On September 10, 2019, my wife, my at-the-time 3 year old and 16 month old, my dog and I hopped in our car and made the hour long drive to Raven Rock State Park.
Raven Rock
That day marked the beginning of our journey to visit all 41 state parks in North Carolina within 365 days through the NC State Park Passport Program. Besides the experiences and bragging rights of visiting the parks, the state also sends you prizes for every 10 parks visited. The more parks you visit, the better the prizes get.
What did I learn hiking while 41 parks with my family over the course of a year?
1. Hiking with small kids is lots of fun, but your expectations need to be tempered.
Nearly all the parks were enjoyable despite rain, heat, bugs, or ‘Rona rules. The kids loved hiking, seeing sites, and discovering animals. But, I had to temper my expectations. Sometimes our pace was agonizingly slow. Half the fun was NOT in the journey. Car seats are not comfortable and many, many a car ride included crying on the way there, on the way back, or both. While the kids didn’t mind the rain; I did. The ‘Rona panic did take away from some of our enjoyment.
Bear walking does not make for a leisurely pace.
2. Toddlers love water.
My kids love water puddles, rivers, waterfalls – especially waterfalls. Several months after our visit, my oldest is still talking about our trip to South Mountains SP where we hiked along a creek and rock scrambled up to a large waterfall.
High Shoals Falls in South Mountains a day or so after a big rain.
If you haven’t noticed, there is now a dire shortage of sticks and rocks in our waterways? Yes! My kids are diligently doing their best to resolve this pressing issue. At the Eno River, we had to set a timer on my phone for when my oldest could pick a stick and throw it into the river because we couldn’t walk more than 3 steps without him having to stop to grab a stick and toss it in.
At South Mountains, I let my dog go in the creek. Since we were stopped, my oldest took the opportunity to throw a rock in (not at the dog) and my dog pounced on the splash. Well, that was just hilarious, and both kids began tossing rocks in and the dog was pouncing everywhere. I got to enjoy the greatest sound God created, toddlers laughing.
“I am rolling on the floor laughing, Dada”
3. SLD, our NC State park service, is making nice improvements to the system.
Several parks are expanding and repurposing parts of the park to attract and increase the enjoyment for a variety of interests. Mostly this is manifested by adding mountain biking only trails, but expansions include equestrian only trails and even primitive hike in, hike out camping.
Relatedly, every park had at least one short hiking trail that kids could do easily. Some parks even had a TRACK trail which was a short trail that included interactive points of interest about the park ecosystem along the way.
One of the better TRACK trails. This one is at Medoc Mountain.
4. Overall, the park system is heavily geared towards waterway recreation.
Oh wow another lake. Haven’t seen but 14 others already. (Jones Lake)
5. Even a toddler can recognize majesty.
While hiking ahead with my oldest at Pilot Mountain we came to an outlook at which you could see Pilot Mountain, a monadnock, rising above the plains and Winston-Salem in the background. My super energetic son, stopped to look out and say, “Wow. That’s beautiful,” before promptly running off.
Winston Salem as viewed from next to Pilot Mountain
6. NC is home to a much greater variety of ecosystems than I was aware.
The “backyard” of our tent site at Goose Creek. We saw dolphins just behind our campsite in the Pamlico Sound on check out day. The kids still talk about that!
This was a great way to experience the state from end to end, and one that my family will do again. Not only are there several parks that I would like to return to to hike longer trails with bigger payoffs, but there are several I would like to return to bike or kayak. It was interesting to see the different parts of the state. Truly, I saw some beautiful sites, and learned some interesting tidbits about NC’s microecosystems and history.
Mount Jefferson. Yes, the the park is land that, that Jefferson owned.
Dismal Swamp
7. S’mores are a totally acceptable breakfast food.
Shhh, don’t tell Michelle Obama
Our journey ended on a literal high point, Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi at 6,684 ft. This pic is from the parking lot though.
Here are my first entries for adding songs to my posts.
A favorite for my wife and me especially on road trips
This is the one you expected for a post about North Carolina
Awesome experience TT! Boys and sticks and puddles and mud. It just is.
Even just walking through a parking lot, my boys would make a beeline for a puddle and start stomping in it. Must be something deep in the DNA.
MCAS Futenma in Okinawa.
Every morning after a rain the other guys in our detachment who were headed out to midfield to work on the ATC equipment would chase each other over the taxiway and apron to try stomping in the little puddles that formed in the places where they had sunk a tie down bolt into the concrete.
