quiltys41

Well I sure got put to work yesterday. I fell into bed last night so tired that I didn't even have the energy to write one word in my Journal, so thought I would catch it up this morning over coffee before I make my rounds. Yes, rounds. Seems I have ended up with a couple of patients. I had wondered if this wasn't going to happen after we got to the Valley here and all the stress and emotions and energy expended during the wagon train finally was over. That happens often after a big doings. I remember seeing and going through that same thing myself after helping during hurricane Andrew's aftermath with the Red Cross. We were all riding high on adrenalin for so many days, sleeping only when we could catch an hour or two. It takes a toll on a body and then when it's finally over and you have a chance to sit down and take it easy, well it just does something to a body and usually ya come down sick with one thing or another. Seems like this was no exception to the rule. I was going to go see mt3b yesterday afternoon. She seemed somewhat better. Her fever down a little from the night before, but she still had that flush to her face and arms that I didn't like. I didn't think she was over this but kept that little tidbit to myself. I told SF to go ahead and get some food into her even if she did think it tasted like cardboard! And to keep her warm and covered. Also keep on with the willow bark tea until this evening when I came back again to see her. Mt3b didn't stay awake too long, she fell back to sleep before I even left the room. Nope, if she is sleeping that much, the body is trying to heal itself. Best to let her sleep and just touch her once in awhile to make sure the fever didn't shoot up I told SF. He mentioned to me that P&N wanted to come back to the homestead with us tonight and help us break ground on the garden in the morning as a thank you for helping mt3b. I thought that was a nice thing to do and told them that I needed to go see Mt. R. and then this evening when I came back to see mt3b again, we would talk about it further. If she was doing better then we would all go back tonight. If not, I would have to stay in town. But we would work out the fine details later. I said my good byes and headed down stairs fixing to go back to the medical cabin to see if Mt. R. was awake and would see me. Well I got as far as the great room and about to go outside when I ran smack into Mother. She wanted to know how Mt. R. was too so we both headed over to the medical cabin. Well it isn't too far from the lodge to the medical cabin so we didn't get too much time to talk, but she did ask about mt3b and I told her that mt3b was a little better this morning but still flushed and sleeping a lot. I didn't tell Mother that I was thinking this wasn't done with mt3b yet and that she was going to get worse before she got better. Oh that woman was there again! Wonder if she would give me such a hard time with Mother along LOLOL!! I kind of wanted to see that lady get sassy with Mother hehehe. I would just hang back and watch what happened. Just cause I am like that some days...sassy! Well I should have known nothing was going to happen. Mother is so sweet, she wouldn't hurt a fly, I swear. She told the lady who I was and why I had came there yesterday, not just as a friend but also someone who would be giving care to those in need of it in the Valley from now on, along with Mr. Mt. R. and any other medical people who came to the valley. She told the lady that I was the RN she was supposed to be keeping an eye out for. The lady kind of blushed and apologized all over herself for that boo boo. She kind of reminded me of a pit bull. Not Mother, the other lady lol. Best get that clear real quick huh? But that was the kind of person I wanted at the front desk running interference for us! Someone who had brass ones and knew how to stand up to people but be nice about it at first. I knew we needed someone we could depend on and she seemed to fit the bill for that. Mother talked to her about taking the position there at the desk to help us out. I jumped into the conversation and told the lady that she shouldn't worry about what happened yesterday and that I was happy to know she was out here keeping most of the people out so Mt. R. could get her rest. That she was the kind of person I wanted out here and would she please take the job? She agreed and so now we have a receptionist lol. Well she is more a jack of all trades but she is sure going to be nice to have around. It was either that or hubby and I were going to have to completely change our plans and move into the little berg that was composed of the lodge and the medical building. Ugh. I hate a town of any size lol. I want out away from everything with enough room to sling a cat ifin I want to. So with that little problem solved, we asked how Mt. R. was doing this afternoon. She was about the same, staying in bed and resting trying hard to get her strength back. Mr. R. was working with her on the physical therapy she badly needed. We went on in together to see her. LOL There she was just looking great all propped up with pillows. Cat on the bed too. Not surprised about that. But she had been having a hard time of it. We talked a little bit and then Mother left. I stayed for a little longer checking Mt. R. over, putting her through some stretching and such to see how bad the spasms were. I asked a lot of questions about her health that I was concerned with. I checked her blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, lungs, etc.. Most of that was all normal. It's a hard disease that MS and it takes a toll on a body. For now let's just say she needed a lot of rest, maybe a week or so's worth. Now whether she would stay in bed that long was anyones guess. It is hard to keep that woman down for long. I got out of the medical cabin, promising that I would be back today to check on her. Which is where I am heading in a few minutes. I bet she is a bit better and propped up in bed again lol. She isn't the one I am worried about.... Q 　 　 　 　

