Mt_Rider

Like a gigantic kiln? Wonder if a roaring fire would glaze the inside? Is that what the salt was for....glaze? Interesting! MtRider [Thinking of interior walls of adobe....we're gonna all have so much to talk about at our gathering on Sunday! ]

NOTE: I am recording my journal as fast as I can but I’m playing catch-up. This entry is still for Friday.... We made our way carefully, traversing the hillside. This pathway was quite wide and comfortable. Even Mo3B would not be afraid of this gently modulated slope. Um...well, don’t look in *that* direction tho. THAT’s reminiscent of our CO home. DH stopped the donkeys by a grassy area and tied them to the trees. We kept the cart hitched for now. I stayed aboard and DH walked with Big Dog. We nearly missed seeing the first opening under the high ledge. B*D had to sniff there tho. It was totally grown over with brambles. Since the dog was showing no real interest [as in: big critter inside ] , we moved on. The next opening was larger and we encouraged her to go on inside. The overhead ledge was getting wider and, even on horseback, it was easily tall enough for me to be underneath it. It would be nice to be in it’s cooling shade on a hot day at high noon. The late afternoon sun shining on the southern-exposure rocks made it nicely warm today. With the shotgun in his hand, DH ducked to follow the dog inside - with his headlamp on. {glad I found those wind-up headlamps! sheeesh...I HOPE he doesn’t have to fire off a shotgun inside a cave... } They came out and DH reported that it went back about 15 feet and was about 10 feet wide. It got rather short in the ceiling towards the back. Plenty of animal sign in there but nothing recent. We moved on. Just around an outcropping of rock, the whole area opened up. The smooth rock ledge that we walked upon was about 40 feet wide before it ended in the dirt of the south-facing gentle slope going down to the river flats. Here and there rocks and boulders were scattered on this “patio”. A few trees had managed to grow at the edge but for the most part, it was an unobstructed view to the river and beyond. The patio extended along the slight curve of the ridge line for about 100 yards. Cave openings could be seen in a couple places. The overhead [roof-like] rock ledge covered a good half of the patio ledge in most places. It was nearly flat-horizontal with just a slight rise upwards as it ran east. The next cave opening was big but not deep inside. You could have parallel-parked our truck in there tho, and had it enclosed on three sides. Ooops, I mean we could actually park the donkeys ANd the cart in there. I thot it was time to dismount and join B*D and DH on foot. While the dog was having a grande time exploring and sniffing, she showed no anxiety nor did she sound any alarm. The equines were not nervous either, and they would be if any large predator had been here recently. We unhitched the donkeys and tied the equine trio up to the trees growing near the patio. I dug for my headlamp, pulled my cane from the saddle scabbard, and was ready to explore. This wide cave opening had two extensions leading deeper into the cave. The one on the left was like a wide hallway and we could see that further down it was lit. Where was the light coming from? Ah...an obscured opening about shoulder high and about 2 feet diameter. Hey...a window....if we move the brambles. Are those gooseberries tho? Yep...gooseberry or currants. I always forget how to tell the difference. So we were inside the hill, moving back toward the way we’d rode in. [don’t pass out, Mother...just in case you are reading my journal about this part! PLEN-ty of room in here! ] We saw light ahead and it turned out to be that very first opening, also covered in gooseberry bramble. We’d traveled inside behind the 10X15’ room and rock outcropping. Obviously, there was only exterior access to the 10X15’ room. But this area behind Bramble Door #1 was good sized. The access opening was actually about 12 feet high and 5 feet wide. That was surprising since we’d nearly missed it coming in. We turned on the lantern and the large shake-lite to see better. Wow. Smooth grey rock looked like it was sanded. Shaped in interesting curves. Floor was basically level and smooth. Basically. We walked it out and found it was roughly 25’ in both directions with alcoves around here and there. One larger alcove led further back and there was the sound of dripping water. Ah HA! We followed that sound. Suddenly Big Dog made a dive for something small and furry that scuttled past us in a big hurry. OW, you big oaf, I yelled [too loud for the confines of the cave..whoa...] Well....she’d stepped on my foot and nearly knocked me down. Evidently, she’d chased off whatever rodent it was [ a rat? ] and trotted back to us with a big doggy smile. Yeah well great....foe vanquished...march on. Within a couple more steps we found the water. B*D immediately tested it and kept slurping. It was spurting just a bit from the crack in the rock about shoulder high. There was a pooling at the bottom which was only about a foot deep. Another crack must have been seeping it out again because it didn’t spill over. Hmmm,.....automated doggie dish. I *LIKE* it! So did Big Dog. This certainly had possibilities for living! That running water in the back...well, it was more like an “ambitious seeping” really. But THAT was marvelous. I’m at an age where carrying water up this Oh-So-Gentle slope from the river would have my arms outta the sockets. Wonder how pure this gurgle is??? I mentally began placing our belongings here and there in the alcoves. DH brought me back to present. He noted that it was getting late and we really didn’t have time to explore further. He suggested we retreat back down to the garden area [having not yet assertained that all the caves were...EMPTY OF RESIDENTS ] ....and get a good start again tomorrow [ Saturday] morning. We’d have all day and then head back to the Lodge late in the afternoon. We do not want to be traveling after dark....not yet anyway. So we made camp down near the river and our first garden plot. Naturally we had fried fish and I made pancakes. Cuz they are easy! We buttered them and thot of how we’d better dry off our one milking goat soon. She and the other 3 are due in 3 months. Normally we could wait another month but she’s been milking for nearly 2 years. She needs to build up and grow her baby/babies. Not that she looked poorly. Even with the rigors of the trip, my goats tend to look like round barrels. Piggys, they are! We slept in the midium-sized tent with B*Dog right at the door. She woofed a few times just to let “whatever” know we were here. The night sounds were mostly familiar. Some stirred long-ago memories of the midwest summer nites. That was pleasant. Nite.

Yeah, Mother has been reading my journal and then....she's been forecasting what I'm about to write in that journal before the ink is dry! I'm interested in this adobe too, Annarchy. Might be a solution for my front wall and other projects. How ...um, "wet proof" are the bricks? Any special care? Do the walls have to be sort of plastered on the outside? {OR...I might just wait till she posts and find out then.... LOL } Still looking for a natural [as in: available to us in Big Valley] mortar for stone workings. MtRider [ trying to get back into writing and catch up on my planting...yikes, it's MAY 16th already! Aaaaauuuuugh! ]