So it never ends.
I bet the coots in retirement homes chase each other around after a rain trying to splash puddles with their walkers.
Huh….you guys actually operated the airfield back then? Station radar did that in our day. Out stuff was just on the comm pad and we’d just do PMs on it all the time. Only time we ever operated for real, other than on deployment, was when Kadena was doing renovations and their station radar was down for a week or so, and we were set up over there.
I did a section of the Appalachian trail around Mt. Mitchell. Beautiful country but an anti-climatic mountain as you can drive right up it. It doesn’t feel anywhere near as high as the Presidential Range in New Hampshire although it is slightly higher.
Mt washington is a league all its own. before kids my wife and I tried to climb it and we got just above the tree line before we turned around to protect our dog’s paws from the lichen. But we were utterly spent. Yet a year prior we climbed Mount Baldy (10064ft) which is a 4000 foot gain with no training and while tiring it wasn’t nearly as bad as Mt Washington
I’ve done it from three different directions – it’s always a bitch of a hike.
Mt. Washington was the first mountain I climbed. And climbed it about a dozen times after that. My Ma had the best t-shirt: a guy crawling up the rock pile, with the summit buildings in the far distance, saying “almost there”. If you only got to tree line, you didn’t get to experience the horrors of the rock pile that comprises the summit cone.
Lafayette is also a bitch. If you are climbing from the Franconia Notch side, you keep seeing what looks like a peak above you for the first couple of hours. When you get up to it, the real mountain becomes visible. I always wonder how many people say “oh fuck no!” and turn around at that point.
Never did Lafayette – I think all the backpacking I did in NH was around the Presidentials. We did Crawford Path, Ammonoosuc Ravine, Tuckerman Ravine, Lions Head, and Boott Spur. We came down on Randolph Path once – there was a beautiful shelter there (The Perch) with a great view.
Most times we just came up from Pinkham and stayed at Hermit Lake before the summit push. We only did it as a day hike once. Would not recommend.
We always topped off our trips with a visit to some falls on the Ellis River, across the road from the Pinkham Notch Visitors’ Center. There was graffiti carved into the rocks from the 1800s.
Bah on eastern states “mountains”. Even the choss pile easy 14’ers in Colorado give you much more mountain for your sweat. Katadin and Washington are decent enough hikes, and both have some true ice climbs on their flanks in the winter that deserve respect.
Until you are sucking in air that is missing the oxygen content; having to keep your water bottles in the sleeping bag with you all night, and under your clothes next to your skin all day; noticing that the clear sky has a distinct darker tint; and the wind is turning your ropes into knots- hen you know you are climbing a mountain.
That being said. Any time outdoors is bonus time in your life. Just keep in mind the phrase, “The outdoors doesn’t have to be fun, but overall the time is enjoyable.”
I have no desire to be a climber. I backpack and hike. Very different disciplines.
I’m no geologist, but that’s a big fucking rock.
Agreed.
And it seems to be really hard and tough. I didn’t note much if any pieces fragmenting off of it on the surrounding area. Just one huge monolith sitting on the ground.
Well, you are certainly no biologist because rocks are not made by fucking.
Are you saying they’re asexual? Or just aromantic?
You don’t strike me as an expert on lithogenders.
Well, you are certainly no doctor because if it fell on you would be fucked.
. I got to enjoy the greatest sound God created, toddlers laughing.
Yes!
This is a really cool “project” y’all undertook. Any thoughts on the logistics of getting a pair of little ones outdoors successfully? Are there any trips you regretted doing because of distance or lack of interesting things to do?
This sort of thing is right in my wheelhouse, so I’m quite interested in any thought you have on criteria for good types of places to visit.
From my experience hiking with little ones:
Don’t bother with a stroller of any sort; either have some sort of back carrier if the terrain is too rough or make them walk and accept you won’t cover the same distance in the same amount of time.
Pack a change of clothes on the hike for them, just in case.
Camelback type water carriers are *tons* easier for dispensing water than bottles or canteens, and they make kid sized ones.
Bring plenty of snacks to use as encouragement/rewards for making distance.
Until mine were each over five years old, we kept any hikes to under five miles, and they were generally troopers who had a great time up until the last half mile back to the car (of course).
