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Spaulding Smails

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Posts posted by Spaulding Smails

  1. The heavy duty shelves at Home Depot are actually pretty damn good.  I have these in the garage.  Only modification I made was to put a sheet of plywood in one section where I store smaller things that are prone to not sit evenly on the wire.

    I'm also a huge fan of these for lumber, pipe, etc.  Save tons of space by having them wall-mounted.  Cheap and easy to install.

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    • Hook 'Em 1
  2. On 3/27/2021 at 11:22 AM, ztejas said:

    Greens across centex seem to be a mess right now. I think that freeze really did a number on them. 

    Agreed.  But the greens were the least of my concern.  Even if you can't control that, you can control the customer experience, interaction and perceived value.

  3. Played Wolfdancer yesterday.  Won't be back any time soon.  Which is a shame.  That course always kicks my ass, but I still love the layout.

    Range balls were old / slick.  The whole course just looked disheveled. Greens were average at best.  Bumpy, uneven and full of weeds in spots.  We teed off at 10:10 and got stuck behind two sloooooow groups.  Ended up playing a 5-1/2 hour round.  Bev cart girl disappeared on the back 9.  Never saw a Marshal once.  Bar / Restaurant was closed.  So, we couldn't even sit at the 19th hole and settle up bets.  We had to do that on the tailgate in the parking lot.  Oh, and green fees were $175.  To add insult to it all, it was $12 to park that you have to pay before you can leave the property.  From a pure value standpoint, it may have been one of the worst golf experiences of my life.  For $175, it better be an "experience".  It was far, far from that.  

  4. I have about 500,000 Marriott points and about 200,000 Southwest points right now.  I've accumulated them through my business by using my cards for business purchases and employee travel.  I'm guessing I'll have about double that by this time next year. 

    For Spring Break 2022, I'd like to take my wife and two of my kids on a tropical vacation (probably 5 nights).  Thinking Hawaii, Costa Rica or somewhere in the Caribbean.  I've done some high-level searches for hotels and flights, but the bottom line is, I'm trying to maximize my points value.  Ultimately, I'd love to find a location with nearly direct service via Southwest (we don't mind a 2-hr drive), and a Marriott branded hotel with a points upgrade option to a 2-bedroom suite.  I have Ambassador Elite status as well, so may be able to get upgrades, but that's not guaranteed.

    Seems like the 2-bedroom suite ask is going to be the deal breaker.  It either pushes the points threshold beyond the level of value of there just aren't any options there.   For example, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua has a killer 2-bedroom suite... for 5,000,000 points. 

    Any suggestions?

  5. 11 hours ago, UnivTex34 said:

    No bueno

    DC463ADE-9814-4948-8C45-6A64D2596F55.png

    Damn.  I slept right through this.  That little hook is just north of my house.  I fell asleep around 10:30 with a little lightning in the distance, but nothing more.  Looks like we had about 0.3" of rain.  No wind damage.  I'll take it.

  6. 7 hours ago, Both Tacos said:

    This one is out of Telluride/San Juan Mountains. I thought it would be more than this. May have to go on the bucket list.
    https://www.helitrax.com/trips/
     

    Yep.  This is who we used.   First class operation.  Can't say enough good things.  They know their shit.  And they know that area like the back of their hand.

    @Born to Run regarding ability, they did a great job of tailoring the trip according to ability.  I'm a good, but not great, skier.  I can handle blacks and moguls, but I'm not super fluid and I don't do the double black diamond stuff.  I had skied in powder before, but not like that.  It took some getting used to.  For example, I veered off to the side and the chopper pick-up location on one run, and took my skis off and sank to my chest in powder. By the third run, I was more comfortable and started taking more aggressive lines that actually helped all around.  If I did it again, it would be a completely different mindset.  

    The group that we were paired with (husband and wife) were amazing skiers.  The husband skied competitively in his younger days.  We had two runs where the chopper dropped me and my buddy off at the normal launch point, then took the guide and the two of them up to a more difficult segment that ran down to us.  It was a blast to watch them carve up those steep areas between rocks.  

    To me, the most critical part is physical aptitude.  If you can't ski all day, or if you're out of shape, don't do it.  You need to be ready for getting after it to make the trip enjoyable.  So, to summarize, if you're a high-intermediate skier in good shape, you'll be fine.  Anything less than that, and I don't think it would be very enjoyable.  

  7. Haven't been to the ranch in 6+ weeks.  Headed back Easter weekend for turkey hunting, shed hunting and maybe dropping an axis doe.  I also need to cut up about a metric ton of firewood to replace what we burned back home during the snowpocalypse.  

    • Hook 'Em 1
  8. OK.  So, heli-skiing was insane.  Legit bucket list trip.  But, damn I got my ass kicked.  Humbling, breath taking, amazing and about a jillion other superlatives.  Will upload pictures tonight or tomorrow.  

    • Like 2
  9. 18 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

    I haven't read back so apologies if this was covered, but @Spaulding Smails did your place get fucked up in the ice storm? We got absolutely destroyed. Our camp oak stand that gave us shade in the summer is basically 10 sticks. No cover left. Driving around the ranch and I just did triage tbh. Cleared roads and dragged shit that was easy. I am at 36 hours of work amd it isnt even close. Several 200 yr old oaks are essentially total losses. It is depressing but what the hell can you do. Get a glass of whiskey and drown your pain I guess. Brutal.

