a pile of edging for a project I got half done before the shed and greenhouse came last year, and shifted my gears and interest.

Last weekend I tore into the yard section, and removed the grass. Three passes with my friend Mr. Tiller (I love this guy), and I could lay in a new edge to meet the old one. Last Sunday....







Tuesday I played with rocks today after I got my covid test and blood work, and signed the new Will!

This will all look better once the plants we get are in, and it's all mulched up!




And...





So yesterday was the nursery trip, and we got what we could. No new plants for the area you see so far were available, but we did get two of these new Ruby Glow Tea Tree to replace last years Cranberry Hibiscus, which replaced the unsuccessful Sky Needle evergreens.... Mr. Tiller helps me start a hole and makes a LOT less shovel work. (Everything else in that bed miraculously survived under a sheet!)




So we dug up the plants (giant Liriope, of which we want 3 more) and bulbs, and I tilled everything again to get rid of remains of dwarf bamboo (NEVER buy that), and starter holes for the plants. Got it all back in, added an (incomplete, more ordered) small animal barrier, and mulched it all up.








And, while no beers were actually harmed in all this, several did make a sacrifice!



Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Here in N. California gas average is around $3.50. By mid summer I expect it to be $4.00 to $5.00. When I was young and first driving I remember gas between .24 to .27 cents a gallon. And that was at full service stations where they put the gas in your car, washed the windows, checked under the hood and checked your tires pressure. I also remember them giving blue chip or green stamps which you could save up and redeem for some nice stuff. Remember gas wars? Remember telling the gas station attendant to “fill it with ethyl”?

 

Also like many forums disagree with some folks, the chosen few, has repercussions.

 

Good morning, all!! Just one more reminder to read over what you type before you post it. I can't tell you the number of times I've deleted comments I was about post after re-reading them and deciding they walked the edge of being political. What's the quote?..."Dance like no one is watching. But, email and text (and post) like it will be read in court at your trial."

I hope Ken comes back after his hiatus. And don't kick yourself, Rob. We are all (older) adults here and should monitor ourselves. It's always easy to kick yourself for missing something, in retrospect. You are a good man...and that's why you feel bad.

 

Good Morning Colonel

Thank you for the words of kindness and wise advice.
I too hope he'll rejoin us. He and I have become quite close virtual friends over the last ten years. Wish we had been in one of our many sidebar PMs when the thought developed that lead to his being flagged for politics. I think we become so comfortable in our relationships here, that we forget the world of Tacoma is watching. This incident serves as a huge reminder that NOTHING on TW OPEN FORUMS is PRIVATE.

Anyhow, nice looking trailer and I'm happy to read the purchase was a pleasant experience for you, that is always a nice bonus. Also I'll take the opportunity to say what a striking and eye catching color that green is, your rig is looking sharp.

We had very good Friday out here on the mountain. We finished organizing the conex root cellar. Five more trees hauled up to sawmill site, with two more down to be hauled up today. I'll miss helping with those as I'm driving out mid-day. But I'll get 'em fueled up before I leave. I'm the unofficially appointed breakfast cook out here, I've always enjoyed cooking breakfast style food and do so often off the mountain as well. Yesterday I promised 'em blueberry pancakes for this morning.

I'm a little apprehensive about the drive out solo today; to the point I chained up Stitch's tires yesterday morning. About 8 inches of snow fell here Wed evening to Thu afternoon. I shouldn't have any problem and they'll be down the trail with the tractor if I do. Really need to bite the bullet and get Stitch a winch. I need that confidence of knowing I have a viable means of self-recovery.

Hope all are well and that you have a very fine weekend.

Respect

 

I will look at the highlander. I like the styling more than the T4R but after watching the Overland America series I was sold.. What a solid SUV but I know they probably poured over 50K into mods for suspension and other engine reliability.

Maybe we need to have Kurt and Mark supervise an extension on to the porch.

It always galled me that when anti robo calling legislation was passed it allowed to politicians to make robo calls.

 

Morning Tom
To me, both are SUVs; the Highlander is more like a minivan with some ground clearance. The T4R is a truck; IMHO of course. Ton more useable space inside the Highlander, at least it feels so...never actually checked the specs.

Extension, guess I'm totin' lumber?

"It always galled me ... yada yada yada ... politicians."

