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Morgana said:

Well, @bullfrog ! , you have the thanks of a grateful nation, or at least a few dental patients (assuming she's any good at that
So easy to start feeling invincible when you're inside a car... and to start thinking of nature like an amusement park. I got lost once on some logging roads in Maine ("oh, when it's time to come back, I'll just turn left at the pine tree" ), sobered me up pretty fast.
I want to do that Ajo Mountain drive sometime (starts across the highway from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument) but I'm a bit chicken. It's one way/unpaved after the first stretch so you're pretty committed once you start. I suppose it's pretty well patrolled and all, better than some random dirt road, but man there's a lot of dry & lonely space out there.
I don't know how good the cell phone coverage is once you get way out there either. So yeah, take LOTS of extra water ...

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IAjo Mountain Drive is a good well maintained road with plenty of traffic that is patrolled possibly by one of my old acquaintances. Take water and some food and maybe an umbrella for shade, it is short enough with a picnic area I believe at the mid point. The person we found was on the other side of the reservation in the Ironwood National Forest at the eastern base of the mountains you run into going east, bad roads and only a few entry points but great isolated place to camp 14 days for off road overlanders in groups of 2 or more. One of the access points is where one of the old Titan ll missile silos used to be which is how I found out about it. I have no idea how she ended up in this remote section.

I got someone outside my trailer this morning calling out to me. I thought maybe it was a forest service ranger! But it turned out to be my friend I had recently camped nearby to. He moved over to this area because where he had been camping got smoked out from one of the “prescribed” burns just south of Flagstaff that the Coconino NFS fire crews are conducting. But this morning the wind has changed direction at least for a little while and is blowing the smoke back towards the origin. Sometimes when I am not thinking and I smell the faint smoke odor I briefly have my brain wonder if someone is doing outdoor grilling.

This morning I noticed some activity at the motorhome that is parked in sight but not too close. They were putting a tarp up across the rear roof area. There was a good drenching rain for a few hours yesterday. Their roof must have developed a leak.

Today is a trip into the small city of Flagstaff to run errrands. But I am not looking forward to being in city traffic. Flagstaff is a long stretched out city built along old Route 66. A lot of times my list of errand stops are quite a few miles apart. The other aggravation is the Amazon lockers and hub counters are filled up or shut down. The last few years I was using the lockers at Whole Foods in Flagstaff but for whatever reason Amazon physically removed those lockers this week. Hopefully they will set them back up elsewhere in town.

maki2 said:

Today is a trip into the small city of Flagstaff to run errrands. But I am not looking forward to being in city traffic. Flagstaff is a long stretched out city built along old Route 66.

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Small towns can be busy places traffic-wise! Sometimes the layout and lack of controlled intersections can make it nearly as unpleasant as driving in a big city. I try to remind myself of that when I think about permanently escaping to a less populated area (daily).

I live in one of the worst in terms of commute times and accident rates. Fortunately, I can pick my times and routes. Ten minutes or a few blocks can make a huge difference.

Volunteering again ... there must be a 12-step program for this -- if there's any gnarlier relations on this planet than between altruists, I don't know who or where . I'm getting better (I hope) at not taking that part of it so seriously.
I'm supposed to be reorganizing a storage room that has apparently been run on the principle "yeah maybe we could use that, I'll think about it tomorrow" for a long time. (Me if left to my own resources I'd be more of the "you tell me how you're going to use this or I'm going to throw it out" frame of mind.) There's great xit in there, hidden under a mountain of not so great xit.
Meanwhile the kids are running around, no teacher today. So one of them comes up to me and says "garble garble actividades garble garble." Turns out he just wants to draw. Since this Augean stables contains about 10,000 crayons it is relatively easy to make him happy. I poke my head out from the stables 10 minutes later and he and his friends are all patiently drawing in their laps. So I unfold one of the tables and they draw away (standing up, uncomplainingly).
Most of them are drawing normal cute kid stuff, but my little 8-year-old friend is making these teeny tiny perfectly formed numbers and patiently cutting them into teeny tiny squares. "I'm making a book," he explains somewhat mysteriously. Then he draws a picture of a face that I think I get the gist of but I ask him to explain it to me. Sure enough: "It's half devil and half god," he says. The devil (red face) is smiling and the god (blue face) is frowning. Good God, is this kid 8 or 38? His IQ is probably 308. Very laid back cheerful kid. Probably going to own Twitter someday. The people you meet ...

