Big Bear Lake Adventure Hostel - Blog

14. November 2011

Nepalishop.com now offers gift certificates!

Filed under: Our Online Stores, Uncategorized — Grayson @ 13:54

Now you can purchase gift certificates for any occasion if you can’t decide which of our fabulous earflap beanie hatsmohawk hats, or animal hats you would like to give as a gift.

Just purchase a gift certificate for any amount by clicking “Gift Certificates” at the top of Nepalishop.com and we will email the recipient everything they need to purchase whatever items they want!

Don’t forget to use coupon code Gift5 for 5% off your gift certificate!

mohawk.jpg 

9. November 2011

Stay in Big Bear on 11/11/11 for $11 bucks!

Filed under: Big Bear Lake Adventure - Things To Do! — Grayson @ 23:20

Both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit Resorts are open for skiing and snowboarding.

Come on up and stay Friday night for $11 at the Big Bear Hostel!

14. March 2011

Big Bear Snow Removal - Bobcat Plow attachment - How To

Filed under: Uncategorized — Grayson @ 11:07

Future plans for the bobcat include something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMVwRFJx2A&feature=watch_response

1. March 2011

Big Bear Vacation Rental Cabin Sleeps 20, 30 or 50 People!

Filed under: General — Grayson @ 10:30

Big Bear Hostel is the premier lodge for groups coming to Big Bear on a budget!

Our two large houses were remodeled into a commercial lodge in 2007. We are centrally located in the village and both houses have a view of Pine Knot Marina and Big Bear Lake across the street. In the winter the snow covered mountains glisten on the other side of the lake.  Our first big house sleeps 33 people and the house next door sleeps 17 more. There is plenty of free parking in Big Bear and at the hostel. The ski resorts are less than 5 minutes away.

We have great rates for groups. Rates vary between $20-40/person per night (based on seasonal demand)  but average $30/person/night.

We can help you plan all your group’s needs.

Please visit our website BigBearGroups.com for more information, pictures, availability and pricing.

Keywords / Tags:

Our vacation rentals are great for large groups, large families, church retreats, group rates, group rentals, cabins for 20 people, 30 people, big bear cabins, accommodates 50, 25 plus people, big bear large group vacations, group bigbear cabins , retreat center, group lodging, homes that sleep 30+ , big bear retreats for sports teams and track clubs,

5. August 2010

Big Bear Air Quality Index

Filed under: General — Grayson @ 09:41

As a general rule: the best Air Quality Index (AQI) and therefore the best time to exercise in Big Bear is 6am - 2pm!

Have you ever noticed a haze in the afternoon when looking across the lake after its been windy midday? I have always noticed it. Is that pollution?

I wondered if there was a real-time widget I could embed on my website to show current air quality in Big Bear. I found this cool AQI animation. Watch how the pollution closes in over Big Bear in the late afternoon! (Big Bear Lake is above the ‘ar’ in “San Bernardino” text). Too me, this was an average Big Bear Summer day with calm night and morning with wind picking up late morning to afternoon.

Big Bear Air Quality Animation August 3, 2010

This next animation is today’s current AQI animation:

Current big Bear Lake Air Quality Animation

http://www.epa.gov/airnow/today/anim_aqi_losangeles_ca.gif

You can find historical and current AQI data for Big Bear Lake here.

Can I receive an email or twitter alert when Big Bear Air Quality reaches certain unhealthy levels?
Yes you can!

EnviroFlash was setup just for this purpose.
You can signup so you only receive an email or twitter when Big Bear Lake AQI reaches a certain level.
Since Big Bear is usually Good-Moderate I set my alert to only notify me when there is a forecast or current AQI of ““.  I will know whenever Big Bear air is particularly bad.

While Big Bear Lake has generally good air quality.
It never hurts to have some data when you want every advantage to reach your peak!

Grayson

BigBearHostel.com

2. July 2010

How to find and get a great deal on a used car online.

Filed under: General — Grayson @ 15:29

The best deal is always to buy from a private party and not a dealer. In this case you are usually buying “as is” and are responsible for deciding the condition of the car.
But if you don’t know much about cars this can be risky: a car with a warranty from a dealer might be a better choice for you.