Yep, me too

 

Good morning all,

Well so far Murphy's Law is winning. Got freezing fog last night so everything has an ice coating - no snow yet and the amounts in locations have started to drop in predictions - that's OK, we still will take what ever mother nature gives us.

Rob, isn't MTGirl that moderates the 50+ thread your sister? At least she gives out warnings when someone starts to go over the site limits. I went back and read Ken's thread and really I was not offended and didn't see anything that political but then I don't get riled up over stuff like that.

Be safe everyone have a great day

 

COFFEE!!! Waited all day for my new tires. I kept asking Alexa, "Where's my stuff?" and she kept lying to me. "A package, radial tire, will arrive today." And this morning she completely ignored my tires.

Cold this morning. 18 degrees. Had a fun storm pass through yesterday that looked like it was going to dump snow, but it passed through so fast that we only got enough to fill in between the blades of grass.

 

My 2019 Highlander was nice.

I had a 2013 Nissan Altima. Great mileage, decent little car.

I wanted something for camping/having fun. So I bought a 2018 Ford Transit 250 Cargo. 3.5 EcoBoost, tow package, full custom built. Long road trips, I'd pull over and sleep in the back! Dual sliding doors added bench seat, so it was a Crew Cab, but with 9' of cargo behind the second-row seats. It came in handy, hauled 2500 pounds of dog food in for our dog rescue folks. It was vacation-only, too big to use in town. We wanted to downsize, so my shop with 12' doors would be history. Altima started the dreaded CVT slip, $7000 trade-in value, but I was looking at $4000 Transmission repair if I kept it.

Traded in the Altima, Sold the van, bought the 2019 Highlander SE. It was a sweet ride. I just needed a truck for truck duties. Hauling sod, lawn stuff, bags of mulch. I'd tarp the back of the highlander and spend another weekend detailing. That got old. I went looking for a "five-year-old Tacoma" for those duties. Uh oh, resell is insane. 10 years old? Nope. Tundra was decent, but older than 10 years meant weekends doing maintenance and repairs. Nope. Found a '66 Chevy C20, modern drivetrain, and suspension, old patina. perfect. $25,000 Nope.

Highlanders should never go off-road. The front pipe of the exhaust is secured to the oil pan. Hit a rock; exhaust pushes up into the pan. Pan is aluminum for weight saving and will rip open. My Ford Transit had more ground clearance than my Highlander.

In town shopping, comfort for four adults (the third row is cramped, kids only) was great. I kept the third-row flipped down. Long-distance driving is smoother, quieter, so less fatigue than 4runner or truck. With rear seats flipped down, more room in the Highlander. My recumbent fits into the Highlander, not the T4R.

4Runner is more rugged, and if you are camping in remote areas, I will take it.

 

Good Morning Porch! Haven't shaken this hospital cold yet - wasn't enough sunshine! Worked OK during the day, but it crept back in the night. Was planning on some lawn work today before making Birthday Burgers, but it's JUST wet enough to probably make that not realistic. I'd empty the greenhouse, but I wanted to do the same stuff in the back before I get everything in the way. OK, it'll wait.
Wifey's birthday, and yes, she requested the burgers!

Be happy to help extend the porch - it'd be sturdy, but maybe not so pretty! I are a highly skilled wood butcher!

 

Sturdy is more important than purdy!
Morning everyone!
I'm more than a bit upset about Ken getting a ban. Who's next...Mother Theresa? The Pope?

 

Highlander vs. T4r, we bought a new 2020 Highlander 6 months ago. It was a decision between a Highlander and a 4 Runner Off Road Pro. I wanted the T4r cause I wanted to go off road with it. But the vehicle was for my wife and after driving both she chose the Highlander Platinum. (Not the high bred). I have the 4x4 Taco so that serves all my off road back country needs. We love the Highlander. The 2020 is all new and lot of redesigns and upgrades over previous years. It’s comfortable, quiet, roomy. The cargo area is huge with the third row seat down. Lots of power with almost 300 hp but good mpg with over 25 on the highway. I’ve had some very nice (and expensive) cars over the years but the Highlander is the nicest. If you want off road the T4r is the way to go but for everyday around town and highway hard to beat the Highlander.
We are taking it on our first big road trip from here in N. California to Dammeron valley Ut. next week. I’ll report on the trip.

 

My parents had a ranch in Fort Jones. Anywhere close to you?