Glacier National Park Chat

I emailed Pete, lightly bitching a bit about work and not getting thanks for cranking out quick results...and barely getting results. (If Pete is reading this, they responded thanking me, so no need to bitch.) He starts out responding to that. The videos are short, and typical Pete.

Jay

I'm still alive and reasonably fit for 74.
Posting all this is fine with me.

Interesting about the DNA. 5 picograms? that's like 5x10 to the -12th grams? Jesus, the gas in a fly fart weighs more!
HOT and humid here, and will be until probably October. 90's days and 70's nights(if lucky) Dew points 65-75.
Really can't do a lot comfortably this time of year, until I get more acclimated...assuming I ever will.

Insurance on truck DOUBLED to $550/6 months ((( and that is for just the bare minimum liability coverage.
Got gas today $4.76/gallon.
My sister has a big 4 bedroom home out a couple miles from town(Winter Haven). I have the old "guestroom" on ground floor.
It's very nice with a full bath. House has A/C of course. I'll send some pics and video asap.

Her daughter and family live about 10 minutes from here, so that's nice. He's retired from ARMY 28 years as a Ranger.
His dad's family live on the south side of Tampa Bay--right on the water with boat house for Arthur's boat(when he's going to be there fishing)
His dad's family settled there in the 1850's !!!
He now teaches art at the local Catholic School(1-8) where we all went eons ago
Daughter teaches "Special Needs" kids there.

Not been out too much for pics. The only consistently good time of day is early AM.
Going to Bok Tower tomorrow AM as early as I can.
My sister was over there recently. Good flowers and she saw a couple snakes, harmless ones.
I'm itching to find some water moccasins to photo.
It's a very pretty place-Google "Bok Tower". May be rain and overcast but that's better than BRIGHT sun.

Next week, I will probably go to Highland Hammock State Park(near Sebring FL), which is about an hour south of here and camp for a few days.
Chiggers, ticks, yellow flies, horse flies, mosquitoes suck, and will suck until fall.
That place has tons of beautiful HUGE live oak trees and lots of snakes
Shoot pics in the early AM then hang out in my Mosquito net/net and/or hammock during the day.

Shitty video down with phone through screen.





I'll never learn LOLOL



4 people behind me and two in front of me freaked out when I "approached" this lil gator and knelt down to video him/her.
He was only about 4ft long, which is plenty big enough to bite the hell out of you. The raccoon was the only one in danger LOL
These little gators are just SCARY quick. So I guess he wasn't hungry.
He ended up walking past me so close he almost rubbed my leg.

That said, there are some world class gators in Florida now that they have been protected for 50+ years.
10-12ft and 500-600lbs PLUS are pretty common in many of the bigger lakes.
Gotta be really careful around them as they can move VERY fast when they want to.
Breeding season is just ending. BIG males been roaming around looking for a "date".
Lot of stories last month about gators, including some BIG ones, breaking into peoples lanais and getting into their swimming pools LOLOL!
The big ones can climb a 3ft chain link fence, and a screened in lanai, well they just walk through the screen
So I'm hoping to get some good photos and video later.

I will also be doing as much traveling as I can afford, here and in Europe.
I have eCredits on Jet Blue for $1000 and $1500 on Delta from cancelled tickets due to war in Ukraine.
They are good until the end of 2023. I am planning to fly to Krakow Poland some time in September/October.
Then knock around eastern Europe for a few months. I hope to get into Ukraine even if the war isn't over yet.
I've become friends with a family in Kremenchug, a town that has been spared from the fighting. Two rocket attacks on a refinery is all.
Yeah Tanya is smokin' hot(her hair color is natural and just gorgeous) but also very talented artist and craft person, AND a very good mother, as Sergei is a good dad.
Family there is VERY important.
More on them later.


I'll go even if the war is still on, IF I can get across the border, AND get transport from the Lviv area to Kremenchug.
If I went today, I could get in. It'll depend on where the fighting is at the time.
And YES I know it's dangerous and the State Dept. doesn't approve-screw them.
If Ukraine isn't possible, I'll travel around eastern Europe.
The countries bordering the Adriatic are very nice and accommodations are pretty reasonable--at the moment.
So that's it for now.

Jay,

Thank you for posting. I am glad Pete is doing well. Still sounds the same

-Craig

Thanks for posting Jay. I was wondering what happened to Pete.

Thanks for sharing Jay - glad to hear. When I heard about what was going on in Ukraine, my thoughts immediately went to Pete and his plans. I do miss the pictures, stories and information he’d bring, as well as the perspective even if I didn’t always agree with it.

I’ve been thinking about Pete. Thanks for update.

Thanks for the update! Good Wishes to Pete when you message him back!
Missy

Hey Chatters. Pete asked me to post this link to his Ukraine adventure.

