USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Foxfyre]

I had to go hunt on the internet. No cell phone service right now.

UPDATE 1:10 p.m. - Though authorities hoped to open the Skyway for travel both ways between Paradise and Chico, they report that they are unable to do this currently. Those traveling from Paradise to Chico need to use a route other than the Skyway. Leave extra travel time, as Neal and Clark Roads have had a lot more traffic than usual due to the Skyway closures.

Under a few of the updates from Tuesday morning, we will republish the Paradise Zone Maps.

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UPDATE 12:15 p.m. - There is still an evacuation warning for Zone 9 in the Town of Paradise, and for residents and businesses on Lower Skyway. The Upper Honey Run Zone is the only one under an evacuation order at this time. Parts of the Skyway (Lower) and Honey Run Road are still closed at this time and should be avoided if possible.

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UPDATE 11:30 a.m. - The Red Cross Shelter at the Neighborhood Church in Chico will be closed by noon Tuesday. Everyone who stayed at the shelter on Monday night were allowed back into their homes on Tuesday morning.

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UPDATE 7:45 a.m. - The Honey Fire is now 40 percent contained.

We can relate to that here. Sometimes the smoke is as thick as fog here in town and it feels like the fires are right here when in fact they are many miles, sometimes hundreds of miles, away. The other night the northern Colorado and Montana smoke was filtering down here so much that we went outside to be sure the house wasn't on fire.

 

[Gracie]

Just finished packing the car...just in case. Only extras that I have....clothes, water, cell phone chargers, etc.
Spare everything.
Did the same thing when we were still at the beach, 2 years before we had to move. Helps being prepared when you live next to a nuclear plant, lol.

 

[Foxfyre]

Just finished packing the car...just in case. Only extras that I have....clothes, water, cell phone chargers, etc.
Spare everything.
Did the same thing when we were still at the beach, 2 years before we had to move. Helps being prepared when you live next to a nuclear plant, lol.

And speaking from experience, be sure you know what road to take when you run lest you wind up at a dead end somewhere with the fire in hot pursuit.

 

[Gracie]

Did that last night. North on Skyway and STAY on it. Head to Oregon, keep going, arrive in Alaska to GallantWarriors house where there is rain and snow, lol.

 

[Gracie]

Very orangey here. Pic is not picking up what I really see.

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[Gracie]

I don't think the puc works. Sorry.

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[Gracie]

Oh, I see it now. That is south west of me.

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[Gracie]

Well hell. This is totally frustrating. On tv news, they keep saying "call this number for updates" or "call this center for those evacuating". Um, kinda hard to CALL when there is NO CELL SERVICE and NOBODY is addressing it on the internet or local news channels!

 

[Foxfyre]

Did that last night. North on Skyway and STAY on it. Head to Oregon, keep going, arrive in Alaska to GallantWarriors house where there is rain and snow, lol.

I just looked it up. It is 2,939 miles from Paradise CA to Willow, AK - 51 hours and 56 minutes driving time with light traffic.

 

[Ringel05]

Well hell. This is totally frustrating. On tv news, they keep saying "call this number for updates" or "call this center for those evacuating". Um, kinda hard to CALL when there is NO CELL SERVICE and NOBODY is addressing it on the internet or local news channels!

They obviously have no clue there's a problem with the cell service. Best bet is to pay very close attention to where the fire is (look for the glow and it's intensity) and which way the wind is blowing.

 

[Gracie]

Did a few tweets. Will see if that gets some attention.

 

[Gracie]

Did that last night. North on Skyway and STAY on it. Head to Oregon, keep going, arrive in Alaska to GallantWarriors house where there is rain and snow, lol.

I just looked it up. It is 2,939 miles from Paradise CA to Willow, AK - 51 hours and 56 minutes driving time with light traffic.

I know. I looked that up last night, too.

 

[Ringel05]

Well hell. This is totally frustrating. On tv news, they keep saying "call this number for updates" or "call this center for those evacuating". Um, kinda hard to CALL when there is NO CELL SERVICE and NOBODY is addressing it on the internet or local news channels!