Really? You know, if you want to try your hand at writing we could bring you and your family into the valley by mule train, let yall pick out some land (40 acres for each adult) and you could join right in! Mother and Mt.R and Michael help so much that it makes it easy to write. Heck, if I can do it...anyone can! Give it some thought, we would love to have you and others join in! Q

Can I second that post? I really enjoyed reading Lori's additions. Thank you! Q

"Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day. I've got a feeling that everythings Going our way!" Okay, well maybe not everything, but things were looking up. We have our claim filed, some packages came in, we made it to the Valley, God granted us good friends both new and old and we were starting a new life. Be assured we knew it wasn't going to be easy, far from that. But it would be rewarding, building with our own hands what would become our life. Our faith has gotten us this far and would continue to sustain us in days to come. God never gives us more than we can bear, so He must have some real big faith in what we can accomplish here in the valley lol! He sure has a good sense of humor too, ever take a good look at some of the animals he created?! Well hubby was already up and out of the room, so I got out of the bed and got ready for the day. There was a stand with a basin in it and a pitcher of water too. I took a spit shine bath in a hurry. The water was kind of cool, but it woke me up all the way and felt good too, so who's to complain? I got dressed and cleaned up the room a little. I stared at the pile of unopened packages. What a mess, they were piled this way and that about to fall over on the floor. I took to just straightening them up when an envelop fell out of the stack onto the floor at my feet. It had come from the Rockin J by way of that last little burg we had went through. They must have picked up mail too along with the last of the packages. I hurried to pick it up. Grabbing it like it was made of glass, I turned it over to see who it was from since very few of our family knew where to send a letter to us. It was from our kids. So, did I want to open it now and blubber like a baby, getting my face and eyes all red and swollen, or did I want to wait until we got to our home and not have to worry about stuff like that? I opted to wait, it would about kill me to do it. But wait it will. It's not like I could answer it anyways. At least I didn't think so. I knew we could get mail, but not send it out. It was a hard choice, one of many we made to come here, but in the end of all things, it would be okay. I stuck the letter in my togo bag to open when we got home and then went over to mt3b's room to check up on her. I knocked at the door and SF answered. She had slept okay last night and was still asleep now. I told him that I had to check on a few others and would come back by in awhile to check on her good. Leaving there I went to search for Mt. R. I looked all over the Lodge. I couldn't find either one of them! I knew they didn't have their place up and going yet, so they couldn't be there?? I went on downstairs and even though I could smell another one of Chef's wonderful breakfasts cooking, I just grabbed a cuppa and headed out of the kitchen in search of Mt.R, either one of them at this point. I asked some of B's people sitting at the long tables in the great room. No one here had seen either one of them since crossing the river! Okay, now I am getting worried and I am not one that worries too easily. But I know how hard this trip was on Mr. and myself. I could only imagine how hard it was on her. It must have taken a toll on her and I wondered if it had taken too much out of her with all the hypothermia, the riding, the ups and downs of being on the trail even. All of those things can cause any chronic illness to escalate. I said a quick prayer for them both. I went back to the room and grabbed my coat, left a note for the hubby since he wasn't back yet and headed back to the kitchen for a refill on my cuppa before heading out of the Lodge. I had in mind going straight to the clinic to see if the Mt. R.'s were there instead of riding all the way to their place in our wagon first. I went out back of the Lodge first instead to see if hubby was out there. Yep, there he was playing with the dogs and getting them some much needed exercise. He had already fed the chickens and given the oxen a little extra feed. I don't know who was having more fun though, the dogs or him lol! He said he was going to hang out here for awhile. He isn't one for crowds much and was getting antsy to get back to our place. I told him he could go up to the room and get our stuff and put it into the wagon if he wanted. I thought we might be able to get home today depending on what happened last night and this morning with my "patients" lol. He just grinned at me knowing that nothing nor no one would move me from here if I thought I was still needed as a nurse. Smart man. I wandered over to the clinic. Nice little building, made of logs, chinked well from what I could tell at least I felt no drafts of any kind. And amazingly clean for a log house! Someone had taken great pains to make this place one that would last a good long time. I waited at the front desk till someone showed up. It was one of B's folks that I hadn't seen on the trail. Must have been with the front part of the train lol. I asked if they had a patient here, Mt.R. She looked at me funny...I said "sorry, I meant Mt. Rider's, either one of them? They have come up missing and she has a chronic disease that may have flared up. I thought I would look here before heading up to their place." "And you would be who?", she asked me. I told her that I was a friend and a nurse that had taken care of her on the trail when she had hypothermia, along with others on the wagon train. That we were just wondering how she was doing? She said that we weren't going to worry about HIPPA laws here in the valley lol. Thank goodness for that, I might have had to go over the counter at her otherwise! She said that yes, Mt.R. was here at the clinic as a patient. She said that her husband has been here with her the entire time, refusing to leave her side. Evidently she has hit another flair up and this one was a doosy. All of the hard riding, the worry, the hypothermia and even the emotions along the way had all worked together to cause this flair up in her. The nurse said that she thought maybe Mt. R. shouldn't have even attempted this journey. I told her that Mt.R. is one woman who almost single handedly got most of this wagon train together and if it wasn't for her, most of us wouldn't be here now. We would have either not come to begin with or would have turned back at the first hint of any trouble. We owed that woman big time. And she has faith that will move a mountain. One thing that everyone knew was Mt.R. was one truly God fearing woman. I told the nurse that someone would be around to check on her later and to give the Mt.R.'s a message that I had been here to check on her please. She told me that she would do that as soon as one of them had woken up. She also told me just how bad this all was in medical terms. That knowledge I held close to the vest, not wanting to spread it all over the Valley and asked her to not let that out to too many people please, unless she (Mt. R.) said it was okay. I promised to be back and told the nurse thank you as I turned to head out the door. I needed to go back to the Lodge. First I had some praying to do for our dear friend. Second I needed to talk to Mother and let her know what was going on with Mt.R. and I needed to talk to the hubby and see what he thought, should we stay or go? It was fixing to be a longer day than I thought it was going to be an hour ago..... 　 Q

