Back in 1991, I knew a guy who only smoked weed on the weekends that he spent out on the peninsula, in Sequim WA. His parents had a motel there, and he and his wife would put together "party weekends".

A few days after one of those "weekends", Scott was down in Tacoma, working out of a load rack on the "Tideflats". It was about midnight, he was driving the newest truck in the local fleet, and failed to stop at most of the railroad crossings. If you don't know, the Tacoma Tideflats is chuck full of railroad crossings, tall old warehouses...and few lights (at least in the early 90's). Scott was down by the Weyerhaeuser Logyard, running across a set of tracks that ran between to old Weyerhaeuser warehouses. He didn't stop to look or listen, so he didn't see the Union Pacific freight train that was rolling between 2 of those warehouses....with it's lights off. Union Pacific trained that brand new tank-trailer! Bent it around the front of the locomotive.

It turned out that Scott wasn't nearly as good at hiding the weed in his system as he thought he was....and neither was the Union Pacific engineer....who had the same "weekender weed" habits as Scott. This all happened right after UP had a massive accident down alongside I-5 in Kalama WA. Both of them lost their jobs. Both of them almost went to jail. The UP engineer crapped his drawers during the accident.......or so the story went, as told by Scott.


That brand new trailer was hauled back down to Paramount California, where the manufacturer's plant straightened it back out, and is still on the road today. It is being pulled by it's second owner, Associated Petroleum. The last I heard about Scott....he finally got an LTL job....3 years later.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

:clap:

:clap:


Now....that is funny!! :clap:

Matcat is doing something I have thought about doing a number of times, and never did. Not the smoking weed, but just bumming around. Actually, what I had in mind would be much more "on foot". I went through the area west of CO in UT, on I-70, in the area of "The Black Dragon", and thought a number of times about just making my way through it, getting lost in it, and seeing what I could find and what all there is to see. I know there are relics there, scattered few and far between, and I'm sure there are a number of them that civilization has never found.

His purpose is different then mine would have been, but not that far off.

Wish you the best, Mat.

I've wanted to explore the black dragon myself, I might head out that way when I get the chance!

I understand water can be a bit scarce in that area. You might have to be prepared to collect your own supply at night. It also looks like rattlesnake heaven. Easy to catch, but takes a bit of care that you don't become the main course. And, I can't say that waking up to find one of them in my sleeping bag would be a dream come true, either. But, there is enough area there, a guy could spend a lifetime and never see it all. For that matter, you could get really lucky and find gold there too.

I guess this thread is just to much over my head. LOL
I just can't understand why someone would put them self in a situation like this and then.....o nevermind. LOL
I am not gonna say anything else. LOL I will stick to my beliefs and you do te same. :Lets agree to disagree.
Keep the oily side down and drive on...

And then what?

Anyway, my reasoning was hit well on by Golfhobo... but I will expand a bit on my philosophy and reasoning...

First off, this country is dead, it was shot in the head and is in the process of falling to the ground. I personally see no come back, no return of the economy. I personally believe we are in the transition to third world, and I want a jump start on self sufficiency. I have plenty of knowledge, now it is time for me to personally put that knowledge into experience.

Secondly I am a gypsy, I cannot sit in one place for long, and for me long being more then a few months. I cannot live comfortably in a routine, I hate it. I am not happy unless I am on the move.

Thirdly it is a journey to learn about myself. what better way to get to know yourself then to put yourself in a position where you must take action every moment to survive? I can be quite a lazy person, this is one way for me to break myself out of that too. Can't be lazy and survive this way.

Fourth, I have a rather hippie mentality in a lot of ways. I see everyone work their arse off so they can buy all of these things that they need to work even harder to keep paying it off. There is no time for life, life becomes all about work, work hard so you can continue to live to work even harder. I don't believe in that, I believe in working for what you need to live, but not to live just so you can go on working. What good is that boat, that RV, that 4x4, that big ole house, that Lexus, that whatever toy you have if you never have time to enjoy it? In fact I hate materialism, not to say I don't like having money or toys, but to make it a god, to make it so important in our lives, it is a farse to me.

I never got into a truck just to make money, I did it to travel, the true definition of a paid tourist. But I did so with the utmost of professionalism.

Recently something inside of me gave way, I realized something about me, that showed me I needed to get away from the norms of society, and I grew the balls to do it.

I realize most people will not understand it, that you are happy in your normal routine. That is good for you, I can't live like that. The way I am now I feel like I am in true freedom, and I am so happy it is beyond explanation. Now don't get me wrong, there are moment's I have to resort to doing things I don't like, like pan handling, and I hate doing it, but in the name of survival I will, until I find a better solution to be more self sufficient in that area.

Quite honestly I do not think I will be getting into a truck as a driver anytime soon... I want to, but at the same time I don't. Maybe in the course of hitching I will offer to help drive, or even stick with someone for a little bit of time if they offer to pay me for helping them to drive, but that will be the extent of it for now.

One day when I am ready, if this country is still around and there is an economy for it, I will buy a truck, but I don't see that anytime soon.

I got 5 cars, waverunner, 3 atv's, arcade games, house, and all sort of toys and gadgets. 'm never home to play with any of it. Matcat, I see your point. I like to eat and have sheets, so I keep woking, but I agree with your idea of, quoting Fight Club, "things you own, eventually own you".

There may be something to this...I don't know, but maybe it explains why Shania doesn't show up at my door in the middle of the night,
telling me how she's been pining for me while on tour making a million bux a night. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...nd10/shrug.gif

I'm not a rich man, so she has no other choice but to slum it with me.
I hope she finds that appealing. :D

Matcat . . Last I heard, you were working on a new DDL . . is the beta version up for testing? In the meantime, you might consider heading to Fargo/Formorehead . . they're going to need some help with sand bagging.