VA friends

[FireStillBurning]

I have done a few rides on steam locomotives in Colorado. I believe they were narrow gauge used for the mines. I also rode a train up Pikes Peak that used a sprocket on the engine to climb the steeper grades. As a kid I had a small train set but my mom would never let me keep it up for any length of time so I would build it and then take it down in the basement.

Pikes Peak, impressive. I had trains every since I was 6 or 7. Eventually had two 4x8 boards in the basement with 2 HO
layouts on them. Kids would help when they were younger. Always had one under the tree . But when we decided to retire & move there was no place for the trains. Sold all to a collector for about 25% of what it was worth. At least it didn’t go into the trash.

 

[StarGazer58]

I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the basement that I would setup on sawhorses. Sometimes I would setup the train, other times the slot car race track or the hotwheels track. Other times I would setup my army men in different scenarios. I had the green ones like in Toy Story but also had some smaller ones like roman soldiers or revolutionary soldiers that I had bought from the hobby store that were more realistic, all painted up.

I had a James Bond attaché case, like the one in "From Russia with Love". It would shoot a plastic bullet from the case, had a hidden rubber dagger and exploding decoder book. It was really cool. I looked it up a few years ago and found one online that was selling for $4k. I would be rich if I had kept my GI Joes and other toys from when I was a kid.

Do you remember the ads in comic books for the "Real life" Submarine? I always wanted one but never had the $5.99 or whatever it cost. I also looked it up online one day because I never really knew what it was. I found a picture of it. It was giant card board box shaped like a submarine with a periscope that did go up and down and some fake controls. I guess it would not have lasted too long in the pond like I had planned to use it. lol.

Glad your train set found a home. I don't know what happen to most of my toys, guess got thrown away along the way. I know I shot up my GI Joes with the BB gun and blew them up with firecrackers along with a bunch of my WWII plane and tank models.

 

[Eowyn10]

I think train sets in the basement must have been a recurring theme somehow. My dad had a pingpong table in the basement, and my mom beat him regularly in games, so he flipped it over and put his train set on it.

I can't comment on boy toys, so much.

I have done a few rides on steam locomotives in Colorado. I believe they were narrow gauge used for the mines. I also rode a train up Pikes Peak that used a sprocket on the engine to climb the steeper grades. As a kid I had a small train set but my mom would never let me keep it up for any length of time so I would build it and then take it down in the basement.

Did you ever take the train from Durango up the mountain? That was an experience!

 

[FireStillBurning]

I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the basement that I would setup on sawhorses. Sometimes I would setup the train, other times the slot car race track or the hotwheels track. Other times I would setup my army men in different scenarios. I had the green ones like in Toy Story but also had some smaller ones like roman soldiers or revolutionary soldiers that I had bought from the hobby store that were more realistic, all painted up.

I had a James Bond attaché case, like the one in "From Russia with Love". It would shoot a plastic bullet from the case, had a hidden rubber dagger and exploding decoder book. It was really cool. I looked it up a few years ago and found one online that was selling for $4k. I would be rich if I had kept my GI Joes and other toys from when I was a kid.

Do you remember the ads in comic books for the "Real life" Submarine? I always wanted one but never had the $5.99 or whatever it cost. I also looked it up online one day because I never really knew what it was. I found a picture of it. It was giant card board box shaped like a submarine with a periscope that did go up and down and some fake controls. I guess it would not have lasted too long in the pond like I had planned to use it. lol.

Glad your train set found a home. I don't know what happen to most of my toys, guess got thrown away along the way. I know I shot up my GI Joes with the BB gun and blew them up with firecrackers along with a bunch of my WWII plane and tank models.

My my Good Sir, some most destructive impulses. I trust that no body was injured durning your demolition scenarios.
I too had lots of toy soldiers, most Airfix I believe & from the Civil War to WWII. They went well with my “ Matchbox” vehicles,& the military vehicles I collected over the years. Don’t recall the James Bind attaché case ( I have that movie in my collection), nor the submarine. Yeah if we only knew then how valuable that stuff could become.... in 50 years.

 

[Eowyn10]

If only....., if only.......
The saddest words in the English language.

 

[StarGazer58]

I think train sets in the basement must have been a recurring theme somehow. My dad had a pingpong table in the basement, and my mom beat him regularly in games, so he flipped it over and put his train set on it.

I can't comment on boy toys, so much.

Did you ever take the train from Durango up the mountain? That was an experience!

I was out in Durango a couple of times but I never got to do the train. It was something I did want to do though. I like playing ping pong. Have not played it in years since I don't have a ping pong table. I remember looking through all the ads for the different train sizes and setups around Christmas. Do they even make train sets anymore?