Good advice! Thanks! The back carrier was a godsend back when trashspawn #1 was younger. I’m a bit of a hard ass, so I probably won’t carry her anymore, but trashspawn #2 will be old enough to be getting out in nature by next spring.
I’ve found that once they become teenagers, 5 miles becomes the limit again.
Teenager Range Extender
I need to order one.
Can confirm
The lower limit?
(as a teen, I was routinely taking 5-day backpacking trips all over New England and a couple trips to the Tetons, though I think I may have been 20 by then. But I did get a 16-and-under ticket on the Teton Village tram)
I think part of it is generational. I used to do a lot of backpacking when I was a Boy Scout. It was the best part of Scouts. Way better than the kiddie diddling. Kids today literally die if they don’t have signal on their mobiles. And they absolutely refuse to wear onions on their belts.
If the kid is not funding their own phone, take it away.
even then, take it away. ?
Yeah, we didn’t have cell phones, cable, internet, or home video games when I was a teen.
The real issue is once they become teenagers, they don’t want to spend as much time with you as it takes to go five miles.
“Bring plenty of snacks to use as encouragement/rewards for making distance.”
Snickers on a fishing pole?
For most of this challenge the youngest could not tolerate longer than a 2 hr one way drive. The drives were really the sticking point. Parks that were nearby we consolidated with camping or airbnbs.
The eldest could do up to 2 mile hikes. We knew that stuff going in. Having the TRACKS trail helped (which were 1 mile loops or less).
No shame in turning around or not seeing the showcase of the park.
Always have snacks
If you have basic wildlife knowledge you can entertain the kids with pointing out flora/fauna
Are there any types of park that you’d travel further for and some that you wouldn’t bother even driving a half hour for?
We were spoiled in VA (Manassas battlefield 5 min away, AT trailhead 45 min away), so I’m having to relearn how to do the cost/benefit analysis here in TX.
My kids liked waterfalls and places with a view the best. The lakes were kind of weather dependent. We had a couple of spots we had to do in 90 degree weather with high humidity. The kids pretty much asked when we could go home soon after arrival. Which I felt the same way, but we had to do the visits
Now that the challenge is over for us. We have parks that we would go back to. Some to hike again, some to bike, some to paddle, and some to RV/camp. There are definitely some we wouldn’t go back to.
I would add start hiking or camping nearby so you can learn your kids limits and pace. That will better prepare you for journeys that are further away and help you set your own expectations.
NC offers an app with GPS maps of the parks, so you can see your location in real time. So a map can be really helpful
“If you have basic wildlife knowledge you can entertain the kids with pointing out flora/fauna”
Or you could just make shit up. It’s not like they’ll know better.
It’s never too early to teach them about Steve Smith.
You’re a good parent for doing that.
Very nice. We’ve got some easy bike paths through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which has feeders into it through the Cleveland Metroparks and the Towpath trail (which runs through the park).
Our next endeavor is to go to all the NPs by the time the oldest turns 18, so lots of time. But I envision going to Cuyahoga within 2-3 yrs.
Even American Samoa?
?i forgot about that one. Still we have 14 yrs so maybe
Depending on your timeframe, there’s a scenic railroad that runs through the CVNP. It gets rethemed for a couple of weeks around Christmas every year as the Polar Express. If you want to do the cycling, there’s a bike shop in Peninsula (a city the park goes through) that offers bike and kid trailer rentals.
Nice. Biking would definitely be a way we would enjoy seeing the park
The trail is crushed limestone for the most part, and runs from Cleveland down to past Akron (~35 miles for the full path, which then joins up to go all the way down to Cincinnati mostly on trails). Since it’s an old towpath, it’s a very mild grade alongside the canal and the river.
The train also will carry bikes, so you can also plan a one way ride, and train ride back.
I will shit on Cuyahoga here, I visited earlier this year and was unimpressed. I don’t see why it is a national park at all.
Congressional buy off. There was a concerted effort under the Clinton administration to get at least one National Park per state, they would work with Congress as your usual buy offs of legislation.
It was unfair that California had Yosemite and Delaware had nothing.
I really wanted some of my nieces/nephews to come along on my trip to Honey Harvest, but Rona Panic! made that an impossibility. Seeing those kids smile is always enough to keep me motivated, and they aren’t even mine!
My parents lived in WNC for years. We were partial to Dupont State Forest.
Looks like fun travels!!
So what kind of prizes did you get?
