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## hick

Taking on the Pacific Coast Highway in 2 days.

Well,...it's blown out from last year's landslides at two sections (between LA and San Fran), so we're not technically driving the "PCH" since it officially consists of San Diego > San Francisco, while some travelers consider it to be something much further (Baja California to Seattle, for instance).  

At any rate, we're bypassing the trouble areas, since we don't have time for backtracking, etc. and taking San Diego to San Fran off the coast (the rather boring I5 route).

After San Fran we'll stick to the coast as closely as possible till we head east at the top of the "thumb" in WA state at and around Olympic Natl. Park.  If time, weather and unforeseen circumstances treat us better than a cranky dad treats his red-headed stepchild, then we may make one or some inland forays (Redwoods, Crater Lake, Mt. St. Helens, Olympic Natl. Park and Mt. Rainier top the list).

The wifey is gonna' fly to Anchorage from Seattle and chill while I cross Canada via the rather picturesque (if not occasionally bleak) Cassiar Hwy.



When I get to Anchorage, I'll have a day or two of the hotel life before we start working on getting off the grid (and coming back on) for variable amounts of time over the course of a month.



Our wheels:



My weapons of choice this year:






A few of my intentions:


Solid bear shots


heavy halibut

Early season lake trout


Live rugged for short spells.




Watch this space.  About to launch off......(3).....(2)......

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## hick

sumpin' likea' dis:



but more coastal.  google maps is a cvnt

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## nidhogg

You sure you can take that gun into Canada?

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## hick

You're very aware, Nid.  No handguns shall pass thine border.  I'll buy it in Anchorage.   :Wink:

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## nidhogg

^ Did not want to see you get  into trouble mate.  Canadians take their gun security at the border pretty seriously.

Looks like an awesome trip.

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## hick

Cheers.  Gonna' be "epic" as the renter/dealer of the Ursa Minor (wrangler jeep camper) likes to say.

We'll start the journey with a night on his yacht ported in San Diego, tonight.  tick tock tick tock.  Pretty excited.

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## david44

Look forward to it, I've only driven it from Mexico to the Bay.
I'm sure you are aware of the rockfalls on the Contra Costa between Cambria and Andrew Morales near Esalen and the naval college.It's a big detour across the range but sure worth hugging the Big Sur coast one of the best this side of Ireland.

Cambria Moro bay,Carmel-by-the-Sea all nice stopovers, the cabin at big Sur is a good coffe break near the A Morales National Park campsite

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## reddog

I like watching the TV show about Canadian border crossings where they always catch yanks who don't seem to understand you cannot just cross
a international border tooled up with their guns.

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## hick

^^ Yes, David - thank you and well aware.  No time for backtracks this trip, so Big Sur, Cambria are out.  It's ok tho. 
 San Fran will make a fine starting point for the other direction in th next couple years.  Yes, that southern route you took on intrigues me and have a growing plan in mind to take it all the way down to SA's tip (Tierra Del Fuego region) and try to get a glimpse of that great, white block of southern ice.  Charter boat from there to taste it for a fortnight.  Prolly want to do that one w/ a converted bus or sum such. 

Thanks for the tips.

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## Dasher

Looks like a great trip.

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## tunk

You are a lucky man hick. Your trip is something I have always wanted to do.

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## OhOh

Are you based on the west coast ?

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## TizMe

Have you already bought that GoPro Karma drone?

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## bsnub

> heavy halibut


That is on the menu tonight here. The lady and I are just back form Pike place market with a nice hunk of fresh halibut. She plans on grilling it in a cast iron skillet with wood chips to give it a smokey flavor. 




> Cheers. Gonna' be "epic" as the renter/dealer of the Ursa Minor (wrangler jeep camper) likes to say.


How did you find that connection? I would love to rent one of those this summer.  :Smile:

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## hick

> How did you find that connection? I would love to rent one of those this summer.


Just lucky to find him   

Ron Nieman  
alaskarentacar.net

(gave you wrong last name in PM)

He's solid    Sitting on his yacht in San Diego right now

only rents in AK tho  

call him - he can refer

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## hick

> Are you based on the west coast ?


based nowhere now   I'm jobless    :Smile:   :Sad: 

family in FL and Issarn

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## AntRobertson

Looks fantastic, I'd love to do something like that.

Enjoy!

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## hick

> Have you already bought that GoPro Karma drone?


yep  bought it at best buy in FL

crashed it on the 2nd flight

Resynched it, brushed it off and she's still flying, so...learned a lesson about there

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## OhOh

> family in FL and Issarn


So you understand US ways and cultures. 