As far as destruction, I never thought I was any different than any other boys in my neighborhood. Tried to make gun powder with my chemistry set several times so I could make firecrackers but I never figured out at the time that the gunpowder had to be compressed to blowup. My gunpowder would burn in a flash but no explosion.

I tired to make one of those potatoe guns too but it never worked either. And then I tried to make a hot air balloon like you see at Chinese festivals but that was a bust too. Grrrr. I did us a wooden case full of coke bottles to make a rocket launcher for bottle rockets that was pretty cool. My buddy and I saw his sister making his GI Joe and her Barbie having sex but he got mad and took it from her. I don't think she understood exactly what they were suppose to be doing, just what she heard the other girls talking about.

I had a blast growing up. With video games I don't believe kids do those kinds of things anymore

 

[StarGazer58]

My my Good Sir, some most destructive impulses. I trust that no body was injured durning your demolition scenarios.
I too had lots of toy soldiers, most Airfix I believe & from the Civil War to WWII. They went well with my “ Matchbox” vehicles,& the military vehicles I collected over the years. Don’t recall the James Bind attaché case ( I have that movie in my collection), nor the submarine. Yeah if we only knew then how valuable that stuff could become.... in 50 years.

Did anybody have any Johnny Eagle guns? It would shoot these plastic bullets that were spring loaded in the cartridge. The problem was that you would lose the plastic bullet part in the grass so after a couple of days would be out of bullets. I found one that just sold for $795 that I had as a kid.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/646683...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270145677618222895/

This looks like the James Bond Attache case I had.

 

[FireStillBurning]

Did anybody have any Johnny Eagle guns? It would shoot these plastic bullets that were spring loaded in the cartridge. The problem was that you would lose the plastic bullet part in the grass so after a couple of days would be out of bullets. I found one that just sold for $795 that I had as a kid.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/646683...how_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/270145677618222895/

This looks like the James Bond Attache case I had.

My that is a most impressive attaché case. I don’t ever recall seeing that when I was younger. I wonder how it would go over in today’s world if you gave that to 10-12 year old.....
Music was very good last night. Started out slow with only 5 musicians, but in the next hour it grew to 13. An upright bass, 2 ladies playing “ washboards “, 2 mandolins, 1 fiddle & 1 guy on the harmonica. The rest played guitars. No .

 

[StarGazer58]

My that is a most impressive attaché case. I don’t ever recall seeing that when I was younger. I wonder how it would go over in today’s world if you gave that to 10-12 year old.....
Music was very good last night. Started out slow with only 5 musicians, but in the next hour it grew to 13. An upright bass, 2 ladies playing “ washboards “, 2 mandolins, 1 fiddle & 1 guy on the harmonica. The rest played guitars. No .

I doubt very many of the toys I played with as a kid would be acceptable today which is a shame.

That sounded like a fun evening. Music and a good beer go together. When I ever I think of banjo I think of the movie Deliverance. lol. I like the sound of a banjo. I learned a play a few simple songs on the harmonica years ago but would need to learn it all over again. Wish I could play it like some. There is a big Blue Grass festival in Buena Vista every year in the fall. I wonder if it has started back up again?

 

[Eowyn10]

Love the idea of a blue grass festival. Don't hear it that much out here in the West. Does anyone still play a mandolin?

We have a foursome group in the community I live in that plays and sings old folk music. One plays the banjo and the standing joke in the group is that it has to be retuned for every song, so they have to stop the show while he tunes it. It makes great music, though, when it's played by someone skilled, and that kid in Deliverance on the porch could sure pick out his tune.

FireStillBurning, as the group added musicians last night, is it an open session where anyone can join, or is it planned? Sounds like fun.

 

[Eowyn10]

I was out in Durango a couple of times but I never got to do the train. It was something I did want to do though. I like playing ping pong. Have not played it in years since I don't have a ping pong table. I remember looking through all the ads for the different train sizes and setups around Christmas. Do they even make train sets anymore?

As far as destruction, I never thought I was any different than any other boys in my neighborhood. Tried to make gun powder with my chemistry set several times so I could make firecrackers but I never figured out at the time that the gunpowder had to be compressed to blowup. My gunpowder would burn in a flash but no explosion.

I tired to make one of those potatoe guns too but it never worked either. And then I tried to make a hot air balloon like you see at Chinese festivals but that was a bust too. Grrrr. I did us a wooden case full of coke bottles to make a rocket launcher for bottle rockets that was pretty cool. My buddy and I saw his sister making his GI Joe and her Barbie having sex but he got mad and took it from her. I don't think she understood exactly what they were suppose to be doing, just what she heard the other girls talking about.

