Whats the average Winter temp CDA vs McCall?

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by banjomike

I've never heard of the Masonlights, so I don't know.

The Masonic Lodge ( I can't recall its full name) is indeed old, for sure. Almost all of our founding fathers belonged to it; George Washington has a portrait where he's wearing the Masonic apron, the ceremonial apparel. Every fraternity has its own apparel in some fashion.

While I have a bunch of Masons in my family tree on both sides, I never joined myself, so I really don't know anything much about who the famous members of the past were.

It's not very secret in my experience; my Grandparents were both active in their respective Masonic organizations all their lives, and the meetings are mostly old ritual stuff that is very similar to Elks' rituals, Eagle's rituals, and all the other social fraternities. When I was a kid, I used to hear my Granddad practicing his speeches once in a while. They reminded me of an old lady's poetry club I was dragged into a time or two.

They all meet once a week, have dinner or something, put on their robes and hats and have a meeting, and then adjourn and hang out drinking beer and gabbing until its time to go home.

I've played hundreds of dances at them all for their special occasions, and from what I can see, they're all pretty much the same. They were all created for socialization.

While it seems they all require a recommendation from a member to be able to join any of them, the membership doesn't ever seem to be very exclusive. It's all about as casual as a VFW hall to me, from what I've observed. Or like the Boy Scouts. Or college frats; I've heard they're similar.

The rituals are just a device they all have to get someone to run the place and get the help to keep it all going.
I used to know one of them by heart- The Elks interrupt all their events at 11:00, and the chief Elk (whatever he's called) says a short speech that's all about 11 o'clock being a tender hour for Elkdom, a time when they remember their departed brothers. And then they all respond with a very solemn toast.
...and then they go back to partying sedately.
It's actually all quite dignified, and there's nothing dark or sinister in any of it.

The more badges a guy has, the higher up he is. Same thing with the women and the kids; they all have branches for them.

I'll bet that if you want to know more about any of them, all you would have to do is go to the local lodge and inquire when it's open. They all want new members these days, as the fraternities all are slowly withering away, it appears.

very interesting and great info. Thanks

[nowhereman427]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Yup. But Arco, Idaho got its name before the gasoline company ever existed. It was founded as a rail spur for the local ranches and farms, and has survived as a dinky little service city for the local area.

There are so few folks who live close to 'the lavas', the roughest part of the Arco desert, it doesn't take a very large town to supply them. Arco has the high school and the other common stuff, and is the county seat of Butte county.

Who knows what the speculators thought Atomic City was supposed to be? It's across the highway from one of the INL's main entrances.

Tourism probably paid no part in the location, as there's a much prettier spot just down the road that's close to the Lost River that would have been better. The state put a rest-stop there many years ago, and it's used year-round.

Rattlesnakes are natives; we have 2 different species of them here. Rattlers don't like towns, and they avoid humans in general. Unless you really surprise them, they rattle a lot faster than they strike, so they give anyone plenty of advance notice you can hear, even if you can't see the snake.

Wearing boots in the lavas is mandatory. A person would have to be painless and crazy to walk in the desert bare-footed, and a pair of flip-flops would be shredded in less than an hour.

Anywhere there is a lot of pavement around, you won't ever see them, so any town is safe. Out in the wilderness, the rattlers stay in lower elevations and spend almost all their time in mixed shade/sun spots, such as found on sagebrush flats. They also concentrate around the denning areas of ground squirrels and other ground rodents.

On farmland, the snakes live in the waste ground spots that are too odd-shaped or something to plant, and then will venture into the cropland at night to hunt mice, voles and other rodents living in the fields.

So the chances of seeing a rattler in a wheat field is greater than in a city. But not a potato field, because mice don't eat spuds, and the potatoes are irrigated, which floods rodent holes.

The largest rattler I ever encountered was moving out of some sagebrush across a 2-lane paved county road, up in the foothills east of Idaho Falls. He was headed to the wheat field across the road, and I spotted him from about a half-mile away.

I stopped to watch him (and to help save his life). When completely out on the road, he appeared to be very close to 7 ft. long, and at the middle was almost as big as my calf.

A snake that big has to be at least 60-70 years old.
He was magnificent, had probably lived there all his life, had sired hundreds that didn't survive as long, and must have been the Terrible God for every rodent colony for miles around.

He knew I was there, but he knew I wouldn't run over him. Like a King, he took his regal time crossing that road.

Just as he disappeared on the other side, my bro and our Dad came up, coming from the other direction. They stopped to see why I had stopped. Neither of them saw the snake. I never saw him again either.

I like to think he's still out there. If he is, he'd be bumping 100 now, but legend says they can live that long.
Snakes don't get that big unless they're smart. The smart ones learn young not to mess with people.

And that's why I'm more afraid of a rattler that's 3 inches long than one that's 3 feet. The little ones will kill you just as fast- their poison is as strong- and they're a lot harder to spot.

That's a great thing you did. As much as I don't like snakes That snake deserves to live on at that old age-smart old snake. Plus snake is a native not an invader in that area.

[mtndave]

Thanks Banjomike for sharing your rattler story. I am deaf and fearful of rattlesnakes because I cant hear them. Hope they're rare in East Idaho, haha.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by nowhereman427

That's a great thing you did. As much as I don't like snakes That snake deserves to live on at that old age-smart old snake. Plus snake is a native not an invader in that area.

Yup.
Folks don't realize the rattles are the snake's early warning system. They evolved due to the huge wildlife herds that grew in the west. as a survival mechanism. The buffalo can risky trample even the biggest snake to death when in migration.
The rattles start their noise long before the snake can actually strike, so if someone hears them, the snake is very easy to avoid.

There are a few times when a rattler can be silent; just after shedding its old skin, and on very rough ground, the rattles can wear off due to abrasion. Early spring when they just come out of hibernation and are still cold can slow the rattle speed and make it less noticeable.
But at that time of year, a rattler's strike is also very slow. So they are very shy and hard to find then.

I respect them for sure, but they aren't much of a threat here. You will never see a rattler where there is a King snake or a herd of hogs.