Mt_Rider

Augh, what is it about mornings these days? Sunny skies? Wheels not buried in mud? WAGONS HOoooooooo! MtRider [iRL...going back to bed as soon as critters fed/milked ]

FIFTY POUNDS...... Oh Mother?....... we just *happen* to have some LIVE turkeys on the wagon trail....that SOMEone needs to explain how they get from "gobble" to being "gobbled up" Any volunteers? MtRider [..heading out for a date with dinner ]

Well, we all got some practice in hitching 6 oxen today. We haven't had to do that yet. But that MUD required hours of heavy manual labor. Have I mentioned that one day, we will arrive at our destination and have hot springs? ...well, I'm not sure what temperature these springs will be. I hope some are nicely below scalding...just soaking temp. Right Q, and Mother and......all of us would love a hot bath. Unfortunately, the sun wasn't out enough to really heat up our solar shower bags. But, warming the water over the fire and pouring it into the bags worked too. Ahhhh, nice to get rid of all that mud! My hair is still wet so I'm sitting near the fire to get it dry. Long/thick....it takes a while and is definitely a nuisance without a hair dryer. Well as we were all so cold and muddy and achey AGAIN after the wagon-pushing, I passed along a tip for soreness [esp. arthritis]. The potion is "heating" too. {especially if you're prone to hot flashes ...personal knowledge of *that*! } One tablespoon unpasteurized honey...one-half teaspoon cinnamon....add hot water to make a mug of 'tea'. {IRL thanks Darlene! } It's sweet and nicely spicey...tho stirred well yet the cinnamon doesn't really dissolve. A bit gritty. Has REALLY helped Mr.MtR's hands that nearly retired him from chiro adjusting till he began this. Ohhhhhh, the puppies! I've been over there to see them. Momma Sasha is so proud. Thumps her tail and grins when we admire them. Nuthin' so cute as rolly-polly Saint puppies. I remember our Saint from my childhood. LOL The goats perched on their "islands in mud" under the wagon last nite. But they were sure glad to perch on higher ground now too. Still muddy but not in inches of standing rainwater. The folks that have been off exploring say that we'll have to be careful of the Little Ditches from now on. They are running high with water for now. That will go down rather quickly in this usually dry land tho. Might have to do a short stretch of road to use a bridge. But, mebbe by the time we're able to move again with this mud, we'll be able to 'ford the stream'. Woooeeee, will ya lookie that! The hunters just brought back 5 turkeys. We've permission to hunt the land for rabbits, BUT... is this turkey season in this state????? Oh heavens --- they're still alive! Couldn't tell the way they were tightly trussed-up on the saddles. Ohhh, they are a gift from the rancher who's land we currently are passing thru. He raises them and met our folks out on the range. Thought he'd better check on us after that wowzer of a storm. Well thats great. We HAVE met some really nice folks out here. Now with this lay-over yet tomorrow, we'll be able to have a feast. Hmmmmm....... It will almost feel like it's Thanksgiving tomorrow instead of springtime and somewhat past Easter. Course now there is the job of butchering/plucking/etc. I think this is one Pioneer Class I'll sit out. Toooooooo tired and I've already the experience of pluckin' a duck. {IRL Do have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Day everyone. We have SO much to Thank God for in our current luxuries. Gotta love those dry homes, running hot/cold water, easy-bake ovens, and the opulence of good times with loved ones. } MtRider [ turning in early tonite so I can get up to help with the roasting of those birdies. ]

[ IRL I've had a trying day. Evidently my phone was not working and dh was getting a little worried by this evening when it finally connected. Then *just* as I was ready to post this at about 3pm, I lost Internet connection and could NOT get it back up again. Rural glitches in services??? I feel picked on! Dh finally fixed it when he came home late tonite. OTOH....it's not raining at my house.... ] Aaiiieeeeeee WHAT a mess! No...no we really can't go on. This mud is too much. Yes, if the wagons can fill in between the two that are stuck. The benefactors are going to try to join our ring too or a second circle joining ours like a figure 8. We're going to have to check horses and oxen for pulled/strained muscles with the slipping in the mud. Hot cocoa? Oh yes please! .... not the coffee. Where did that come from? I'm freezing! Oh, tell Chef that he's a wonder! [has stove in the cookwagon and he's sending out mugs...yes, we'll return the mugs and not lose them in the mud. Promise! ] OK, MrMtR and I have checked on the poultry/rabbit cart behind the donkey. The cover is intact and the birds are fine....not going to enjoy any leg-stretching but they're dry enough for ducks/geese. Rabbits are burrowed into the deep prairie grass bedding we stuck in there last nite. We've herded the dwarf goats under the wagon and penned them in with fencing. With the mud/water rising, we flipped over four half-sections of their 2 "dog carriers" so that they each have a "top bunk" to perch on up outta the mud. They are four little islands under the wagon. They're glad to be outta the rain. Big dog has not been allowed to get wet and stinky so is still supervising from the wagon. Poor cat hasn't been seen since the rain began...also burrowed deep in her blankie in the carrier. Donkey and Roan are stripped of tack [which needs to be wiped and oiled] and are on their pickets out in the rain. Not so cold that it bothers them. Donkey has had her purple waterproof blanket on since the downpour began. Roan scoffs at that nonsense. We set up the awning constructed with a tarp is hung over the back of the wagon as a wet room. A place to hang wet clothes and gear. And boots. After seeing if anyone has an emergency....lots of little ones but nothing that can't wait till the rain stops, MtR gives up and crawls in to find a towel and complete set of dry clothes. Stuffing her long hair up into the leather hat saved it from being too wet except where it dangled out. Brrrrrr....... chilled. She tries to get the wagon rearranged to sleep on top of EVERYthing tonite. There is that front nest for my resting but it's not big enough for two and dog. Whew, by the time she's heaved and hauled and finally has a second nest carved out for sleeping [not guaranteeing the comfort] she's quite warmed again. Found the small butane backpacking stove and decided that *this* nite warranted it's use. Setting it up on the back of the wagon, she heated up some canned chili and canned hamberger. Biscuits and butter [thank you , Mother and clan] and jelly. "Get back, Dog! Out! Go lay down." "Hero" last nite does not qualify you for wolfing down our supper tonite. MrMtR arrives between watches and needs feedin'. He's gotten some coffee from somewhere. I've got the hot cocoa mix and some hot water next on the tiny burner. He adds a scoop of the hot cocoa mix to flavor his coffee. I put on a wool sweater and dry sox. Pull out a dry set of rain gear. Another pair of rain pants and a rain coat instead of the poncho I'd worn all day on horseback. I head into the rain to check to see if all is quiet and also report to Mr.S & J. What will we do if this doesn't let up? Nothing to do but wait it out. It will take days have dry trails again so our next days will be slow even when the rain stops. Checks on the Mt3B clan wagons. The remaining members are doing fine. They've got the situation under control. Someone sent them some supper. The DIL is concerned about a drip from the tear in the wagon cover material. I've got some seam sealant so I'll go get it. We'll get that stopped before it gets anything wet. ANYONE else need some seam sealant? Bees wax works too. At Mother's wagon there is a strong feeling like Sasha's puppies are choosing this nasty evening. Awwww, Sasha. Well at least we can keep her dry in the wagon. But I know what it's like sharing a wagon with a XL dog. Holler if you need anything. At the Annarchy camp, I greet our newest member Big D. I tease her, "Now did you bring this with you?" Boy, we're not putting our best foot forward with this wagon trail life, are we? Really, this is as bad a weather as we've had the entire trip so far. Well, I'm glad you found us before this mess started anyway. Q & Mr.Q are keeping dry. All of us pretty much have the same idea....stay inside dry and warm. Except those who must keep watch. Seems Chef has taken the responsibility to keep them supplied thru the night with goodies and coffee/cocoa. "Hot showers" That's the line I cheer people with. ....Except it's not applied to tonite or tomorrow...... We'll have hot showers in the Rockin' J bunkhouse. And that seems like a loooong way from here. Stay dry and warm, all. MtRider [ glad for the waterproof, breathable fabric on the wagon covers....and admiring the pioneers who didn't have such a thing! ]