"First Blessings" - 3 Sisters Garden Patch Dear Diary......WOW. God is so good. I cannot believe the wonder of His creation. Just as He's kept us safe on this long journey to this remote valley, so He is providing shelter for the coming seasons. HE even provided some very kindly neighbors....as we would discover. Mr.MtR and I left the Lodge at dawn with MM and Jack pulling the donkey cart. [Apparently Mother & Clan had left just before we did.] Big Dog came along, of course. And Midnight was towed along, just in case. He is the fastest and most dependable way back to 'town' if we'd have any emergency. Survival rule....ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN 'B'. We'd arrived at a point along the NE River that was not yet half way to the eastern edge of the valley floor. That river was back within it's banks and looked nothing like the torrent it becomes in it's ugly mood. Now in this mood, it was gently gliding down to the Lake. We saw places that were 10 feet wide and others that were 30 feet. I thot of someday riding an inner tube down to say HI to anyone at the Lodge. Well, for real, I did pack a small rubber boat. I'd replaced the unworkable plastic oars with a double-bladed kayak paddle. What I'd give to have been able to bring a decent kayak along with the wagon. {sigh} This northeast quadrant was more hilly and forested than some of the other parts we viewed from the top of the cliff ...before that descent! Since we've been MOUNTAIN folks for a long while now, this area drew us even before we saw it. It also has the advantage of letting DH get back to the medical clinic if needed, without traveling for long hours. ...well, not until the snowdrifts make travel ...challenging. We've kept the NE River on our right side as we traveled. DH told me of trying out his fishing skills here and there. He comes from a family of fishermen. Unfortunately, he's not that fond of fish. Hmmm, gonna have to talk to a fisherWOman like Q and get some tasty ways that might win him over. Cuz sure and for certain, fish is one very plentiful source of protein year round. [ edit to add - to get rid of a "blooper" ] So what with the river being so inviting and the morning so grande and this talk of fishing....we just pulled over and threw in a few hooks. Meant to just be a half hour or so BUT the fish were biting and HEY, even *I* caught three trout. DH did well and mebbe my jinx is off here in the Valley. Usually I'm Jonah and everyone wants me to go home so they can catch fish. Not only do I not catch...but no one around me does either. So, with supper wiggling in our large bucket on stringers, we set off again feeling a bit tardy but....what the heck. The tall Eastern rim of our Valley loomed forever ahead. We wanted to chose a spot that would not be too occluded by that rim. We would have fantastic western views, for sure. This general location was perhaps 15 miles down to the southern rim and mebbe 4 or 5 miles to the northern wall. I commented to DH that we were totally upside down from island living. Living "in a hole" instead of living on the upthrust of land that makes up Maui. Still, one could get the same "island fever" . But I don't tend to fret over small spaces. I enjoyed island living without being antsy. I was content on my CO mountain, nearly homebound. I will be happy here in our Big Valley. The area nearest to the lake and Lodge was quite flat. But we'd been steadily climbing -- but with no sense of doing so. Very gradual. There were plenty of open meadows and stands of forest further back from the river. Occasional rocky areas forced us to meander our path in and out of sight of the river. But it made an excellent guide. I noted how DH and Mother's clan was already beginning to wear a discernible path thru this wilderness. We could see a lot of fresh droppings from all their animals. They'd were traveling this morning, lock, stock, and barrel, to their new home. Best of wishes and prayers to them. It would be nice to have neighbors but I worried a bit about how far away they would be. How long does it take to ride between our two places? No one else, not even one of the B families, seems to be settling up this way yet. Mother's clan is much closer to the eastern border of the valley floor. But what a prize they found, from Mother's exciting descriptions. She and I have such similar tastes and interests in so many things. But I happen to know she does not *personally* want to go into a cave. She knows the value of them tho. "Sooo, when do we get to your digging?" I'd asked DH. He pointed out the area ahead where the our river path must detour to the north for a bit. It climbed one of the many hills in this region. There was a rocky steepness on this side of the river. The south side, however, was flat. "The river curves a little up here. " he'd said. "But I didn't go up that far yet. The soil is great right here. So, I started cutting off the sod on top." And so began the the beginnings of civilization. He said he'd cut about 20X10'. I didn't expect that he didn't get too far. Cutting the sod is heavy labor. Even if you keep the tools sharp. I sure hope we can borrow one of the plows soon. We'd put in a late Lehmans order for a garden plow like Michael and Lori's. They'd convinced us along the wagon trip that it would be a good investment. But, like many other things, it had not arrived yet. Maybe we could pound a shovel into a plow share and figure out a way to use that for smaller areas? WELL, did we get a surprise! As he pointed out his digging area, a puzzled look came onto his face. HUH? We stopped the cart and got out. I was fixin' to be VERY impressed with his effort but .... HE was looking impressed too. "Now how'd they do that so fast?" he pondered. Mother's group wasn't *that* far ahead of us this morning. "OH! You mean you *didn't* do all this?" I asked as I looked at a very nice sized area of black naked earth. My DH snorted, "Not hardly! I told you I'd barely started and only was doing some because we are getting so late in the season. I thot at least we could get some corn in or it might not make it." We looked at each other and laughed. If we hadn't done that impromptu fishing, we might have caught them out in their "shoemaker's elves" good deed. I was so excited! I was a farmer's daughter...corn and soybean farmer's daughter to be specific. Living up at 9,000' in the Rockies all these years, and tropical Maui before that, it had been decades since I'd had the chance to grow corn. I eagerly got down on my knees and felt the soil. A farmer's daughter never called it "dirt" if it looks and feels like THIS! I rolled it in my hand....just a good as DH had said. God bless which ever of Mother's clan had pulled off this kind surprise. "Lets plant now!" I said suddenly. "Before we explore for the cave?" asked DH, very surprised I'd put off finding my HOME. "Yep! Can't waste a day cuz corn needs a long season and so do the squash." A lot of the wagoneers had discussed the Three Sisters: planting corn, pole beans, and squash [any variety] together. The huge leaves of the squash vines blanketed the ground around the corn & kept down the weeds. The pole beans were planted in circles around the corn plants so that it could use the sturdy stalks for climbing. We'd researched this endlessly because we've not been able to grow ANY of these in our island or high mountain homes. We'd had gardens together and before we'd even met in the midwest decades ago, but we'd never done this combination before. So we tied off the equines so they could munch and pulled out the gardening tools. DH had packed these things so we could at least get a row or two of corn started before we returned to the Lodge for Sunday. [gonna be a plowing demonstration and we NEED to attend that....AND we miss everyone so much! ] But what a delightful surprise to be able to get a good sized planting in TODAY! Working in the soil together is something DH and I have done wherever we have lived in our married lives. We enjoy it and this soil was a wonder after our rather sterile, flour-powder and sand soil of the Rockies. This had WORMS, as I mentioned before. We dared to remove a few [just about three of the garden's residents] for fishing later. We soon had the "First Blessings" field lined up with strings to keep our planting straight. [We'd named this plot for the kindness of our new neighbors and for the blessings of food God would bestow.] Then DH planted the corn and I circled the corn with beans. We'd chosen to plant the field corn for the animals since it took the longest. Well, we could certainly use it ground up as well, but we tended not to use much corn in our diet due to digestive concerns. We'd plant the popcorn, which I did use, in a plot far from here and we'd drape some of the plants in fine-mesh cloth in order to further prevent cross-pollinating of these two varieties. I wanted to try a blue heirloom variety for grinding too but, I'm not sure how much we'd get to put in. We'd brought a lot of mesh material for draping. There won't be any Gurney's seed delivery out here and hybrids will be UNwelcome except by specific design....and then you'd still have to grow the "parent plants" each year to be able to repeat the hybrid seed. Too complex...stick to heirloom. While I thoroughly enjoyed the planting, I was fretting a bit about the delay my illness had caused. Taters...we have to get them in soon. Greens and peas too cuz they will produce fast and need the coolness of spring. We'll plant successions of greens in shady areas tho. Wonder if our purple potatoes, so well adapted to our high elevations will do well down here at 3,000'? That variety came from the Andes Mts in Peru. We've been growing them and saving seed potatoes every year and would hate to lose that variety. We certainly worked hard enough to keep them from freezing during that danged late blizzard on the way here. They'd fully sprouted by then and the vines are sensitive to freezing. Maybe we'll put a few in along this edge here. DH had added a few to our donkey cart with the 3 Sisters seeds. We also put in a few radishes. They are for morale. They start coming up and WOW....we're successful farmers/gardeners! I don't even like them that much but, they can be cooked and eaten as a root veggie too. It was well into the afternoon by the time DH sent me to rest while he handled planting the pumpkins in and amongst the corn/bean plantings. I dug out the sandwiches sent by Chef [bless him!] and began munching before DH was even done. Big Dog and I wandered down to watch the river flow past. Ahhhh....this is grande! DH Came up and filled one more bucket and hauled it back to "First Blessings". Each hole of corn seed had gotten a cup full of river water and a squirt of fish emulsion. Likewise the pumpkins. Some bean seed had been soaked overnite and sprinkled with a nitrogen fixative [that black powder stuff] before being planted today. We hadn't soaked enough for this much prepared land, but I began soaking more immediately and they'd had at least a couple hours. We'd have to keep them well watered in the next few days. Unless God watered for us with rain. [Not Sunday tho, if you please, God....] We would have to get some fencing up around the patch soon too....very soon. If there is one thing we have experienced, it is gardening in land that is heavy with wildlife. Finally DH washed off his hands and joined me on the river bank, very ready for his sandwiches. He ate three of them in record time. The one thing this man does not dawdle over is his food. Goood! Cuz I was gettin' REAL antsy to see what could been seen just into this bend in the river. So near I could almost touch it but, this garden patch was very important too. We were both rather grinning like idiots, I noticed. Very pleased with this start on our homestead. "So you think we might find some caves in that ridge right there?" I asked. "I sure hope so, since we've set up this garden plot here. But it sounds like there are a lot of caves in this area," he answered. So we hitched up again [not willing to get out of sight of any of our things] but instead of following the wagon tracks toward the north as Mother's clan had done, we stayed close to the river. It was going to be difficult to find a route for the donkeys and cart. I was so stiff from riding and then gardening that I volunteered to ride Midnight. Had to get the kinks out of my muscles, weak from so many days in bed. With Midnight and I scouting, we soon found a route wide enough for passage amongst the rocks and boulders. [hee hee....I like rocks too....couldn't wait to climb up and perch on some of them...just watching the river flowing by...] On our side...the north-side of the river, the ridge rose about 500' high. (????...IRL I'm lousy at number estimates so this number might change. LOL) The passage we found took us up above the river bank about two-thirds of the way. Below there was only a gradual hillside that evened out at the bottom. A wide flood plain arced in a semicircle as the river turned more southerly. We were on the outer rim of the gently bent curve. We sat there looking down the gentle slope to the bottom. There the hillside gave way to a wide stretch of lush grasslands on both sides of the river. Wow. The southern bank was low and flat enough to see for miles. Mebbe we could wave to Q's and Mo3B's homesteads? Seemed like it. The wide bend of the river was cupped on our northern side by the ridge line ....just a ways back from that lovely grassland. The rocks followed the same curve like a backwards "comma". DH spotted them first. I was gazing at my beloved water, wanting to bring the boat the next time and just bob around on it. But he pointed suddenly and said, "There it is!". The topmost ledge of rock came nearly straight out. A massive overhang for the ledge below it. It was the lower ledge that this passage was going to meet. "My gosh!" I exclaimed! "It's like the cliff dwellers! Are there caves and ...{gulp} are there any critters in residence already?" I was certainly thinking of the wildlife of the Rockies...Mt Lion and bear, specifically. Obviously they would be in areas like this. But the hibernation of bears was over and ...well, this was one job for Mighty Dog and her alert nose. "Wagons Ho..." I'd said quietly this time. THIS was what we'd been waiting for! I just KNEW we were HOME! MtRider [stuffing the journal into my jacket and taking up the reins.....whew, even writing about gardening is hard work! .....yes, of COURSE I am using adrenaline to keep going!!! ]

