Non-football related stuff that really makes your day

[Marko69]

MM, that was absolutely awesome. The way you wrote and described all that, I was right there with you guys. It was like a Richard Laymon novel without the axe murderer!

If I hit the lottery before the summer, LFIJ....., can we (myself, wife, two sons & partners, daughter & partner, granddaughter, two stepsons) do that drive west with you and Tyler? The entire trip plus beer & ice cream will be on me.

[LionsFanInJapan]

Deal, Marko. If I win the lottery, we'll make a stop in Scotland before returning to Japan.

[Marko69]

You don't need to hit the jackpot to stop in Scotland, LFIJ. ....., it's only 20 quid return on the train Edinburgh - Glasgow. Make sure and get that "return" though......, you and Tyler will fear for your lives overnight in the Weej.

[LionsFanInJapan]

lol, your next post is 5k, Marko. Congratulations. I'm off to bed!

[SeattleLionsFan]

Looking at the map of the USA, the Southwest could be SoCal......, and isn't that the most populated? Or do you mean New Mexico etc?

SoCal is the West Coast Marko. And although the west coast has a lot of people, the east coast is generally the most densely populated part of the country.

The Southwest is really the area to the east of the coast. Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, etc. We went to Moab last year. It was a town of 5,000 that was the biggest city for probably 150 miles in any direction.

[Marko69]

What actually goes on in somewhere like Moab? 150 miles in all directions of nothingness, and these 5K people are there? What's the point of it? These 5K must be a certain type of person.

I keep getting visions of a Kevin Bacon film in the middle of nowhere with weirdo people and killer worms under the ground.

[Tony G]

About 10 years ago, I loaded up a rented trailer with camping equipment, loaded the wife and my 14 and 12 year old sons and headed west.

Our first stop was the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. We were scheduled to stay there for a couple of days but we liked it so much, we stayed a week. From there we headed to Yellowstone National Park.

We stopped for breakfast in Cody WY, just before the parks entrance and upon leaving the restaurant I ran over a huge crater that caused my mini van to bottom out. While waiting for a heard of buffalo to clear the roadway so we could continue though the park, the muffler fell off my mini van. We checked the pamphlets that were given us upon entering the park to find there was a service station about 15 miles from where we were at. This was not only welcomed but, curious to me as the Parks in Michigan are large but no where near as sprawling as Yellowstone is, with no need for a service station to be included within the parks boundaries.

We unhitched the trailer and put the van on the hoist only to learn that they could do nothing about the muffler (I had hoped they could weld it back on temporarily) but that we had a broken spring that could possibly shift and take out our rear tire. They were willing to order a new muffler but it would take 4 days to arrive from Jackson. Jackson was about 65 miles away from where we were so I decided to drive there myself.

Since it was late, we spent the night in the Grand Titons and it is by far the most spectacular place we have ever camped. Upon arrival, they warn you not to leave food about because bears will find it. When starting to set up camp (we were not there even 15 minutes) a young Elk walked through our camping area stopping at the camp site that was right next to ours (about 35 feet away) and stood there looking at us like OK, how long you going to be staying in my back yard.

We had a two day layover in Jackson to repair the vehicle then headed south. My parents were living in Lake Havasu City AZ so that was our next destination. We arrived there and anticipated staying a couple of days that turned into a week and a side trip to the Grand Canyon.

All I can say about the Grand Canyon is that if you ever get within 200 or so miles of it, you have to make an effort to get over there and see it.

Spectacular!

The most memorable camping trip of my life.

Sounds like you had a blast in spite of the difficulties Mark. We did the first 2/3 of your itinerary in 78 with a full size van and a pop-up for the 5 of us on a 3 week trip. The setting up and taking down the trailer got old by the third week.

Did you do the detour to Wall Drug on the way out? We did drive through the badlands on the way to Rushmore. Gorgeous place.

We spent the night in Cody also. They had a rodeo when we were there. The calf roping was one of the first events and one of the cowboys really slammed a calf. This pissed off a busload of schoolkids from NY that was there. They proceeded to root for the animals the rest of the night and it was starting to piss off the locals in attendance.

We did 7 days in Yellowstone and the Tetons. Could have spent 2 more weeks and not seen it all.