Well that critter is still on my mind this morning. I can't get over the way it was still advancing despite "human" and "seriously barking canine". I talked to MrHughes and his guy who is a decent hunter/tracker went out to find a pretty good print early this morning. It wasn't Big Dog 's cuz she hadn't been out that far. But it coulda been her twin. Now, she has a 3" wide print when standing on it and a near 4" in length - counting toe nails. I've always used her as my gauge. The only time I saw a canine-type print near as large as hers was when that white wolf [semi-domesticated] was allowed to roam around my friend's goat pen...with MY goats in it! Also: Seeing that coyote is a smaller-than-my-dog print and is buff/tan colors....and what I saw was standing out starkly DARK against the [iRL..dead & brown grass/snow] prairie grasses and dirt over there.... I would have had trouble seeing a coyote in that dusk lighting. Wolf....that's what we've got and it might be tailing us. Normally, a wild wolf wouldn't come anywhere near our encampment. Certainly not approach a human unless quite hungry. I've seen enough rabbits and varmints that they shouldn't be starving. Has had pups? Is a hybrid and too tame but not tame enough? Dunno. Whatever the case, it makes me FAR more nervous than just a normal WILD animal! Let's not drop our guard. [ IRL I did finally find the tracks where I saw it cross the pasture. Amongst days of horse/donkey tracks. But snow made it easy. And I knew where to look. I got a decent print of the forepaw in snow just as it paused to leap the fence. Wow....what a leap that must of been from the lack of print WAY on the other side. The back print was deep in the snow and less discernible but it was a good front print. Yep, close to 3" all round. Dang! I think I've got the potential for a real problem here and I am not gonna be able to drop my guard IRL. Not that its ever a good idea around these wild, wild west parts I live in. ] Oh man it is raining. Some spurts of it and I can barely see in front of me. I'm on Roan for now just so we have adequate side runners for the train. Make sure the herds people are fairing ok. Some goats are pitching a hissy. Cows just plod along solid. Good Cow! Roan has slipped a couple times. LOL Would you believe that Donkey Dear of mine slipped on her rear too? [iRL the brat was trying to evade me this morning and caught a foot on ice and whooop, right on her side/hind quarter. She was so startled and a bit contrite when I put the halter on her. ] Surprising for a sure-footed donkey and ....from the look on her face, it was just as surprising to her. [not saying that MtR enjoyed a little comeuppance for that creature.....not saying that at all...... ] I agree with Q that this sky is really building up nasty. There has been a lot of lightening over south and hope it's not heading our way. Sooooooo where does a wagon train take shelter on the prairie? Under trees is 'NO'. In fact, you don't even want to be the tallest person standing upright in a lightening storm. Gulleys are problem for the flash flooding so they are out. ...um, I sure hope we don't have any more of Mother's Little Ditches until the heavy rain subsides. A very wide ravine with no chance of filling with floodwaters might be ok. Drop us out of the higher prairie land. If worst came to worst....lightening, twister... best I can see would be to find a small crevice in the land that does not have flooding. That wouldn't be for the wagons tho. Possibly not even for the livestock. The animals are getting edgy too. Anyone else have another thot on this, just in case we'd need a PLAN in a hurry? MtRider [...VERY glad I invested in good rain gear...more than one set, in fact! ]

{IRL meets UNreality in this story.....Unlike the donkey sleigh ride tale, this one REALLY happened just tonite. Adapted slightly to fit our W*Ho } Mr.MtR and I were a bit late getting out to do livestock chores tonite. He'd been gone on security patrol but was due back before dark. So I waited for him...being tired today. Some of our animals were picketed out grazing and I put the large fencing enclosure for the ducks/geese out there too. The geese especially need their grass. Just as he was approaching our wagon, I heard a sound that "didn't sound right". I started heading for that noise and hollered back to him, "Hurry...something's going on!" He ran to catch up and yet, when we got there, nothing seems amiss. Poultry nervous but then, we were late to put them up. They are always nervous nellies. I tied Big Dog up to a tree and went to put poultry into the smaller nighttime cages. DH led Roan and Donkey back nearer to our wagon but I didn't see him go. As I straightened from duck-tending, I saw a dark four-legged critter dash away from behind those trees. Big Dog also spotted it and began SERIOUS barking. I looked around for DH and didn't see him. I didn't know what that animal was. It was getting darker by the minute and I just didn't have enough light. It looked and moved like a coyote but seemed big and I'd swear it was black. I've seen black wolves but not black coyote. ????? Well, it was moving away from us, spurred on by the barking. But WHERE was DH? I practically ran [or as close as I ever come to running] to those trees where the critter had run from and hollered for him. Oh...there he is just tying up donkey/Roan. Phew! Didn't you hear me calling? Did you see that animal? What animal? ..... I described it but it was gone now. Might have been after our poultry cuz that likely is what I was hearing. He continued his job tying the equines and I went back over to the poultry pens near Big Dog. I tried to quiet her barking, which hadn't stopped. Yes, good girl. You saw it, huh! Suddenly I realized her eyes were STILL tracking something. Not looking over where the critter had run off to.....but across over THERE! The blasted thing is circling BACK on us! Dog is going NUTS by now...doing her best to ROAR that thing away with her huge bark. I dare not let her go or she might chase it all night. When it turned and began heading right towards us, I KNEW something was wrong! Too wrong that it [whatEVER it is] would come towards a human and a huge barking dog. Rabies? I just knew that it needed to be turned away from us. COULD it be another dog rather than a wild animal? Would a dog be attracted TO our dog? WELL no matter. By now I could just make out the approaching animal and it NEEDED TO STOP APPROACHING. With regret that I'd scare DH .....and everyone in camp....I pulled out my gun and fired one round into the ground. Intended two successive ones into the ground and then point AT the target if if *still* approached. Fortunately it immediately ran away from us at that point and disappeared into the fast-approaching darkness. And a danged good thing too. My gun jammed after the first round. I had to pry the magazine loose with my fingernail......looking up to monitor the animal as I struggled with it. Sheeeeesh! Finally pried it loose, freed the jam, and slammed the magazine back IN and cocked. Dang! I didn't like THAT in the middle of a situation! Well, at least Big Dog was not frantically barking anymore. Giving her final "...and you'd better keep running too if you know what's good for you" barking. Yeah, you tell it that you are on watch. GOOD thing too. I missed that! Wonderful DOG! DH was the first one to run up and ask what's up. Others soon followed and I hollered out, "It's OK now.....coyote approaching but ran off." Of course everyone...particularly those on Security Watch, wanted the information. As soon as they had the basic information, a group of the Watch went off in the last known direction. Others of the Watch recruited a few more folks to form a better perimeter this nite. I had to repeat over and over why I felt the behavior of the animal was *wrong*. And what it might be. .....No, no one had a black dog of that size missing tonite. Perhaps it's a dog gone feral? Our ducks/geese likely had been the target. But the motion was ....slinky. Very wild behavior rather than domesticated dog. Dh has been discussing with me as to my choice of what I'm carrying. It's my favorite cuz it's light and ...it's my favorite. BUT it's a .22 and he's wanting me to carry my much heavier revolver. Not as much chance of jamming and heavier impact. AND HEAVIER CARRYING with my already-tired self. But I DO agree with him. Spent some time switching holsters, etc. {sigh} I think we all have to realize that we are entering a realm that is dominated by the wild animals now. Human population density has not impacted their existence as much. WE are the minority and WE must be careful. Especially in those "killing hours" of dawn and dusk. We must watch our small children closely. We must watch our dogs closely....for their warning and for their safety. Mother? You said Sasha has been clinging? Did she sense the coyote-thing or is she gonna...you know...have her pups? As we are out in the middle of grazing lands...on private land with permission, we may all open carry now. We might want to be discreet when we do a road crossing sometime late tomorrow afternoon. But we will be doing that quickly and be on the next rancher's land again immediately. MrHughes is going to be holding some drills the next time we stop over anywhere. He doesn't want any of us to shoot at something we cannot positively identify. So lets be extra careful out there from now on. And especially tonite! MtRider.. [still wondering....what IS that thing???? {IRL too!!!!!!!!!!! } }