Not a pain at ALL, hon! I love your participation. [i think you should arrive in your own wagon with a small group sent on after us by Jacob and Joy..... ] As for boiling water, one thing you have to remember about the bubbles. Now, I assume it also applies in the ...ahem, lower elevations like 3,000' but the deal is this. It will begin to bubble and roll BUT it has not reached the traditional temperature of "boiling-at-sea level". That means if you are wanting to purify water at {pssst...what temperature does boiling indicate to low landers? } ______ degrees, then bubbles are not an accurate indicator. There must be some formula on this....for mountain hikers? We just let it boil away longer before putting the pasta in or whatever. It means more will evaporate, btw. And [again, not sure if this is higher like us] WHEN the pasta goes in ---- it gets all fizzy and froths right outta the pot. Unless you stir with an empty spoon and them quickly pour in the pasta or whatever, you're going to lose a LOT of your water over the sides. It took me forEVER to remember that when I moved here. Drown the stove repeatedly. ...or, drown the campfire, in our case. Many folks use those alterations but... I never did. I'm not an all-star cook tho. When baking cookies, we use a double layer cookie sheet tho. [ or two cookie sheets on top of one another] or you burn them before they're done. AND we cover brownies/cakes etc with aluminum foil and cut out the center -- leaving about an inch covering the edges. Cuz the edges get too done before the middle is cooked. MtRider