10 parks was a pen
20 parks was hiking socks via a voucher to the affiliated outdoor store (ended up being $92 worth of socks)
Still waiting on the remaining prizes due to rona staff reductions
30 parks is binoculars and gift cards
40 parks is picnic basket and outdoor store gift cards
41 is a one year park pass, so free use of day use area fees and boat rentals
We used 4 passports one for each family member, so the prizes were times 4 except I told them not to send a bunch of bulky picnic baskets. The grand total for gift cards is $125
Better than Nevada’s prize…we get an annual pass for free when you visit 15 parks (which is almost all of them in the State)
“My kids love water puddles, rivers, waterfalls – especially waterfalls.”
Because waterfalls are awesome.
Unless you’re Big Ed Delahanty 😉
(that’s your cue robc! 😀 )
Nice. As fall comes around, i want to make sure we get the kids out into nature.
Great article and pictures. I need to get the family back out hiking again.
Back before I left the nest, my family would take vacations to Florida. We’d mostly do the tourist stuff, but one year I wrote to a bunch of state parks to find out how accessible they were. I got a lot of great responses, with brochures and hand written notes. So that year Dad and I spent a few days checking them out, and we had a great time. They were mostly empty. I was also surprised by the different ecosystems in Florida. Sometimes there were 3 or 4 different ones in the same park.
Now I want to go do that again.
I hated the humidity in florida, but I loved seeing the little green lizards around the trail back to the parking lot in Florida Caverns (the cave was a dissappointment though). Mostly because we don’t see that type of critter too much up here.
Well, you were close to Tallahassee, so it was natural that you’d see anole.
People always seems surprised that Florida is more than just beaches and theme parks (though you had arguably one of the best beaches in the world about forty-five minutes away from the rink where you played a couple years ago).
My faves (no links ’cause you know how to google):
Wakulla Springs – splashing around, lounging in the WPA lodge
Crystal River – swimming with the manatees
Ravine Gardens
Paynes Prairie – wildlife viewing, including bison
Myakka – excellent birding in the winter
FL has 175 parks, preserves, and historic sites to choose from. Happy to give advice.
This sounds terrific. I love hiking.
When our kids were smaller we would go on an end of the year camping trip with some other families. One of the highlights was to hike up to the falls at Tettegouche State Park on the North Shore. We’d spend most of the day swimming in the pool below the falls and catching crayfish with the aquarium nets we brought with us.
You are totally correct that small kids can spend hours on stuff like that. As the kids got older, they wanted to spend less and less time catching the crayfish.
Now the kids from all the families have grown up and moved out so we’ve stopped going on that camping trip. We should statrt going again.
It will be interesting to see what the details of this are. They say that there was an “undercover agent” involved, my first guess is that he/she was overwhelmingly “involved”
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/6-people-charged-in-plot-to-kidnap-michigan-gov-whitmer/ar-BB19PtrY?ocid=msedgntp
God, now I’m kinda sorry for throwing that in what looks like it was an otherwise peaceful and optimistic comment thread.
Only a downer because the kidnap plot didn’t succeed.
/jk. Sorta.
It would be more of a dogknap, if you take my meaning.
Don’t insult dogs.
It’s because she’s a bitch…
///that’sthejoke
I feels ya. I kinda like the proposal recently that there be a post a day which is politics-free. Maybe TPTB could flag which one it is?
I expect this crew could do a good-enough job of self-policing such a thing.
Having said that:
i’m curious, what acts of (political) violence have they actually committed?
I’d also be curious to know how many times a U.S. Attorney has referred to antifa as “violent extremists”.
Extremists plan to feed Federal Judge through woodchiper.
Hey RC, I received the Trijicon in working order. Thanks.
Excellent. I hope you like as much as I like the one on the Shotgun of Doom.
Already ordered a plate for my Shield 9 and my Mini-14 to test both.
But what I really want is this in the compact. https://www.langdontactical.com/92-elite-ltt-with-rdo-slide/
Suh-weet. Aside from the dot size (I just think the 9 MOA is too small for my taste on a handgun), the issue with mounting on automatics is how high they sit. Of course, there’s tremendous variation. I’ll be interested to see the ergonomics when I put an RMR on my Para. I have a bad feeling I will be looking for some kind of custom/replacement slide to lower it.
I see they are doing a Beretta 1301, but can’t get the Aridus parts for it, either.
