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GuySmiley started the topic in Tuesday, 7 Apr 2020 at 6:11pm

In semi lockdown I'm finally sorting through a lifetime of photos and inspired by what Craig and Andy recently posted I thought why not.
We travel a fair bit and there has to be some crackers in the vaults.
Good if we follow the Swellnet tradition of not naming or being too obvious.

basesix's picture
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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:18pm
AlfredWallace wrote:

Head in the clouds fella again.

These two caught my eye this afternoon. Too long to fit in a photo, the actual cloud looked like a kilometres long sausage roll. AW

IMG-4384
IMG-4383

Sausage Rolls in the Arvo.

"Yep, Jethro..." Brett rung out his hand-towel, his dermatologist had recommended he lightly apply jojoba and argon oil after rinsing off any saltwater or sweat with fresh-water. "You may be right.. you may have the world's widest horizons in Montana! And, yep, Western Downs may have deservedly called themselves 'big sky country' too! But, mate.." Brett hung the hand-towel over his bull-bar and smirked at Jethro.
"You gotta admit. Nowhere in the world do they have the magnificent, low, fat and waterlogged lumps of cloud we have in Vicco.. well.. maybe southwest Tassie."

(beautiful @AW - can you get better weather conditions? I reckon some don't get it..)

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:24pm
basesix wrote:
AlfredWallace wrote:

Head in the clouds fella again.

These two caught my eye this afternoon. Too long to fit in a photo, the actual cloud looked like a kilometres long sausage roll. AW

IMG-4384
IMG-4383

Sausage Rolls in the Arvo.

"Yep, Jethro..." Brett rung out his hand-towel, his dermatologist had recommended he lightly apply jojoba and argon oil after rinsing off any saltwater or sweat with fresh-water. "You may be right.. you may have the world's widest horizons in Montana! And, yep, Western Downs may have deservedly called themselves 'big sky country' too! But, mate.." Brett hung the hand-towel over his bull-bar and smirked at Jethro.
"You gotta admit. Nowhere in the world do they have the magnificent, low, fat and waterlogged lumps of cloud we have in Vicco.. well.. maybe southwest Tassie."

(beautiful @AW - can you get better weather conditions? I reckon some don't get it..)

Basesix. Hi mate. Great weather of late.

I couldn’t believe how low this cloud was hanging above the ground and how far it stretched, for kilometres in either direction. AW

wax24's picture
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wax24 Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:28pm

I have folks on my mom's side who hail from Montana. I spent a night in a fire lookout with one of em years back. That was a cool experience. Montana is def "Big Sky Country," but i'd wager that sky is wider in parts of Oz. Do you guys have fire lookouts?

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:29pm

beautiful AW, today was the best conditions in ages over here.. and it was even crowded, which was nice (3 guys out at each break).. I feel like I'm pulling up sore lately, but i'll be annoyed if I don't have another taste tomorrow, it'll be a good morning. Did you get wet.. how's the recovery progressing?

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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:40pm
wax24 wrote:

I have folks on my mom's side who hail from Montana. I spent a night in a fire lookout with one of em years back. That was a cool experience. Montana is def "Big Sky Country," but i'd wager that sky is wider in parts of Oz. Do you guys have fire lookouts?

Used to. I think they’re all redundant now (I think) There was one to climb in this region years ago but it was shut down as the timbers rotted. It was a great view.
I think it’s more remote cameras and satellite detection these days.

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:54pm

rotten wrungs @seeds? (my woops sp above..) there's so many things that looked exotic to us in oz through American kid shows @wax24.. and as a lad it was the machines and structures and survival and stuff.. the isolation in Grizzly Adams, the everglade hovercraft airboat thing in Gentle Ben.. and seeing those tall fire-spotting towers in shows was memorable .. I loved Northern Exposure as a teen, and there was an episode where Fleishman talked down a feller who didn't want to be decommissioned from a tower, as it was all he'd ever known, like a lighthouse keeper..
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3q7y35

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:51pm

Loved Grizzly Adams as a kid. Such an adventurous dream as a suburban kid.