Now to begin your search:
1) Search your local paper classifieds (which are becoming less useful since most people are selling online now).
2) Cars.com and autotrader.com
3) check ebay.com (you might get a great deal, but its not always possible to check out a car beforehand)
4) Craigslist.org (try Crazedlist.org and craiglook.com which have better interfaces and let you search broader areas).
5) Check kbb.com and Edmunds.com for used car pricing on the model you are interested in. Also they have check lists of things to inspect when viewing/test driving cars you are thinking about buying.
6) Make an appointment to check out the car and drive it. Print out “things to check” list from above sites before you go.

Don’t let the seller know you are “VERY INTERESTED”. Pretend to be only interested if you can get a good deal.

Always know the Blue Book value and print out the price estimate and take it with you. Sellers put a list price of what they would LIKE to get. But will often take thousands less!

BARGAINING:
Instead of offering asking them if they will take a certain amount. Point out any problems with the car and ask them how much they are willing to move on the price. They may offer to reduce the price before you even start to negotiate. I often say on the phone,  “I have to drive quite away to check the car out so can you tell me your lowest price so I know if its worth my time to come take a look.” Many sellers will give you a great price just like that since they want you to come buy their car! When you do see the car in person, you are in a better position to start negotiations since they have hopefully already given you close to their final desired price.

NEVER PAY MORE THAN BLUE BOOK! You can always find someone who is more desperate to sell than you are to buy.

Don’t be in a hurry. Thousands of cars are listed every day. If you search for days or weeks you will “know the market” much better by the time you actually buy.

Save up and pay cash. You can always get a better deal paying cash since there is ZERO hassle for the seller.

Most cars need to be smog checked when sold. So you can make it a condition of the sale that the seller goes to get the car smogged before you buy it.

Print out a BILL OF SALE from the DMV website of your state. You will have to pay car registration and taxes when you go to register the car.

-Grayson

Delicious grilled avocados!

Filed under: General — Grayson @ 15:01

Cut avocado in half and remove pit.

Add a scoop of your favorite salsa.

Grill on med - low heat for 5-10 minutes.

a) Scoop out warm avocado and add to burger.

b) Mash it up for a nice warm chip dip.

c) You can also just eat it as is or serve as a side dish with your favorite grilled meal.

-Grayson

2. September 2009

Usefull software/tricks/virus solutions/downloads

Filed under: Windows XP Software — Grayson @ 14:05

I recently had a bad computer virus/malware infection. The best place to get help is:
www.bleepingcomputer.com
They provide free help and guide you through using combofix to scan and remove viruses.

Also, if you ever want to download free useful programs and KNOW that they are safe, goto:
www.download.com (all software tested safe)

Must have software for windows xp:

FOXIT READER (better pdf viewer, faster):
http://download.cnet.com/windows/3055-10743_4-10313206.html?tag=pdl-redir

BEFORE YOU GET A VIRUS: (or after you are clean again)
Spybot Search and Destroy:
AVG:

TO REMOVE A VIRUS:try:
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html
or whatever is currently recommended here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic34773.html

27. August 2009

Adventure awaits in Baja! BajaTrek.com

Filed under: Adventure Travel, General — Grayson @ 16:06

Some of you may know that I used to drive adventure tours in Baja Mexico on the Adventure Bus.

Well, I had the pleasure of talking with some like minded souls who have started a company called Baja Trek (bajatrek.com)

Check them out! They have a cool red school bus just like the one I had for a week! I’m so jealous!

 

Looks like the Green Tortoise old school.

-Grayson

How to build a home made kayak pvc cart

Filed under: General — Grayson @ 15:28

Here is a one stop site for lots of kayak cart plans, videos, and how to builds.

Sit on top kayaks with self bailing holes are easy to make carts for. Just find some old axle and wheels from a big wheel, wagon, hand truck/ dolly or other and make a simple cart that sticks up through the bailing holes like this:

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/drupal/content/building-pvc-kayak-cart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGSXOoHBpIk

Big Balloon Kayak Wheels

 http://www.hotshotproducts.org/roleez_main.htm

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