Bumpity BUMP bump bumpityBUMP B U M P ! OW! Cracked my head on the wagon hoop edge on that last one. Tell me again why *I* got to drive the wagon today....oh yeah. We're still short a couple drivers and MrMtR is driving the Medical Wagon today. By tomorrow he and I, at least, should be back to normal. I'm certainly going to appreciate riding Roan all day after a day on this leg of the trail. [not EVEN thinking of the hills/mountain portion coming up..... "...the troubles of today are sufficient..." ] OK, lets talk about BUNGEE CORDS. [is that a local name? ] I mean the multi-rubber-banded cords bound in different colors and having a strong metal hook on each end. "Shock cords" By whatever name, they are WONDERFUL! We've really had to secure things down. First, inside the wagon in the containers. If anything is breakable, it needs serious padding and then the container must be a secure as possible. Most breakable things we're crazy enough to bring are stowed away in large trunks or plastic totes. We'll see when we arrive at Big Valley if there has been any breakage. But there are a few breakable items that we are using day to day. Tried to keep that to a minimum. Both for the mess of broken glass/whatever...but also because they cannot be replaced. The other reason for securing the gear tightly is.....the NOISE! I'm very noise-sensitive due to the MS and all this rattle, bang, taptaptaptaptaptaptap..... Crazy-making. Seems like only so much can be strapped down. I'm pulling further back just to eat dust rather than have "auditory-overload". Knew I was losing it before lunch when I seriously considered taping a duck mouth shut...... ........ {you KNOW this is coming}.......... with ducK-tape, of course! I've had a couple of good energy days...strangely enough they don't always correspond to my choice of activities. [like that donkey-powered sleigh ride ] Yet today [iRL too] I'm back to struggling for mental clarity.....side effect of the physical struggle. But....I just have to keep the oxen following the tails of those ahead and making choices can be left to others. Ms. Oatmeal-Brains is checked out in zone-land today. Oooph! You'd think with all the jostling and changing seat position, I could not be muscle-locked. But....I'm thinking of having lunch sitting right up here.... HELP....can't get down. MtRider [if it weren't for a 'potty break' I'd have just stayed up there too! .....{groan} now we have to get me back UP there! Gonna find yet another foam pillow to sit on! ]

Such a nice singing service we had around the campfire tonite. Just looking up at the glory of the stars out here where there is no "light pollution". Still drops my mouth open in wonder. We'll be moving out tomorrow. Cross-country route. You got a taste of that coming over here that evening. We'll plan to take it nice and slow. LOL Not that you could get slower than we've already been going at what? 1.5 mph? But I mean we won't try for quite so many miles. We've got permission from land owners all the way across. Our recent rancher host arranged most of that. He knows which of his dear neighbors can keep their mouth shut. These ranches are so big that there will be only three of them, including his land that we'll still be on for a couple days. Just a warning....it's going to get really bumpy so if you have unsecured items INSIDE OR OUTSIDE your wagon, best to get them tied tight tonite. We certainly don't want to have any FORKS IN THE ROAD! Annarchy, Mr Hughes will stop by to talk to you. He'll be meeting your MIL & companions well outside that last town and will be bringing them in to meet up with us. Nite all, MtRider heading for bed...stiff but not too bad. [still thinking of having donkey burgers tho!]

......."crash course for the trip......" MtR {welcome to the group Annarchy's MIL!!!!! }

[ IRL No, that was complete fabrication. Altho if she got a head of steam going and I got a "stubborn" on it certainly COULD happen. ...you can breathe now, Mother. ] From the tent of MtRiders this morning: "OW! Owwowwowwwoowwwwow! AND THAT DANGED DONKEY TORE UP MY FAVORITE SHIRT! " There follows a sound that is suspiciously similar to muffled laughter.....MrMtR's laughter. Quickly cuts off tho. Shortly they both emerge carefully. Mr.MtRider is lending assistance to MtRider who has a cane in the other hand. Progress is slow and stiff but determined. Of COURSE it's determined! They're heading for the outhouse. By the time MtRider shows up around the breakfast fire some time later, she's walking with two canes but at a much more normal pace. Greeted by concern and some opinions as to whether she should be back in bed..... "No, I'm a lot better off that I could be. That's for sure. Near miss with that one big rock that whizzed by on my ride to the clothesline. " "Oh...ow. I can't laugh. It hurts!" And naturally laughs again. We determined that I'm not broken. Lucky it wasn't warm enough for shorts yet. Well, I *think* I would have let go then.... mebbe. I'll be stiff for a while tho....stiffer than usual. Can't stay still too long or I can't unlock the muscles. Nuprin, heavy homeopathic for pain/inflamation and MrMtR's adjustments. He's got the adjustment table set up in our tent, btw. He'll be open for business after coffee, pipe and breakfast. Get us all set for tomorrow's trip thru the Little Ditches. {MtR ducks as Mother shoots her a *look*} heehee [ADD.... I THOT I posted this hours ago...and come in to find I apparently didn't hit "send"..... dumb brain.... ]

Someone points out into the graze lands ...back in the direction we came thru last nite.... WHAT is that going on out there? Another comes up to peer into the distance. Then concerned, a small crowd gathers. What ever...and who ever.....they're coming closer. Yes...there is a person out there chasing a cow? IS one of our livestock loose? No, the movement is wrong for a cow. A horse..... Suddenly as the duo gets closer, the unmistakable SONIC-BOOM of Mizz MM is heard. HHHEEEEEE haw HEE haw HEE haw HEE haw.......and the still-too-distant hollering of...yep, it's MtRider trying to get a hold on the end of that dangling lead rope. Can't *quite* hear what she's saying. MM is keeping just outta her grasp every time. It LOOKS like the scoundrel donkey is playing a game. It LOOKS like MtRider is losing. Whoops...she makes a dive for that lead rope. Got it....."WWWHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA!" We all heard *that* holler! A smaller middle-aged woman is no match for a 500 pound donkey. Mz. MM is pulling MtRider belly-down across the grass and whooooooeeeeee, look out! Here they come. "MtRider......LET GO OF THE ROPE FOR PETE'S SAKE." "Grab the donkey!" "Ooops, missed her!" "Ooooph, pointy toes!" "I'll...dang!" "Wait there girl....WHOA!" "Good donkey...c'mon" "Grab her!" "Ow...sorry" "HEAD her OFF!" "OOoooh not THAT way!" "QUILTY LOOK OUT!" Quilty drops her laundry basket and ducks behind the clothesline tree just in time. Mz Long-Ears barrels thru the clothes line, ripping it from the moorings and finally comes to a complete stop. She's got someone's red blouse draped over one ear. Clothes that were clean moments before are now scattered all over the ground. There is total silence. Stunned for just a moment, everyone is frozen, afraid the donkey will run again. MtRider is motionless on the ground....face-down and spread out flat on her stomach with both arms outstretched and hands still tightly clenched around the knot of the lead rope. One shoe is missing. Then the sound of spitting comes from under her cowboy hat. MtRider clears her throat and speaks distinctly and very slowly..... "Is anyone in the mood for fried DONKEY BURGERS TONITE?" MtRider

Morning everyone. Woooooheee, that was such a nice moonlit night last nite. I couldn't sleep. I finally got up and just sat by the fire and enjoyed it. Peaceful. Quiet. But....I'm a bit lacking in sleep. Ugh. I'll need a nap again today. So I'd best hurry and get done with things. We're so excited that you MIL is catching up with us Annarchy. Just check with Mr Hughes so he can send one of his men to lead them in to us....as we will be off road from now on. About trying to stay off the radar until we're safely at the Rockin' J..... I'm sorry Quilty and others. But anything from this town will have to be sent on to the Rockin' J. Yes, yes I know we're going to be a bit short of some things. We lost much of the contents of those two wagons and others had somethings damaged. But we MUST break contact with civilization sometime. We can't lead any fascinated people right up to the home of our hosts at the Rockin' J. Jacob and Joy don't need the publicity. We've only got a few more days so this is it....the break from the past. We won't be visiting any more public places. So use this time to process how this will change things. Though we've been living primitive on wagons, we HAVE been able to shop and.... eat ice cream and all. Now we say goodbye to that. Look forward to what you have ordered by mail. Q...your order from the General Store is already on it's way so don't worry. I've got one more order from Lehmans cuz DD gave me a gift cert. that I forgot to use before we left. It will be like Christmas but then......... beyond that is WILDERNESS. Anyone nervous about that? We've got several days of this graze land [and yes Mother....some little ditches ] to cross before our arrival at the Rockin' J. [iRL is it not likely any of us will be posting toward the end of this week due to Thanksgiving but we'll return after that....BE there. ] We'll have a couple days there [repacking wagons if we ordered too much... ] And it will take about a day to cross Rockin' J land. Sooooo, we're going to be on a bit of short on SOME types of rations....for some more than others. Please do save enough grains for seed when we get there! Instead, let's use this time to have ideas on how a group would stretch the food and still get good nutrition for all. Ladies, it's cooking time. And spring would have what wild edibles in a fairly dry grasslands climate? OH, and those at the hospital will join up with us at the Rockin' J too. It will be such a celebration to have us all together again! MtRider [ Mmmm, hot cocoa! Thanks!]

