Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #100 – March 27, 2020, 11:26:29 pm Earlier in this thread (or maybe another) there was talk about the going to the national parks. That has been maybe too popular. See this Washington post story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/03/26/coronavirus-national-parks/ 1 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #101 – March 28, 2020, 12:00:44 am Quote from: Lazy Bones - March 27, 2020, 10:58:52 pmThere is a medical facility on the north side of Bridgeport, just off Rt. 395.Mono County Health Department | Mono County CaliforniaThat is the County Health office, the Branch Medical Clinic is a military facility attached to USMC Mtn Warfare Training Center and the Naval hospital in 29 Palms. Stay healthy on US 395...
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #102 – March 28, 2020, 09:51:44 am Quote from: joel wiley - March 28, 2020, 12:00:44 amThat is the County Health office, the Branch Medical Clinic is a military facility attached to USMC Mtn Warfare Training Center and the Naval hospital in 29 Palms. Stay healthy on US 395...Just a note. Those that have access to military healthcare may, or may not, be able to access the military branch clinics and base medical facilities during these unusual times. Best to check with the facility in question ahead of time.
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #103 – March 28, 2020, 11:20:47 am In San Luis Obispo County, they are converting one of the County’s campgrounds (El Chorro) for homeless folks use during the Covid19 outbreak: https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article241463111.html
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #104 – March 28, 2020, 01:56:58 pm Quote from: joel wiley - March 28, 2020, 12:00:44 amThat is the County Health office, the Branch Medical Clinic is a military facility attached to USMC Mtn Warfare Training Center and the Naval hospital in 29 Palms.While the clinic may be well staffed now, when the base is in training mode, but in warm weather, the place is nearly deserted.The National Forest land in back of the base is open to the public and is a great place to see summer wildflowers and find some solitude. Few venture into the area, unaware the public can enter through the base entrance and continue through into the forest. When the snow finally clear, you can enter or leave from the top of the pass.We love the Eastern Sierra but it has very limited medical care and would not be the place to get sick with COVID-19.As much as we want to get out and see the spring and are ready to leave, it's best we stay home for the next few weeks to help reduce the load on the medical system and first responders.Larry 4 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #105 – March 28, 2020, 02:34:43 pm Quote from: HiLola - March 28, 2020, 09:51:44 amJust a note. Those that have access to military healthcare may, or may not, be able to access the military branch clinics and base medical facilities during these unusual times. Best to check with the facility in question ahead of time.Access the the VA facilities here in Boise Idaho are no different than the public facilities during these trying times. I was scheduled for knee replacement and it was postponed until the storm blows over. No elective surgeries.....
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #107 – March 28, 2020, 02:46:48 pm Quote from: HiLola - March 28, 2020, 02:35:57 pmDid you move, Jerry?Yes I did. Last December we got out of CA and moved to Nampa Idaho (west of Boise). We love it. Friendly people, great gas prices, great governor, open/concealed carry (no permits required). Of course we do have the 'lockdown' like everyone else does but the 'essential services' that we visited were still friendly and helpful. We have been trying to do our part for the small businesses like restaurants and buy their meals for takeout. They are appreciative of this. I encourage everyone to do the same. I would hate to see these folks lose their livelihood. 7 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #108 – March 28, 2020, 02:56:46 pm Andy, et al, just to clarify what I meant when I earlier said that rural areas were the place to be during times like these. I wasn’t advocating for folks from the cities to travel to rural areas. As you correctly pointed out, medical facilities are limited in rural areas. What I meant is that for those of us that already live in rural areas, it’s a good place to be due to the lack of density and a lower risk of infection.For instance, take this graphic put out by Kern County Public Health. It was updated just this morning. Although we have less than a million people in the county, note that the cases of Covid-19 are more prominent in the city areas. Fortunately, we haven’t had any cases (yet) in our mountain communities. Sadly, we had our first death here yesterday. 3 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #109 – March 28, 2020, 06:15:28 pm "What I meant is that for those of us that already live in rural areas, it's a good place to be"Got it. Sorry I misunderstood.