Dear Diary [THURSDAY] Mother and clan came back to "town" and she came to visit me. MrMtR walked in too. They'd passed by him on the way and he joined up returning here. Of COURSE I am in bed where they all think I belong. She had such news to tell. CAVES! Oh I was SO hoping there might be CAVES! Mother's group has found one [lots] and now I'm not gonna be satisfied until DrMtR and I can find one too. It has *always* been a fascination with me. Nooooo, I do not want to crawl thru itty-bitty places on my belly. NOT that type of cave. But 3rd book of Clan of the Cave Bear series type cave. Nice dry sturdy cave. Yep! I'm going cave hunting. Even if I have to give up my beloved BIG WATER, I want a cave. Understand the amount of stress I've been experiencing...primitive life way down at 3,000' elevation. I'm gonna DIE IN THE HEAT OF SUMMER WITH MS! Caves will solve that problem. I know DH & I have discussed endlessly HOW on earth we were going to keep me alive come summer. That's why we've been insisting on being right on a big body of water. I HAVE to keep cool below 75 degrees. I can take winter subzero but heat above 75 kills me quickly. OH yea! CAVES! Natural Air-Conditioning! What a relief. Other than falling badly and breaking my fool neck...heat is really the only thing about MY version of MS that will kill me. It had us so worried. So guess what? We're packing up the donkey cart with overnight supplies and going out to look around the area DH thinks might be a good spot. He did some digging on the fertile flats near the river. The spring floods look to gently fan out across this area so the soil is dark and with good balance between sand and clay. Loamy with organic material and ....there are earthworms! If a worm is happy, plants will be happy. [and MrMtR-the-fisherman will be happy too] Now where did I put that ph meter? I HOPE we're just a bit on the acid side. Majority of plants will do well. I am SO tired of the granite Rocky Mts giving us highly alkaline soil. Hard to deal with; needs constant modification. Now that DH has heard of the cave idea [guess I never mentioned it to him...] he likes the idea of not building [all by our decrepit old selves] the cabin. We've lived in a cabin and may build later but we want to focus on farming initially [crops/garden and livestock]. He has a couple areas for us to start looking for caves. Anyone know of a natural mortar we could use for stone working? MtRider [ I get to get outta prison! C'mon MizMM and Jack. Wagons HO! ]

No......I've just come DOWN SIX THOUSAND FEET from where I was living in the CO Rockies. I'm breathing just fine, thanks for asking. MtRider [ eagles for neighbors IRL up here...really! ]

Dear Diary, Hee heeheee...... Ms. Protocol does not know but today was the 3rd time I've slipped out the medical cabin window to go do my "resting" down by the lake. I just leave a large bump of blankets in my bed. I have a little secluded alcove in some willows down here. Water is so ......satisfying to me. Just like to feast my eyes upon it. Sometimes I wonder if we should have just parked along this huge lake somewhere. But...DrMtRider does not want to be in the midst of a lot of folks. So we're going to be running up the NE river. Not as far as Mother's clan but I hope we can be near enough to visit easily. We NEED neighbors in this life. DH has been riding up that way scouting out the sites. He's kinda got the general area but HAS to wait for me to get up OUTTA THE DURNED BED to be there choosing the final selection for the homesite. Think he was going to start some digging near the river, just to get something started for the plants. I did start some seedlings...a few each nite for the past week...well, until I got really sick. DH has been tending to them but I got a peak at them yesterday when I was AWOL. That danged donkey nearly gave me away too. She spotted me and hollered! {sigh} She ALWAYS hollers when she sees me and everyone knows it by now. I had to hop IN the window really fast and hang my head out as tho she had seen me there. Lucky for me there are bushes growing around this window and they are NOT thorny ones. Getting out in the fresh air has been good. I still get dizzy and tired quickly, but at this stage I need to move around some too. And besides, it's time for a change of scenery when one knows that there are 37 knot holes in the ceiling of the medical clinic patient room #1. Mebbe I'll just move over to patient room #2 and start counting there? MtRider .....sneaking back in the window cuz the clouds are making it chilly out here.... ]

Hi y'all.... Remember me? I have been struggling with health/energy/cognitive for as long as Wagons Ho has been running this winter. But sheeeeeeesh.... I am wearing out. I do think I might be getting a break in this siege. I hope. I've had some days that I actually got to catch up on the IMMEDIATE TO-DO list. I even was able to do a therapeutic ride Friday. That's been thwarted this frigidly cold winter due to snowpacked roads where we usually get solar power to clear them. So I have not even been on MrsS for ..days and days and days. Fortunately, y'all stuck me into the medical clinic cabin and proceeded on. But I'm going to have to read a lot to catch up before I can post again. And I'm not up to anything like that yet. Just now getting rid of yet another migraine-quality sinus headache. Been waking with them every morning. Takes me 2-3 hours to get them to clear. ....then the energy for the day is already depleted. But I wanted to at least let you know that I'm still planning to return and get ME outta the medical clinic. Mr.Mt. Rider had better be scouting for our home place and digging the veggie garden. Someone want to put us on the list for getting a field plowed? [MrS & J have brought in a couple horse-drawn plows to pass around for larger field planting. But there are a lot of folks who need to share these. Most gardens will be hand dug and we are pushing against time on some of the longer-growing things. ] OK...energy gone......but I still have to milk IRL....so I'm gonna say bye for now but I'll pop in as I can. this too shall pass........... MtRider

Remember while looking at Michael's wonderful map [isn't it coooool! ] that the tiny tree indicators are just that....not representing individual trees. But just that those areas are more heavily wooded. The areas without tiny tree indicators does NOT mean NO trees. There are plenty of trees here and there and EVERYwhere. But there is certainly more open land in the clear spaces on the map. You get to chose and tell us what you are finding. Same for the water. Any number of ponds, creeks, and streams are there to be found. A number of hot springs too. But the map shows our major lake [1 mile wide and 2 miles long approx] and the rivers. They are fed from the watersheds for miles around so they will be running year-round. Higher in spring of course. These rivers are not huge like the Mississippi. NOT! More like the width of two country gravel roads and their ditches. More or less. And deep enough for our watercraft of canoe/raft. ....um, we have to build those, huh? Streams will be shallow mostly but some deep fishin' holes. But the rivers are deep and running strong. [MtR trying to figure out how to harness some of that river=power! ] To get scale....remember the valley is 10x20 miles so I printed the map, then divided the length by 20 equal sections and the width by 10 equal sections and got a grid of square miles. A LOT of square miles here. As with Mother's computations of how many 40-80 acre plots can fit within a square mile.....we've got plenty of room. MtRider

