Loading bench pics

Ian

Notorious member
For all of you folks that live in the middle, the "fruits, nuts and flakes" only live one day of bicycling east of salt water. There are lots of nice folks that live between the coastal mountains and west of the Rockies; WA, OR, ID, MT, UT, NV,AZ, etc.

I second that observation and would add Wyoming to the list. Of course there are cells of imported flakes, particularly in AZ (the ones that build golf courses in the middle of a desert and suck the rivers literally dry keeping them green), but they are the minority in those states.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
I'll add my vote to that. A favorite relative lived in Washington for over 50 years (within a bicycle ride of the coast).
For us, we need land, better economics and neighbors who share more of our old fashioned views on morals, ethics and government.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ian

fiver

Well-Known Member
so your looking to move where I live.
most of the community belongs to the same church [and in some of the smaller towns it's the only church available]
10% of the county's population belongs to the gun club, the other 50% get to use it for free.
we got state and federal land within 15 minutes.

only problems are it snows and there are too many ranches and farms.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Been in your State several times. Good people, stunning country. Haven't had the chance to visit for far too long now.
 

Josh

Well-Known Member
Fiver,

Your state is in the top 2 of states i want to move to. It and Montana are as close to heaven as I can get on earth.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
Montana is super nice [but getting bought up and closed more and more] and there are actually a couple of areas in Wyoming that are just like Montana.
I just went through a bunch of north/west Colorado today and there are some way nice open areas there too.
open land that a normal person can actually use is a huge deal out here.
 
3

358156hp

Guest
We keep threatening to move into western Nebraska to get away from the big city politics and every day BS of eastern Nebraska. My brother in Florida sent me this video, he misses Nebraska terribly, but his family won't give up Orlando.

 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Maybe?
Rick, I have hunted in the Sandhills region of Nebraska a bit. You can stand on the highest hill in the area and look around and see no tress, roads, houses, or fences. Nothing but rolling hills of grass.
It is a wonderful area. We have counties with fewer than 1000 residents.

What we lack in trees we make up for in wide open spaces.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
OK, please enlighten. "Rick and John's area". .....?

+1 on a shop building!!!

When I got my 9+ acres in the country, one of the big draws for me was a 30x40 shop with three
garage doors. Still cluttered with a 150 Aerobat, and some other stuff that needs to be elsewhere,
but will eventually be pretty nice. The barn has some structural issues to be fixed, then
new siding and much of the 'chinery can live out there most of the time. Gotta get the new den built and that puts
a good bit if new basement space, too.
 
Last edited:
3

358156hp

Guest
My Moms family was originally from Valentine, NE. I feel a strong pull to return there. It's the largest city in the county, and nearly the only city too.
 
3

358156hp

Guest
Is it true? This is the official State Tree of Nebraska? :D

View attachment 352
Only in western Nebraska. In Eastern Nebraska we bulldoze all the trees to gain more overpriced farm ground, and development for houses with leaky roofs. The eastern trees all look like this majestic example:
TrafficCone.jpg
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Valentine IS the population in Cherry county. With an area of 5961 sp miles and not much over 6,000 people the county certainly has the right population density.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
I have flown over that area numerous times. Pretty daunting for my style of navigation -
no electronics in the old days, just dead reckoning, hold a heading until you get there.
No roads, no buildings and darned little to show up on an aviation chart to use as a
reference to check wind drift. Gotta be peaceful down there. You can see a lot of this
country from a light plane at 100 mph. Crossed it many times at various latitudes in
Cessnas and my Long EZ. Nebraska was daunting before the LORAN nav gap was filled,
but GPS makes it easy. Visual nav by landmarks. . . . . . . Not so easy. Green or brown,
depending on the season, like an ocean but occasional county road, farm building, etc.

Occasionally you see a L-shaped line of trees, as you come up you can see the classic windbreak
planted with shrubs, then medium sized trees, taller trees, etc. in an L shape, blocking wind
from the west and north. Open to the south and east for sun. Usually a single old frame
house, nestled in the corner of the L, 2 or 3 stories. . . . . . . and sadly, most are abandoned without glass
in the windows, and traces of white paint left, out buildings tumbling down. I always thought that
this was sad. For a time, somebody made a good living and worked the land, working hard on that place
for at least 1 or 2 generations, but somehow it went wrong.

Nice country if you want solitude, hunting and shooting, etc.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
OK, please enlighten. "Rick and John's area". .....?

Not to be difficult or ornery, but that would be up to Rick or John. Just as I don't speak in specifics of my own locale, I don't speak in specifics of someone else's.

Back when I was in law enforcement, my vehicles had what's known as "protection plates". If you ran the lic. plate number to check for registered owner, the address of the R.O. came back as the address of the Sheriff's dept.
 

Pistolero

Well-Known Member
Thanks, no intent to cause anybody discomfort or get too nosy. Been through that part of the country, too,
nice places there, lots of trees, creeks and rolling hills. Eastern KS has enough trees and small creeks to
keep me happy. Western KS is good wheat country, but a bit too flat and treeless for my tastes.
The sure feed a lot of us from that land, though. Good, sensible folks, too.

I wonder how many here are refugees from Kali? Born there and lived there as a kid for a while,
several left and a few relatives still alive, been visiting for most of my life, but happy
not to be living there any more. Still, lots of nice country there, just can't deal with the
life limits. I have seen many folks pulling back to the heartland after too many problems in various
coastal places. One friend from college made his early career in Miami area, finally pulled
out and moved to KC area when his kids were in 4-5th grade, just couldn't have them in
those schools and sick of getting his home robbed. One kid is now a MD, the other a financial
type - good for them to get out of that environment.
 
Last edited:

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Valentine is always one of the overnight stops going back to the CBA nationals. I like the RV park on the river next to the old bridge.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah, I escaped commiefornia. I could take no more of the taxes, regulations, taxes, gun ban lists, regulations, taxes. What I paid for a house in the country on an acre here wouldn't make a down payment on place on a city lot in CA. My yearly property tax's here wouldn't be a months property tax in CA. Electricity is about 20% of what it is in CA. Here I insure 2 vehicles for less than half of what one cost in CA. I sure don't miss the crime rate in CA, every year in LA county alone there are 50,000 car thefts, that's 10,000 more car thefts than there are people in this county. I could go on and on but yep, I escaped CA.

Now this here is real honest to goodness thread drift. :rolleyes:
 
3

358156hp

Guest
Just talkin' about where we located our reloading benches. :)