    Jeez dude.  That's awful.  What a shame.

    Believe it or not, the majority of our damage was from the New Years Eve ice storm.  We lost some major branches on the big Live Oak grove in front of the cabin.  Had a big Bastard Oak fall on the well house.  Tons of damage around the ranch.  We have enough firewood to last decades.

    My pops stayed up there during the February freeze.  They lost power here and there, but had it on for the most part surprisingly.  We keep a generator up there, and my dad had it on standby to run a heat lamp in the well house when the power went out to keep the pump from freezing up.  No significant damage for us, thankfully.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  10. 5 minutes ago, ousuxndallas said:
    48 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:
    16" overnight in Telluride.  Gonna be a good powder day!

    Hit Bushwacker. It's a long black trail that gets groomed. So it will be so sweet with that powder on top. No moguls under neath. But with 16 inches, every run will be sweet.

    Bushwacker is on the list for sure.  I'm stoked about hitting Revelation.  Only catch is kids are with us today.  Tomorrow and Tuesday, they're in ski school.  Wednesday together again.

    Oh, and my wife just surprised me last night that she booked heilski for me Thursday.  So, that doesn't suck.

  11. Ended up finding a room in Telluride last night, so we made it here.  Nice to not have a drive this morning, but it would've been an easy drive.  Still no snow.  But, this Texan was better being safe than sorry.

    • Like 2
  12. 2 minutes ago, ousuxndallas said:
    13 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:
    Any recommendations on travel from Durango to Telluride in a snow storm?  We usually take 145 through Dolores, but I'm thinking 550 through Silverton and Ouray may be a better bet.  It looks like it adds about an hour, but may be worth it.

    Negative Ghost Rider. I would go as far west as possible to avoid bad roads. Do not go through Silverton. Stick to the Dolores route.

    Roger that.  Thank you for the advice.

  13. Any recommendations on travel from Durango to Telluride in a snow storm?  We usually take 145 through Dolores, but I'm thinking 550 through Silverton and Ouray may be a better bet.  It looks like it adds about an hour, but may be worth it.

  14. 23 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

    For anying tone driving to CO in the next day or two, pay close attention to weather alerts.  Use cotrip.org (CDOT's webpage) for road conditions and cameras so you can see if traffic is moving, etc.  Driving in a storm like this is no joke.  Odds of I-70 and other highways closing at some point is relatively high.  Carry food, water, extra clothes and blankets with you in case you end up stuck sleeping in your car.  If you end up stuck in your car and need to use the engine to keep warm, make sure your exhaust pipe is clear of snow or you can die.

    I know this sounds hyperbolic, but this is shaping up to be one of the 3-5 biggest storms the Denver area has ever seen.  If you can avoid being on the road in the Denver/I-70 area on Saturday, do it.

    If you can get here before the storm, Winter Park is projected to get 20-40 inches between Friday-Sunday.  Eldora is looking at 40+ inches.  Resorts farther west will still get snow, but not as much.  Happy skiing.

    We're headed up there now.  Wife is driving for a bit.  We were supposed to arrive in Telluride Sunday.  Switched things around and now arriving Saturday morning.  Trying to get to Durango tonight, then get up super early tomorrow morning to make it to Telluride.  Telluride had zero rooms available tonight, otherwise, we would've just forged ahead.  

    If we can make it before the snow, the skiing should be awesome.  Not as much snow in the San Juans as the front range, but should still be pretty sweet.

    • Like 1
  15. Any recommendations for a good custom boot maker in Austin or anywhere within a few hours?  I'm not married to custom, but I'm ready for something a notch or two up.  I'm a big fan of Lucchese.  I have a pair of 1883s and a pair of Classics.  Both nice.  Both very traditional.  Ariat is my go-to daily boot.  I need rubber soles for daily use.  Looking to spend $1,500 - $2,000.  Don't really care about exotic leather.  I just want a really, really nice boot that I can keep forever.

  16. On 2/25/2021 at 9:08 PM, yoladu said:

    Second, Cloudcroft

    1. long, but a manageable 1 day drive from Austin
    2. A little alpine oasis in the middle of a flat arid landscape - Elevation 8,676 feet
    3. remote - less than a 1000 pop.
    4. average high in July? 72 degrees

    might be able to find a deal on a cabin. No wifi? - use phone as a hotspot.

     

    Agreed.  I didn't think about Cloudcroft at first, but that's a perfect choice for this type of trip.  

  17. Any suggestions for a quick daytime activity in Durango?  Also need a good rec for a family dinner.  

    We're headed to Telluride for Spring Break.  Leaving Friday, staying Friday night in Santa Fe.  Planning on getting to Durango by lunch.  Spend Saturday there, then leave early Sunday to make it to Telluride when the mountain opens.

  18. 1 hour ago, T’Boo Ted Marshall said:

    We are lined up with WH installs for the next 10 days last I checked.

    Same.  I ordered 25 today.  Friday, today, tomorrow and all of next week have been capping lines, fixing leaks, etc.  Just need to get water to some people.  Starting installs March 1 and we're booked through the month.  Incredible.  

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