I think I have figured out the fix for a cluster of increasing but seemingly unrelated health issues. Everyone of those issues is pointing to a magnesium deficiency. I think my mother likely had the same issue as she too had a lot of these same issues as she got older. So I got some magnesium tablets at Walmart and sure enough my heath does seem to already be improving in just a couple of days! I will know within a few weeks if that was the underlying cause of the cluster of issues. Taking an extra mineral tablet is a whole lot better than needing doctor visits and prescription medications both of which are real inconveniences in the nomadic lifestyle.

^^^ yes, it is getting hard to even get a doctor’s appointment never the less a good one that can help you! Hope you get lucky if you find you need one!

Interestingly, yesterday I was in a supermarket, looking around in the supplements aisle and "Magnesium" popped out at me. I figured i should look into what it does, then I get a poke over the internet this morning.

And I see that it is vital. Top listed return was "Magnesium is a mineral that supports hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body. Learn how it may boost exercise performance, combat depression, regulate blood sugar, promote heart health, and more."

wayne49 said:

Interestingly, yesterday I was in a supermarket, looking around in the supplements aisle and "Magnesium" popped out at me. I figured i should look into what it does, then I get a poke over the internet this morning.

And I see that it is vital. Top listed return was "Magnesium is a mineral that supports hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body. Learn how it may boost exercise performance, combat depression, regulate blood sugar, promote heart health, and more."

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Be sure you pay close attention to sticking to the recommended amounts of this mineral. It is not like vitamin C and others where you just excrete the excess in urine. The dosages are different for men and women possibly to do with body weight? Definetly do not be tempted to take a mega dose as it can cause diarrhea. You will for sure know if you are taking too much of it

maki2 said:

Definetly do not be tempted to take a mega dose as it can cause diarrhea. You will for sure know if you are taking too much of it

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You doodoo what you have to doodoo.

maki2 said:

I think I have figured out the fix for a cluster of increasing but seemingly unrelated health issues. Everyone of those issues is pointing to a magnesium deficiency. I think my mother likely had the same issue as she too had a lot of these same issues as she got older...

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My mother (yes, my mother) loves epsom salt soaks for just that reason. Hope it helps!

Morgana said:

Volunteering again ... there must be a 12-step program for this -- if there's any gnarlier relations on this planet than between altruists, I don't know who or where . I'm getting better (I hope) at not taking that part of it so seriously.
I'm supposed to be reorganizing a storage room that has apparently been run on the principle "yeah maybe we could use that, I'll think about it tomorrow" for a long time. (Me if left to my own resources I'd be more of the "you tell me how you're going to use this or I'm going to throw it out" frame of mind.) There's great xit in there, hidden under a mountain of not so great xit.
Meanwhile the kids are running around, no teacher today. So one of them comes up to me and says "garble garble actividades garble garble." Turns out he just wants to draw. Since this Augean stables contains about 10,000 crayons it is relatively easy to make him happy. I poke my head out from the stables 10 minutes later and he and his friends are all patiently drawing in their laps. So I unfold one of the tables and they draw away (standing up, uncomplainingly).
Most of them are drawing normal cute kid stuff, but my little 8-year-old friend is making these teeny tiny perfectly formed numbers and patiently cutting them into teeny tiny squares. "I'm making a book," he explains somewhat mysteriously. Then he draws a picture of a face that I think I get the gist of but I ask him to explain it to me. Sure enough: "It's half devil and half god," he says. The devil (red face) is smiling and the god (blue face) is frowning. Good God, is this kid 8 or 38? His IQ is probably 308. Very laid back cheerful kid. Probably going to own Twitter someday. The people you meet ...