I like that proposal! I need to not engage in political anything for a while.
On FB, the second anyone in my feed mentions politics, they’re snoozed.
Noon slot is usually a non-political article and it has crossover between the morning and evening crowd.
Maybe start with a couple days per week to see if it catches on? (TTh, for example)
Generally speaking, people respect a 30 minute window after a new post before going off topic.
You waited an hour, so good work.
I don’t think scheduling a politic-free day is feasible given the new cycle is event-driven, not schedule-driven.
Most of those events don’t actually need to interrupt the schedule.
I dont think a politics free day is feasible, but I do think that a request of “keep it going in the morning links” could possibly work for the mid-day article. Wednesdays would obviously be exempted.
My article got 450 comments last night!! Of course, 425 of them were about the debate….
I’ve looked at the comment counts on a lot of my articles, and the single biggest differentiator is whether there’s some current event that takes the air out of the room. You can get a ton of comments on those articles.
On a tangent, I’m highly motivated to churn out more articles because I’m at 93 and want to get to 100 by the end of the year.
I’d rather have a smaller number of on-topic comments than a tsunami of unrelated remarks.
It also matters if the subject is something that everyone has an opinion on. When I review whisk(e)y I get more comments than when I write about SCIENCE!
I was extremely happy with the engagement got on my latest article, of course, it was about the presidential election, so i kind of cheated.
I’d rather have a smaller number of on-topic comments than a tsunami of unrelated remarks.
To me, it depends. Most of what I write these days is relatively low effort. As long as somebody wants to engage, I’m happy.
If I put hours and hours into researching and crafting an article and it fell flat because of some outrage of the day, I’d be a bit irked. For the little 20 minute articles, I’m happy with limited engagement.
I got over 500 on Presidential Debate night. 😉
Cue another tsunami of stories about the terrifying rise of militias, white supremacists, etc.
Exactly what I thought. Your newsletter, I can haz it?
These right-wing militants are a terribly fainthearted bunch, given how little pushback against actual violent extremism there’s been. I might feel better about the state of things if there really were organized efforts to stem the arson and looting and rioting, rather than police standing by to arrest anyone who defends himself.
CNN – The arrests are likely to draw additional attention to the political tensions roiling the nation in the closing weeks of the 2020 election season, and underline warnings from law enforcement officials, members of Congress and groups that track extremism about the increasing threat of militia and far-right groups
One of the guys they arrested (Brandon Caserta) – spot the problem, it won’t take long unless you are a “journalist”.
The gauged earlobes?
When you’re right, you’re right.
He can’t aim a camera for shit? Either the top or the bottom of his face is cut off.
I can’t believe trump has been lying to us this whole time. It really has been Right Wingers doing all this violence!!
The problem kind of takes the whole frame up.
Besides which, everybody knows anarchists and right-wing militias are the same thing.
Must be why Hollywood raised so much money to bail out the right-wing rioters.
How would be willing to pay money to get her back?
HowWhoIt’s not that, they’d threaten to return her if not paid.
“FBI thwarts FBI terror attack.”
I feel bad we never did that with our kids, but our house was sucking the life and cash out of us.
If you omit the “bring the kids back with you” step taking the kids camping can help with the cash issue.
It may be shocking, but some people actually want to keep their kids.
You are not wrong. In this case, kids may not be cheap, but they haven’t been nearly as expensive as the house. I need a guy…
Ummm…. I thought you HAD a guy…?
I have A Guy for HVAC.
I have A Guy for our cars.
I have A Guy for odd jobs.
I do NOT have A Guy for, well, something different.
You know. A Guy. “Oh you need something done? I have a guy…”
Isn’t that the odd jobs guy?
I don’t have a guy, because most of the guys I’ve had to work for me were less than competent.
*glares at wife’s old car guy who replaced the entire intake system on her car for thousands of dollars when the issue was a well known manufacturing flaw in a $15 part*
My odd jobs Guy has not branched out to
arsonmajor demolition.I have some cousins in Jersey who may be able to help with that. ?
When you’re ready, put up a big TRUMP sign, and then when the house burns down you can blame it on antifa.
What an absolutely fantastic post, TnT!
You are doing it right, dude. Getting those kids out and into the world early. When mine were that age we would do a Sunday “nature walk” at a large preserve near here. As you say, measuring progress is the wrong metric. My kids have since traveled all over the place and still remember playing Poo Sticks on a bridge there. Great memories.
