- Joined
- Dec 6, 2014
Just what I needed, to feel ancient!!! Some of the sixties cars used them too. Remember the fuzzy dice? Whitewalls? Baby moon hubcaps?I had to google that (bit before my time.)
Just what I needed, to feel ancient!!! Some of the sixties cars used them too. Remember the fuzzy dice? Whitewalls? Baby moon hubcaps?I had to google that (bit before my time.)
Just what I needed, to feel ancient!!! Some of the sixties cars used them too. Remember the fuzzy dice? Whitewalls? Baby moon hubcaps?
I had to google that (bit before my time.)
Not sure that the tail can do much. Looks pretty necrotic from here. If this snake is not dead, then it is really dying.
Yeah the 8-tracks were so high tech then, no radio static or interference!!! Actually I remember when FM was kinda new, previously AM radio ruled the air-waves. Oh, the "good old days" please tell me they aren't that old! Then cassette tapes came out...oh the tech revolution was booming.I do remember whitewalls, and know of fuzzy dice (and eight balls too ) Had a couple cars with whitewalls, but was totally clueless of curb feelers and baby moon hubcaps (googled that one and, I remember those ) . Know what an 8-track is
I was talking to an old soldier once and he told me that when he was in the desert his biggest fear was Camel Spiders, apparently these spiders inject a venom which numbs the skin, he told me that one soldier fell asleep in the back of a truck and when he woke up the camel spider had eaten part of his left cheek, the soldier wasn't even aware that he had been bitten. 'Sleep Well'
Expired Image Removed
I've spent a whole lotta time in the desert.
Your friend is probably (99.99%) embellishing.
Camel Spiders are not Toxic/Venomous/Poisonous/etc.
Keep in mind that the infamous photo above is also very misleading - it is actually 2 'spiders', and the angle/depth perception/whatever you'd call it makes them appear much larger than they can actually get (~5-6").
I will say that they DO have a knack for hiding exactly where you need to stick your hands.
They used to climb the main landing gear shock struts on our AH-64D's and hide in the AHS (ammo handling system) or if you left the B200 (belly panel) off they would sometimes get up near the fuel/ammo combo pack - so then when the panel goes back on, and you open the small access door to take a fuel sample.... You get a very distinct tickle!
My 1SG had my @$$ when i put one in his empty coffee pot for him to find when he was groggy first thing in the morning.
Lastly, these little guys are RESILIENT.
When we shipped our milvans back from Iraq, we got them ~3 months after we had returned to Fort Hood.
When we busted open the customs seal on our GSE milvan, we found 2 of them - still alive and appearing completely healthy.
We let them go - they deserved it after that ordeal! They're already native here in Texas - so no harm, no foul.
They survived 3-4 months... sealed in a milvan, sitting in holding yards and then at sea, on a container ship... I cannot fathom the inside ambient temp it must have reached in there.
They are some ugly SOB's for sure, though!
I have had several near misses with rattlesnakes, the most notable incident being when I was out running and a Prairie rattler was hidden in the grass by the road. As I ran by he struck the side of my right foot. An inch or so higher and he would have sunk his fangs into the soft flesh of my lower ankle; as it was he struck the stiff outer shell of the running shoe heel and left a couple of scratch marks on the shoe.
I cannot tell you how high I jumped and how loud I screamed the instantaneous moment that he struck and I heard his rattle and I saw him in the corner of my eye... but I felt like it was about 10 feet and about a 120 on the decibel scale.
Where I come from we kill rattlesnakes... (apologies to all of you rattle snake lovers out there), so once I came back down to the earth and made sure my running shorts were still tolerably clean, I looked around for some big rocks. None were near, but off in the distance I saw a rocky area. Not wanting to let him escape to get me another day, I took off my hot, sweaty running shirt and threw it down a foot or two in front of the snake. He coiled and flickered at the shirt, and I ran off to grab as many good size stones as I could carry (of course looking closely for any of his buddies along the way). Sure enough when I came back he was still there, coiled and flicking his forked tongue at my warm running shirt. A few well placed stones later he was out of commission.
I can't believe I did this next part now that I look back on it years later, but after making sure his head was well crushed and immobile under several big stones, I found a rock with a sharp edge to it and used it to hack off his rattles. A trophy. It's just what we did in West Texas in those days.
Needless to say, I hate snakes...
When spending time in desert training outside of Barstow California many years ago, we had experiences with Tarantulas that I don't care to repeat. Also corralled and cooked rattlers as part of survival training. That was an interesting 89 days. Uncle Sam made sure it only ran 89 days because if it lasted 90 days we would have had to be paid TDY pay.
I've spent a whole lotta time in the desert.
Your friend is probably (99.99%) embellishing.
Camel Spiders are not Toxic/Venomous/Poisonous/etc.
Keep in mind that the infamous photo above is also very misleading - it is actually 2 'spiders', and the angle/depth perception/whatever you'd call it makes them appear much larger than they can actually get (~5-6").
I will say that they DO have a knack for hiding exactly where you need to stick your hands.
They used to climb the main landing gear shock struts on our AH-64D's and hide in the AHS (ammo handling system) or if you left the B200 (belly panel) off they would sometimes get up near the fuel/ammo combo pack - so then when the panel goes back on, and you open the small access door to take a fuel sample.... You get a very distinct tickle!
My 1SG had my @$$ when i put one in his empty coffee pot for him to find when he was groggy first thing in the morning.
Lastly, these little guys are RESILIENT.
When we shipped our milvans back from Iraq, we got them ~3 months after we had returned to Fort Hood.
When we busted open the customs seal on our GSE milvan, we found 2 of them - still alive and appearing completely healthy.
We let them go - they deserved it after that ordeal! They're already native here in Texas - so no harm, no foul.
They survived 3-4 months... sealed in a milvan, sitting in holding yards and then at sea, on a container ship... I cannot fathom the inside ambient temp it must have reached in there.
They are some ugly SOB's for sure, though!
I like the remote rural environment. You learn to be aware of your surroundings. I have had close calls, but so far never bitten by a snake.
And don't forget the other Mojave Garden Spot, Twentynine Palms-the Marine Corps playground.Yeah! That was Irwin come to think of it!!!! Right outside of Barstow, seemed like a forever drive out to the post if I remember correctly. Once into the gate, the few WWII steel huts for motor pool operations and buildings were visible through all the dust...the same place...like there was another...
That I don't remember those places, as my exercise (Devil's Strike) at Irwin was while enlisted in the Army. Was in "The Big Red One" at the time.And don't forget the other Mojave Garden Spot, Twentynine Palms-the Marine Corps playground.
Twenty Nine Palms (I never saw a single growing thing, Palm Tree or otherwise there) is the Marine Corps desert playground and like Fort Irwin it has the heat, wind and all the sand that you can eat.That I don't remember those places, as my exercise (Devil's Strike) at Irwin was while enlisted in the Army. Was in "The Big Red One" at the time.