Sightings thread

Just saw a 2007 Grandby shell on a light gray Chevy regular cab truck parked at the plaza in Salt Springs, Florida. New Jersey plates. FWC classic!. Had a nice chat with the owner. He had bought it new in 2007 and picked it up in Wisconsin.
 
Spotted a trailer mounted FWC on Hwy 20 between Nevada City and Hwy 80 today.
I was being followed closely, so didn't get a good look at the tow truck. Trailer-mounting your camper could offer options, if you were staying put for a few days and wanted to drive an unloaded truck.
 
2/22/2020 in the AM. Spotted a white Tacoma with a Fleet and AZ plate at the Costco at Baseline and Country Club in Mesa (Gilbert?, never sure where the borders are).
 
White Chevy Silverado 4door with a Hawk .... Williamsburg MA by the country store. Sunday 6/14/20
 
Saw this one hauled-in on a flatbed. Sitting in a repair shop compound on Airport Rd. in Eugene.

Nice looking rig. I was sorry to see that it was possibly broke down. 20200613_144122.jpeg
 
Took a ride over Sonora and Ebbetts Passes on Sunday 7-26-2020. People and cars everywhere like it was a holiday weekend. Saw several FWC's and waved at all of them. If you saw an old fart riding a BMW S1000XR in a bright yellow hi-vis jacket and a white helmet (see pic) it was just me saying hi.

Screen Shot 2020-07-27 at 4.39.55 PM.jpg
 
Tuesday late afternoon 28 July, friends with a FWC were occupying a dispersed campsite on Monitor Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada. A Ram truck carrying a FWC drove in, turned around, and drove out. A few minutes later the truck returned leading another truck in that was towing a travel trailer. They set up camp right beside our friends. Our friends dropped the top and left, saddened by such rude behavior.

Do you know these clueless people?

Clueless is a kind word. Julie always tells me to be kind.
 
I camped a few times in the back country of Montana with a good friend originally from cajun country. His sure fire method was to place a partly consumed bottle of inexpensive whisky on the most visible hood of one of our trucks. If anyone even came sniffing by, he would blast away at a simple target near our camp with a shotgun. For whatever reason, no one chose to camp near us.
 
I don't know them but have been plagued by people like them from time to time. It must be some kind of disease. You take your chances in a campground, but you'd hope for better in a dispersed site. We had a group of people do this to us this spring on the Fremont National Forest. I hoped they were just pulling up to look at the river, but by the time we returned from fishing they were sprawled out right next to us. We were gone in 20 minutes. Now, to go find that cheap bottle of whiskey and my shotgun....
 
On a happier note, Yesterday, Tuesday, we met a nice young couple from Santa Cruz with their young daughter. They were paddle boarding Highland Lake on the Stanislaus National Forest camped in their All Terrain Camper Bobcat on a Tacoma. Happy camping!
 
ski3pin said:
Tuesday late afternoon 28 July, friends with a FWC were occupying a dispersed campsite on Monitor Pass in the eastern Sierra Nevada. A Ram truck carrying a FWC drove in, turned around, and drove out. A few minutes later the truck returned leading another truck in that was towing a travel trailer. They set up camp right beside our friends. Our friends dropped the top and left, saddened by such rude behavior.

Do you know these clueless people?

Clueless is a kind word. Julie always tells me to be kind.
Click to expand...
The ok/not ok of people camping close to me - camping or backpacking - is ALWAYS going to be assessed according to the specific circumstances.

One afternoon we were working our way around a high country lake (backpacking) trying to escape the large group of Boy Scouts on one side. There was a group of three following us and when my husband and I got to the last campsite at the inlet creek and a cliff face we dropped our packs and turned to see the looks on the faces of the three while they began to turn around. Ron called out, "join us, there is plenty of room" and they did. The two guys were impressed by Ron's fly fishing so he showed them how to use a small pinecone as a bubble/float on their spinning gear and catch grasshoppers for bait.

Dinner that night was a lot of large Brook Trout and a bunch of special treats (like fresh veggies) that one rarely eats backpacking. Then there was cake (Hostess Ho-Hos) and candles. The birthday boy said it was the best birthday he ever had. We didn't have any idea - Ron just knew they needed a place to camp and I think he really lived to share his space, his knowledge, his everything. That was more than 30 years ago and I will never forget the preciousness of that night. I am smiling as I write this.

Another backpack trip I returned to my campsite (in the Dusy Basin - completely off trail) from fishing to find two dads and (at least) four young boys camped nearby. The dad's tent was within a few steps of my "kitchen". The boys were a little further away. I was aghast. Then I got talking to them. One of the reasons for the trip was to scatter the ashes of a friend. They had camped at that spot on the last backpack they had taken with him. We shared dinner (fish) and fishing stories. We watched the full moon rise right over Isosceles Peak and drank tea laced with whiskey (the kids were already asleep). We all slept well.

Then there was last spring. Big snow year. The little back roads I might drive down to camp were blocked by snow. I pulled into a spot even though there was another camper in the vicinity (I could not see the camper from mine although I could see it as I drove in) When I popped up my top I was summoned to the other camper van by a loud voice, questioned, screamed at, called an ******* and told to get my dogs out of his camper (they were not in his camper)

I was going to offer him a beer. I decided not to. He left but not before nearly running me over in my chair. He did not need to exit that way.

If people are behaving badly - yeah, I'll lower the top and leave. But really - this is PUBLIC land. And this year, as in a big snow year, space is at a premium. And you might actually meet some real nice people and have a great time. One other time at the same campsite I just spoke of a couple drove by and I waved at them. They stopped. They let their dogs out to wrastle with my dogs. They asked if I knew of other campsites. I invited them to join me. We had one of the best nights and one of the best days of backcountry skiing I have ever had. We exchange Christmas cards and vow to get together again sometime.

Clueless? Rude? Did you walk a mile in their moccasins before you judged them?
 
Casa Escarlata Robles Too said:
Ski was that the Saints by any chance?
Frank
Click to expand...
Frank, they did not identify themselves. We only chatted about ATC's.

Just took a look at the saints' photo, it was not them.
 
Between Redding, CA and Bend, OR this afternoon I saw 3 (three) different rigs southbound with FWC-or-ATC units on them (separately, not traveling together).
Not very good ID, I know....but they know who there are. ;) :cool:
 
I saw an Eagle or Fleet (I think it was an Eagle) on a silver 2nd gen Tacoma out exploring the Pawnee grasslands in NE Colorado this morning (8/27). We were the guys inflating the giant helium balloon on the side of the road.....
 
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