{.....whooooooeeeee, here we go! IRL, however, MtRider is doing very poorly. Nothing to worry about but it just stinks! I have no energy, no coordination, no ability to *think* clearly, NO ABILITY TO TYPE CLEARLY.....and I'm having trouble with NETZERO knocking me off line or jamming so I have to shut down the computer and restart the whole business .....& hope I saved to a word processing file whatever I'd been working on. So if I'm scarce, you'll find me lounging on my comfy FEATHER BED in the back of the wagon and hoping for better energy and the return of MY BRAIN! WELCOME BACK WAGONEERS AND READERS } MtRider kinda hung back as the others went up to The Edge to look down over that beautiful valley. It was neat to just watch the reactions. We were here...finally home. Well, we would be once we got DOWN to the valley. That was gonna be a challenge. But hey, we've endured everything from helicopters to blizzards. This group [no longer two groups but melded into one by now with friendships extending throughout ] was toughened in body AND attitude. Whoops, now that person really doesn't like heights. Get her laying down, quick. Nah....she'll be fine. Let her walk down and it's not so bad. It's getting the wagons down that is .....yeah, that's pretty bad. But Edward and Clarence and even Jacob Rock have all taken wagons and teams down here intact. We'll make it....slow and careful. And no, none of those wagons ever came back UP to this mountain top. It's a one-way ticket ...for our wagons anyway. In fact two of the wagons brought by Mr Smith are staying up here. If we ever need to go fetch things from civilization, they will be handy. Mother's wagon is down safely and the next wagon is in place. Everyone has been warned to stay quiet so as not to startle the animals working this shift. The children and the rest of the animals are being kept well back at the last clearing and tended there. It kinda sounds like a golf tournament ...with a few quiet ooh&aaahs here and there. But mostly it is extreme focus on the business at hand. DH has our wagon hooked to the cable and .........[MtR tries to decide if she'll close her eyes or stare-without-blinking.....] Then she feels a hand grip hers and Mother is there to support her. "I DID happen to notice that you aren't feeling well today," says Mother. "I'm ok....not much more than ok..... " I answer. ... and I've decided to stare-without-blinking as DH and our oxen inch down and down this steep incline. The back wheels are skidding; not turning because of the large log crammed in to lock them up. I remember to take a breath now and then. Then that boulder is so CLOSE to the left rear wheel. The stupid log catches on it. Now what? They are almost to the leveling out area but DH can't go further forward. STUCK! The horses up by the cable winch are halted. Don't play out anymore line. Several strong men rush up to try to move the jamming log a little so that it will clear this obstacle. This large boulder won't move. I start fussing about how *I * should have driven. I was a professional driver of tour buses....DH needed to to swing wider on that curve! Fuss*Worry*Pace*Wring-Hands The horses are pulling IN the cable just a bit. The oxen are confused but DH is directing them back UP hill a few inches. Suddenly the log is freed and the men remove this temporary "brake" so the wagon can get thru this narrow spot. "Hold everything real tight," hollers Mr Hughes. "You'll be without the log braking you for the final few feet down. Don't worry, you're almost there anyway." Mother held on to me a while cuz apparently I'd unconsciously began to head down that hill to be closer to our little drama. "Wait," she said. "Just a moment and he'll get your wagon thru." And then it was done. Our oxen rumbled the last few feet and stopped for the cable to be loosed and wound back up [dragging the brake-log up too] for the next wagon. And my legs, none too sturdy on this day anyway......gave way. I sat smack down and all but dragged Mother with me. "I'm fine,.....just need to sit a bit." "You aren't bringing MM down with the cart, are you?" Mother asked. "No. Normally I would, but I just don't have the legs for it today. Mr.Mt.R will come back up and bring the cart down. We decided to use both donkeys since Jack has a steadying influence on MM. The cart has the long poles so it won't overrun them anyway. Later, I'll be going down on Midnight. Dh will take Roan down at the same time.....but he might walk her too. She's always a bit of an idiot and this isn't a good time for that." The donkey's were quite careful and slow enough they almost wouldn't have needed the restraining cable. Of course, nasty rocky hillsides are what they are bred for. The poultry & rabbit cages had been made quite secure on the cart and each cage was stuff rather full with dried grasses. Other than some quacking, honking, and scrabbling for position when the cart first tilted downward, all went very smoothly. Of course the goats had no trouble when it was finally time for the livestock herds to be encouraged over the edge. My four small does are showing their pregnancy but are not yet heavy enough to slow them too much. I was put right to bed again once we'd gotten our animals situated. I didn't need a second opinion. I think we all dropped 5 pounds these past two days. We are all glad the wagon train is back together and not split with some still up at the top. Mr.MtRider and I on our lovely featherbed in the wagon, discussing just how we plan to accomplish things with just the two of us. Or...the one and one-half of us..... if the past few days is any indication for me. Oh well, the garden and small fields first and once that's started, we can worry about anything else later. We plan to be right on the NE river and not too far for him to get to the medical clinic if he's needed. The tents we brought and the wagon will be just fine for the summer. But from our Duluth experience, fall comes and then a house of some kind will be needed. Plenty of trees and grass land in that area from what Clarence told us. We're getting very anxious to actually ride around and discover WHERE our new home and lands will be. Are we there yet??????? Almost! MtRider

Thanks, Annarchy. You made me Sheesh, y'all. Ready to see the Valley already? OK HOMEWORK FIRST........ I need some geometry done. ---You have a valley basin floor which is 10 miles by 20 miles roughly. Oval shape. Think REALLLLLY LARGE football stadium with the seats representing the hillsides going up and up and up. ---The North and Eastern sides are pretty steep. the Eastern side is 1,500 feet UP altho not a sheer cliff. Only towards the top. ---The South and West sides are much more gradual and not as high. {that's part of what we are figuring...} More mountains beyond them further away. [{sheesh} can't even spell "mountain"....my brain is NOT doing well IRL, btw ] OK...what I am looking for is an estimate for Winter Solstice [Dec] and Summer Solstice.....what time would the sun hit the valley in the morning AND what time would it set in the evening. At those two extreme times per year. Basic question, how much are the mountains around us going to affect our sunlight hours in the summer and in the winter????????? AND....does it matter much between the East side of the valley and the West side of the valley???? {10 miles wide} Anyone want to take this on? MtRider.... Happy New Year everyone. [yes, I know it's JANUARY in 3 hours..... BUT WHO SAID WE ROLL OUT ON JANUARY FIRST?????? ]

Wow, excellent! No worries. No matter how much we know individually, we can never each know as much as we ALL know collectively. Keep it coming. Mother...you have people doing 'homework' on Christmas..... ...oh yeah, I'm here too. AND I watched "Westward the Women" today with my mom. Coool!!! MtRider [ who says we've got a W*Ho addiction problem... It's important research! ]

Can I be lazy and not look this up myself? What years did the pioneers take the wagons west? I'm thinking of doing a email story like this for my far-away Grsons. I'd make up a pioneer family which just happens to match their family characters. Mom/Dad/Auntie/Boy1 & Boy2. Grson1 may be able to read it to little brother if I keep the words simple. Something I'm pondering while missing family so far away..... MtRider [...I *think* this family will head for the Colorado Rockies... ]

Well I'm gonna search for my plot of land till I find one that has a nice&hot [...but not TOO hot] springs right there. I will put up a greenhouse around it and add the cabin onto that. Sulfer-smelling heating. Hmmm......... Wracking my brain for low-tech but also low manual labor means&ways. MtRider [ ...... did I mention my IRL hot tub is now kaput? And no tub in the tiny bathroom either, only shower. Wah! ]

HEY! How did I miss this????? DAR....LEEEEEEEENE! You are SUCH a trouble-maker! Just for that, we're all gonna start writing some storyline about Darlene and her clan arriving just behind us ....being led in [with our late mail] by a couple of Jacob and Joy's sons. AND then SHE can be the first wagon DOWN the precipice....er, I mean trail.

Oh I'm glad you did that, Annarchy. I COMPLETELY forgot you'd sent that to me. oooops! Wow...that was a REALLY long time ago and all the adventures and struggles we've had since that beginning.... whooooooooooeeeeeeee! MtRider [...am I meaning UN or IRL?????? Both!]

