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ejain
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PostSun Oct 31, 2010 11:28 pm 
Water Tower?
Water Tower?

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Hulksmash
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PostSun Oct 31, 2010 11:47 pm 
Isn't that where they mount a big ass gun for Avi control? guns.gif

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peppersteak'n'ale
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PostSun Oct 31, 2010 11:51 pm 
not quite stout enough for a water tower, might just be a sun shower station for hippies in the late 60's, or could just be a weather station for the forest service from way back when.....

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Dayhike Mike
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 1:18 am 
Hulksmash wrote:
Isn't that where they mount a big ass gun for Avi control? guns.gif
Yup. agree.gif

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke "Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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treeswarper
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 6:09 am 
Shouldn't this be in the gun thread? smile.gif

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Daryl
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 6:52 am 
aliens?

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Gamuru
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 9:19 am 
Here's another by the Wellington parking lot on Stevens Pass...
EDIT: Looking closer it's the same platform, isn't it?

Don "The definition of a mine is a hole in the ground that belongs to a liar." ~Mark Twain
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ejain
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 9:53 am 
Gamuru wrote:
EDIT: Looking closer it's the same platform, isn't it?
It is! So how do they get the tank on top of the platform? :-)

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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 10:16 am 
ejain wrote:
So how do they get the tank on top of the platform? :-)
I think the gun they use is a bit smaller. wink.gif More like this one: You know, we were up there and never saw the tank. Where was it hiding?

Don "The definition of a mine is a hole in the ground that belongs to a liar." ~Mark Twain
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ejain
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 10:58 am 
Gamuru wrote:
You know, we were up there and never saw the tank. Where was it hiding?
Right at the Wellington trailhead: http://goo.gl/maps/gjQk Can't miss it if it's there.

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Gamuru
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 12:13 pm 
I'm either blind or it wasn't there. Pretty hard to miss something like that sitting right in the middle of the parking lot.

Don "The definition of a mine is a hole in the ground that belongs to a liar." ~Mark Twain
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ejain
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 1:53 pm 
Gamuru wrote:
I'm either blind or it wasn't there. Pretty hard to miss something like that sitting right in the middle of the parking lot.
  1. I don't think the tank is there all year.
  2. Someone may have taken it for a joyride while you were there...

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veronika
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 1:57 pm 
It's a docking station for spaceships. I wouldn't stand on it while they are docking though. It could possible hurt a bit. huh.gif