IN REAL LIFE Holidays approaching.....Announcement: Just to let you know....we've got [finally worked out how we were proceeding...it's tricky!] another week on the trail of Ranchlands. We'll have some more storyline this weekend and early next week IRL. And as we are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday IRL, we'll probably have no posting the end of the week. But by Sunday [or earlier] we'll be revving it back up again and it gets REALLY cool. Some things will be revealed right about that time. So stay tuned. We're over half-way thru the Ranchlands...heading for the Wilderness..... Lions and Tigers and Bears....Oh MY! MtRider [....which day are we on....IRL? UNreal life? ]

MtRider pokes her head out of the tent and squints to see WHO is ringing that danged triangle at this hour. ...expecting to see that the kids got a hold of it but, it's Mother! Yikes....what NOW???? {groan} Been so dizzy and MS-yucky-ill these past days. The thing with MS is....it's got you in the grip...until is releases. You can do a lot of things to make it worse [ like live in heavy-labor primitive conditions...and then have a major catastrophe hit you..... :frying pan: ] BUT there is very little you can do to make a bad phase go away! Trying to eat right and rest.....but getting tired of resting, she grumbled! [iRL....wow, I've had some bad days lately...yucko but...this too shall pass!! ] I get myself pulled together and presentable and rush to the tent door.....just as Mother is rushing INTO the tent. WHAM! Aiiiieeeeee! "Are you OK" we say in chorus. And burst out laughing despite me rubbing a sore elbow and her rubbing a sore head where we connected. She quickly explains the situation about moving out quickly to the new location before dark and the mix up in the message from Micheal and Lori. We've been concerned that the attention we've been getting is compromising our security and future safety. This could be just the thing to give us the privacy and "drop below the radar" in everyone's interest. Cuz if this keeps up, we'll be on Good Morning America soon. As Mother and I are walking back to her wagon [answering a half dozen questions about this and that along the way..] here comes the buggy with M & L. Their report of the picture-taking is even more disturbing. How are we going to get thru that mess at the sheriff's blockade? The road to the abandoned farmhouse is beyond that. Mr.MtR passes by and asks a couple questions about loading us up for travel. Having just been woken up and still not quite processing [C'MON adrenalin....kick in already!!! ] I don't feel like I'm giving very adequate answers. But my DH will throw stuff in and I'll do the organizing later....seems like the theme of our road trip. Lets get this data to MrS&J and MrHughes . This is a security issue. So we hustle over to where the ranch owner has just pulled up in a large livestock truck/trailer. The three men who we are targeting are standing nearby. Michael quickly explains the blockade situation to everyone there. Mr. Smith asked if the deputies could move the blockade back a few miles. Mr Hughes declared that it would probably take too much time and make the folks more curious. Perhaps we could sneak out in the night? Really not advisable with livestock.... can we truck them? Ideas were passed back and forth until our new friend the rancher proposed taking the "back way" to the abandoned homestead. "Uh, explain "back way", requested Mr. Hughes. "Just out thru the grasslands. We've got a number of trails through these pastures and it wouldn't be hard to find a route for wagons. Jest gotta avoid the deep ravines and stick to the gently slopes." The rancher pulled out a cell phone and spoke quickly to someone, explaining the need and ordering that person to gather others to help get a wagon route laid out thru the grasslands. "My foreman. He'll have you a route within the hour. Can you be done packing then?" Assured that we would, it was further planned that he would still load those few of our more seriously injured livestock onto his livestock hauling trailer. The folks at the blockade wouldn't think twice about him driving thru. The rest of us could discreetly come in 'the back way' and finally rest without all the constant surveilence from the outsiders. Michael and Lori had been fixing some of the fences while they waited for us too. There is fresh grazing for the livestock. It only takes days for the grass to be eaten down with our herds. There is even an old barn and a well. With the conditional clearance of the vets on nearly all the animals, a couple days at this farmstead would be just the thing to get us ready for the trail again. MrS & J are now in discussion as to how we might actually continue to route cross-country and stay off of the roads entirely. Mr. Hughes will be researching that while we are staying put the next couple days. This will ease a huge burden of worry about our low profile in the final miles of ranchlands. Mr.Smith told us that he'd heard from his dear old friend who owns the final ranch where we will be staying before the Wilderness leg of our journey. He was very concerned that we'd made the local news so much in the past few days. THIS was NOT part of the plan....not at all. So 'going to ground' for a number of days...at the farmstead and routing cross-country will hopefully solve that. Mother suggested we begin rumors that due to the terrific strain from the accident, our 'reenactment group' voted to end our tour early. We are choosing to return home. The wagons and livestock are being shipped by truck. Rumors are easy to start and the rancher, with a twinkle in his eye, said he knew *JUST* the person to drop that one on. "It will be across the county in 24 hrs," he promised. "Anyone have a permit to burn an old barn?" asked Michael slyly. At the odd looks he continued. "Well, then the gawkers would have something else to focus on. " We all left to tend to our packing with chuckles.

{...IRL, Quilty....you aren't really feeling that bad in REAL LIFE are you???? } MtRider returns the favor of a cup of tea to Q this morning. At least we who live with physical challenges are taking turns being wiped out. I'm doing better this morning [iRL too] and yet, I KNOW I will need to take things slow and easy or I will be dropping again. [ IRL too ] This is a real issue during crisis .....and a worse issue if one is living primitive like we are now in the wagons with wilderness coming up. HOW do those of us with {hate to use this word} "fragile" systems cope with the heavy physical demands of a life with much manual labor? It's always been the weak point in our [the MtR'ers] lifestyle .....even before the wagon trail life. When I drop, things like milking still have to be done. And Mr.MtR often had to be at his office before I was even out of bed. So then....I'd have to somehow get livestock tended. Many chores can be put off but not living critters dependent on us. The only thing I knew to do is to have pared down the job to the BARE essentials and the absolutely LEAST physical way to do it. A continual process of doing that better. Here on the wagon trail, there is always many helping hands. THAT is a strong point for the importance of community in survival. There are times when any one of us may NOT be able to push thru pain/dizzy/fatigue to do what is necessary. A larger group is a safety net. Just my way to say I appreciate all of you who helped me in this 'meltdown' and helped Mr.MtR while I had the luxury of recovering. Now....how is the butchering, drying, and cowhide preserving coming this day. If we get all that under control, we should be able to move out tomorrow. Slowly. See how the repairs to both wagons and beasts will hold. And us too. MtRider [....of to find Annarchy...... ]