Nah...MT3b...You're already thru that last dratted NARROW spot and ...well, clear at the TOP of the ridge/mountain. But it's a very nice meadow we're circled in while waiting the go-ahead for our turn to proceed .........D O W N.........to the valley. That make you feel any better? Search thru and find the clues given about Big Valley. The Rockin' J bonfire nite, my last post, etc. Then start designing your own homestead within the parameters given. This isn't paradise ...or it wouldn't be a challenge...but it's supposed to be pretty bountiful for a primitive lifestyle. About at a Little House on the Prairie level of civilization....with a few gadgets from the future thrown in. Oh Leah.. ...it's likely something else that might be discussed. An elected council at the very least. You noticed I've dodged that one till ....ahem...until you brought it up. Thanks a lot. LOL [Mother has been bringing it up too and I keep ignoring her. LOL ] As it's still a small population, and the Valley is large, some things are much less likely to come up. People aren't sitting in each others pockets. But, some things will inevitably cross over with one's neighbors and.... It's open for discussion, folks. Less governing is better. But some "civilizing" influence is certainly going to have to be in place .....were any of us ever to get into a situation such as this. As homesteaders, what would you be looking for? HOWEVER......"discussion" means everyone on BEST POLITENESS, please. NO :frying pan: or that discussion will end. You can best state things by saying: " I, personally, would never get into a group unless....OR if they did this/that....." "I, personally, would prefer organizing like this...." "I, personally, think that this is/is not necessary for small groups..." You get the idea. This still IS UNreality, afterall. Play nice! MtRider [swats MT3B..... "shoots them and serves them dinner..." WHAT did she say? ]

MtRider automatically gets into W*Ho mode and heads for computer....and finds it locked and empty. {oh ...forgot} Then finds everyone hanging out in Comments. {whew! } Y'know I've been thinking about how Hawaiian land was divvied up back a few decades ago. They originally had a layered society of the ruling class and the rest. So the concept of personal land ownership was new. ....and didn't work out very well actually because it was too new to their society. [it was kinda forced by other countries that had found these beautiful islands] ANYway, the land was split so that it was in wedges. Everyone had a pie shape. A lot of land by the sea, because of course that was their main life. But they got the trees for their boats waaaay up on the sides of the volcanic mountains. Certain plants were found mid-way up, etc. So if they were to have all the resources, they needed access to all the regions that make up the island. So I've got my eye on property that might back up against the higher land of the mountain. There is where you'd hunt elk and bear [furs] and find different herbal plants and ....... The flat valley land, rich with nutrient eroded down thru the years from the highlands, is necessary for the agriculture. Grains! I can grow grains and fruit trees and ...... While the Valley is relatively unpopulated, it wouldn't be an issue. But who knows who will come? Generations later? MtRider....[seeing some cases of W*Ho addiction here...... ]

MtRider, Mr.H and Clarence Smith rode to the edge of the meadow at the crest of this very high ridge line. They were both grinning like idiots and were watching for my reaction, of course. They had been here many times. ..................................................................{this is the sound of MtRider trying to close her mouth}.................................... "WOW!" She feasted her eyes on this sight we've all been longing for so long. "It's....it's HUGE!" "About 10 miles across and over 20 long," supplied Clarence. He sounded like a boy with a new bike. "About a gazillion mountain steams feeding creeks, ponds and such down there. That big central lake is where we've got the Lodge built already...with the main river running all the way thru the Valley. You can't see either end from here. The lodge and a couple other cabins are the start of the Village and a base of operations as everyone searches for their own homesteads. The lake will help a lot with transportation if we use log rafts initially. The river will be a help in some ways and a problem in other ways. " Mr. H added, "There's a good mix of meadow lands and wooded areas throughout the valley. The meadows will mean at least we don't have to uproot trees to break soil for fields and gardens right away. Plenty of trees all over for building." MtRider was still mostly gaping. Suddenly, overcome with magnitude of this blessing, she literally dropped to her knees with eyes closed to thank God for their safe arrival and the bountiful provision of this Valley. Then she opened her eyes and .......looked down over the edge that was the route into their new home............. ....... ................. ........................"UH OH....." ================================================ I was bursting to tell everyone what I'd been able to preview but somehow, it just didn't seem right. Everyone needed to view it just as I had. With it's total splendor spread out for miles and miles before their eyes......... [ yeah, and before they got a look at the route ] So I quickly retreated to my wagon to lay down and rest while the others were still getting thru that nasty narrow bit which was this mornings challenge. I prayed as I lay there pondering; prayed out my thanks again; prayed for our continued safety; prayed for our wisdom in governing ourselves well in this new start; prayed for restoration of health for many of us who would need strength in these coming weeks and years; prayed for others who might be able to reach this Valley to join our effort; praying that we'd be able to retain sanity in a world gone mad. I had such a peace in that time. Though this would undoubtedly be the challenge of our lives, I was SO glad we'd come. Michael rapped on the wagon and needed something. I popped out of the back of our conestoga and saw .....what? The whole bunch of them were gathered around. Ummmm, what's up now? I wondered. And then the gallant Michael was making his speech and as he and others stepped back, they revealed ........... {gasp} A GORGEOUS FEATHER MATTRESS I barely heard the ringing shouts of "SURPRIZE!!!" I was absolutely stunned. And certainly speechless. [for the SECOND time in the past hour, mind you....yeah, that never happens ! LOL ] "Where.... How..... Who....... " I managed to breathe out as the ladies brought it forward to me. I gathered up a corner of it and hugged it to me. So soft and spongy. A thing made for dreaming sweet dreams, for sure. It's beautiful with the blue stripes. "Oh my gosh....I love you all so much! And suddenly there were so many people to hug all at once! Just a complete melee of joy. Stop bawling, Mother! You'll make me start! Until someone called out, "The donkey is loose" And there goes MM trotting by with a bucket in her mouth. "MM put that DOWN," I hollered laughing. "Did you untie your tether knot AGAIN?" Heeeee HAWWWW HEEE HAAAWWWWW HEEE HAW HEE HAWW ============================================== Meanwhile......back IN REAL LIFE ...... Mother locked the thread after Michael this morning.....but, heehee....I have a secret key and snuck back inside So I get to have a final say here. I assume most of you have guessed that I've had quite a bit of help directing this thread and this JOURNEY we have all taken. Believe me, I NEVER had this in mind when I got us started packing our conestoga wagons. Who knew we would find a way to CORPORATELY WRITE our way thru highways and small towns, thru the rural ranchlands and then thru a wilderness? All in an UNreality! An UNreality that began very quickly, to feel VERY REAL INDEED. This has been an amazing experience. Totally amazing. But I want to tell you about my partners who gave so much of themselves these past TWO MONTHS to ensure that we could actually keep this thread and journey on course and interesting and fun. MOTHER --- whose Pioneer Forum we commandeered to host this thread. [you will recall she wasn't even home to be on her computer when I started this thing..heehee] I needed her life-long study of how our ancestors really did this life. MICHAEL --- who was just so durned excited [ yes, Michael...we'll leave soon] about this UNreality. I needed his enthusiasm to put the LIFE and humor into the story as it unfolded. Also, since he lives among the Amish who still live this lifestyle, his experience was invaluable to keep us believable....in our UNreality. for both of you for brainstorming with me and ....throwing in some things *I* had no idea were coming. sheeeeesh! WAGONEERS --- You are the ones who got this thing to really happen beyond the "packing & preparations" thread. You just didn't want to quit. So I thot....hey, lets try it. And oh, you did challenge me! How do we all stay "on the same page" and proceed with storyline that is cohesive ....well, enough to let us continue at least. Both Michael and Mother wisely counseled me early that the "bloopers" are part of the charm and to ..."go with the flow". So we only tied up loose ends here and there ....and set out storyline and ...WOW. You all took up whatever challenge we threw at you and ran with it. At times I think I was getting so enthralled with reading your responses that I was mixing my realities. [ Just today I called my horse "Roan" instead of her real name. ] I was so excited each day to come here and see that some of you had posted storyline that would be totally a surprise for me. Did you see that after a while, we all got into a rhythm? It began to flow out and each of us seemed to anticipate the UNreality ....really did meld in and out well with each other's posts. Breathtaking to watch it happen. And I know we all learned FAR more than any of us believed we ever could from an UNreality Scenario. Learned things For REAL LIFE Whooooooooooeeee! That was a surprise too! READERS...... it was SO fun to know we'd developed a sort of fan club. Those of you who faithfully watched our progress on this Wagon Train. Without the Comments thread...and looking at the number of 'views', we might not have known you were there. But you are a part of this too. We hope that beyond being entertained by our trials and humor and bloopers, that you were able to feel some of what we felt....and learned some things along with us. Perhaps some things that will be very important In RealLife. Cuz that's what MrsS is all about. So......... we still have Recipes thread and Comments thread open. Anyone ....feel free to continue to talk there. Add more campfire or primitive cooking recipes. AND..... if anyone is still interested in January ...... WATCH FOR IT! There will be a new thread starting up --- BIG VALLEY. ....wellllllll.........you didn't think we'd leave you CLIFF-HANGING just to be mean, did you? ----Original Wagoneers that had to drop out for Real Life reasons....we've "brought you along" so jump right back in if you have more time to play now. ----Other folks ready to give this a try?.....we ARE expecting others to join us so go to the Rockin' J and talk to Jacob and Joy. They'll see you get thru to the Valley. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! [yes, IRL I mean! ] MtRider [...psssst, Mother? Michael? Do you think they'll forgive us for not letting them SEE the Valley yet? ]