BYW is there no land line service either?

 

[Gracie]

Looking outside my window. Air really bad outsie, too. Not much wind, thankfully but still hurts throat being outsie. Last report is 40% contained.

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[Ridgerunner]

I just looked it up. It is 2,939 miles from Paradise CA to Willow, AK - 51 hours and 56 minutes driving time with light traffic.

And really good pontoons for those Vans...

 

[Michelle420]

I have a cold and feel terrible.

 

[Nosmo King]

The Osage oranges are falling! For those of you unfamiliar with the Osage orange, they are commonly called 'monkey balls' and, legend has it, if placed in your fruit cellar they will ward off spiders. They are neon green, typically about the size of a baseball, are firm but not hard and have a skin that looks like the creases and crevasses of the brain. They are inedible, so don't try to make monkey ball jelly. Besides, there are apples and pears and grapes to make your jelly from at every farm stand between here and Cleveland.

At Thompson Park there is a row of Osage orange trees right by Pacillion No. 1. They grow nearly thirty five feet tall and have a dark green tear drop shaped leaf. These particular trees are set along part of the parking area for the pavilion which could easily sit three hundred people for a family reunion or a Fourth of July picnic.

The trick is knowing not to park under the Osage orange trees in October when the monkey balls fall. This year's crop of monkey balls are the largest I've ever seen. As I said, they are typically the size of a baseball. But this year, they have blown past softball size and are bordering on the girth of a volleyball! They are musher as a result and as they crash onto the pavement below, they explode and turn into a pile of a slimy green, stringy vegetable matter like pumpkin guts.

Meanwhile, around the bend and down by the amphitheater the black walnut trees are giving up their fruits. Black walnuts grow in a husk that is a bright green like the monkey balls. But inside is the black walnut itself. You have to handle them with latex gloves unless you don't mind your hands getting stained black for a day or two. You can't use a regulation nut cracker to open the nut. Methods usually run toward the hammer.

I've had black walnuts in fudge and someone mentioned black walnut ice cream which sounds delicious. Mom made black walnut bread once, but we couldn't decide if she did that as a joke or a manner of torture. She has had uncountable baking successes, but black walnut bread is not numbered among them.

One of the other dog walkers saw the bounty of black walnuts and filled the plastic bag she would have used to pick up her dog Peanut's poop and instead filled it with black walnuts. "$3.95 a pound at Giant Eagle!" she said as she stooped from black walnut to black walnut.

Squirrels have been gathering acorns, car roofs have been collecting dents from falling monkey balls and my friend Mary is collecting black walnuts. It's autumn and we haven't strayed far from our hunter/gatherer instincts. We canned jelly, stored it in the fruit cellar and now put spider bane in the form of monkey balls to complete our efforts to make it through the coming winter.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hedge Apples over in the Hoosier... While there may be close to 350 to 400 miles between our stomping grounds our bringing's up are very similar... Hedge apples are not very useful unless you are warring with the neighbor kids... Oh you can sell them on EBay also... You can sell anything on EBay... Hell I sold a Railroad spike on EBay one time and didn't even have one... Had to go for a walk on the ole PRR tracks to find one...

I have heard the story regarding spiders but never tried it

 

[Ringel05]

I have a cold and feel terrible.

I'm no doctor but I'm pretty sure a Nyquil Margarita might just do the trick..........

 

[Nosmo King]

Hedge Apples over in the Hoosier... While there may be close to 350 to 400 miles between our stomping grounds our bringing's up are very similar... Hedge apples are not very useful unless you are warring with the neighbor kids... Oh you can sell them on EBay also... You can sell anything on EBay... Hell I sold a Railroad spike on EBay one time and didn't even have one... Had to go for a walk on the ole PRR tracks to find one...

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I have heard the story regarding spiders but never tried it

Ya gotta love someone who can sell a railroad spike then go forage for it!

The wood of the Osage orange is a beautiful lemon rind yellow. I know some local woodworkers who prize Osage orange to make little boxes from. Glued up next to strips of black walnut, the effect is something like a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform.