# Weird People



## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

We live off the beaten path, not in the wilderness by any means, by not off the main road. It is unusual to see anyone with plates from a different county on my road, let alone with a different state. There just is nothing to attract a tourist outside of an occasional hunter. So, yesterday I was in the front yard fixing the tractor, minding my own business. A new truck with out of state plates pulls up and parks in the yard, not beside the road, in the yard. I start walking toward them because I figure they are lost. They completely ignore me even as I stand about 15' away and I'm 6'5" 225 lbs so I'm usually pretty easy to notice. Not only do they ignore me but they let their little fuzz-ball dog out to pee an proceed to wander around my yard and the property across the street for 15-20 minutes taking pictures of themselves. Then they got back in the truck, sat for a few minutes more, then pulled away. What kind of weird, self-absorbed people live on this planet? Reminds me of the stories my dad would tell of people from the city who drove by taking pictures of him, the "little hillbilly boy", when he watered his horses by the highway in the 50's.


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## lazyBum (Feb 27, 2012)

Maybe they were playing Pokemon go?


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

lazyBum said:


> Maybe they were playing Pokemon go?


I hadn't even thought of that, I guess I don't know if there are any around here or not. Haha guess that shows how connected I am to the real world...


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## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

LMAO.... Just trying to imagine some fool doing that at my place... nope can't see it, they'd last maybe 45 seconds, 60 tops before they realized they are in the WRONG place...


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

Steve_S said:


> LMAO.... Just trying to imagine some fool doing that at my place... nope can't see it, they'd last maybe 45 seconds, 60 tops before they realized they are in the WRONG place...


I get enough human interaction at work. When I'm at home, if I don't have to speak to a human being, I won't. So, extending this unwelcome interaction or having to get angry was my last resort. Usually just walking towards the road makes the slow drivers move to greener pastures but these guys weren't dissuaded.


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

PokemonGo is a viable option however, I think I'd be more concerned they were snooping for an out of the way place to either steal stuff or do things they don't want to be caught doing. If it were me, I'd put up a couple game cameras to make sure if they come back under cover of darkness, I'd know it. (or maybe you have a dog that would tell you).


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

mzgarden said:


> PokemonGo is a viable option however, I think I'd be more concerned they were snooping for an out of the way place to either steal stuff or do things they don't want to be caught doing. If it were me, I'd put up a couple game cameras to make sure if they come back under cover of darkness, I'd know it. (or maybe you have a dog that would tell you).


I have dogs that will let me know and dogs that will let them know that there are probably easier meals.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Their fuzz-ball dog would have made a great snack for my dogs.

Lady came up here once with her fool cat and let it out of the car with no warning. My German Sheppard, with a distinct hate of cats, promptly when over, seized it by the neck, flung it a time or two, killing it instantly, dropped it, and walks off as if to say "ask ME next time, dadgumit".....

Many tears shed, but the bottom line is: Don't let your critters out at somebody else's place without checking first.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Perhaps they just bought the properties and are not accustomed to speaking with the care taking staff ?

I would sure as hoot found out who they were and had a check before they left.


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## HTAdmin (Dec 21, 2015)

I have friends who live off the beaten path who have to keep their gate closed or people will pull into their ranch and drive up to the house for no reason. 

They have private property signs everywhere but nobody reads those it seems.


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## Trapper (Jun 2, 2006)

Without completely hijacking this thread, could someone explain the pokemon go game. I don't play computer games and so I'm a little lost how this game has become such a sensation and interacts with the real world. The police reports from 6 communities around us are filled with the police stopping kids/adults playing this game at all hours of the day and night. One recent one was a man that left his small child alone so he could go play pokemon go with his older child. 

When I see people around or near our property 'doing nothing', they are probably 'doing something', sometimes they are sneaking up on a neighbor in the middle of the night to get the teenagers to sneak out. Sometimes they are casing the houses, trying to figure out if anyone is home. Sometimes they are looking through the garbage cans and sometimes the bulk pick up items for scrap or use. Sometimes they are religious and they want to talk. Sometimes they are selling something. In any case, write down the time and license number with a description of the people as you may need it later.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

AmericanStand said:


> Perhaps they just bought the properties and are not accustomed to speaking with the care taking staff ?
> 
> I would sure as hoot found out who they were and had a check before they left.


If they bought them, they bought them from me, and I wasn't made aware but us staff are always the last to know.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

joejeep92 said:


> If they bought them, they bought them from me, and I wasn't made aware but us staff are always the last to know.



Lol with the internet you never know who they bought it from. 


It does seem to come with good staff though. 

On a more serious note is there a chance that it's on a tax or some other type of "take" list ?
I know a guy who watches taxes and talks to folks behind on their taxes but not published yet about buying their property. 
Of course he acts the opposite of your guy very courteous and friendly and wanting to talk to anyone on the property.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

That entire situation sounds quite odd to me. I wonder if they had some sort of GPS navigating unit that messed up and "told" them where they stopped was the destination they'd programmed into it, maybe incorrectly? I recall a few years back, stories of Garmins or whatever telling users to "turn right now" sending them right onto railroad tracks or wrong way interstate access ramps. Or have folks living in cities all their lives, like in brownstone neighborhoods, lost any sense of yards and acreage being *property* which for owners is as much their absolute territory as it is inside an apartment's front door??


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I have this sign hanging in the shed. It says:

"If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"


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## cntrywmnkw (Jun 5, 2013)

Definitely sounds weird, keep your guard up. I live about 1/4 mile off paved road, back in woods, so if that happened here, they'd have been "greeted" by Mr. Mossburg & I & shown off property IMMEDIATELY!! The fact they ignored you & let their dog do it's business on your yard & then proceed to take pics, um, NO WAY, totally braindead morons.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

Trapper said:


> Without completely hijacking this thread, could someone explain the pokemon go game. I don't play computer games and so I'm a little lost how this game has become such a sensation and interacts with the real world. The police reports from 6 communities around us are filled with the police stopping kids/adults playing this game at all hours of the day and night. One recent one was a man that left his small child alone so he could go play pokemon go with his older child.
> 
> When I see people around or near our property 'doing nothing', they are probably 'doing something', sometimes they are sneaking up on a neighbor in the middle of the night to get the teenagers to sneak out. Sometimes they are casing the houses, trying to figure out if anyone is home. Sometimes they are looking through the garbage cans and sometimes the bulk pick up items for scrap or use. Sometimes they are religious and they want to talk. Sometimes they are selling something. In any case, write down the time and license number with a description of the people as you may need it later.


Trapper, Pokemon Go is a game that people play on their smart phones. Think of it as virtual geocaching. The application on their phone shows them pictures on a map where they can capture the little characters. Its all done through the phone's knowledge of where the person is (based on the phone's connection to the internet and GPS tracking).

There's a lot more to the game itself (the person playing is trying to become a master trainer of these little characters they capture, some of these characters are hard to find, etc.) but the basic gist is that people will drive around looking at the map on their phone to find the location of the character they want to capture. 

I work in IT and from a technology perspective I think its quite clever even though I won't ever play it myself.


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## HTAdmin (Dec 21, 2015)

I do too and I refuse to play it. I don't play games on my phone. I have consoles for that.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

Cabin Fever said:


> I have this sign hanging in the shed. It says:
> 
> "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"


CF, where you live there are many lakes and two kinds of people, those who have seasonal cabins on a lake and those who don't. (having a cabin on the swamp. like you do, doesn't count)

From first hand observation, the lake people drive like maniacs and are removing themselves from the gene pool at a prodigious rate. Unfortunately there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of them and sometimes they take one of us normal people with them.

My piece of land is a half mile down a minimum maintenance road and a further half mile on an old logging road. Last time I was over there a person drove past the no trespassing sign and into my campsite. He purported to be a nearby landowner. I was civil but sent him on his way fairly quickly. It's a good thing he didn't drive in while I was enjoying an alfresco shower.

Always try to remember, to some people you are the weird one.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

AmericanStand said:


> Lol with the internet you never know who they bought it from.
> 
> 
> It does seem to come with good staff though.
> ...


No chance that I am aware of. Have had visits from people looking for scrap metal and stuff in the past but it seems like it you are in any sort of business you would want to talk...


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

People are crazier than anybody.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

Nimrod said:


> Always try to remember, to some people you are the weird one.


I've noticed that too, funny how that works.........


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## Heritagefarm (Feb 21, 2010)

Weird... I've never had that happen. I do have a neighbor down the down who stops in the road sometimes just past my house, but I know for a fact there's no cell reception down there. I assume that's what he's doing, and I don't mind. Also, I'm, pretty far from any major city, so very very rarely do I see anyone else than locals.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

We live in an old farm house up a long lane. It was formerly occupied by my great Aunt, she died, it sat empty for many years, then we bought the place remodeled it and moved in.

Was sitting on the porch one day with the wife and a couple friends and some complete stranger drove up the lane, right past us, waved nice and friendly, drove through the barnyard and back to the woods like he owned the ---- place. I'm kind of sitting there with my mouth open wondering who in the heck was that, and what does he think he's doing?

Jumped in my truck and ran down to the woods to see who it was and what the heck he was up to. I didn't know the guy, but he explained very innocently explained that he was mushroom hunting, and it wasn't a problem because he had permission from my great aunt. I quickly explained that she was long since dead, we live there now and he needed to get out of there and not come back without permission.

In hindsight, just another case of a city person that didn't understand rural etiquette. Had he just stopped, been friendly, introduced himself and asked permission, he may have been fine.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

Fishindude said:


> We live in an old farm house up a long lane. It was formerly occupied by my great Aunt, she died, it sat empty for many years, then we bought the place remodeled it and moved in.
> 
> Was sitting on the porch one day with the wife and a couple friends and some complete stranger drove up the lane, right past us, waved nice and friendly, drove through the barnyard and back to the woods like he owned the ---- place. I'm kind of sitting there with my mouth open wondering who in the heck was that, and what does he think he's doing?
> 
> ...


It's almost like a different culture. I work in the city or what passes for a city around here and I have to refrain myself from waving while driving, saying hello to strangers walking down the street, and other such friendly gestures.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Probably city people. As a country raised person myself, I know that people in the country like their privacy, particularly if they live off the beaten path. If I walk up a dead end road, I always stop short of the yard of one of the few places if I see a vehicle from the distance so they do not see me. My walk is just a little shorter and they don't have to see me walk by. And it is a public road btw. My wife, a city person, does not understand this.


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## hippygirl (Apr 3, 2010)

Once in a while, someone will come down my driveway...apparently, it looks like a "road" to some folks.

What makes ME jumpy, though, is when someone comes WALKING down my driveway! Three Christmas seasons in a row, this man and a teenage boy would walk back here, knock on the door, and ask if we wanted to buy an XBox...

1st year..."no, I do NOT want to buy an XBox...this is private property...leave now...don't come back.

2nd year..."didn't I tell you last year NOT to come back? LEAVE NOW."

3rd year...DH never said a word as he stepped out the door with the 20 gauge.

Haven't seen 'em since.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

hippygirl said:


> Once in a while, someone will come down my driveway...apparently, it looks like a "road" to some folks.
> 
> What makes ME jumpy, though, is when someone comes WALKING down my driveway! Three Christmas seasons in a row, this man and a teenage boy would walk back here, knock on the door, and ask if we wanted to buy an XBox...
> 
> ...


Ok, you beat me on weirdness, I'd rather be ignored than that.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

Cabin Fever said:


> I have this sign hanging in the shed. It says:
> 
> "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"


See, now that's why I don't live in Minnesota. In Maine we have a liberal bag limit on them critters (long as nobody ever finds them)


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## vintagecat (Jan 26, 2016)

As a formerly (way) out of state vehicle driving the toolie roads around here, we were looking at real estate listings but we would have *never* displayed the rudeness and presumption of your unwanted guests. It's either rude people looking around to buy property, stupid tourists that just went "backwoods" driving and got lost, people casing the area or as suggested clueless Pokemon addicts.

We prominently display the signs of a local security company (we have their system) near the entrance to our drive to keep unwanted visitors from thinking it's a road. A big alert, officious dog that stays on the property is also a good deterrent to this type of unwanted visitation. My sister's German Shepherd keeps out the riffraff. Before they got that dog she said all kinds of people would just drive through or would park in the drive and start wandering around. What are people thinking? "Ooooh, a farm. Let's go look at the horses."

Gads.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

Two of my dogs are big and of intimidating breeds but they lack the desire to hurt a flea. Only time one of them has ever barked in an aggressive manner was when my mother-in-law got in very late at night. They stay in a kennel by my bed but I thought that kennel was about to come apart. On the plus side...they seem to have the same taste in people as me...


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

We have to keep our gate closed and locked because Google maps has our driveway listed as a road that is farther down. The private property signs don't work. Even a closed gate isn't enough. We've had people open it so they can "drive down the public road that we have no right to block" that leads right to my garage. I'm going to have a sign made to hang on the gate to tell them to keep going another half mile, then turn left.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

terri9630 said:


> We have to keep our gate closed and locked because Google maps has our driveway listed as a road that is farther down. The private property signs don't work. Even a closed gate isn't enough. We've had people open it so they can "drive down the public road that we have no right to block" that leads right to my garage. I'm going to have a sign made to hang on the gate to tell them to keep going another half mile, then turn left.


We have a similar problem with people using GPS.

But I was thinking of going a step further.........


> I'm going to have a sign made to hang on the gate to tell them to keep going another half mile, then turn left.





> ......and keep going .......over the ridge.........:heh:


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

I have a gate that is kept closed, with no trespassing signs on it. The county road that passes by my entrance is not easy to find and my private road is only accessible in high clearance vehicles. Just after dark two men came to my door, they were visibly upset because they tried to drive my private road in a car and got stuck. Now I live on the within 30 miles of the Mexican border, no one in the country answers their door unarmed. After they got through gripping about my drive, I let them see the gun in my hand. I had already called the SO and they plus the border patrol were on their way. My dog a fairly large German shepherd was sitting behind me growling kinda of low and slow. 

Told the men to have a seat in the yard, till help arrived as I kept an eye on them. Which surprisingly didn't take long. The Border Patrol arrived first, than within a few minutes the SO. Now I live alone at least 20 miles from closets town. I was lucky to have the help I needed working in the vicinity.

Both men had felony warrants. The car was stolen.


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## Lisa in WA (Oct 11, 2004)

no really said:


> I have a gate that is kept closed, with no trespassing signs on it. The county road that passes by my entrance is not easy to find and my private road is only accessible in high clearance vehicles. Just after dark two men came to my door, they were visibly upset because they tried to drive my private road in a car and got stuck. Now I live on the within 30 miles of the Mexican border, no one in the country answers their door unarmed. After they got through gripping about my drive, I let them see the gun in my hand. I had already called the SO and they plus the border patrol were on their way. My dog a fairly large German shepherd was sitting behind me growling kinda of low and slow.
> 
> Told the men to have a seat in the yard, till help arrived as I kept an eye on them. Which surprisingly didn't take long. The Border Patrol arrived first, than within a few minutes the SO. Now I live alone at least 20 miles from closets town. I was lucky to have the help I needed working in the vicinity.
> 
> Both men had felony warrants. The car was stolen.


That's a little nerve wracking. Glad you were prepared!


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## no really (Aug 7, 2013)

LisaInN.Idaho said:


> That's a little nerve wracking. Glad you were prepared!


Well I did need a change of undies after :yuck:


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

no really said:


> I have a gate that is kept closed, with no trespassing signs on it. The county road that passes by my entrance is not easy to find and my private road is only accessible in high clearance vehicles. Just after dark two men came to my door, they were visibly upset because they tried to drive my private road in a car and got stuck. Now I live on the within 30 miles of the Mexican border, no one in the country answers their door unarmed. After they got through gripping about my drive, I let them see the gun in my hand. I had already called the SO and they plus the border patrol were on their way. My dog a fairly large German shepherd was sitting behind me growling kinda of low and slow.
> 
> Told the men to have a seat in the yard, till help arrived as I kept an eye on them. Which surprisingly didn't take long. The Border Patrol arrived first, than within a few minutes the SO. Now I live alone at least 20 miles from closets town. I was lucky to have the help I needed working in the vicinity.
> 
> Both men had felony warrants. The car was stolen.


Sounds pretty unnerving, sometimes living in the middle of nowhere seems to attract the crazies. Living out there is peaceful, sometimes...


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Wow. No really a few events like that could color your view of the world.


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## Marinea (Apr 15, 2011)

We live halfway up a mountain, surrounded by trees. Our house is almost impossible to see from down at the gravel road. At the top of the long driveway, we have a fence and locked gate, but the driveway itself looks like an abandoned trail, except for the mailbox down at the road. We have had two very different encounters.

The first was a trio of four wheelers looking for the trails down the road. I could understand their mistake, but trying to open our gate was a bit much. A quick chat with my pistol in plain sight helped them lose their insistence that our property was simply a shortcut.

The second instance was more scary. It was late evening, and we were on our front porch. Sound carries from the road up the mountain and we heard a woman on the phone. As she started to walk up the driveway, the dogs started to bark, and we heard her say, "oh no, they have dogs." She turned around and walked a bit further and started to rummage around in the out of state neighbor's road side garage. We called the police and watched. A few minutes later, a car pulled up, no lights on, and idled by her as she continued rummaging around. They finally left. When the deputy arrived, we described what happened and he said that was a common MO of local thieves.

I guess it was lucky for her she didn't know the dogs are mostly harmless and just serve as the alarm and not the real bite she would have encountered.


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## vintagecat (Jan 26, 2016)

I always bet on dogs as a very good first line and in most cases, the only line of defense needed, though having back-up is best. The nerve of some people. People get shot for stuff like that in areas that I've spent a lot of my life in.

One dog story: We had an airedale 20 or so years ago, runt of the litter that weighed 38 pounds on a fat day. She was sweet and never met a stranger but one time my husband happened to bump the doorbell when we were coming home from work. Fancy ran down the stairs and lunged her side against the door snarling and barking aggressively standing on her back feet giving us the side eye. I jumped back. 

My husband said loudly, "Fancy, it's us!" She immediately stood down and wagged her tail happy to see us. We had been having daytime break-ins in our area and we were one of the few homes that hadn't experienced an issue with either an attempt or actual burglary. Seeing that dog's answer to the doorbell, I knew why. She scared me with her big dog roar and big dog teeth and she was my baby.

Good to have a dog like that on your side....


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## ladykena (Jul 12, 2009)

We live off the main road and off the back road, if ya know what I mean. When we first moved here we all the locals in an uproar. They couldn't believe we "live like that" Folks used to drive down "Just to see what we were doing" We had to get down right ugly to make it stop. Folks pretty much leave us alone now.


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## Dutchie (Mar 14, 2003)

Cabin Fever said:


> I have this sign hanging in the shed. It says:
> 
> "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"


My late husband, who lived on Cape Cod, had that as a bumper sticker


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