Awesome write up and great pics!
Thanks. The cranky car rides were worth it. The kids truly loved this challenge and are ready for more
You are creating addicts. My two have fall break coming up (they go to the same college). Daughter is off to Utah (hiking and girl-time) and my son is headed to Wyoming for some hiking and fishing with the boys. Their love of travel and the outdoors makes me really happy.
Every time we heard the words “family outing” we would get soooooo fricken excited. Probably because we lived in VT.
Great Post, sorry to go OT
https://twitter.com/kronayne/status/1314248829605093377
This didn’t happen or college students are dumber than i thought.
I’m going with “Both”.
My kids spent their youth working in the sprocket factory. No parks for them.
Oh, while you were at Raven Rock, did you remember to talk to President Eden?
Speaking of the great outdoors – how much does the NYTimes hate the internet?
For those of you who are getting into hiking, I highly recommend AllTrails. It’s really easy to use and has a shit-ton of information.
Also, Peakfinder is a tremendous app. Just don’t forget to download the area before you get out of cell range!
Hiking is the bomb. You should do it. A lot.
Oh! My wife thanks you for those resources. My legs however, do not. I need to get back out and hiking with the spouse.
Yes – I found this trail only moles from my house a few weeks ago.
miles – I think I need a new keyboard or new fingers.
“You should do it. A lot.”
I did, but now I am way past my prime.
*stifled profanity*
My neighbors are throwing their trash in my can again.
Have you thought about Taking it and putting it on their porch?
A: I don’t know which one it is B: Most of the neighbors are apartment buildings, so even if I knew the building, finding their door would be an issue.
Random retaliation will strike fear into your neighbors hearts.
Install a camera
You need one of those exploding dye pack thingies rigged to the lid.
Or a honey badger inside.
I’d rather just get a drill and a couple of cable locks.
Does anyone make drills in the US anymore?
Depends on your definition of “make”
I don’t understand the question. Are you saying you want a US-made drill? And asking where you can get one?
Or are you saying you don’t have a drill and you have no idea how to get one?
I want products not made in china, and preferrably made in the us.
I’m asking if anyone know of a company that manufactures them here and where they are sold.
Dewalt (Lowes) has some US assembled drills. I assume most of the “foreign sourced parts” are Chinese.
linky
No matter what I do, that page doesn’t load. So I guess they don’t make anything here.
DeWalt claims they are all made in the U.S.
I am without brand loyalty at this point since the only Craftsman tools I have that are dependable are 50 years old.
My Milwaukee Sawzall is a trouper.
If you get a drill, get a corded one. My husband and son have gone through innumerable cordless drills and I’m still with my high-torque, high-powered 50-year-old Craftsman one that can (and has) powered a lawnmower up a hill (long explanation, just take my word for it).
I am without brand loyalty at this point since the only Craftsman tools I have that are dependable are 50 years old.
Yes! I just had a 3 year old Kobalt ratchet strip out. Do you think I’m gonna get anything but a “sorry bout that” from them? OTOH, I just broke a 30 year old Craftsman screwdriver, and I’m sure the experience will be different.
Lowes took over Craftsman. The last time I was there, the kid assured me that the lifetime guarantee still holds.
I said, “As if that means anything.”
He snorted sadly. “Yeah, I know.”
So take it to Lowes.
I have three cordless DeWalt drills. They are awesome.
When my house was being built, the contractors all used DeWalt or Milwaukee. If I needed tools professionally, I would probably go with the Milwaukee. The DeWalts do everything that I need to do for my home projects.
My Pa has a full tool chest full of the old Craftsman tools. I told him those should be itemized in the will (HINT)
No way. For the average user, a cordless set will last a long, long time. The new stuff is great. Brushless motors, lots of power.
I have both, but almost never use my Milwaukee Holeshooter (greatest name ever).
I just can’t believe a cordless can match mine for power or torque.
Some of the cordless stuff can exceed the torque of a corded version, just not for as long.
Cordless is great for drills, shit for vacuums.
A cordless drill doesn’t need to match the power and torque of a corded drill. It just needs to do the job it was intended to do.
I have several corded drill as well.
My favorite is a Habor Freight piece of shit that I use only for milling grain for brewing beer. It provides enormous torque at very low RPMs. It gets used a dozen times a year and will last for a decade.
