Kit storage question for you Phoenix guys

[charlie8575]

Please tell me those cactus pictures are faked?

Man, some of those things are big, almost like trees.

Charlie Larkin

[Danno]

No, Charlie, those cactus pictures aren't faked. They do get huge!

Those are Saguaro (pronounced saw-war-oh) cacti. The ones in those three pictures were probably 125 - 150 years old. They don't sprout "arms" until they are at least 50 years old. They are so symbolic of Arizona (they are only indigenous to Arizona, Northern Mexico, and Southeastern California) and so revered, that they are protected. It is illegal to remove (dig up), transport, injure, or sell a Saguaro without a permit. Landscape companies can only buy mature Saguaros from licensed nurseries or dealers.

We even have a national park in their honor.

[Greg Myers]

And don't even think about shooting one, http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20100407clay0408.html

[cobraman]

My BIL in Surprise bought one for his front yard. Only about 4 feet tall and cost him 500 bucks ! They also told him that all the ones they sell are chipped.

[my80malibu]

Dirty jobs television show did a segment about the removal and transport of the Saguaro. I just seen it a few weeks ago.

[DrGlueblob]

..Predictions are 100F by this Wednesday, here we go...

[Rob Hall]

..Predictions are 100F by this Wednesday, here we go...

Ugh..too early for that nonsense.

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Please tell me those cactus pictures are faked?

Man, some of those things are big, almost like trees.

Charlie Larkin

Charlie, of the three original pictures posted, the one with the crushed car is from a post card that you see a lot around here. It has some facts about the cactus. Like Danno said, they are very slow growing, and a 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall. Saguaro can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall (12-18m). When rain is plentiful and the saguaro is fully hydrated it can weigh on average 100 lbs per foot. There is more info here.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Modelbuilder Mark

[Danno]

..Predictions are 100F by this Wednesday, here we go...

Highest high I've heard is 95 on Wednesday, then maintaining in low 90's through the weekend. Still not bad. Yet.

[DrGlueblob]

..They've said 98 Weds on Weather Underground, which is Chamber of Commerce-speek for 100..

..Gonna be Snowbird Barbeque time real soon.

[charlie8575]

And don't even think about shooting one, http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/20100407clay0408.html

Another candidate for the Darwin Awards, I see....

Two hundred feet tall? I always thought the Wile. E. Coyote/Road Runner cartoons were an exaggeration. I guess not.

Mark- interesting reading about those plants.

I really do need to get down there some year. Perhaps sometime, the Desert Classic and NNL-East won't be the same weekend.

Charlie Larkin

[Danno]

I really do need to get down there some year. Perhaps sometime, the Desert Classic and NNL-East won't be the same weekend.

Charlie Larkin

This is the year! Both events typically occur the 3rd weekend of April. This year, that's Easter weekend. We both recognized it was not good to go on Easter, so both events moved. Ironically, NNLE moved to the 4th weekend, and DSC10 moved to the 2nd weekend. Next year? We'll probably both be back on the 3rd weekend . . .

[charlie8575]

This is the year! Both events typically occur the 3rd weekend of April. This year, that's Easter weekend. We both recognized it was not good to go on Easter, so both events moved. Ironically, NNLE moved to the 4th weekend, and DSC10 moved to the 2nd weekend. Next year? We'll probably both be back on the 3rd weekend . . .

Yeah, no way I'm scraping together time enough to drive or money enough to fly down this year.

Perhaps someday. Either that, or perhaps someone can be talked into permanently moving dates? Actually...you folks have another show down there sometime in the fall, don't you?

I'll figure out something some year.

Charlie Larkin

[Russell C]

beware ... the "jumping cholla" whose needles are barbed and have to be pulled with pliers.

I have two small but permanent bump scars on the back of my fingers from one of those incidents. Gruesome how far the skin stretches during the pull....

[Modelbuilder Mark]

Yeah, no way I'm scraping together time enough to drive or money enough to fly down this year.

Perhaps someday. Either that, or perhaps someone can be talked into permanently moving dates? Actually...you folks have another show down there sometime in the fall, don't you?

I'll figure out something some year.

Charlie Larkin

Yeah, there is an IPMS chapter that puts on a good show in December, when weather is very nice, in a very nice venue, and they are pretty car friendly.

BUT...it is still not the Desert Scale Classic.

So, I say find a way to get out here in Dec on a vacation, bring the family, then they will say, "oh yeah, that place is awesome, we gotta move there"..because the weather will be perfect etc etc. then, you will be here for both shows, each year! Plus, California is a few hours away, then you could make some shows there as well.

[DrGlueblob]

Been away awhile, what happened to the Copperstate contest?

[charlie8575]

Yeah, there is an IPMS chapter that puts on a good show in December, when weather is very nice, in a very nice venue, and they are pretty car friendly.

BUT...it is still not the Desert Scale Classic.

So, I say find a way to get out here in Dec on a vacation, bring the family, then they will say, "oh yeah, that place is awesome, we gotta move there"..because the weather will be perfect etc etc. then, you will be here for both shows, each year! Plus, California is a few hours away, then you could make some shows there as well.

Devious...I like it.

Actually, I showed my dad some of the deals they could get there- they're thinking of escaping semi-permanently, and that might end up happening.

As I have no family of my own, just a few very close friends, a solo weekend trip probably wouldn't be that tough to pull off. If I can get things to where I want them to be, the idea of becoming bi-address isn't a bad one either.

Charlie Larkin

[Danno]

Been away awhile, what happened to the Copperstate contest?

In a word ~ (the) economy.

[Greg Myers]

$ Venue $

[Danno]

$ Venue $

Just one part ~ albeit a large part ~ of the equation. Still boils down to the economy. The economy drove up costs and simultaneously reduced disposable incomes that afforded many attendees the opportunity to attend.

[Rob Hall]

I remember the Copperstate show..went to a couple in the early '00s, IIRC it was somewhere waaaaaaaaay out on the westside.

[Danno]

I remember the Copperstate show..went to a couple in the early '00s, IIRC it was somewhere waaaaaaaaay out on the westside.

It was originally in north-central Phoenix. Several years at Embassy Suites, then downtown Ramada, but the centrally-located hotels ran the costs of floorspace way up. Ended its run at the WigWam Resort in Litchfield Park. Two or three years there, but they finished a renovation and jacked the costs up to unfeasible. A developing trend at the time was 'cancellation clauses' imposed by the venues. They insisted on being able to cancel Copperstate's guaranteed - and prepaid - date if a more lucrative deal came along, like a last minute wedding, etc. Imagine having a 2-1/2 day event scheduled with people coming in from multiple states and being cancelled 24 hours before the opening.

It just became unfeasible and too expensive to continue.

[Rob Hall]

WigWam..that's where it was when I went. Couldn't remember the name.

[my80malibu]

Just for clarity the IPMS contest is usually in November, not December. But of course there web site is usually the best place for information on dates.

[Danno]

WigWam..that's where it was when I went. Couldn't remember the name.

Gabe's right . . . usually the first weekend of November, sometimes the second weekend of November.