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I love hearing about super kids (yea I know they are all super just undiscovered super powers) The 3 year old that was Very good at Chess he had 2 bipolar parents and they that was normal. The kid who could Read at 3, but his folks could barely read, the one who could smell someone's coat and tell me who's it was out of 25 other kids or maybe the girl who could do multiplications at 4 all these kids but she could not tell if it was a joke or not with any joke told. I sometimes wonder what some of my favorite authors where like at 4 and how was Steven Hawkins in the first grade.

vanbrat said:

I love hearing about super kids (yea I know they are all super just undiscovered super powers) The 3 year old that was Very good at Chess he had 2 bipolar parents and they that was normal. The kid who could Read at 3, but his folks could barely read, the one who could smell someone's coat and tell me who's it was out of 25 other kids or maybe the girl who could do multiplications at 4 all these kids but she could not tell if it was a joke or not with any joke told. I sometimes wonder what some of my favorite authors where like at 4 and how was Steven Hawkins in the first grade.

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The majority of high IQ persons do not have severe social spectrum dysfuntions such as autism. That type of dysfunction combination with high IQ simply makes for good press therefore you see more stories about it in the news. Stephen Hawking had motor neuron disease, it affected his movements, it was not autism. He was socially normal. The typical genius level persons are busy with a regular type of lifestyle of friends, family social activity, hobbies and work just like the majority of the population.

No need to ponder on the answers when the internet is accessible on your cell phone. Here is a copy in the attached image that includes what Stephen Hawkins himself had to say about his early childhood.

So I finished organizing the Augean Stables (aka storeroom of a small US-run nonprofit in a Mexican border town). It was hot and sweaty and this mob of adorable little kids kept interrupting “Hey, Americana – can I have this? can we play with that? what is this? can you reach down that thing from the top shelf? can I have that one instead? look, I drew you a picture!” I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to let them play with all the toys; they must have thought they hit the jackpot. The punchier I got, in the heat and the frustration (“who the hell thought it was a good idea to unload this junk on a shoestring charity with next to no storage space?”), the more I gave the kids free stuff (what the hell, it was just sitting in the back corner gathering dust anyway). There’s probably a couple of justifiably pissed-off grownups down there now. Oh well.
So now it’s all boxed up, including several boxes labeled “wtf is this stuff?” and “get this out of here.” There are no longer any Barbies rolled up inside the Sonoran Desert death map, edible seaweed leaking into the paper crafts, or OTC medicines tucked away in the paints. The awesome good xit is no longer buried under a mountain of broken mismatched mystery xit. More importantly, the kids were reasonably well amused. Judging by my fellow nonprofiteers' response, it's a safe bet the whole thing will return to chaos in a month.
So anyway here is my list of pro tips (OK amateur tips really) for in case you are moved to make an in-kind donation to a charity. Of course, anything the charity itself tells you trumps this.
(1) Give cash instead. Seriously, 9 times out of 10 they’ll be able to use it better, and support local businesses at the same time. But if you do donate stuff …
(2) Give what they need in real life, not what you fantasize might be nice in a best-case scenario. ASK. If you can’t ask, stick to generic, simple, flexible-use stuff. Remember you are putting it into a pipeline that you can’t predict and have no control over.
(3) Don’t give “kits” of anything — they’ll probably just get broken down into their components and mixed with the general supply flow.
(4) Don’t give small numbers of special, fancy things — if there’s not enough to go around, how are they supposed to give one stressed-out kid a sequinned backback or angel wings while the next one gets a grotty fanny pack or a T-shirt with some weird ad on it?
(5) Don’t give toxic, flammable, or breakable stuff.
(6) If it’s not in the original packaging, put it in something hassle-free and see-through that’s easy to open /and/ to re-seal, and label it clearly. Ziplock bags and sturdy tupperwares are your friends.
(7) Remember that as far as crafts go, the creativity is in how people put ingredients together, not how cute or fancy the ingredients are. Just like packing for a road trip, the more multipurpose the item, the better. Also probably not a great idea to give people luxury stuff they’ll never be able to get again on their own cuz that can just be depressing.
(8) Don’t just empty out your junk cabinet telling yourself “oh those poor but resourceful people will find some way to use it.” They might. But it might also just soak up space and time and hide some cool stuff they could have really used.
(9) Of course, if the recipient tells you otherwise, go with what they said. Communicate as much as humanly possible, and if you can’t, then at least prepare your gift for its trip down a pipeline that you can’t see the other end of.
Half this stuff I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t seen it from the other end. So, FWIW! Thanks for listening.