It is most commonly used for stirring paint or cement.
I have a couple of Harbor Freight tools I haven’t be pissed at. I want some of their storage cabinets for my crafts and things, but I can’t see paying that much to store watercolors and calligraphy pens.
Skip the Dewalts.
The big 4 for reliability are Milwaukee, Makita, Metabo, and Bosch.
They all have consumer and pro models. Go for pro models.
As Tundra alludes to below, Festool makes great stuff but get ready to bend over.
I had a Makita cordless drill. It was shit.
I have a couple of Bosch sanders. They are great.
There’s another quality brand out there that most people aren’t aware of, Fein.
Built like tanks, priced accordingly.
Depends on the model. Like I said, they all have consumer grade models that are crap.
I have almost all dewalt cordless tools. Never had a problem
with any of them. They have more torque than my wrist
and arm does, so I don’t see any need for the corded models.
I also have three dewalt routers, which have been great,
and a cordless dewalt string trimmer, which is also great.
I bought a dewalt inflator as well, which I’ve only used
once, but it seems good enough.
So, as you might imagine, I’d recommend the dewalt route,
and the cordless ones are vastly more convenient than the
corded ones.
There are plenty of (expensive) German and Japanese made drills you can buy if you don’t want Chinese made it that’s your concern. The more expensive models of the traditionally US brands are sometimes US made but it’s hard to figure out exactly which ones.
These guys for instance but be careful, they have an expensive German manufacture line and a cheap Chinese line:
https://www.metabo.com/us/enus/
I’m a Festool fan, myself.
The German tools are nice but pricey.
Could be false advertising, but: https://www.milwaukeetool.com/
Their manuals are printed in china, so I have to assume that more if not all of the product is made there as well.
Even the tools not assembled in China will use Chinese-manufactured components.
Hornets. Lots of hornets of the murder variety
Do you people realize that I need a solution where I can still use the can myself?
Some sacrifices must be made.
But if I cut out your heart on the steps of one of the apartment buildings, I’d have to answer awkward questions from police.
deactivating tripwires is a completely normal part of booby-trapping something.
You would have a beekeeper suit, of course.
So… we’re just going to pop an H on this box so we know it’s full of hornets.
Maybe you should talk to some of my FB friends, who are going to elaborate lengths to prevent people from stealing their Biden signs.
I don’t get the sign stealing.
However there are a pair of houses in my neighborhood, next door to each other. One is decked out with MAGA/Trump 2020 stuff. The other with Biden/Harris and anti-trump stuff.
I’m sure the relationship is just peachy.
We have some up along the side of a road next to the woods. I usually grab a few the day after the election. The make handy target stands with those sticker bullseye targets.
Why would anyone want a Biden sign?
Kindling? This is prime firebowl/firepit season.
Most political signs are corrugated plastic.
Because they want their neighbors/people passing by/ etc… to know they support Biden. Seems pretty obvious to me.
They will never stop.
“Tomorrow, by the way, tomorrow, come here tomorrow,” Pelosi said. “We’re going to be talking about the 25th Amendment.”
Pelosi had earlier questioned the status of Trump’s health, as well as exactly how long he has had COVID-19.
“I think that the public needs to know the health condition of the President,” Pelosi said. “There’s one question that he refused to answer … when was his last negative test?” Pelosi said that this information is necessary in order to “make a judgment about the actions that were taken after that.”
“Let us see a date, a time when you last tested negative,” she added.
I’d say they are going to by hypocrites when GOP calls for the same with the next Dem president, but i imagine they will actually be pushing for a 25th amendment removal of the president.
Polls notwithstanding, these do not sound like the words of somebody who thinks the election is a slam-dunk for her side.
How does Pelosi think the 25th Amendment works? Nothing she or one House of the Congress says or does has any weight under that law.
Speaking of made in the US hardware,
first thought: “Ooh! Shiny!”
second thought: “I don’t want to have to maintain that”
third thought: “basic usage might keep them polished, or at least cause interesting tarnish patterns”
fourth though: “I wonder if those grip as well as G10?”
fifth thought: “If they do, will they make my hands bleed?”
sixth thought: “I am not paying that much.”
seventh thought “I wonder how much more it would cost to have the glibs logo cut into those?”
I’ve been looking for faux black opal scales for my piece.
I believe Pachmayr makes some.
Also, amazon has a large supply of grips in varying levels of gaudy and poor taste.