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 7:55pm

yep

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:06pm
wax24 wrote:

I have folks on my mom's side who hail from Montana. I spent a night in a fire lookout with one of em years back. That was a cool experience. Montana is def "Big Sky Country," but i'd wager that sky is wider in parts of Oz. Do you guys have fire lookouts?

Wax24. Hi mate. We are all thinking positively for you. Honestly, our nations both share vast areas, Big Skies would prevail in both lands as topography changes from flat to higher or greater relief. Cool and warm air cells battling it out as well as the input of precipitation. All drivers for the genesis of great cloud formations.

In the state of Victoria in the south of Oz, yes we still have fire lookouts, there’s one 10km from my home it sits atop one of the scoriaceous mounts that comprise Mt. Anakie. It’s manned all Summer and they are set out so that the occupant on the day, can see for kilometres with binoculars across to another taller peak , Mt.Macedon, this pattern is repeated if you get my drift.
The observer gets a clear few to see any primary/infancy smoke arising up out of the landscape. AW

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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:05pm
basesix wrote:

rotten wrungs @seeds? (my woops sp above..) there's so many things that looked exotic to us in oz through American kid shows @wax24.. and as a lad it was the machines and structures and survival and stuff.. the isolation in Grizzly Adams, the everglade hovercraft airboat thing in Gentle Ben.. and seeing those tall fire-spotting towers in shows was memorable .. I loved Northern Exposure as a teen, and there was an episode where Fleishman talked down a feller who didn't want to be decommissioned from a tower, as it was all he'd ever known, like a lighthouse keeper..
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3q7y35

Ah yes those damned cellular phones;)
Probably the downfall of our generation even though we didn’t realise it at the time as we went full spaz on them.
How many do you own again?

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:11pm
basesix wrote:

beautiful AW, today was the best conditions in ages over here.. and it was even crowded, which was nice (3 guys out at each break).. I feel like I'm pulling up sore lately, but i'll be annoyed if I don't have another taste tomorrow, it'll be a good morning. Did you get wet.. how's the recovery progressing?

Hi mate. I’m attempting a surf tomorrow morning, excited, nice conditions are forecast. Albeit, a tiny bit worried about prolonging my current injury. Either way I’ve gotta get a result tomorrow so as to see how I fare for mine and Supas surf trip in July.
My mate surfed late afternoon up until dark at Winki, still heaps of size around.
I’m very happy you’ve been getting in the water. AW

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:15pm

haha. I'll get one one day @seeds.
maybe when you all have com-implants ; )

mm, ^ these guys are in Victoria @wax, where they have killer trees.. the Otways, Gippsland, Alpine NP, the Grampians.. I'm from South Australia, where our Mediterranean climate means we don't have massive tree growth. therefore we don't have 'power poles' - we have a concrete-traintrack morphed things called a Stobie pole. Here's a wiki explain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stobie_pole
Even though it's a cool-as Geoguessr hack, I wouldn't expect you to bother reading it, but it is about SA which is the best state. I'm not biased, it is the only state in Aus with no-one in it, other than Tassie which is cold as fuck, and NT which is hot as fuck. And no-one in it means you can do what you want. And not only does no-one care what you do, they'll usually help you do it. It is also the shitbox car capital of Australia. Heaps good.

basesix's picture
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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:19pm

that's good news @AW.. and I'd go for flexing, seeing what cold water does to it, letting the blood flow rather than, exerting, twisting and stressing it too. Got a bigboard? Go easy mate, and enjoy!