I had a blast growing up. With video games I don't believe kids do those kinds of things anymore

If you get to Colorado again, drive over the mountain outside Durango and go to Ouray. One of the most beautiful little mountain towns you could ever imagine.

Tell your buddy's GI Joe to keep looking. Barbie has always been all flirt, no output.

Kids entertaining themselves with video games are missing out on a critical piece of socialization: learning how to play/work/interact with others effectively. When you played games as a kid, generally there were some rules you all set about how to do it, and everyone learned that if you were a jerk, nobody wanted to play with you. Self entertainment doesn't teach any of those things. I also saw an interesting study that boys tend to play competitive games (win/lose, cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, etc) while girls tended to play collegial games (house, clothes, dolls, etc). The big joke in my professional field was always "how to make a man's eyes cross? Ask him how he feels". My male patients would give me the stink eye if I was fool enough to ask them that.

 

[FireStillBurning]

I doubt very many of the toys I played with as a kid would be acceptable today which is a shame.

That sounded like a fun evening. Music and a good beer go together. When I ever I think of banjo I think of the movie Deliverance. lol. I like the sound of a banjo. I learned a play a few simple songs on the harmonica years ago but would need to learn it all over again. Wish I could play it like some. There is a big Blue Grass festival in Buena Vista every year in the fall. I wonder if it has started back up again?

Yes it was, & as a bonus there was some pleasant scenery. I agree about playing an instrument. If I had known when I was younger how much I would appreciate good music..... Yes I have heard of the Fest in Burns Visita. It’s about 45 minutes or so south of us. I do believe most venues & establishments seem to be like they were 2 years ago, of course another “ variant” can send everything back to a lock down. I have heard that the Big 3 Day Red Wing Music Fest at Natural Chimney’s is in for later this summer. Well the yard work is do e, so I’m on my porch with , , & my pipe. Slainte, Good Sir

 

[FireStillBurning]

Love the idea of a blue grass festival. Don't hear it that much out here in the West. Does anyone still play a mandolin?

We have a foursome group in the community I live in that plays and sings old folk music. One plays the banjo and the standing joke in the group is that it has to be retuned for every song, so they have to stop the show while he tunes it. It makes great music, though, when it's played by someone skilled, and that kid in Deliverance on the porch could sure pick out his tune.

FireStillBurning, as the group added musicians last night, is it an open session where anyone can join, or is it planned? Sounds like fun.

There were 2 mandolin players & 2 ladies on the “ Wash Boards”. It seemed that all the musicians knew each other. When a new player showed up, they joined them either in the tune they were all ready playing, or waited till the next one. Very amiable. Reminded me of the Irish Sessions at a certain establishment back in Buffalo on a late Saturday afternoon.

 

[DocS1974]

757 area here, soon between Richmond and Shenandoah

 

[StarGazer58]

I don't know when I will get back to Colorado. Maybe once I retire but when I live in Colorado I traveled all over to New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, South Dakota, Montana, etc so I did not miss to many sights. I use to do a 2 week vacation, pulling a travel trailer where I would make a big loop through through different areas. Saw Mt Rushmore, the wagon trails, Deadwood, Yellowstone and Roswell to name a few.

I had heard that Blueball Barbie was mostly a flirt and that is was Skipper who got around.

How kids grow up is certainly different than when I was a kid. My neighborhood is so quiet because the kids are rarely outdoors. Now granted there are less of them than when I was growing up but when I was a kid there was always the noise of kids playing and the grumpy neighbors yelling to get off their grass.

I also wish that I had learned to play an instrument when I was a kid but I would rather play than practice. I took clarinet in 4th grade but only managed to make squeaky sounds so I gave it up. Hoping this summer is more normal with people getting back out and having some fun.

 

[Eowyn10]

That 2 week vacation all over sounds like a load of fun. Yellowstone is one of my favorites. My ex and I stayed in a cabin once in the park, got up in the morning, and tried to get out the door to go to breakfast, only to find a buffalo lying across the walkway. He looked at us dismissively, snorted and went back to sleep as we tiptoed around him. The joke on that trip was the security buffalo who was assigned to guard our cabin....

I can tell you that learning to play an instrument if you don't have an ear for music is a pain in the ass. After 7 years of piano lessons with a teacher who made her displeasure with my lack of practice very obvious, I was definitely glad to be done with it all. It did get me out of having to wash the supper dishes though, as that was how my mom bribed me to practice.