Had my first visit from a ranger. He just transferred into this district and wanted to “educate” me about the area. He started with asking me if I was familiar with the MVUM maps. I told him I had one for the area. He asked if I had the current one which I replied yes to saying that I get a new one every year as they tear easily.
He proceeded to say I was not camped on bare dirt. That is actually not in the NFS regulations which I did not bother to contradict. He then said I have to camp within 30 feet of the road which I am doing so he said it looks like you are within 30 feet of the road. Then he said he was not going to make me move and went off to pester everyone else camping here. Just a NEWBIE

I read about your ranger visit and it reminded me about my early years camping around Flagstaff. That kind
of visit (and friendlier ones, of course) was far more common than it has been for years now. I stayed in
one spot well past the 14-day limit last summer (in plain sight, not hiding in the forest) and no hint of
a ranger. I have had one ranger visit in the last several years. Either they are continually short staffed and /or
the attitude has changed. I know the area well, and will share some ideas if you send me a PM.

^^^Heads up alert! Flagstaff area camping location restrictions and ranger patrol policies and frequencies of patrol underwent a major change following a wildfire in the summer of 2022 that was created by a “homeless” camper violating a burn ban and igniting a major Mr wildfire that soon connected with two other natural caused wildfires near the city of Flagstaff. Citizens of the town were irate and up in arms about dispersed camping being allowed near the town. Senators and the AZ Governor got involved and of course the department of Natural Resources and the result was all the close to Flagstaff dispersed camping is now gone as of April of 2023. Also the changes meant ranger patrols became overall more assertive, but politely so, in enforcing rules regarding dispersed camping.

Calling all knitters -- this is literally a "how long is a piece of string" question but please work with me on it if you're willing and able (and if you're not willing and able, feel free to sit this one out).

How much wool do I need for a knitting project? Say we can be flexible what the project is -- a sweater, a scarf, a baby blanket... How much would one person need to complete some kind of a satisfying project? Or, could you give me a range, like x amount for a potholder and x amount for an afghan?

Also, do I need to look out for anything in terms of quality, better and worse brands, etc? Should I get pure wool? Is there a good kind of synthetic? It's gonna have to be Walmart, so probably nothing fancy.

It's not for me -- I have successfully avoided knitting for 70 years and intend to keep it that way -- it's for some friends. (Literally asking for a friend lol.)

Thanks!

^ just jump into the age of apps for calculating all kinds of stuff. . There are lots of apps available for calculating how much yarn is needed.

Ryan says:

maki2 said:

^^^Heads up alert! Flagstaff area camping location restrictions and ranger patrol policies and frequencies of patrol underwent a major change following a wildfire in the summer of 2022 that was created by a “homeless” camper violating a burn ban and igniting a major Mr wildfire that soon connected with two other natural caused wildfires near the city of Flagstaff. Citizens of the town were irate and up in arms about dispersed camping being allowed near the town. Senators and the AZ Governor got involved and of course the department of Natural Resources and the result was all the close to Flagstaff dispersed camping is now gone as of April of 2023. Also the changes meant ranger patrols became overall more assertive, but politely so, in enforcing rules regarding dispersed camping.

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Thanks for the heads up.

In eight years, I haven't bothered to attempt to camp in any AZ USFS.

AZ BLM has been okay. Except for the overcrowded places such as LHC, Q, etc.

BTW Walmart in Parker is no longer allowing overnight parking as of early March 2024.