I wasn't sure where you came from originally.

Thanks. Keep the pictures and stories coming.

Are their any restrictions taking drones into/out of Canada or their usage? Always good to survive your first crash and walk away shaken but sturdy.

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## Davis Knowlton

> So you understand US ways and cultures.


Easy. When people yell "Duck", they ain't talking about no crispy fried fowl. If not a native English speaker, learn to recognize the word!

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## OhOh

As opposed to walking into a Bangkok bar and shouting, "I'm here girls, come and get it!". Just to clarify to all why your there, of course.

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## cyrille

Do any of your gags ever work?  :Sad:

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## hick

Fark!  Bay bridge SF, 40 mins minimum   Gotta work on my timing a bit

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## hick

Esan Classic restaurant on Larkin St. in San Fran. Even signage in Thai only.  
I don't know what the hell,...the woman NEEDS plara, ok? 
 She can't function at a reasonable level without a fix of that horrid, spoiled fish gunk at least 2-3 times a week. 
Yeah, she'll be procuring some take away for the bush.  Prolly keep the bears at a distance, at least. 
Buddha wept - we're going to Korean bbq right after this!

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## Norton

> Esan Classic restaurant





> Buddha wept - we're going to Korean bbq right after this!


Shame as SF has some of the finest steak and seafood resturants in the country.

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## hick



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## hick

> Dude you really should use imgur to post your pics so that you can turn them right side up before you post them.


Sorry  Iphone doesn't like Imgur.  Dunno why.

will have PC in a week or so   :Wink:   keep turning ur monitors   :Smile:

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## hick

Another dirt road for Eso

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## TuskegeeBen

> Taking on the Pacific Coast Highway in *2 days*.


  

Anyway, the rest of your trip is apparently depicted in the following, *fantastic* photo array. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!

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## hick

"Taking on in 2 days" meant departing after 2 days of that post.

2 nights in Cali., 2 in Oregon and 3 in WA.  :Wink: 

cheers

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## hick

Left

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## hick



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## hick

Move it Eso!  Come on!  Damn!

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## SKkin

> Move it Eso! Come on! Damn!


Looks like you need ketchup.  :Smile:

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## Klondyke

> A *2-day* driving trip along the Pacific Coast Hwy (US-101) is an absurd notion, to say the least. Try a 1-week (minimum) excursion, instead. How to Plan a Road Trip from Seattle to San Diego | USA Today


Did the 101 from S.F to Vancouver 15 years ago within 5 days, a wonderful journey.

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## hick



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## hick

Lake Louise (E of Glenallen)

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## hick

Twilight is from around 8:30pm to 1/2 past midnight at this time of the year...and then it starts up again around 3:30am and last 2 hours or so.

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## hick



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## hick

No crime, no solicitators, no bears or moose (tho they both swim the lake at times), a neighbor or three,...lots of boat time.

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## Farangrakthai

looks like a great adventure, hick.

though, to be honest:  the scenery is nothing to what i've seen just going up to the family cabin every summer in the cascades and working as a dishwasher/busboy/waiter in yellowstone park summers in yellowstone park. 

how would you compare the scenery in alaska to the pacific northwest?

i had thought alaska would be more impressive.

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## hick

Alaska is much more impressive in terms of density of wildlife, geo & topo expanses (my iPhone is really not capturing it - wait'll I get canon, go pro + drone uploaded), rapid weather changes, dramatic seasonal changes, fishing opportunities, remote opportunities and people, in my (still limited) experiences.

It loses greatly (to most) with winter.  The happy stayers see it as a chance to reach previously unreachable destinations (by snow machine).  Other pluses are: Ice fishing regs are lack, no bears in the bush, winter sports and indoor projects.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm in love with the Oregon/WA coast, Olympic, Montana, Idaho, N Calif., etc. but AK's still the last frontier in many respects (amazing how wired <verizon> it is these days) - one can still apply for residency, get in 1 year, stake out some public land off the road system, squat on it (essentially) for a year whilst developing it to varying degrees and call it home,...for a small tax.  Homestead Act

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## hick

We've been covering serious ground.  5 and 6 hour drives being common and still aren't anywhere near touching the corners.