Thank you so much. It will mean a lot to me, and especially the Lapin family in helping their channel's grow.
If possible, could you post this letter on the chat site? Just cut and paste it.
Also these two links in with the email:



On 8/31/2022 at 2:18 PM, "Ken Cooper" <chip5658@yahoo.com> wrote:
Chris and I love your videos. We are so impressed by how clean everything is. We will be following you. Stay safe.
On Wednesday, August 31, 2022, 05:18:57 AM EDT, <peastman@nym.hush.com> wrote:


https://earth.app.goo.gl/md8zFo
I hope this link will display the Google Earth street view image of the building where I am staying.
My apartment is directly above the round blue sign with the red "X". The end of the green roof is directly below my kitchen area window.
The building has mostly apartments and couple small businesses. The entrance with all the people is a "Kremenchuk District Court".
As an aside, this may partially explain a constant police presence in this neighborhood?
That said, I have walked ALL around this part of town. I've seen local police cars everywhere the same as one might see in any city of 250,000.
I also see lots of bicycle police riding all around in the neighborhoods. All the local "policia" are neatly outfitted in nice blue uniforms and carry radios and some carry side arms- some brand of semi-automatic pistols. Many of the local police are ladies, some quite attractive
I have not seen ANY unfit, overweight, or slovenly dressed police.
I do see heavily armed Defense Forces at the welled sandbagged check points at strategic points around d the region.
They are at places like the approaches to the one large bridge a Ross the Dniper River. It is the ONLY bridge for miles so very important to guard.
We cross this bridge in both directions a lot because Tanya and Seryozha live on the other side of the river from the main part of town where I am.
We have to stop at all the checkpoints and show our credentials before getting past the checkpoint-passport for me, ID papers for them.
The Army personnel are not anyone to screw around with in my opinion. All have AK's, compact automatic machine pistols, and sidearm.
I got a glimpse of what appeared to be an RPG launcher inside a sandbagged bunker at the bridge. Running the zigzagged approach would be a very bad idea. Tonya said early on, DO NOT HAVE YOUR CAMERA OR PHONE OUT AT ANY OF THE CHECKPOINTS.
All that said, at a couple checkpoints out in the country where we went swimming the last couple days, we got through with very little delay. The Lapins "know" some of the soldiers because 1) Tanya's mom lives in the small city nearby, 2) they are always going through that checkpoint in their Sonata with its vanity license plate "LAPIN" located both on front and rear of the car. Some of the soldiers are also apparently "fans".


The area around my apartment is quite busy during the day. There are lots of shops of all sizes and selling pretty much anything you could want.
One thing I found interesting are the many small vendors in the back alleys just off the main streets. These "alleys" are lined with what look like 10-12 ft wide garages with lockable pull down doors. Each morning they set up shop and close late afternoon. AND... as a small government libertarian, it doesn't look like there is much, if any, regulations and licensing going on. )))))) The range of goods for sale is endless.
There are also "street" vendors who set up tiny little stands selling all sorts of small items. Yesterday, Tanya bought a couple of small plastic spray bottles of cologne while we waited on some food from an adjacent vendor. The OLD couple was just so cool. The wife did all the selling with Tanya while the husband sat in the shade under an umbrella)))) I have some video of that. Just watching the banter of these people is fascinating to me.
I GOOGLED for banks to use for getting local currency and found a bank named Idea Bank just a short walk from my apartment. They didn't speak English but google translate on my phone worked great to tell them what I wanted to do.
There is also a supermarket 2 blocks away that has everything I need to eat. Sometimes very challenging figuring out the labeling! LOLOL!
Their "butter" is kind of weird. It is apparently labeled according to the % of "fat"-from like 60% to 90% salted and unsalted. 70% works for me )))
They have great bread. Some is sliced and pre-packaged. Some is not and baked on site every day.
It seems only the very large supermarkets have "beef"--and it is quite expensive relative to pork or chicken.
(Land is too expensive to use for grazing cattle. Pigs and chickens require FAR less land to raise)
My fingers are tired of typing )))
I will try to send photos later. I use my phone for most all photos and videos since my Sony cameraseems quite "obtrusive" in most urban non tourist areas. Kremenchuk is not a big tourist destination, although I've seen lots of people who appear to be "local tourists" around d town and especially in the parks. So, I am off for a walk around a different part of town.
Later
Pete in Ukraine

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC0ZCee2N ... gGEDw#menu

Thanks for the update and links.
I'll be following Pete's Adventure.
Safe Travels!
Missy

I sent Pete a note to let him know when we would arrive in Glacier last month, as we usually have dinner and I wanted to arrange the date. Needless to say, we did not meet for dinner, but I am certain I saw Clyde and Bonnie at LMD. They are doing well, although I doubt they are getting steak anymore!

What an adventure!

I had wondered about Bonnie and Clyde..
Missy

I checked Pete's YouTube channel and no recent activity.
Has anyone heard from him?
Just checking in...
Missy

Update... Pete has posted some videos on YouTube. He's posted a few classic (older) Bonnie and Clyde videos.
Has anyone heard an update from him?
Missy

MISSY wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:39 pm Update... Pete has posted some videos on YouTube. He's posted a few classic (older) Bonnie and Clyde videos.
Has anyone heard an update from him?
Missy

Have you tried making a comment on YouTube one one of Pete's most recent videos?

I've never posted a YouTube comment but that's a good idea. I'll let y'all know if I get a reply.
Missy

It’s so great to hear an update about Pete. We think of him often and miss his reports on here.