LOL @ turkey.... I grew up on a 200 acre Iowa grain farm [corn, soy bean, oats, alfalfa]. Not much for animals except occasional dog [one was a Saint named 'Bert'] and cats. Lotsa cats. I tamed the feral ones so we'd have more cats. But I finally got my horse. My memories include: --"walking the beans" [getting rid of the weeds....that's a LOT of walking on those acres! ] --"detasseling corn" -- a 1st paying job for farm kids. For making hybrid crosses for seed corn [rip off the tassels - "male" part - from four rows of one variety so it cannot self-pollinated. It is cross-pollinated by the two rows of the other variety. The four rows are seed corn for the next year's planting. ] --HOURS of my childhood on a school bus --some years of school in a one-room country schoolhouse. Tho in my case, it wasn't all the grades together....it was just one grade classroom ...like our 4th grade. Didn't have an elementary school with multiple rooms. --4H projects, county and state fair, --community ice cream socials at the tiny white clapboard church and playing in the cemmetary where my ancestors are buried --DVBS --falling off horses in all sorts of circumstances...mostly self-inflicted --small town festivals and parades --everyone knows your grandparents....and if you misbehave, your parents will hear about it from no less than three different sources BEFORE you get home. --chilly harvest season...riding on the tractor with my mom, bringing in the wagons and getting inside to knock down all the grain from the wagon sides to fall into the elevator or auger --riding on hay wagons...standing, without support, in the very middle of the empty wagon to balance over the bumps of The Path --learning to drive our old pale blue Mercury on The Path [hit the brake too hard once and nearly had Saint Bert up in the front seat with me...lol ] --catching lightening bugs in jars --playing in the oats bin....and boy, does that ITCH!!!!!! [didn't stop us at all tho] --going EVERYwhere in the neighborhood on our horses and bikes. Horses gave higher status, btw!!! ............So? Are the children of Big Valley gonna have memories like these? MtRider [...looking backward on the eve of a great move FORWARD.......UNfortunately in UNreality tho. ]

Oh WHEW! What a day this has been. I might have been pushing the energy *just* a bit. But it felt SOOOOooooooo good to ride along the train again. I've been switching over to Midnight more and more. Despite him shoving me into the stream , he's proved to be quite reliable and steady. I like geldings better than mares any day. Roan is just NOT the horse to be on during this leg of the journey. These ledges don't bother her...and she's so oblivious that its a risk. Steady! I like steady under me on this winding trail. Awwww....I missed most of the foot ball game at noon. I sent myself straight to bed to rest for a while as soon as I grabbed a biscuit sandwich from Chef. I can't believe I went to sleep that fast. I'd been out for at least a half hour when I heard the shrieks of glee and roars of laughter. Huh? I stuck my head out in time to see the last of Quarterback Sasha's touchdown. 'Course my Big Dog was roaring out her cheers from the sidelines. No, there is NO WAY I'm letting *you* loose into the melee. But the rest did me good and I was able to get back on Midnight till we stopped early for the night due to time it was taking us this day. With that long narrow pass coming up just before we reach the top....and the "entrance" to Big Valley... Mr. H decided we'd camp here. So since we've stopped to early, it gave us a chance to do some back tracking. That last stretch of UPHILL before we made camp tonite was a bit much. Whooooooeeeeee! It took our whole train longer than we'd hoped...because we were forced to leave some things behind and lighten the loads. It takes time to chose appropriate heavy things to unload [tho we'd all been wracking our brains over this for the past week.] and then to repack everything solid and secure. MrMtR & I emptied a bit of the load out of the conestoga wagon. Hitched our full 6 oxen and they made it. One of the guys led through our double hitch of MM and Jack [donkeys] pulling their cart of poultry...and with as many other things as we dared to load on. That went smoothly as well. I loaded down Roan with packs and led her while riding on Midnight. BUT STILL we had left a pile of things we had not dared to load on either wagon/cart/horse. So after all the wagons had made it up that route, our unloaded donkey cart as well as a few other folks with pack horses, went back down....and fetched up the rest of everyone's things. We had to make sure what was left was heavy yet able to be placed on a pack horse. Mr.H definitely vetoed taking anyone's conestoga back down that particular hill to reload and come up again. Not enough room to maneuver at the bottom. So bags of grain, small but heavy tools, tents and tarps....anything that would fit on the horses. A few larger things could be hauled with the donkey cart. It was nearly dark when everything was reapportioned back to the wagons it was forfeited from. But we 'd reclaimed it all. If we were not so nearly there, this doubling back would not have really been wise to attempt. But since we are stopped a bit early for the day anyway.... That narrow pass coming up will be enough challenge tomorrow morning. At least not as steep as that one today. Our donkeys get a good ration of food tonite. The look tired but not over-weary. Actually, they look downright proud of themselves. I think they like pulling together. I'm SO pleased with our decision to get Midnight and Jack. They have already proven their worth. I know-I know.....I can see Mother and Q in particular giving me the eye. I'm heading for bed... Hey, *I* didn't go back down on the 'fetching run'. I stayed right here in the chair by the fire, didn't I? DH took our horses back down for a pack load. And someone else led the donkey cart. But.... I've probably gone a bit pale and need some time horizontal. MtRider [...determined to arrive at our new home well equipped with our 'STUFF'! LOL ]