If I ever wind up with a chromed 1911 in .38 super, I am totally putting these on it.
Nice! You’re not also mexican sharpshooter, are you?
These look good…my dad can cut them on his machine thingamajig. I need to get a different piece, though – my grips are not removable. I’ll only do it when I reach some kind of milestone, though. Like, 50 visits to the range or something.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AuroraOpals?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=862909759&search_query=thin
I am neither a sharpshooter nor Mexican, though apparently I look like Capulina
You could potentially mill out the grips on yours and inlay those.
first thought: search for brass… ok
second thought: what am I looking at?
third thought: are these like greaves for leg armor? Shouldn’t they be curved?
fourth thought: brass wings? I mean, it’s a glibs link, so sure, that’s certainly possible.
fifth thought: chest armor maybe? I’m not sure the designer knows where nipples are though.
sixth thought: wtf is a lok-grip?
I did eventually figure it out.
We used to do a lot of camping and hiking in Shenandoah when I was a kid. I’d like to do more but my fat out-of-shape ass can’t hack it. My son loves it and does as much of the outdoors stuff as he can with his Scout troop. Well, until recently, since they’re requiring masks at all times in the fucking outdoors, and he doesn’t want to wear one.
Last time I tried hiking was when we took a cruise 2 years ago (my wife’s thing, not mine, so please don’t inundate me with cruise mockery) that included a stop in Bar Harbor. We spent most of the day in Acadia National Park and it was stunning. The mountain wasn’t that big but the hike still wore me out pretty good.
I need to get in shape so I can go back to Old Rag
Yeah, that’s a tough one. Did it once as a teenager. No way could I handle it now.
I did Old Rag last month. It’s one of my favorite hikes in the world, but my legs hurt for two days…
At the summit, I ran into this little old Chinese lady who said she hiked Old Rag “two or three times a year, at least.” I kinda want to be her when I grow up.
Old Rag is great. Did you do the easier, longer side or the shorter, technical side?
I went up the shorter technical side, and down the easy side. Next time I’ll do it in reverse.
The back side where the fire road is is gruelling to go up. Way longer and steeper in parts (near that shelter).
I’m convinced I met the guy who killed Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, on the fire road going down from Old Rag. It was a….weird encounter.
Well, glad you’re still with us then!
Jeez! Yeah, I hate to say it, but you run into some characters out on the trails…
Huh… I don’t remember seeing you then
erm. I mean…
Ooof. I guess i should have looked up the history of the murders before making that joke.
Fighter jets overhead. As close as I live to Andrews, you’d think I’d hear them all the time, but it’s only a couple times per year.
Do the prevailing winds cause them to mostly use one set of runways? IIRC, Andrews’ runways go north-south, so depending on the prevailing winds, and traffic patterns, they might be flying mostly on the opposite side from you.
Yes, the Andrews runways are N-S. They are probably on the same runway config as DCA most days. A little surprising to hear them today, as the winds are out of the north, so they’d be taking off toward College Park, and I live in Alexandria.
TFR of some sort?
I don’t see any other than the usual FRZ, but that doesn’t preclude something that ATC is operating around otherwise.
Well, there are no instrument approaches to ADW that go anywhere near alexandria but the JEFSN1 SID puts departures right over the northern edge of Alexandria (Takeoff, fly heading 010 to 800 MSL, then climbing left turn 3000 to FLMOR intersection)
Their laughter can be really angelic. When my little guy laughs, I can’t help but smile.
I loved my time in NC, Mount Mitchell is a bit of a let down, what with the parking lot being so close to the summit, really takes away from the natural beauty. And of course, the resulting crowds…
Thanks for sharing T&T, I can only imagine the trials of all the car rides…
NC has a pretty dang good State Park system. I lived in NC several times during my earlier career. Stone Mountain was a frequent visit for the climbing but they didn’t permit camping so we’d have to go hide in the woods overnight. I lived for several years in Cary so Umstead SP was a frequent spot for short hikes and trail rides. I hunted deer and turkey in the public hunting lands along the edges Jordan Lake SP.
When I spent a year in Carlisle, PA I started hiking the AT and it just kinda took off. I have now done almost a 1/3 of the trail, twice. Twice because I found it hard to find partners so I would spend 1/2 day to 3 days heading in one direction- then turn around and hike back to the truck.
I like the pictures.