What are your hobbies/talents/interests?

Michigan_Mike

I've known for a long time that the forum areas are comprised of people who bring a lot of talent/interests and knowledge to the table. I think it would be fun to showcase and discuss some of the above and I do have an ulterior motive in posting this and will let this discussion ebb and flow wherever it goes as I think you all bring many talents and interests to the forum. I also know that we share the love of the great outdoors and these small trailers and this is what brings people here. But by sharing your hobbies, interests and talents we can all learn from one another and believe that it will also benefit and help others too who have similar interests and a desire to learn new things.

So with that said what are your favorite hobbies and interests and which one brings you the greatest pleasure therein?

Dan_Ann

I have a passion for food and nutrition. I always enjoyed trying new foods, testing existing recipes and creating some combinations/ flavor profiles. I tend to lean towards more of a fusion style of cooking mixing different flavors/techniques from different cuisines or just something I feel that will go together well together. I try to make different ideas spontaneous, so not to get in a rut or be predictable. My wife does come up with the interesting (non-traditional ideas) for camping trips which leads to different challenges as far as proper sanitation and preventing cross contamination. With preparing good food, good nutrition is important especially away from home. It is way to easy to get distracted by fast food and processed snacks on the go. Careful preparation of ingredients may yield the much needed energy needed for long hikes, kayaking adventures, or just enjoying walking along a trail. We try to mix in a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, and light foods for carbohydrates, fiber, and phytonutrients as well as more substantial fare for protein and fat for stamina and muscle repair after a long day. Of course, we cannot forget the all important roasting hot dogs over a campfire and Smores...camping would not be the same without that. Anyways, I see food and nutrition as being very personal and playing a significant and essential role for a more healthful lifestyle.

Michigan_Mike

Wow, that's awesome Dan! Do you do any cooking for lets say large groups when camping? I visualized a great camp stew and was at my first rally up in Quartzsite, AZ when one of my friends, Mary Van camp to the last night potluck dinner with some of the best beef stew topped off with busquitd ever! It was an amazing experience and I had to have another helping it was so tasty.

I'll bet your dishes are tasty and it sounds like you really have it down pat nutritionally and with s great balance, factoring in energy, taste, nutrients and over all health when preparing meals.

Do you do any Dutch oven cooking? And have you ever done any dehydrating of food and making jerky, fruit, etc?

I've always enjoyed photography, love nature and shooting those types of photos, along with early morning sunrises and sunsets. Many years ago I also made it an annual ritual to travel down to the Indy time trials and have done a lot of high speed photos from the pits and around the track. Have some great stories from those days too.

My wife Linda and I are rock hounds of sorts and enjoy collecting rocks from the shores of the Great Lakes. We are interested in rock tumbling (have not purchased any equipment yet) and that was part of my reason for creating this discussion to see if there was anyone else out there who is knowledgeable in this area and who might have recommendations. We are fascinated with agates, how they formed and looking for them. We also like finding the Petoskey and Charlevoix rocks and found quite a few this summer up on Lake Charlevoix.

Dan_Ann

@Michigan_Mike said:
Wow, that's awesome Dan! Do you do any cooking for lets say large groups when camping? I visualized a great camp stew and was at my first rally up in Quartzsite, AZ when one of my friends, Mary Van camp to the last night potluck dinner with some of the best beef stew topped off with busquitd ever! It was an amazing experience and I had to have another helping it was so tasty.

I'll bet your dishes are tasty and it sounds like you really have it down pat nutritionally and with s great balance, factoring in energy, taste, nutrients and over all health when preparing meals.

Do you do any Dutch oven cooking? And have you ever done any dehydrating of food and making jerky, fruit, etc?

I've always enjoyed photography, love nature and shooting those types of photos, along with early morning sunrises and sunsets. Many years ago I also made it an annual ritual to travel down to the Indy time trials and have done a lot of high speed photos from the pits and around the track. Have some great stories from those days too.