I do believe it'll roll out something like this for me:

work in anchorage till fall
buy a jeep camper
drive ak - ecuador over 3 months
winter in S America & teach some
return AK in early spring to work & study for pilot license (small aircraft - float) and maybe teach at a remote village for a year.  Wow would be able to pop in and out whenever she wants as per usual.

*An Afghan (or the right Saudi) job offer (tafflin') could void some of that.

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## hick

Finally, the Yukon river (AK) and the Yukon terr. (Can) keep calling.

Not to mention Haida gwaii (google image that place!) among others.

Trying to stay pretty open.


ps: walking out of the restaurant and towards the bridge of the tiny village of McCarthy, AK (Wrangell-St Elias Natl.Park) last night, Wow spotted a cow moose with 2 toddlers near some abandoned buildings.  I shouted, they hastily made their way.  Casually mentioned it to a local and he got right on the phone to alert the whole village.
A: She could stomp someone to death.
B: A grizzly is probably tailing them.

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## Farangrakthai

> one can still apply for residency, get in 1 year, stake out some public land off the road system, squat on it (essentially) for a year whilst developing it to varying degrees and call it home,...for a small tax. Homestead Act


cool!

some of your scenes remind me of lake wenatchee in the winter (my father took us up a few times as kids and we had to dig to get into the cabin and clear the snow off the roof to start a fire and stay for a few days):



in the summer the water in the lake gets nice and warm (often calm like glass);  but, there's always snow on the nearby mountains:

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## hick

One more (this phone is killing me):

that shot of wow's grayling a couple pages back...

Josh (the guide) said his co. had just acquired permits for some new land to fish on.

Seems some out of staters had shown up and applied for permits to cross the same "posted private property" parcel along with the adjoining creek and adjacent river some months back.

They got permission w/o delay and proceeded to make camp and head straight for the mountain base where they started excavating.

 In a few weeks they decided they'd need more equipment, so began clearing for a road.

A pilot noticed some activity and asked about the project at the next town affairs meeting. 

No one knew anything so the trustees went out there to talk to them and were met with extreme offense.

After a short lived shoot out (no casuslties) the staties (state troopers) surrounded them and explained over a megaphone that AK does indeed have laws now and legal processes to claim a gold digging venture..and...their "process" was definitely not legal.

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## hick



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## hick

Brewed a cup of coffee atop a glacier, we did  :Smile:

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## hick

Group of 5 glampers came along behind us.

Not sure if they were sneering at the fact we'd scrambled off the trail up there or that I was armed.  Either way, when 2 teenage grizzlies came ambling down the slope (about 500 yards upwind of us), they quickly moved to put us between them and the big, mean bars.  :Razz:

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## tomcat

...exciting commentary, exemplary photography...I'd never set foot there...

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## hick

C'mon Tom   There's tiered accommodation at every stop.  :Smile: 

You take the lodge, Wow's in a "cute" cabin and I'll sleep in the ditch  :Razz:

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## cyrille

That's a nice shot, hick.

Possibly reminds tc of an air-conditioned mall.

Those ones that need rotating by 90 degrees though...

There have been a few.

You know about 'landscape', right?

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## hick

> You know about 'landscape', right?


The term is vaguely familiar but I'm completely fucked for malls.
 Air conditioning,...I can clean and change filters.

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## Switch

Thanks Hick, for a little sanity in this world of madness.

Photography is noticably improved. You must have had some mash.  :Wink:

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## Neverna

There's so much awesomeness on show here but I'm sure there is much much more there. Great thread.

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## tomcat

> but I'm sure there is much much more there


...you suspect there's a there there then...

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## Neverna

It's the time space warp continuim conundrum, tc. It's here, there and everywhere. For sure there's a there there. It's likely there are hundreds or thousands there. One just has to look and and one will see.

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## hick

I just got back from the there and it really felt like here at the time, but alas   It's there again.

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## hick

> Thanks Hick, for a little sanity in this world of madness.
> 
> Photography is noticably improved. You must have had some mash.


It's my pleasure.  I do think I've deceloped a slight hand w/ the camera.  The mozzies sometimes rush you along.

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## hick

> There's so much awesomeness on show here but I'm sure there is much much more there. Great thread.


Cheers Nev.  one thing (again) is the people.  Real easy folks round these parts  :Wink: 

Gonna rent from this guy I met in July for brother & nephew:
https://www.vrbo.com/686689

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## hick



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## hick

"This abandoned copper mining camp is a National Historic Landmark District. Established in 1903, Kennecott Mining Corporation operated 5 mines in the area. Kennecott became a bustling mining camp filled with miners and their families. In 1925, a geologist predicted that the area would soon be mined out. By 1938, Kennecott was a ghost town. Today, Kennecott is a popular tourist attraction and the National Park Service is currently stabilizing and rehabilitating many of the mill and town buildings."