[ IRL...awww, poor Anarchy. Don't you hate it when that happens! ....edit: Mother and I think alike lol ] MtR kept seeing spots in her vision all day whenever she'd try to be up for a while. {IRL too} Sooooo, there's nothing for it but to stay laying down and wait it out. Quilty stopped by to see how I was doing. Mmmmm, thanks for the tea and the company. One can only sleep so long and then staring at the canvas roof gets to be quite boring. I wanted updates, of course on all that was happening and especially who is back and who is still at the hospital. I got a real surprise when Mr Jones stopped by. Evidently he'd heard I'd been wiped out by the events of yesterday. He'd also heard I like ice cream and somehow managed to bring me an ice cream bar. Wasn't even too melted when I got it. OOooboy! Anyway, MrSmith's granddaughter Alice is fine. She had 3 stitches in that head cut and was sent home last nite. ....by "home" I mean back to camp, of course. Apparently her parents weren't quite as horrified by her injury as her grandfather. Angry with this whole fiasco, yes. But they are taking it in stride better that her mother's father. I heard about that 10 year old girl from the ravine wagon too. She was in really bad shape last nite but has taken a turn around and is expected, with time, to have a full recovery. The parents send their huge thanks to everyone who helped bring her up out of the crashed wagon. {yea Q!!! and all the rest!} There is still one surgery they will do on her leg now that she's more stablized. We'll keep praying for Missy. She has an older pair of 17 yr old brothers [twins] who will be taking the family wagons on with us. The parents will stay behind with Missy until they can rejoin us. Despite the fact that their daughter was nearly killed, they still feel this wagon train is heading for a safer life. And, btw, they think the only reason [besides the Hand of God] that Missy wasn't injured worse is because she was chilled that morning and had wrapped herself deep in the quilts and mattress in that wagon. MrJones also got me up to date on the reparations being made for all this damage. Marilyn Dowd [mayor's wife] has apologized profusely on behalf of her family's behavior. She is quite insistent that everyone be compensated if at all possible, for the results of the fiasco. MrJones was as impressed with this lady...and she is a LADY, as he is UNimpressed with the mayor himself. How did they join in marriage? But she reports that her husband is not balking at the compensations given out. She says he's got a hard head...and is especially irrational where their only child is concerned. Unfortunately, we're making quite a splash in the local gossip. So much for our need to keep mostly 'under the radar'. {sigh} Everyone knows we're out here north of Jed Kraig's place. There has been a lot of gawking traffic drive by this location to see the ....circus. With the mess we've been reduced to, we do look a bit disreputable. Sheeeesh. Just yesterday morning [was it ONLY just yesterday?] we were a spiffy looking modern Wagon Train. Now we're sewing patches and splicing harness. A couple of teams will need completely new harness. Those and extras have been ordered. We came with some extra but didn't anticipate the extent of damage like this. Luckily, the metal alloy of the wagons held up fairly well. We'll have some new Gor-Tex wagon covers shipped to the last Post Office box so we'll be in better shape for the Wilderness leg of our trip. Until then, keep sewing those patches. I was so thrilled to hear that most of the livestock/pets have been located. The loss of some of them is heart-breaking. I guess we lost an ox. At least we've been able to butcher them for dog meat. Pretty tough eating but I think we can get some canners going and that will soften them up some. Mebbe even edible for people. Shoot! Sherman is packed waaaay deep down in our wagon. I didn't think we'd be canning on the trail. Wood smoke drying will be another way to preserve the meat and for dogs, it might be like rawhide chews. Annarchy, we'd better set up some classes on curing these hides too. Sign me up....tomorrow. I should feel better tomorrow. I want to thank the Gee family and Micheal and everyone who has been tending to our wounded emotions. It's been tough. It's going to be tough for a while yet. But we are the descendants of tough pioneer stock here in America. With God's help, we can do this. ....she says from laying down on a camp cot near the fire. Pssst, Mother. Do you have more of the comfrey? I rediscovered a bruise on my leg the size of a saucer...well, it feels that way. OW! I think I recall feeling it yesterday but have no idea how I got it. Sorry if I gave any of you more worry yesterday. I completely didn't think to even take the 2-way radio with me. Just got goal-oriented and....my goats were out there! So thankful your DD's group brought them back. Yes, they're all fine. Big Dog is keeping a close eye on them...lol. But anyway, I'd have probably taken someone's head off for going out in the condition I was in. Not that I truly realized how close to meltdown I was. ....not that I even stopped to evaluate it either. We ARE going to have to mend our ways in risk-taking. All of us but particularly those of us who have limits to begin with. Once in Big Valley, anyone with major injuries is not going to have a helicopter handy. Oh...and um...... ....did I ever apologize for taking your head off when you risked yourself for a GOAT? It's just occurring to me that risking myself for FOUR GOATS doesn't sound any brighter. Alright, lets make a pact. We both promise each other to pay more attention to our health and safety. OK? Cuz you are so dear to me that you simply cannot risk yourself. Yeah, I know. Me too.... MtRider [...a bit in shock about all the things that could have gone wrong but actually didn't yesterday....whooooooeee! ]

I have to say that I am so impressed with the wonderful story lines coming out of today's [surprise] disaster scene. I kinda threw you a curve ball there and wow! Terrific stuff folks!!!! I can just see the scenes as you all unfold them....each weaving in and out with the story lines of others. It's so hard to do without stepping on each other's intended plots. Or forgetting details. We're doing pretty good tho, bloopers notwithstanding. LOL Bloopers don't matter; they're funny. Just so we don't paint ourselves into a corner & can't reach our goal. I'm calling this odd technique "corporate writing". I'm fascinated by it. I'm having so much fun with it. AND it is proving to me just how qualified this group of wagoneers are for the hard things of life. What a group this would make IRL! MtRider [ Nite!]

Only dire need of the latrine drives MtRider out of the bed in the wagon. This day had been...... The wounded had all left for the hospital. The camp was well underway for being set up in this new location just off the road from the scene of the horrible disaster. MrMtR was still seeing patients...ones that didn't need medical care at the ER but had the twists and strains that could be eased on his massage/adjusting table. Someone quickly set our large tent up { I think it was a Gee-clan boy} for the adjusting table and DH did what he could to heal. After fluttering around for a while...useful or useless, I really don't know which, I decided to go looking for our goats. They were among the missing. All four, but that's good that they are together. Lots of other animals are missing too. What a loss it will be if we don't find them. I LOVE my goats! ...and so does Big Dog. As much a pain in the kiester that dog is, she is bred for protection of goats/sheep. She loves our goats too and she KNOWS they aren't here. Good thing she's always securely tied. So she and Roan and I are going out to search. I won't be alone cuz a LOT of folks - including ranch hands from nearby ranches - are out there. Dang! Did I say this land was flat? It really is deceptive. And what hides our livestock also hides the predators like coyote. My dwarf goats are quite vulnerable. But they run like the wind and head butt HARD. My milker has her horns and I know from one accident with them that they are sharp! Ooooooo, I want to find my babies! Since I always have to pack up ANYthing I might need, I put saddlebags on Roan, a retractable leash on Dog and off we go. .....no....I didn't think to tell anyone ....not exactly.... Just doin' what needs doin'. It was so soothing to ride and scan the land. I had binos but with the motion of the horse, it's hard for me to get them focused. I had water and protein bars and thot I'd better eat one. I'd used up a lot of energy so far. I could see a couple other riders in the distance. {sigh} I don't think we're going about this search with any pattern. Aren't that organized yet. If my goats have to spend the night out here.... after dark is the killing time for predators. I had to chuckle....remembering Ms.MM-donkey. She'd pulled loose from Mr.MtR and RAN off. Donkeys are very intelligent. I'm OUTTA HERE! That's what makes them a pain in the.... BUT, an hour later she came trotting back into camp with that Sonic-Boom of a noise she makes. She was greeting us all. MM is baaaaack. Roan never got away tho she about tore my arm off when it all blew. I'm pretty surprised she didn't fuss more cuz she is usually such a wild child. These weeks on the trail have settled her. [..'bout time!] But dh had already lost MM so he helped me hold Roan. Our oxen had been brought in at some point...with lost and broken leather straps. I *think* we have all our oxen... DOG is definitely leading the way. As a bloodhound, she makes a good clarinet player. She's pathetic. Can't follow a scent. But....she's after something. I'm sure gonna trust her instinct. So Roan and I went where she directed. And sure enough, there were goats. Three of them....none of them mine tho. Ah well. This will make someone happy. They were tightly bunched in a draw but seemed to welcome us. Dog's tail could not have wagged prouder. She'd found some. Sooooo, we headed back. Now to see if they would follow us. {sigh} Of course not. I got down and took out the rope. They let me approach and I checked them over. Seemed ok. The goat I assessed as 'lead' was tied by the collar. Clambered up to the saddle and slowly pulled the goat along with us. Yep, the others followed....but one was limping. We made our way for about half way before I didn't think I should let the injured one walk any further. Just a strain likely since I'd felt no heat/swelling. I got down and checked again. Hmmm, maybe some heat now...? Mebbe I hadn't thot this thru....scanning the land for other riders. None in sight right now. So I waited while the goats grazed. No real hurry I guess, but I wanted to find my hooligans! Where ARE they? About 10 minutes later another rider came into view. I blasted my emergency whistle 3 times. It got his attention and he turned my way. One of the ranch hands from this ranch. He felt the leg and got a good deal of supportive wrapping on it with a break&shake ice pack inside. Then we proceeded on. The goat did not like the bandages and tried to balk but the cowboy just got down and led her as well as his horse. Something I wasn't going to be able to do. We were nearing the camp when 3 more riders came up near us pushing along more goats and leading a milk cow. One of the riders was Mother's DD and I waved. She hollered back, "I think we've got your goats!" I stood up in the stirrups and saw the white, brown, and twins of "elk" color. They were moving fine. "THANK YOU!!!!" That would be a nice end of this grueling day....but.... When others took over the goats we'd brought in, I tried to get off Roan. Uh...legs not responding. OH NOT NOW! Oh yes now. I not only had numbness in the legs but I felt the unmistakable wave of a full-blown MS "meltdown" coming on. "Aw sheeeeeeeeesh. I don't have TIME for this, God," I complained. God figured it was time for me to go to bed and stop being an idiot with my energy depleted. God always gets His way. I had to be helped to dismount Roan and fall directly into the front "day bed" in our wagon. MrMtR was still adjusting folks in our tent. I nearly got dropped off the edge of the wagon....no one anticipated just HOW 'jello' my muscles would be. They'd barely gotten me into the bed when 'stage two' began. Whole body spasms causing contortions. Looks like seizures but it isn't. Someone hollered for MrMtR and someone else called for Q or CrabGrass. I was trying to protest but...no one was listening. MrMtR got there and took a look at my face; felt to see if it was hot. "You're not overheated." I'm never sure of that. Ok, so it's merely fatigue meltdown. Not dangerous. Danged uncomfortable and ....scary to look at. "Really, I'm fine" I managed to get out between teeth gritted against the strain of spasms. The coughing fits didn't help the image. But DH assured everyone this was normal and it will just run it's course. He got dubious looks. When I could manage to talk easier, I told him that Dog had found 3 goats and that our four were found by others. [Well yeah, he DID about me being out there searching for goats after the day we'd had....] So there I've been for the rest of the day. Stuck in bed. Slept a bit, despite the noise of an unusually active camp. That helped. Was dark when I finally woke due to ....need for the latrine. Made it over there slowly leaning heavily on two canes. Hey, at least my legs are working again...kinda. There is a big campfire and some soft singing. Ah...that's nice. Some children are laughing...which is a wonderful sound too, this night. I can also hear someone crying softly. I really want to find out about all the injured and if the animals were found and.... but I climb back into my nest again. I simply can't do anymore today. MtRider [written after a long siege today IRL with an MS meltdown.... ]

Dogmom requested the non-electric way to make yogurt. This was posted by someone here {um, TQXmom ...or something like that...sorry, can't credit better than that} a year or two ago. Non-electric Yogurt Making Large Batch - 14 qts --just under 14 qts of milk warmed to 115 degrees --mix in 3/4 c. sugar [three-fourths] --mix in 1 1/2 cup powdered milk - thickening [one and one-half] --mix in 2 Tablespoons vanilla --mix in starter culture or one-half big container yogurt --immediately pour into clean qt jars & put on lids [any kind...this is not canning!] --place jars in an ice chest [or other well insulated & waterproof container] --cover to one inch below bottom of the lids with the hottest TAP water..... (too hot and it kills the yogurt culture) --leave undisturbed about 20 hrs [ normal floor vibrations won't affect it but we wagon riders would be making it on our rest days! ] --refrigerate when set =============== I cut the recipe to one quart and have done this successfully several times: ---just under 1 qt. milk warmed to 115 degrees [Note: For yogurt only, if I'm using fresh (goat's) milk, I choose to pasteurize that milk first by taking it to 180 degrees and then chilling it back down to 115 degrees. If I'm going to be growing microbes in warm milk, I want it to be specifically YOGURT microbes. Just my opinion. ] ---mix in 1 teaspoon sugar if desired [i don't bother] ---mix in 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of powdered milk [one and one-half to two] ---mix in sip of vanilla ---mix in 2-3 Tablespoons per qt. of vanilla yogurt which is about one-half of a single serving container. [i don't have a reduced measurement for the starter culture since I've never used it.] ---follow above directions from here. MtRider [normally uses the faster method of dehydrator but....gotta know this one works too!] PS: My computer doesn't always print the fractions so I typed out the words also.

More basic data..... Yes...the mayor is on our poo list... The sheriff is a good honest guy but got dragged into this by the "Town Boss". Sheriff will make this right and assures us that the mayor will pay compensation tho NOT likely any apology. NO ONE wants publicity on this. It was quickly suggested that we all "claim" the whole thing was a reenactment scene that suddenly went wrong when some animals bolted. No one was killed or has life-threatening injuries. [Thanks in part to the fast actions of own folks doing quick rescues and giving medical attention. We are also grateful for the assistance of the sheriff deputies. ] That was the good news. The ravine wagon was a total loss and retrieval of the salvagable goods is going to take time. The wagon that dumped into the stream might be salvageable. Some animals were injured and many are still missing. Do you know where yours are? Mr Edwards, the rancher who owns the land at the scene of the disaster, drove up to see what the comotion was about. He immediately used his cell phone to direct his ranch hands out here on horseback. They know this land and would help find our missing livestock. He urged us to just set up our camp right there so that recovery of animals and reorganization would be easier. I suspect he was told what REALLY happened and who's fault it was. Our injured were taken 30 miles away to the nearest hospital. Family members had to decide who would go with the injured. Some were treated and released and the sheriff's department shuttled them back to camp that evening. Several others were going to be staying longer. A couple required surgery. After a few days here to regroup...capture our livestock, etc, we will be moving our wagon train on. Any of our wounded that have not been released from the hospital at that point can catch up to us whenever we camp for the nights. They will also be taxied out by the Parker County deputies. Eventually all but a couple more seriously injured will have rejoined us. [unless anyone decides to quit.... ?? ] The final remaining injured will eventually be flown by small private plane to the airstrip on the final ranch stop. We will camp there until they are recovered enough to continue on into the wilderness leg of our journey. All these expenses, and more, will be covered by the mayor. So we have been assured. The lawyers of Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones will make that likely. And we all try to see that Mr. Smith does not end up physically throttling the mayor after what happened to his precious little Alice [who really IS fine except that bloody forehead cut]. ============================ Soooooooooo ............ Where were you and what did you and those around you do? What do you think? Are you ready to quit or does it make you even more determined to push forward? Do you have injured? Hospitalized? Where are your animals? Flesh out this chapter called: "Who Can Join the Circus". MtRider [ <------in case you start throwing things after reading this.... ]