My wife Linda and I are rock hounds of sorts and enjoy collecting rocks from the shores of the Great Lakes. We are interested in rock tumbling (have not purchased any equipment yet) and that was part of my reason for creating this discussion to see if there was anyone else out there who is knowledgeable in this area and who might have recommendations. We are fascinated with agates, how they formed and looking for them. We also like finding the Petoskey and Charlevoix rocks and found quite a few this summer up on Lake Charlevoix

I must say that I have not cooked for a large group on the campground; although, the beef stew and biscuits sound wonderful. So far, we have only been cooking on a propane stovetop or with sticks over the campfire. We do cook with a Dutch oven at home. We make a creamy vegetable soup with garbanzo beans, tomato, zucchini, onion, Italian seasonings, stock, cream, and a couple of different cheeses and serve it with some bread. It is really filling and pretty tasty. I should try venturing out from stovetop for cooking and maybe give the dutch oven a try. Would a tripod stand over the campfire would be the best set-up for this application? I have not done any dehydrating at this time; although, I have been tempted to try. We do like dried fruits and home prepared vegetable chips would be a different idea to take on the go.

My mom and her husband like to travel around the UP in the summer and fall. She enjoys walking along lake Superior to pick up rocks and compare them to their other finds from previous trips. She stated that she had not got into polishing or tumbling of rocks though.

Some of my favorite nature related photographs are of autumn leaves, old farms in the country, and sunsets over the lake/mountains and my wife loves waterfalls, canyons, and mountains. The smart phone has really enhanced my picture taking ability which look much nicer than pics I took with my old 35mm camera. Mastering the lighting is challenging for me. Taking pictures of Indy cars must have been a fun experience, especially catching images of such precision and speed. We camped in Watkins Glen, New York this summer and in the distance we heard race cars. Little did I know, that our campsite was actually only 3 miles from Watkins Glen International speedway. When we were in camp, we could hear cars racing around the track. It did not look like there was anything Nascar related going on, but they must have had some sort of event because there were several sport cars running around town with numbers on there windshields. I was able to get some pics from the perimeter of the track though.

BBsGarage

I have way too many interests, but the few that I would say are hobbies are as follows.
For as long as I can remember I have had a passion for cars and racing, but actual racing is quite cost prohibitive, so watching races and "playing" with cars is what I mostly do. My wife has a 1980 Camaro that I tend to and we go to the local car cruises with. The watching part also led me into photography, mostly cars, animals and nature as people are usually too annoying to take pics of. .
The last hobby/talent would be whittling/wood carving. These days I mostly carve from cottonwood bark, but other favorite wood is bass and butternut. I mostly carve whimsical things and you can see my bark carvings on Instagram @bbsbark. I started carving BK (before kids) picked up a bench knife and a book and went at it. Then kids happened and I put the knife down for a bit. Picked it up again when my son was 10 and started teaching him. He is now in college perusing a degree in Illustration and still carves and somehow is way better than I am.

Sorry, no rocks, although I do carve some nice ones in the bark.

Michigan_Mike

Interesting stuff!

Dutch oven cooking can be done with a tripod and many people do it on charcoal briquettes or even with the embers of a fire. There is a trick to it in regulating the heat with the charcoal briquettes and a formula is available too. I've experimented some and they do sell liners for the ovens that make cleanup easier. The pots are seasoned via a process and you will find that they are popular at teardrop rallies.

I drove up Big Sur to Monterrey about 6 years ago and camped at Laguna Seca Raceway for a few days and used it as my base camp for exploring the coast. They were running sports cars around the track and I had access to the paddock area so it was really fun and there were plenty of spots along the track for getting some great photos too. That's a very nice campground and the facilities are very clean.

Have pondered wood carving too but with my luck I'd need a box of bandaids and a tourniquet!

BBsGarage

@Michigan_Mike said:
Interesting stuff!

Have pondered wood carving too but with my luck I'd need a box of bandaids and a tourniquet!

Those are standard supplies in most peoples tool box.

Verna

Well, if you don’t mind the other Administrator hopping in here, while I do Camp at least 4 months a year and I love camping. I started with a 4-Wide, I loved my 5x10 Silver Shadow and decided a T@B was the best for me for playing snowbird in Arizona in the winter.

I consider myself to be an intermediate woodworker, even though camping seems to be the primary hobby/obsession right now. I’m best at scrollsawing, but that’s a bit hard to do while camping on solar power in Arizona during the winter. Maybe next year I can finally build the wooden foot powered scrollsaw that I want.

I’ll be building a pantry cabinet from cherry for the T@B before I head for the Southwest and that will certainly make my T@B more organized this winter for canned and boxed food. Hopefully I can add a small section of drawers for my carving tools and be able to do some relief carving this winter.

@Michigan_Mike, there are gloves and finger and thumb protectors to keep the blood letting to a minimum . And I always have plenty of bandaids handy.