Did you ever play "kick the can" as a kid? That was a favorite game in our neighborhood and all of us played. Occasionally one of the dads would play too, which was great fun.

Thinking about taking a trip to Iceland this summer or next. Some friends have gone and said it was great. Do you have travel plans as the weather improves?

 

[Eowyn10]

757 area here, soon between Richmond and Shenandoah

Welcome to the thread. Between Richmond and Shenandoah: That's a big area. What part?

 

[FireStillBurning]

That 2 week vacation all over sounds like a load of fun. Yellowstone is one of my favorites. My ex and I stayed in a cabin once in the park, got up in the morning, and tried to get out the door to go to breakfast, only to find a buffalo lying across the walkway. He looked at us dismissively, snorted and went back to sleep as we tiptoed around him. The joke on that trip was the security buffalo who was assigned to guard our cabin....

I can tell you that learning to play an instrument if you don't have an ear for music is a pain in the ass. After 7 years of piano lessons with a teacher who made her displeasure with my lack of practice very obvious, I was definitely glad to be done with it all. It did get me out of having to wash the supper dishes though, as that was how my mom bribed me to practice.

Did you ever play "kick the can" as a kid? That was a favorite game in our neighborhood and all of us played. Occasionally one of the dads would play too, which was great fun.

Thinking about taking a trip to Iceland this summer or next. Some friends have gone and said it was great. Do you have travel plans as the weather improves?

Made two trips out West when I was a kid, 1968 & 71. Had grandparents & an Aunt & Uncle & cousins in Phoenix. My Dad was a teacher so it was a 6 week cross country trip. Every night a motel with a pool. The first time we saw the Grand Canyon, Bryce & Zion. A number of Indian ruins which I can’t spell. The Apache Trail, Tombstone & various other venues. Our 2nd trip involved Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons , rafting down the Snake river & return trips to all the canyons, this time with reservations for mike/horse back riding. Still remember those days very clearly.
Today’s news showed devastating wild fires in Orange County California. Hopefully we can fly in & stay with our son with out an evacuation plan!! If I don’t come back, it’s been fun

 

[Eowyn10]

The canyons are amazing in many ways. They are also seductive on the down side, so easy to walk along....but then you have to turn around and climb out. In Zion, I made the mistake of hiking on a horse trail and ended up walking in deep sand. That'll wear your legs down. The North rim of the Grand Canyon is the most beautiful and a lot less crowded because it takes a long time to get there. I will never forget the sight of the night sky one night on the North rim--the Milky Way was totally clear and bright, and I have never seen so many stars. There was no ambient light to block out the view. Rode the mules down once, and thought I'd kiss the ground when we finally got to the bottom of the Canyon, but those pools in the corral are NOT water. They earned their hay and oats the next day when they lugged us all out.

Hope the fires in Orange County are not anywhere close to you. The smoke might be your biggest issue, depending on the wind direction. Stay in touch so we'll know when to hoist a pint to your safe return.

 

[FireStillBurning]

The canyons are amazing in many ways. They are also seductive on the down side, so easy to walk along....but then you have to turn around and climb out. In Zion, I made the mistake of hiking on a horse trail and ended up walking in deep sand. That'll wear your legs down. The North rim of the Grand Canyon is the most beautiful and a lot less crowded because it takes a long time to get there. I will never forget the sight of the night sky one night on the North rim--the Milky Way was totally clear and bright, and I have never seen so many stars. There was no ambient light to block out the view. Rode the mules down once, and thought I'd kiss the ground when we finally got to the bottom of the Canyon, but those pools in the corral are NOT water. They earned their hay and oats the next day when they lugged us all out.

Hope the fires in Orange County are not anywhere close to you. The smoke might be your biggest issue, depending on the wind direction. Stay in touch so we'll know when to hoist a pint to your safe return.

Appreciate the thought... A good pint is always a “ wonderful thing” Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

The two week vacations were fun. I remember going to Fort Laramie in Wyoming. I thought it was going to be a wooden wall fort like in the movies but it was completely open with barracks and parade ground. I asked the park ranger why there were no walls and he told me that it was the favorite trading post for many of the Indian chiefs so they had no interest in attacking it. Seeing the ruts from the all wagon trains still there a 150+ years later was cool and after watching 1883, I realized how hard that journey must have been and how brave those people were. Took a tour in Custer State park with the guide taking us right into the middle of the buffalo herd. They are some big, stinky animals. Did a breakfast wagon ride in the Grand Tetons and it snowed on us even though it was the end of June. I never rode the mule into the Grand Canyon but did several horse rides over the years. Never failed to be so stiff and sore after a ride but they were fun. We were in Yellowstone about 10 years after the big fire and it was still desolate with burnt up trees just laying around. I am curious what it looks like 20 years later. Ilooked for aliens when I was in Roswell but only found mosquitos and flies.