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #110 – March 28, 2020, 08:22:46 pm Quote from: Andy Baird - March 27, 2020, 04:30:24 pm"I'm thinking rural areas are the best place to be during times like these."Until you need medical care. Or somebody else does.Multiple reports indicate rural and small-town dwellers emphatically do not want tourists descending upon their towns right now. I don't blame them.If you think about it, the last thing a small town with maybe one general practitioner needs is to have a bunch of potentially infected outsiders show up. If you think city hospitals are overtaxed (and they are), think about that lone rural GP. It's going to be all they can do to take care of their own townspeople. They won't have the time, equipment, or medications to cope with you if you get sick.Put it this way: how many ventilators do you think there are in Lone Pine or Truth or Consequences?Andy, I’m a doctor in a small town in southern New Mexico, our governor has just issued a public health order stopping any health care visits , procedures or surgeries which are not an emergency, in order to preserve personal protective equipment. We are doing telephone visits in my practice, which is tough, given that my patients are all elderly with multiple medical conditions. It would be difficult to find a doctor accepting new patients at this time 4 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #111 – March 29, 2020, 08:04:18 pm Actually, I don't think there is any sort of medical facility in Bridgeport, CA, Mono County. Forty years ago there was a hospital in the town and staffed. (The building is still there.) In the past several years, it has all but been closed up. Last I heard, a physician's assistant was running the whole show. That would be utterly exhausting even in calm times, so I doubt it is staffed today. The Eastern Sierra corridor is sparsely populated - unless it's high summer or ski season. There are precious few medical personnel through the entire stretch from Lone Pine to Gardnerville, NV, and that includes Mammoth. Most medical emergencies are handled either south to Lancaster or north to either Carson Tahoe, Carson City or Renown in Reno via CareFlight. There is a small hospital in Bishop but if a specialist is needed, its either south or north. This isn't an unusual situation in many parts of the West. We have a severe shortage of doctors in Nevada and rely on physician's assistants to "man" remote telemedicine services in many places. And, even that was a welcome improvement. Doctors at all stages of their careers simply aren't interested in rural areas. Tonopah, NV was the only hospital in more than 200 miles, and it's now closed. Yerington, NV has a hospital but I think that one is closed now, too. Yes, there is a desire to have these facilities operating but can't get the personnel. As Andy pointed out, there might be only one doctor for an entire town. Something to think about while planning remote camping. Safe travels,Juli WMinden, NV 2 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #112 – March 29, 2020, 09:46:26 pm Looks like no one will be traveling for at least another month. The social distancing deadline was just extended. No surprise.Trump extends federal social distancing guidelines to April 30 - CNNPolitics
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #113 – March 30, 2020, 11:18:41 am There had been reports of cases identified in the St. Joseph area & Atchison County (closer to Omaha in the far NW corner), but our parochial delusion that rural areas are "safer" has really gone to pot here in the boonies; the County Health Dept. reported a Covid-19 case (64 y/o woman, not travel-related or nursing home, currently not hospitalized). That's 12 days after the first order shutting schools/restaurants/etc. The coffee shop game of "Who is it?" is likely now returned to those "thrilling days of yesteryear" playing Telephone--but more complicated because the party lines are all gone. Hmmm--does that scratch in my throat mean anything? Nah, probably just a Pair o' Noids... One news piece on rural hospitals, using the interactive Harvard maps, showed Chillicothe capacity: 6 months into a 20% surge we needed 209% more beds than we have. Two of the five adjacent counties have no hospitals at all & many folks DR here because Chillicothe is also the largest shopping area between St. Joe & Hannibal. The trend for decades has been closing rural hospitals and reducing bed space in those that remain as they are swallowed up by regional entities which only use the rural satellites to feed their metro facilities. Gotta admit I was part of the problem as 30+ years ago I went 90 miles to metro KC to hatch, rather than "shop local." Looks like consolidation is gonna bite us, because those metro facilities will be overflowing with their own folks.At least with the LD I've got a choice of hunkering down at the house or out at the farm.Blessings & safety to all--Lynne 2 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #114 – March 30, 2020, 01:47:46 pm WHEN IT'S OVER ****************While we are all in