Instead of going to AZ we headed southeast and went to rocky mountain national park. We have relatives in Colorado Springs
so we went that way. The drive across Wyoming is incredibly barren with just a lot of nothing except antelope.

We ran into mechanical difficulties outside amarillo (?) when the fuel filter on the van clogged. We broiled in the 105 degree heat while dad pulled the filter by the side of the road (no easy feat in a van) and tried to blow through it so we could limp into town.

Our last camping spot of the trip was in West Memphis Arkansas. We pulled in late at 9 pm and set up in the 90 degree heat and high humidity. This place had no see-um bugs that bit and hurt like hell, They were able to get in the pop-up and the combination of them, the heat, and this "campground" being next to the interstate with the road noise of I-40 finally got my dad to throw in the towel. We left the camper at midnight, went to a motel and came back to get the trailer in the morning. We never used it again and sold it when we got home.

By all means it was our family's trip best trip ever also.

[edindetroit]

Re: Non-football related stuff that really makes your day

What actually goes on in somewhere like Moab?

Most of the time is spent fighting the Israelites.

[Tony G]

What actually goes on in somewhere like Moab? 150 miles in all directions of nothingness, and these 5K people are there? What's the point of it? These 5K must be a certain type of person.

I keep getting visions of a Kevin Bacon film in the middle of nowhere with weirdo people and killer worms under the ground.

Most of the time is spent fighting the Israelites.

[ame]http://youtu.be/cuGrDSP0rj8[/ame]

[Marko69]

FK ME! They use big darts in the pubs in Moab.

[Malto Marko]

Yes, Tony.

We did Wall Drugs (I have a picture of myself sitting next to a wooden squaw sitting on a park bench with my head on her shoulder like I was taking a nap) and the Badlands. We also did Sturgis and the sacred mound (I forget what it's name was) that was considered to be the heart of the Native Americans religions.

I really loved Yellowstone and the Titons but, I was a bit anxious while observing them because I felt like a damn asshole driving my mufflerless car in such a pristine environment.

Witnessing the devastation that a Forrest fire had done two years earlier was a real eye opener. Locals kept saying not to be concerned because that is the nature of the area and it will bounce back within 20 years.

While we were waiting for our car to be fixed in Jackson, we were forced to stay and additional day because the pass road was closed because of a Forrest fire that was raging while we were there. We witnessed helicopters bringing in crews to fight the fire as well as the large tanker planes dusting with retardant chemicals.

We took the opportunity with the extra stay to go white water rafting down the Snake River. Priceless memories!

I kept telling whoever was in the navigator seat that I felt like a hillbilly goin on vacation to see the sights until our muffler got fixed.

[SeattleLionsFan]

What actually goes on in somewhere like Moab? 150 miles in all directions of nothingness, and these 5K people are there? What's the point of it? These 5K must be a certain type of person.

I keep getting visions of a Kevin Bacon film in the middle of nowhere with weirdo people and killer worms under the ground.

I think it's mostly mining and natural gas. And tourism.

Arches and Canyonlands national park are there near Moab. Those are havens for mountain biking and desert hiking. Also nearby there is some cool 4x4 opportunities.

And yeah. There are some interesting characters around there.

[Tony G]

We did the snake river raft trip too. Quite a thrill!

[kayrone]

I am happy to report that I am still alive, and I have my camera back. Michael Christian of Springhill Suites by Marriott is simply a good guy. :-) I left him a thank you note with a 20 spot inside so that I could treat him to lunch for his kindness.

LFIJ, it was Enterprise. And yes, they will be getting a letter. The executive management of Springhill Suites is also going to be getting a letter telling them that their employee is a class act and a fine representative of their organization.

[-Deborah-]

We did Wall Drugs (I have a picture of myself sitting next to a wooden squaw sitting on a park bench with my head on her shoulder like I was taking a nap) and the Badlands. We also did Sturgis and the sacred mound (I forget what it's name was) that was considered to be the heart of the Native Americans religions.

I read this entire paragraph as if you were describing psychedelic drugs you had tried. Try it, it works.

I really loved Yellowstone and the Titons but, I was a bit anxious while observing them because I felt like a damn asshole driving my mufflerless car in such a pristine environment.

This next paragraph helped me remember what the heck you were talking about lol