WilliamA

I haven't made any significant posts of late but this one is right up my alley. I enjoy reading about how others came to be here and what they do so I'll chime in. I'm putting in a few photos for enjoyment (hopefully anyway) but moderators, feel free to delete if it's too much information. I do tend to run on....

As a retired/disabled Army Warrant Officer, I've done lots of traveling and hopefully will continue to do so. I've been a remodeling carpenter, auto mechanic and specialty vehicle builder as my major trades until recently (Dr's orders) going into full retirement. I figure if I retire often enough, one of them will eventually stick..
I still enjoy automotive work and spend a lot of time putzing with my Jeep and trailer. I like to write and have written 3 books. I've been a serious forum member on different sites for many years as well and have written a lot online. I like photography, archeology and history and read whenever I get the chance. I do all of that stuff with my two boys whenever I get the chance.

This is me when I was doing custom cars for a guy up in northern Wisconsin. I started out to do a simple project for Neil and we ended up building several big projects and doing national car shows for 15 years. I still get up there to hang out from time to time.

A typical conversation:
Me: "These engine specs are a little aggressive"
Neil: "I talked to the crankshaft manufacturer. He says it'll be fine as long as we keep an eye on the timing advance curve."
Me: "It'll probably blow up."

Two of the cars we built. Custom bodywork, full tube frames and generally the wildest ideas we could come up with. It was fun but massive amounts of work..

After my 3rd retirement per Dr's orders, I decided I'd better "go and see" while I had the steam. I got rid of everything I owned that wouldn't fit in my car, moved to Europe and spent a year (again) in Germany, then lived 2 years in the south of France. Here's me (far right, sitting) with a bunch of friends doing volunteer archeology. We spent 6 months excavating a 9th century monastery. Had a ball and found many wonderful things which we turned over to the french department of antiquities. It also did wonders for my french, which I've mostly forgotten already.

Here's my youngest son doing some local (Wisconsin) "urban exploring". He loves trains so we dug about and found a bunch of semi-abandoned pullman cars to prowl about in.

I am currently staying with my (2nd) ex wife and youngest in order to help her work on her new/old house in Wisconsin. It also affords me the opportunity to be close to my youngest and provide a bad influence for him to follow. I continue to travel and am planning my next sojourn to the desert soon. I don't plan too far ahead and rarely follow my own plans so life is good.

"Do what you can,
with what you have,
where you are...."
Teddy Roosevelt

"The job of a poet
is to reveal something to the reader that is so obvious
that it has been taken for granted."
Neil Degrass Tyson

"Don't waste time traveling now.
Wait until you're younger....."
WilliamA

Michigan_Mike

@WilliamA said:

I still enjoy automotive work and spend a lot of time putzing with my Jeep and trailer. I like to write and have written 3 books. I've been a serious forum member on different sites for many years as well and have written a lot online. I like photography, archeology and history and read whenever I get the chance. I do all of that stuff with my two boys whenever I get the chance.

Interesting stuff William and imagine what that Pullman car was like back in the day or even some of the people who rode in it, their stories, life history, etc.

I have a fascination with Native American history and respect for the people. This is something that draws me to the land and these trailers provide a convenient means of doing it. I've been to most of the historical sites or at least many of them and of course the hidden gems within our beautiful country. I have a nice collection of Custer books and have been out to the Little Bighorn battle field many times. I think like many of you, when I travel, I look across the vast landscape and wonder what it was like back in the day. This was a clash of two cultures, one advancing across the land in quest of a new life, the other, basically a third world civilization owning and occupying the land and neither civilization understood the other.

I guess we are all explorers in modern times and maybe it is our roots that draw us out onto the land and wanting to know what is over the other side. Even as I sit here behind this monitor my mind wanders across the US, images popping up of the many trips taken, the giant redwood forests, beautiful mountain vistas, sun setting behind the saguaro cactus, smell of pine in the Colorado forests, rustling of a small stream next to the camp site, snow capped mountains in the distance, driving along the ridge in the Blue Ridge Mountains, dust coming up off the valley floor in Hayden Valley at Yellowstone as buffalo roll in the dry earth, an elk turns it's head exhaling into the cold morning while standing in the middle of the river, etc. Those back roads are calling and there is something to be found, but the cold air has arrived here and I dumped the water from my T@B this afternoon and will winterize fully tomorrow....