Q....none of the land grants are assigned. We get to pick out the area we want. But...that will mean some scouting around. Likely we'll all camp near the main "village" area first and go out on expeditions to find the land/area we want. Then we get the surveying trained guy [one of the B's people but he's also a lawyer] to mark it off and record it. [and you and I for sure want to find one that has a nice hot spring, don't we? ] Can you see why we're hurrying to get there? We have to CHOSE land before we can start to plow land..... MtRider [...going to bed early tonite....so I can ride the horse tomorrow and build up strength again! Don't really like being stuck in bed all the time. ]

Wow, did it feel good to be riding again this morning. Not long, of course. But there is something SO therapeutic about it for my damaged nervous system. Takes out the kinks from laying in bed too much too! [----stretch----] Gonna lay down again for a bit. Even *I* know I've got to be gradual about this recovery. Zzzzzzzzzzz.............. MtRider walks slowly, using the two-cane method toward the fire. Heck, I could walk faster but....I'm trying not to trip. It's my first appearance 'round the fire since the Fetching Fish Mishap. I am so awfully glad to be with everyone again. DH & I take a seat near Chef and MrH. I nod to MrH and he gives a faint snort and shakes his head. A few folks call across the fire, teasing about "lessons learned...AGAIN", etc. I have Mother to thank for starting THAT one. Sheeeeeesh. Y'all are just plain having fun ribbing me about that incident, aren't you. Well, setting aside the fact that I probably have it coming and that you are really trying to tell me that none of us wants to see any other of our party injured or worse..... .....I DO formally apologize for your worry!!! SERIOUSLY! I hate to worry or scare anyone on my behalf! HOWEVER, I have a topic for pondering for all of you. I've had some time to think while being stuck in the wagon these past couple days. I'd like everyone to consider something. Just how safe can we reasonably make our new existence? What measures will we individually enact to minimize the obvious increase in dangers that we now face? As you know, Mr.MtR and I lived up in the Colorado Rockies over the past decade. Since he commuted to his office, I spent about 90% of my waking hours ALONE. During different eras of that time, I might or might not have friends nearby to call upon when I thot the weather was particularly dangerous. Or if I was feeling poorly that day. Or in any other event that made things worse. But MOST of the time, I was ALONE. Inside or outside; rain/snow/storm; hot or frigid temperatures; amongst Mt. lion, bear, coyote packs, and feral dogs...... I did what needed doin' for the livestock we raised...the garden...the property in general. And I ALWAYS rode alone. Do you think that it is going to be any different when we are all on our own 40+40 acres? In Colorado we only had 12 acres and there were neighbors scattered fairly near by. In the Valley, there will be significant distance between our homesteads. All the more significant due to the lack of motor vehicles. Some have large families. They will have a greater ability to keep each other's back. Others of us like DH and myself, the Annarchys, the Quiltys, AH's, others - there are only TWO of us. Have you thot of how you will handle the day to day activities safely? Have you discussed being hand-in-hand for the rest of your lives? Not many of us had that kind of life formerly. Perhaps you have decided that you will simply always stay within emergency calling to the other? You have already seen how the 2-way radios are limited by granite hills. They will be more effective in the valley but...are still limited. Emergency whistles should still be worn...DEFINITELY! ....if you can remember to use them. Another thing is the signal of three shots of a firearm in quick succession. And repeated. Yeah, I forgot that one too! I had the rifle with me that day. I did not even *think* to signal with it. But.....we cannot waste too many rounds of ammo either, in this new life. What I am saying is that while I ignored some of the precautions available to me on that day.....[i certainly could have gotten someone to go with me]....we are just about to begin a life in which that is not necessarily going to be an option. Mr.MtR and I have already lived a life which naturally presents more risks. For me in particular. This is the reason I carry such an extensive emergency belt pack......and you KNOW you almost never see me without it. THAT is a rule I'd only break if my brain was malfunctioning. I have drilled it into myself thru the early years up at our Colorado property. It is why I have drilled myself to be able to take care of any situation I might run up against...BY MYSELF. I cannot tell you what it meant to me when I knew I could run back to the wagons...to all of you, and know you would take care of me that day. I would be safe because you would be here. On our homesteads, busy as we will be, will days or weeks go by before we can even visit with each other? If MrMtR needs to run to the aid of someone needing his medical skills, will I not....as I was for those years in Colorado....be at our homestead alone. The business at hand cannot wait for me to sit "safe" in our cabin until he gets home again. The choice for me is: Of course I will need to keep on doin' what needs to be done. But I go into this situation with finely honed skills of how to prevent or handle crisis.......ALONE. And some days that WILL mean I get into the house and wait for backup. You may decide to never leave any of your members alone in this wilderness. That is a good solution too. Hopefully DH will have less time away than back in the Mon-Fri work world. [....or near to 7 days per week as our personal economy was fragile. ] But I challenge you to think thru this. Children will obviously be watched very closely until they mature into a knowledge of the dangers here. We also have our oldest generation who are more vulnerable for many reasons: being less mobile, harder to see or hear danger approach, or just a bit less attentive than in younger years. We also have those among us who have limits due to illness or disability. Brutally honest self-assessment is the only way I've found to set up personal "safety protocols". Rules for how to minimize the dangers of my life. One of the reasons I've had trouble in this communal existence, is that my former protocols are set up for being alone -- handling everything alone -- and ALWAYS preparing to BE alone. Then...if DH happens to be there...so much the better. But I prepare for the most difficult of circumstances....because for me, it is the most common. I wish for you, my dear friends, to think upon these things. I have lived at least half-way into the "wilderness" environment for a long time now. But for some of you, this is a very different set of circumstances. You must choose differently perhaps, than in your former life. So much more carefully and yet, understanding that you WILL risk so much more as well. OK..speech over. Thank you all for your prayers and assistance lately. Love you all!!!! And I promise to TRY to stay outta trouble for at least a couple days. MtRider heads for the food ........ ......um, WHAT is the green stuff? Fiddlesticks?

Oh shoot! Annarchy is over there teaching about casings for sausages ...how to prep them...and MtRider is stuck on sick leave and can't leave her wagon. LOL, good instruction, Annarchy! When y'all explain something out in the story like that, we might not have all the details....but it seems like it IS so doable. MtRider