When I lived in Colorado, went to see the four corners one time. I got to stand in 4 states at one time but that was it. Long drive just to do that since there was not much else right around there. The Pueblo ruins down in that area were cool to see.

I remember traveling with my parents as a kid and always staying in Holiday Inns whenever we could find them. The pool in the evening was always fun.

We played Kick the Can, Freeze Tag, Kickball, Hide and Seek, Hot Box. I remember playing Red Rover when were little. When the summer afternoons got too hot we would play Blind Mans bluff in the basement. One summer we all saw Stalag 17 on TV so we made up a game to play at night where one person would have a flashlight and would turn in a circle while everyone else tried to escape from the circle. If the person with the flashlight shined the light on you then you were caught. Played until either one person completely escaped or everyone was caught.

Iceland sounds like fun. I have always wanted to stay in one of those Ice Hotels. I don't have any travel plans yet but it will probably be somewhere local if I do. Still leary of traveling out the country and things closing down and getting stuck.

Hope you have a safe and fun trip to Calif.

 

[FireStillBurning]

The two week vacations were fun. I remember going to Fort Laramie in Wyoming. I thought it was going to be a wooden wall fort like in the movies but it was completely open with barracks and parade ground. I asked the park ranger why there were no walls and he told me that it was the favorite trading post for many of the Indian chiefs so they had no interest in attacking it. Seeing the ruts from the all wagon trains still there a 150+ years later was cool and after watching 1883, I realized how hard that journey must have been and how brave those people were. Took a tour in Custer State park with the guide taking us right into the middle of the buffalo herd. They are some big, stinky animals. Did a breakfast wagon ride in the Grand Tetons and it snowed on us even though it was the end of June. I never rode the mule into the Grand Canyon but did several horse rides over the years. Never failed to be so stiff and sore after a ride but they were fun. We were in Yellowstone about 10 years after the big fire and it was still desolate with burnt up trees just laying around. I am curious what it looks like 20 years later. Ilooked for aliens when I was in Roswell but only found mosquitos and flies.

When I lived in Colorado, went to see the four corners one time. I got to stand in 4 states at one time but that was it. Long drive just to do that since there was not much else right around there. The Pueblo ruins down in that area were cool to see.

I remember traveling with my parents as a kid and always staying in Holiday Inns whenever we could find them. The pool in the evening was always fun.

We played Kick the Can, Freeze Tag, Kickball, Hide and Seek, Hot Box. I remember playing Red Rover when were little. When the summer afternoons got too hot we would play Blind Mans bluff in the basement. One summer we all saw Stalag 17 on TV so we made up a game to play at night where one person would have a flashlight and would turn in a circle while everyone else tried to escape from the circle. If the person with the flashlight shined the light on you then you were caught. Played until either one person completely escaped or everyone was caught.

Iceland sounds like fun. I have always wanted to stay in one of those Ice Hotels. I don't have any travel plans yet but it will probably be somewhere local if I do. Still leary of traveling out the country and things closing down and getting stuck.

Hope you have a safe and fun trip to Calif.

We were surprised to see snow at Yellowstone in early July, forgetting it’s in the Mountains. Did the Custer Battlefield & saw the beginning of that huge monument to Crazy Horse by that Polish sculpture fellow. Freeze tag, hide & seek & Red Rover were big for us to.
Stalag 17, a Classic. I have that movie in my collection. Never experienced the game you guys made up as kids... interesting.
Well we’re off. Thanks for keeping the thread alive, I’ll check in sometime over the next few daze. Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

I did not make it to Little Big Horn. I did watch a special on it where they used battlefield forensics to map out the battle field to get a better understanding of what really happened which was really interesting

Have a safe trip and let us know if you see any California crazies.

 

[Eowyn10]

How could FireStillBurning not see CA crazies? They are everywhere!

 

[FireStillBurning]

I did not make it to Little Big Horn. I did watch a special on it where they used battlefield forensics to map out the battle field to get a better understanding of what really happened which was really interesting

Have a safe trip and let us know if you see any California crazies.

Made it through Charlotte, only took a hour on I-77. Fly out from Columbia at 1:00 pm tomorrow. Yes I have seen “ Specials “ on the battlefield & mapping what happened. As far as the crazies go I do believe they are everywhere, just May be more prevalent in Southern California. I will keep you posted. Slainte