quarantine, we have been watching a series of very interesting, and completely different from Lazy Daze RV'ing, series of videos by Tristan Higbee. He travels and camps in his 2011 RAV4, doing long and short hikes, kayak paddles, bouldering, tubing, finding rock art, and Tenkara fishing, providing great entertainment and practical advice overall. He has many good ideas that translate to any RV'ing experience - large or small. He is very low key; his voice is soothing, and his pace is slow and easy - an absolute joy to watch. He takes immense pleasure in what he sees, and that translates to great enjoyment by the viewer. We can just feel the tension of the moment melting away.The shortish video that we just finished watching was about a week that he spent in Joshua Tree in February of 2017. Even though we have been there, I had NO IDEA that it was so vast.Tristan has written a few books, available on Amazon, on camping and rock climbing, as well as topics about blogging, and his solo trips in the Himalayas. So definitely worth a look up - either to enjoy his videos or to partake of his written offerings.If Tenkara fly fishing interests you, he has a great deal of information on that topic, as well as a separate YouTube channel on the subject.In short, do yourself a big favor, and give it a try. Almost guaranteed to make you feel calm, while providing great entertainment.Virtual hugs,Judie 2 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #115 – March 30, 2020, 02:38:29 pm Thanks for the link Judie. While I generally enjoy fishing more than watching others fish, I did particularly enjoy seeing this fellow practicing Tenkara fly fishing. I learned to fish Tenkara style with some Japanese friends on Mount Fuji. I enjoy Tenkara because the simplicity of the gear (fly tied to line connected to rod - there is no real), focuses more attention on the art of fly fishing. I also enjoyed the traditional Japanese experience before and after the fishing - overnighting in a rustic cabin, bathing in an Onsen communal spa, roasting fish on a skewer over a Hibachi. 2 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #116 – March 30, 2020, 02:59:55 pm Warren - I know zip about Instagram, but he seems to have a lot of pictures (with text, if you click on them) on there.Tenkara Addict (@tenkaraaddict) • Instagram photos and videos Virtual hugs, Judie
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #117 – March 30, 2020, 03:58:04 pm Virginia just closed campgrounds and beaches. Parks are open for now but will close if gatherings of 10 or 10+ become an issue.
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #118 – March 30, 2020, 04:25:32 pm Quote from: WhiteElk - March 30, 2020, 02:38:29 pm I learned to fish Tenkara style with some Japanese friends on Mount Fuji. Warren, are you talking about the lakes below Mt. Fuji?
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #119 – March 30, 2020, 09:37:50 pm I watch a lot of those vanlife, car dweller videos, fascinating, but they seem to be unraveling now that the gyms and community pools are closed and they can’t get a shower or wash their clothes and using public toilets is now a health hazard 1 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #120 – March 31, 2020, 08:12:21 am Quote from: John DaCrema - March 30, 2020, 03:58:04 pmVirginia just closed campgrounds and beaches. Parks are open for now but will close if gatherings of 10 or 10+ become an issue. An edit to this. Campgrounds are closed for short visits. Long stays are allowed. You will have to look at the order to know the specifics. I think this was done for full timing RVers and others so they would not be displaced. 2 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #121 – March 31, 2020, 01:52:01 pm CDC just announced when things will loosen from "stay at home".Trigger for Moving to Phase IIA state can safely proceed to Phase II when it has achieved all the following:• A sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days; • Hospitals in the state are safely able to treat all patients requiring hospitalization without resorting to crisis standards of care22; • The state is able to test all people with COVID-19symptoms; and• The state is able to conduct active monitoring of confirmed cases and their contacts.2Full documentation is at: CDC Road Map to Recovering.pdfJane 5 Likes
Re: Good time to travel or not Reply #122 – April 26, 2020, 12:16:06 pm Quote from: HiLola - March 26, 2020, 12:57:14 pmTechnically, our late May trip to Kauai is still on as the airline has not canceled the flight as of yet, however, if California and Hawaii keeps the mandatory travel restrictions in place, I guess we won’t be going. On the bright side, look at all the money we’ll save! Well, our flights were modified but not canceled. On the other hand, received a call yesterday from the Navy lodging folks at Barking Sands and they are canceling all reservations for the month of May, so guess we'll try again for next year. This probably had something to do with it:https://www.foxnews.com/us/hawaii-coronavirus-stay-at-home-order-quarantine-extended-may-31