Wow, did you all get a look at that sunrise this morning? Whew! Just endless miles to the horizon in this graze land but whoooooooeeee! The magnificence of HIS creation was a sight! Last night was a nice stop for Easter. The rancher and his family were very accommodating. Wouldn't even take any payment for the ton of eggs they gave us. Well, one of our Nigerian bucks gave a service for their little doe that didn't "catch" in the fall breeding. [That breed being 'in season' all year.] We got to trade some males amongst the poultry too. Roosters/Drakes. New bloodlines are a good trade. Wonder how the new 'boys' are going to like life on a Wagon Train? Wonder if any of my Nigerian does 'caught' while "visiting"? The ranch family was quite concerned about the rise in unrest and the continued fall in the economy. Some of us even slipped to watch the news on TV for a while. {that was *weird!*} It was hard not to blurt out to that family, "Just come with us!" "Others joining up with us"....it's a hard issue. We've had quite a few folks along the way express interest ...that it would be fun to join our "reenactment". But to join what we are REALLY doing....that is another matter. The day looked like we might have rain but it's cleared nicely. Heading North with mile after mile of fairly flat lands but right now we're in an area of hilly woods. Then we came to a large swift-flowing stream. We pulled off the road to stop for lunch and water the animals while there is a chance. Y'know, this land is deceiving though. It's not really as flat as it looks. All sorts of odd dips and ravines. Gotta keep a sharp eye for coyotes. All of us turn around and look toward the south when the relative silence is broken by the unmistakable WHAP WHAP WHAP WHAP of a helicopter. It's heading this way and getting louder. But not loud enough to drown out the screech of a siren....no two,three sirens. Tuning forward again, we peer with interest along the road ahead of us. Sheriff's department vehicles stream down the highway. Then Mr. Q points behind us again where a couple *more* vehicles approach with blue lights flashing. We're all wondering what on earth could be so exciting here in the middle of nowhere. {snort} We didn't have long to wait for the answer. From the helicopter, which was now close enough that most of us were suddenly scrambling for the frightened animals... ATTENTION WAGON TRAIN GROUP! THIS IS THE PARKER COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. YOU WILL ALL FORM UP A LINE ALONG THE ROADSIDE AWAY FROM YOUR WAGONS. KEEP YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR. YOU WILL ALLOW THE DEPUTIES TO APPROACH. Well, being law-abiding citizens, normally we'd have complied. I guess. After all, we had every right to be where we were...they can check the permits. All legal with slow-moving red triangles on the backs of our wagons and everything. What's with the HELICOPTER, sheeeesh..... BUT complying with that command was the LAST thing on anyone's mind. I doubt that most of us even heard it! You all know what happens when animals are approached from above by something LARGE AND LOUD! Immediately there were animals bucking and cavorting and screeching and ...running off in ALL directions. Of COURSE our first priority was to secure the animals...and children. I will just be forever grateful that we'd unhitched all the teams for a drink at the stream or we'd have had dumped wagons. {gasp} OH NO.....we DO have a couple wagons already hitched up again....from the Benefactors group. Oh look....does anyone see? Is there a driver? No. Anyone IN the wagons? Eeeek....that one's going over the ravine. NOOoooooooooooooooooooooooo! Where is the other one? Ooooooohhhhhh...it's smashed into the stream. Quick, IS ANYONE INSIDE???? No...oh thank you, God! Here....gather those boxes and things before they float downstream. The water is moving kinda fast. Others are trying to get the animals under control.... Parents are marching young children to STAY PUT in the wagons that are NOT attached teams of oxen. LGD's are all over trying to pull the herds together. Yappy excited dogs are doing their part to participate in the chaos. Ooops, someone just pulled a cage of chickens out of the stream. Here....I'll help scoop the poor wet hens out of there if you can go back and fetch that other crate that's floating away. Are you hurt...what happened honey? Ow, that's a nasty scratch. Go up ....ah look...see that lady up there in green? That's our Quilty. Go see her for a bandage. Thats a brave girl! Somewhere in the next 20 minutes, we slowly realized that the helicopter noise had ceased. Ditto the vehicle sirens. AND, to our surprise, there were uniformed deputies working side by side with us in hip-deep water and elsewhere, salvaging livestock and all the earthly goods of the two Benefactor families with crashed wagons. Have we heard yet about the one in the ravine? Anyone IN there? I tried to get a head count of people to make sure no one had been lost in the horrible melee. This was far worse than the ruckus in that town. And we had injuries. All medical folk were pulled off of livestock retrieval to deal with a number of wounded....people first but also animal. They had gathered around the Medical wagon. Those with training were sorting out the worst injuries and tending to them quickly. Others with less training were holding compresses where directed and applying break-n-shake ice packs to swelling. One deputy carried a small girl in his arms who sported a tiny but deep cut on her head. Tho not serious, it was bleeding as only head injuries can - profusely. The young deputy had nearly as many tears streaming down his face as the girl. She was patting his face and saying "don't cry...it doesn't hurt much". CrabGrass handed him a clean wad of bandage and an ice pack and ordered him to the side of the group to tend his little charge. "Make SURE she doesn't hurt anywhere else. Keep her still till we can get a better look at her. And for heaven's sake, clean her up some before her parents find her and panic at all that blood!" she snapped at him. He gave her a sincere, "Yes ma'm" as she whirled around to tend to the next person. MtRider found herself trying to split into three people. She wanted to see if their dear animals were all right and accounted for. [she already located Mr.MtR in the midst of the medical group.] She also wanted to rush thru and make sure all the people were safe.... her dear friends and those of the first group who were becoming known to her. AND she saw the Mr.Smith and Mr. Jones and Mr. Hughes over having a VERY heated conversation with some folks in very official uniforms. Oh dear! She'd better head over there and make sure things didn't get TOO heated. I snatched my roll call notebook from the front of our wagon and shoved it at Dil2B from the Mommato3B's clan and told her to make a check mark if that person was present & uninjured OR a circle if they were present and with the medics. Find me if she couldn't locate someone at all. She was very pale and wide-eyed already....sheesh, is she shocky? "But I don't know people's names much yet," she wailed. "Then ASK them, girl. I NEED you to do this and I KNOW you can! Tell them it's roll call and they'll know why you ask." I ran...sort of...dang, what did I do to my right leg? That hurts! I hobbled further down the road towards the shouting group clustered near the helicopter. It had landed unnoticed in the commotion. As I approached, Mr.Smith [wow, I've never seen his face *that* color before...] was roaring about not having any idea about any idiot kids joining us. He interrupted himself and the man in the expensive suit to holler in my direction. "Did your group take on any kids in Bakersville? My less than brilliant answer, as I puffed my way closer was, "Huh?" ....followed quickly by..." Well fill me in! We've got a mass of injured people and some of them will need an ER quickly. Broken bones and concussion and all manner of bloody cuts....." [ I was *trying* to shut up and listen to them but all that just poured out of my mouth. ] "We've got great medical people but we are not prepped for a danged [ I *think* I said "danged" ] massacre! Now what the heck [of COURSE I said "heck" ] is this about? WHAT kids? All of ours are accounted for." [i realized that I was practically roaring myself by now ...so much for calming this situation...and the men actually took a step backwards! It was prolly just the effect of someone's blood all over the front of me... ] "...or THEY *WERE* ALL ACCOUNTED FOR UNTIL Y'ALL CAME IN WITH THAT THING! [pointing to the chopper] GET SOME AMBULANCES OUT HERE RIGHT NOW! LOTS OF THEM! AND VETS TOO CUZ SURE AS HECK WE HAVE INURED ANIMALS! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU THINKING? A FLY OVER WITH ALL THESE ANIMALS ?!? HAVE YOU EVER EVEN MET A COW? THEY'RE DUMB....REAL DUMB...BUT THEY KNOW HOW TO RUN...AND ONE RAN RIGHT OVER .{choke}.......a little girl....{sob} ...who now has blood running down her face and hopefully that's the worst of her injuries....what were you *thinking*? {dang it, dang it, dang it! I do NOT cry. I WILL NOT! NOT in the middle of a crisis. .....It's not efficient! } As soon as I mentioned "little girl", Mr. Smith grabbed me to get my attention. [ok, I was getting pretty shocky by this time too....just way too much overload with my MS...too much overload for anyone. ] "WHAT little girl?" he kept asking. An awful realization dawned upon my taxed brain. "Oh...it's ..... it's your little Alice!....I hadn't even thot..." I raised my voice as he spun to run towards the medics. "CLARENCE! I think she's OK except for the cut. " I'd never called Mr. Smith "Clarence" before. Never saw him so stricken before either. She'd be ok though. She would. Just a cut on the forehead....I hope. Sweet little thing. His beloved granddaughter. Something clicked back on inside me. This was a crisis and I had things to DO! "All right FIRST...Are ambulances on the way?" One man labeled "Sheriff Frank Greene" said "Yes". "WHEN?" was my next question. A man obviously on the radio inside the helicopter answered, "ETA, two minutes for the Flight-For-Life chopper and 12 minutes for the ambulances.....four of them. We can transport more wounded in this chopper if needed." "DO THEY KNOW TO LAND THAT CHOPPER AWAY FROM HERE?" "Yes, Ma'm. They know." Someone handed me some bottled water which I found I needed. "So what's this about kids? Some of ours cause trouble in town?" Bakersville? Oh, the town where we'd used the taxi to shuttle us for shoping quite a number of days ago. Sheriff Greene responded. "No, two of our local teens were supposed to have joined up with your group .......or been coerced into joining........ ....according to what the parents heard just yesterday. She's fifteen and the boyfriend is 16. Do you have them with you?" "Absolutely not. We aren't a circus come to town. This is a carefully planned expedition and we don't have room to take on extras. Why the helicopter? You could have driven out here and asked us. " "Which is about where we were in the conversation when you came up," said Mr. Hughes calmly. "Oh yeah, sorry I was shrieking but...we didn't sign on for this expedition to be killed by helicopter attack!" At the quelling look from Mr. H, I put my hands up. "All right, I'll shut up." At this point we saw the approach of the Flight-For-Life chopper. It landed a considerable distance from the initial scene and spilled out a surprising number of uniformed medical folks with bags and stretchers. They ran towards us and we simply pointed to the medical area. "We are still waiting for the answer, gentlemen, " said Mr. Hughes. "The authorities were informed of our route and our purpose. Why did this disaster occur?" A large portly man in an expensive suit spoke up in a way that grated on my nerves. "You people have been leaving a trail of problems behind you. We've heard all about Trenton. Causing a ruckus in their quiet residential area. Who's to say what your real purpose is?" "Our purpose is clearly to pass thru your region and on to our destination." answered Mr. Jones. "The trouble in Trenton was due to a local dog attacking our livestock as we followed the route set up by the authorities in that town. The injury that occurred there was to our man." "Are you people a cult?" asked the suit-man suddenly. I couldn't help it. I snorted. ...got another "look" from Mr. Hughes. "We have planned this reenactment wagon trip for months. It's a bit unfortunate that our planning is running into a time of unrest for our country. But we did not anticipate any problems with our chosen routes. We are most certainly are not a ....cult!" declared Mr. Jones. He turned to me. "Do you have our roll call list? Is everyone accounted for? " "I've got a gal working on that right now. As I said before, as of this morning all were here and no extras. Where would we *put* them?" Suit-man said, "We'll just have to be certain of that. Greene, have your men search all those wagons. " ...I couldn't help it..... ....I just had to say it: "Well be sure to crawl down that ravine for the wagon that was destroyed by this action here today. I'm still waiting to find out if there were PEOPLE in that one." {I felt tears welling up again....dang it!} Who was this dude? I took a deep breath and turned to the sheriff. "Your men and women have been great in helping us restore calm and assist the injured." I pointed. "Just look at them pitching in with the animals. We're grateful for the help. But I think that they will have already seen anything you need to see. If those teens had somehow stowed away with us unknown, they would have been discovered by now. Especially after our break for Easter yesterday. " At this point a patrol car came up from the south with the lights flashing. Sheriff Greene went to the car immediately and talked to the deputy driving. He looked into the back seat and returned to our group. He addressed the Suit-man in a carefully modulated voice. "Mayor Dowd, your daughter and Kevin were discovered with their bikes & camping gear heading in this direction." He nodded to the vehicle. "They never did make contact with the group. They were afraid the group would see them and turn them back if they followed too close. " The Expensive*Suit-man marched to the patrol car without a backward look at any of us. "NOW what?" asked Mr. Jones pointedly. Sheriff Greene scrubbed his face with his hands. "I suppose you folks have lawyers you're going to want to talk to about all this?" "I believe we're going to be due some compensation for pain and suffering and loss of property, " Mr. Jones answered with an icy voice. The businessman was back in charge. "I just hope no one was killed ....." shaking his head. ".... and all because a couple of kids wanted to run off and join the circus, " he added softly.