I

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## hick

Glacier's (centered) hiding in the mist but check out the industrial-looking earthy deposits it leaves in its wake.

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## hick



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## hick

For snubs, sideways   :Razz:

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## hick

Approaching Palmer from Glenallen.
Passing Chickaloon & the infamous Eureka Roadhouse.

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## bsnub

> For snubs, sideways


Aw gee thanks.  :Smile: 

Love the pics even if i do leave with a neck ache.

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## tomcat

...Were those salmon catchers in the river pic above? Life Below Zero left an impression...

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## hick

Yes

that was on public land/river right before Wrangell-Saint Elias park/preserve begins.  Locals have lax regulations (at times) to harvest.

The guy I rented ftom said, "that show ruined this town!"

He was talking about selling his lots, getting one of these jeep campers and hitting the road.

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## hick

> ...Were those salmon catchers in the river pic above?


Salmon catchers to the left, 2 sunken RVs in the center.   :Wink:

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## tomcat

> 2 sunken RVs in the center.


...river ice blockage suddenly dissolves, flooding the area: Life Below Zero...

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## hick

Mmmmmmmm...



...............Gotchya!

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## hick



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## hick

Hey buddy!  Back the f^&k off!!





Hey Hey!!

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## OhOh

> check out the industrial-looking earthy deposits it leaves in its wake


Presumably the glacier is shrinking, yes? One would have thought the deposits would be rich in all sorts of minerals, does anyone work the deposits?

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## hick

All glaciers around the world are receding rapidly    been proven

https://www.ted.com/talks/james_balo...e_loss/up-next

I dunno  didn't get the skinny on the minerals yet

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## hick

Just rolled outta' the bush after 2 weeks w/o electronics, hence no new AK pics - twere' plenty of bears tho. 

 Too beat for captions.

Will check back for your interpretations, perceptions (and <of course> any and all ASSumptions are welcome  :Razz:  before I make camp on the drone thread.

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## tomcat

...you and that rifle=tres butch...

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## uncle junior

Nescafe Decaf......just sayin

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## Neverna

What's that cigar shaped thing poking out of your middle, hick?

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## bsnub

Dildo.  :Smile:

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## Neverna

Whatever it is, I'm surprised it got past tc's eagle eyes.

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## hick

Gotta stop putting starch on that Carhartt  <blush>

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## hick



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## bsnub

Lets break this down shall we?  :Smile: 



Mostly all healthy and organic. Looking good....

Fucking Banquet Mega bowls? Oh my that one frozen dinner undoes all the rest of that healthy shit in fridge.  :Smile:  Watch this review...

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## tomcat

> Whatever it is, I'm surprised it got past tc's eagle eyes.


...discretion is the better part of hysterical speculation...

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## Neverna

> ...discretion is the better part of hysterical speculation...


Glad to know your eyes are still OK. 











* More pure speculation, of course.

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## hick

> Watch this review...


Don't need to bud.  Wouldn't catch me dead eating that garbage, but,...many still do and it's rude to not have options for guests  :Wink:

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## bsnub

> many still do and it's rude to not have options for guests


Riiight!  :Smile:

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## hick

.Meh.

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## bsnub

^ Admit it...guilty pleasure?

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## SKkin

> Whatever it is,


The end of one of the jacket sleeves tied around his waist.


What's up with all the inventory pics jimbo?   ::chitown::

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## hick

^^  I don't....really care what you think.  I'm 75% raw.

Eso, just,...no new pics to share.   :Razz:    Reaching a little.

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## David48atTD

> 


Couple of questions ...

Far left ... is that white cylinder the Hot Water System?

Why is it strapped in the manner it is?

David Jumbo   :Smile: 

Where is the first aid kit?


BTW, if I haven't said it before ... great thread.

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## SKkin

> David Jumbo


Sunflower seeds...








> Why is it strapped in the manner it is?


I'm gonna take a wild stab and guess that it's in an earthquake prone area. Or...that's building code in that area.  Yes that's a hot water heater.

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## hick

Yes and yes

corner of 1st aid kit is showing just right of top drawer

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## bsnub

I have the same Kelty tarp that I use with my hammock setup. It realy is invaluable. Love it.

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