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping I may not have anyone rocking my world right now but, I don't have anyone messing it up either.
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 3:01 pm 
Short answer: 105mm recoiless rifle platform. Stevens uses these and M60 tanks for avy control, with a 105mm howitzer in reserve. From http://208.84.116.223/forums/index.php?showtopic=29295&st=20 "Besides improvised explosive charges placed using snow cat tractors in the center or top of snow pack (feasible when the snow is dry), Schmoker has acquired an impressive array of surplus military ordnance. Recoilless rifles have been in use the longest. The crews prefer these aging 105mm weapons from the 1950s, mostly because of a now-dwindling supply of high explosive shells which have produced the best results. A 105mm howitzer also fires high explosive projectiles, but at a lower velocity and with less accuracy than the recoilless riles. But the supply of munitions for the venerable M101A1 howitzer, still in use worldwide, will remain endless. The newest addition is a platoon of M60A3 tanks, acquired in 1995. The tank now serves as the preferred weapon on the western approaches to Stevens Pass, and the recoilless rifles serve on the eastern side, with the howitzer held in reserve. Some of the recoilless rifles are sent to the Snoqualmie unit as the preferred weapons there. The tank cannot cover the eastern approaches because of the steep elevations required and the four firing platforms used to cover the snow packs. Deep snow makes it impossible for the tank to move between them. The foot of Old Faithful, where the snow threatens the Tye Valley western approaches, can be reached from a single firing position, and the tank stands vigil there in-season. Washington State’s DOT started acquiring these weapons in 1961. The state national guard required three days notice for normal activation of personnel and this was not sufficient for the conditions. The transfer of weapons from guard and federal government sources thus improved the situation. The DOT arsenal now consists of four tanks, M60A3, with 105mm cannon; five 105mm recoilless rifles, M27; and one M101A1 105mm howitzer. Schmoker takes his full team to Yakima for annual gunnery training at the Army Firing Range each fall. Ammunition for the tank is ordered from the Army, from a total of 80,000 rounds of a selected lot of plastic high explosive rounds set aside for DOT use. At a bargain price of $18.00 per round, it is shipped annually to Avalanche Control for their use. The older recoilless rifles are fired from fixed towers and ground mounts. They remain a handy weapon, easily sited in tight spots, as long as sufficient space remains for the firing back blast peculiar to their design. The supply of 105mm HE rounds for the gun has dwindled to a mere 1150 and a change to the plastic explosive projectiles will bring unwanted duds, which have to be located and neutralized in the spring. How much ammunition is required? Schmoker’s men expend anywhere from zero to six or seven hundred rounds per year. In 1999, a below average year, Schmoker directed two tank missions and 16 other ones, totaling about 200 rounds of ammunition. In 1998, a total of 150 recoilless rifle and 210 tank gun rounds were expended. The DOT obtained the howitzer in 1991 and Schmoker’s men took a three day course at Yakima, from the guard artillery regiment. The M60 arrived in 1995 for evaluation. The guardsmen fired it that winter and Schmoker’s men took over thereafter. In each case, Schmoker’s men have altered the firing procedures to emphasize safety vice the speed of combat firing procedures. Schmoker is now writing a series of operating manuals for the use of these and other weapons in avalanche control, which the DOT will furnish in CD format to other states using weapons this way. These instructions include the maintenance, crew organization, operation, firing procedures for snow control and concepts for minimum manning. These will take the place of a broad range of military manuals previously needed, as well as supplying some of the peculiarities of snow control with weapons. All five of Schmoker’s crew routinely operate all weapons. They have trained at each position on the tank and frequently enjoy training exchanges and competitions with Army and ANG personnel. The idea of a tank came late to Schmoker, who was looking for flat-trajectory weapons to supplement and eventually replace his older recoilless rifles. When at Yakima, officers told him that the dozens of M60 tanks stored there had been earmarked for disposal. Many would be stripped for dumping in the ocean as artificial reefs for fishery programs. Knowing that the high velocity tank gun would meet his needs, Schmoker looked for an opportunity to test and perchance acquire one or more of these 57-ton monsters for his DOT arsenal. Because of the higher velocity of its projectile, Schmoker found that no duds occurred when firing 105mm tank rounds into the snow, including the plastic explosive projectiles. Faced with a 1:4 dud rate with plastic ammo in the recoilless rifles [only 1:400 with the scarcer HE ammo], the tank seemed ideal. At its firing position west of the summit, the tank crew prepares targeting range cards to the 12 impact points used to bring down the snow pack. These calculations of elevation and deflection can then be used day or night for fire missions (nighttime is preferred, to minimize public attention). Since 1996, the tank has performed all missions in the west side, and the howitzer has been relegated to backup status. It has also been employed on occasion in the North Cascade Highway ( merely to test the snow stability, used there as a tool vice an avalanche control measure) to economize on recoilless rifle ammo. Other U.S. states presently using surplus military weapons include Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado; the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service also have similar operations. Marty Schmoker has qualified himself as an operator and maintenance man in all these and other weapons. He calls upon the ANG for an annual technical inspection, but otherwise performs the maintenance which would be done by specialists in regular tank battalions. His parts array includes spare engines and spare barrels for the tanks as well as two full sets of track. He once threw a track on the tank and restored it himself, taking all day to do what normally requires most of the crew to do. The furnishing of a tank to a civilian organization, albeit from a state government, attracted much concern and attention from defense sectors. Legislators, the Army, the Dept of Defense and others all weighed into the project, especially after an unfortunate incident occurred in San Diego, where a disgruntled guardsman stole an M60 tank and led police forces on a wild chase on road and freeway. Schmoker demonstrated the control provided by his facility and other safety and security measures to satisfy a large gathering of state and Pentagon officials."

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Movenhike
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PostSat Nov 06, 2010 8:11 pm 
whew...interesting stuff Cartman, Thanks up.gif

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