Why would I want to fly to Europe when we have so many treasures here in the US?

ontheroad

the usual...gardening, sewing, knitting... although at our second rally we went to I did "Rock Painting"..it was a fun way to spend an afternoon with fellow campers..and then we hid the rocks for future geocachers...rocks, acrylic paints, paint brushes...easy things to take when touring..

WilliamA

Mike,
As to the Pullman, I can still see it traveling west out of Chicago as one car of the Empire Builder, Agatha Christie sitting in Mohair and dim chandeliered opulence, writing tablet on her lap, watching people wandering past. A short, mustachioed Belgian in a derby and walking cane enters the car and......

WilliamA

Texas_Dave

Photography is my main interest. Traveling with my camera something I love to do. The last 5 years we've returned to the Tetons and Yellowstone area and spent our time wandering the country side taking photos. When I'm home I play farmer on our little 5 acres spot in the country.

ericmooreco

primarily outdoors activities here... skiing, snow showing, hiking, biking, jogging, going to gym, camping, etc.

..and traveling to see my kids.

BBsGarage

This past weekend we were at the Macy's Balloon fest, where they introduce and test the new balloons for the parade. We have been marching as balloon handlers for the past 3 years, lots of fun !!

My view of Olaf this past weekend.

Three of the 5 new balloons this year.

Michigan_Mike

Awesome!!! I've never been to a parade with these balloons but have always enjoyed seeing them on Thanksgiving Day. This was a tradition when I was a kid and remember all the times my mom was preparing dinner and we'd be watching that parade!

thanks for sharing as this revived many past memories and they are priceless!!!

LuckyJ

I do not consider my self as having many talents, but I would say that I like touching many different things. And I have a tendancy to think that if I get to it, I will be able to make almost any thing.

Here is a project that involved wood working, steel fabing /welding, and plumbing. I started with a bundle of 2"x6"x8' cedar, a smal stack od cedar tong and grooved planks, an odl wood stove, steel falt bars, nuts and bolts, and copper 3/4" copper pipe. Later add was electric hot water heater element with thermostat as helper.

I also like my HD sewing machine.

TomD

Awsome!! I can totally see myself chilling in the tub. Do you brew beer too? Only kidding.

LuckyJ

Thank you. About the beer, na, I don't. I hardly drink the stock left by friend and family when I invite for a party. But I will drink a burbon or spiced rhum will star soaking.

Michigan_Mike

Dood, that is SAWEET!!!!!

LuckyJ

Thank you Mike.

WilliamA

That thing would be way too expensive to run. I'd get in around Halloween and stay there all winter. I'd need at least 2 full time employees chuckin wood...

WilliamA

LuckyJ

Well, right now, the set-up does not allow me to heat it up in winter. The stove is not beig enough, meaning the it will only allow 3 small piece of wood in at the same time (I salvadge a stove I had in a shed to make the test) and the haeting element is only a 1000 watts on 110 v. The goal was to see if it would or could work. And wet wood is not a very good insulation when only about 1/2" is dry. I am aslo away from the cabin every other week (7 days on 7 days off schedul 24/7). But summer time, les than 18 hours to heat up electric and wood, then only 3 piece of wood a day. With thermofoil cover all around i can go til end of november and again in april.

Including some mistake, I have about 600$ invested so far.

But I have a specialy purpuse built stainless steel wood stove that is waiting for me in the spring. Was used to heat a 25 ft pool i. The past. Should heat that bucket in 2-3 hours at 95-100 F.

Was sad when I empty it 10 days ago. :(

WilliamA

A 25 foot pool? Goodness, you'll be able to boil lobsters in that thing! Sounds just about perfect.

WilliamA

Michigan_Mike

I had to chuckle to myself as I was watching the Alaskan Bush people about a week ago and they had built a hot tub out on their land and heated it with wood they had chopped up. Nice concept! LOL

BBsGarage

I haven't left my little workshop in days.
This is too much fun, I need to figure out what to make for the TD.

2jgcampers

Is that a 3D printer?? If so, my first "make" would be spare keys! Judi

BBsGarage

Yes it is.
Too many things, not enough time.

Willi

I think I enjoy spending time together with my wife either on the motorcycle ( Yamaha) or camping. Music is my true passion though. Just listening or playing guitar. The grandkids are a blessing. Worked as a mechanic most of my life and I still enjoy figuring out things.

BBsGarage

An actual somewhat useful object I designed and printed with the 3d printer.

Lightningdon

Cool. How much? Can you make red ones?