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:27pm

You’ve got a landline anyway.
ps ours are bigger than your stobies. (Stobie was very smart)
Jimna fire tower. There was talk of restoration for heritage value.
IMG-0909

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:40pm
seeds wrote:

You’ve got a landline anyway.
ps ours are bigger than your stobies. (Stobie was very smart)
Jimna fire tower. There was talk of restoration for heritage value.
IMG-0909

Oh, my bottom lip just dropped, I’ve got fire tower envy Seeds, that’s some impressive tower.
Makes my local one feel like a a small Ker Plunk game. AW

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:42pm
basesix wrote:

that's good news @AW.. and I'd go for flexing, seeing what cold water does to it, letting the blood flow rather than, exerting, twisting and stressing it too. Got a bigboard? Go easy mate, and enjoy!

Mate, 6’6” Eric Arakawa twinnie, big fins (not keels) a true glider, so easy to catch waves. AW

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:43pm

the tower's frickin epic hey AW, might have a quiet word with ron and his girls at adventure park..

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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 8:54pm
basesix wrote:

the tower's frickin epic hey AW, might have a quiet word with ron and his girls at adventure park..

You mean, Adventure Park - The Water Park on the Bellarine Peninsula?
What a goldmine, licence to print money that place. Good day out if you have young children. AW

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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:04pm

Yep, we bought season tickets for many years.. it was amaaaazing for a young SA family.. cool off and chill out for a bit an hour from seeing friends in melbs.. cool off and chill out for a bit after seeing friends in melbs.. the lazy river in the sunshine, a good way to nurse a big-city hangover while your kids run around for a couple of hours.

wax24's picture
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wax24 Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:06pm

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/montana-fire-lookouts

Found an article with the lookout i stayed in. Thoma. (hope the link works. i suck at tech stuff.)

wax24's picture
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wax24 Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:07pm

South Australia speaks to me more than the other parts. Cept for the flies. Seems to be a buncha them. Everywhere.

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:08pm

Amazing structure that felt a privilege to climb.

AlfredWallace's picture
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AlfredWallace Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:10pm
basesix wrote:

Yep, we bought season tickets for many years.. it was amaaaazing for a young SA family.. cool off and chill out an hour BEFORE seeing friends in melbs.. cool off and chill out an hour AFTER seeing friends in melbs.. the lazy river in the sunshine, a good way to nurse a big-city hangover while your kids run around for a couple of hours.

Great success story, was previously a vineyard that couldn’t make a dollar.
Someone had a brainstorm and the rest is history. Three fine daughters, mum and dad.
I was told by a staff member one day when I asked how many people had been through the gate , he said 8000 people is the max we’ve ever had x $30 a head back then, $240.000.00
They are smart, they invest every year in a new whiz bang ride, this entices more patrons and return ones also.
Good on them. AW

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:47pm
wax24 wrote:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/montana-fire-lookouts

Found an article with the lookout i stayed in. Thoma. (hope the link works. i suck at tech stuff.)

It worked Waxxy
Some history there. Loved the photos.
My eldest once wanted to get into the cattle industry and later heard about Montana over there. We advised him to go to Alberta.
Never happened in the end.

basesix's picture
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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:43pm
wax24 wrote:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/montana-fire-lookouts

Found an article with the lookout i stayed in. Thoma. (hope the link works. i suck at tech stuff.)

yep, works here @wax.. epic looking country. Those two pics of Thoma give a real sense of it. Two miles sth of the Canadian border? set up a catapult, I reckon..

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:50pm

“set up a catapult, I reckon”

For Americans to send SOS notes wrapped around rocks when it goes all Mad Max soon

basesix's picture
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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:54pm

tots, how could a catapult either side of the border possibly be under-utilised in the coming misty crinkly fobbed-paperwork times? few bubblewrapped US babies would get a guernsey too, I reckon.. you still on the farm tonight @seeds?

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 9:57pm

Headlights on. Couple more paddocks to sow.

basesix's picture
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basesix Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 10:00pm

you have great focus SeedySan

seeds's picture
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seeds Saturday, 12 Apr 2025 at 10:02pm

Ha if only that was the truth