Aww, that's sweet Jeanette! We'll be praying IRL that your wagon trip to your new home will be UNeventful....unlike OURS! LOL And this whole scenario IS about possible immigration to new places during Hard Times in any era. So watch out that the mules don't kick and the forks are not dropping outta the back of your wagon. I hope you get settle quickly so you can get your computer hooked up and continue watching our 'soap opera'. OH wow....the dream pot. How cool is that? I wish you HAD gotten all of them, Mother! But gets me thinking of a large canner/stock pot...plus some good insulation...plus the interior pot. good lids! then everything would be dual usage....cuz we have so little room in these conesoga wagons... lol I have to putter with that idea. Formerly, I've been using a VERY thick styrofoam cooler. [dh's medical supplies were shipped in it...and I have several.....cuz of COURSE I didn't throw them out!] Does make yogurt without electricity of the dehydrator too. I've done that by just pouring very hot water in around the canning jars I make it in. In the morning [don't jiggle it!] you have yogurt!] MtRider

[ that's fine CeeGee.....UNreality is flexible....... .....sometimes so flexible we trip on the loops of it.... Hi Everyone. Happy Easter! And here are the cinnamon rolls [warmed up again and even frosting drooled on top] to go with yogurt [yum...and a little protein with our carb goodies, lol ] and whatever else. And we certainly have plenty of hard-boiled eggs of various colors. How fun was that last nite. The kids loved the egg coloring event. When adults struggle so for merely getting food, shelter, cleanliness, etc in place -- it can be tough sometimes to remember to feed the other parts of us. The need for beauty, song, joy, and the spiritual needs. Today will be refreshing for us. We will certainly need that in our long road ahead. Thanks for the loan of all these ovens. We had fun with our little manufacturing plant last nite....dozens of rolls. And naturally we had to taste test...make sure they were up to standard! .....and thank all of you who happened to stop by and HELP with that taste testing. It's a serious responsibility and you all performed wonderfully. MtRider [...off to do more of the endless chore of "straighten out the wagon AGAIN" ]

Well! I'm sure *that* made it quite clear, Mother. LOLOLOL Not that I'm gonna give it a try either.... MtRider ---going to bed...or am I getting up to pack the wagon?

Now that bit of lore rings a bell for sure, Mother. But can you explain it further? I forget the what and why of it. Yeah, we sloshed laundry today too. Wow, look at all the eggs that this rancher has contributed to the Easter celebration. Did you hear that the wife has Nigerian goats and would like the services of one of Mother's bucks. Spread the genes around cuz this tiny breed is not so well known yet. Too bad my "girls" aren't in right now. I'd try to get them bred by her buck. They wouldn't be too heavy yet by the time we arrive. August birthing like my last time. Mebbe I'll bring them round and see if they are "get ready". OK, I've got a jar of pickled beet juice [beets are gone] for this egg dyeing. Wow, what a glorious mess the kids are making. Oooo, that's a nice one! Yes, and yours is very colorful...which dye did you use? Does anyone want to mark with a white crayon before you dye it? The crayon area will stay white then. Or just use plain wax. Mr.MtR is making cinnamon rolls and we just [iRL] spread the middle with cinnamon, sugar, chopped walnuts, raisins. Mmmmm. He's our real baker. I do things like make yogurt. We'll be making lots so we can have them for mebbe a sunrise breakfast/service. [LOL...IRL I just told DH he's making rolls for everyone and he said he's glad it's a virtual world! He'd be up half the nite. ] Is anyone's baking ovens or dutch ovens free right now for the rolls? We will have a feast tomorrow. We have one pie maker, a campfire popcorn popper, and one of those wire enclosures for burgers or whatever that Mother talked about. All garage sale finds and they are so handy and can be used for lots of things. Just takes creativity. And hunger! I've got beans soaking too. I mixed the colorful Anazazi with the plainer pintos but they turn out fairly similar. I have lots more pinto but I like the Anazazi better. And just *thinking* of starting some seeds gets my hands itching to begin!!!! The Big Valley is a Hardiness Zone 5. There are supposed to be some hot springs and if you plant near them, it will increase that. So we're good on frost for quite some time. Of course I'm coming from a location that has frost-free dates from June 15th to Aug 15th. THIS will be abundance for me. yeah...I can grow peppers and popcorn and melons and .... DO you KNOW how many NEW seeds I had to buy when I found out we had a decent growing season? Practically bought Gurney's inventory. And I've already got tons of seeds for cold-season things. Wheeeeeeee....gardening. But don't forget we'll need to plant fields of grains too. And legumes. For us and for livestock. Wheat, buckwheat [high in Vit. C], hulless oats, regular oats [livestock], corn, cowpeas, sugar beet, mangels, ......whheeeeeeeee.....are we gonna be BUSY! But that's for later. Tomorrow is EASTER! Glorious rising of our Savior. MtRider [going back to sprinkling cinnamon and walnuts... ]