Thanks for that recap Mother. I tried to pull some of that into my last post on the story, but I think I got a few of the details wrong like Mr R owning the rockin J, not who I had. I tried to look to the future a bit in it also maybe to help some others who were thinking about writing themselves into the story line a place to jump in??? I do hope any of our readers who want to join up do just that, the more the merrier! We sure could use a few more farmers in the valley! I am going to try to write in Mt.R's in my next post. I hope she gets to feeling better IRL and at least can post a HI now and then until she is up to posting in the comments or the story. I do hope she isn't too disappointed with us already crossing the river and taking her along LOL... PS...can you get Lori to put that post in the story? That would make a wonderful addition to the story!! Lol...maybe she needs to write more too?? Q

Miki I want to thank you for taking the time to let us know that you enjoy the story, along with others here on MrsS. It's comments like yours that keep me writing this story. If yall ever get bored with it, well let us know! Thanks and hugs... Q

Hehehe, dogs don't ride well in the back of mini vans either. At least they don't poop as much! So, it's about time for another update. Where are you????? Q

We woke to the sounds of people milling about down stairs at breakfast. Hubby and I awoke about the same time. We got up to get dressed and go see about filling our claim to the land we had already claimed in our hearts as our own. Now, if no one had already gotten it before we did, then it would be ours. Having improvements made on it and some kind of business there would not be a problem. I was going to be working out of the house as a nurse for hire sort of deal, so that covered the business. Next would be the garden, upgrading the cabin, building a barn for the animals and getting running water inside, etc.. would be our improvements to the land. We also wanted a few acres for grazing and planting corn on for feed and "other" uses lol. Since hubby had brought the still, we would be needing a lot of corn. But that alcohol would be put to good use for medical tinctures and maybe even to power a tractor or some such mechanical thing. It wasn't just meant for drinking, that much was for sure and certain. We wandered down stairs after dressing, seeing people eating breakfast, we checked out the kitchen to find Chef hard at it again. We thanked him for all of the fine food he had fixed for us since the first day of the wagon train and up until this day. He blushed, the big old softy at heart and said a quiet thank you as I grabbed him up for a big hug. Hubby shook his hand and thanked him also. Chef promised that this wasn't the end of his cooking now that he had such a great big and well stocked kitchen to use. We promised him that we would be coming to the gatherings here at the Lodge and would look forward to more of his wonderful cooking. We each grabbed a plate of breakfast and a cuppa coffee and headed out to the main room of the Lodge to find a place to sit and eat. We saw Annarchy sitting and talking, and Mother of course was there. We didn't want to bother anyone so we took a seat at one of the big long tables so we could discuss what needed done and soon. I looked around for Mt. R.'s but didn't see them anywhere. I sure hoped that they were getting their much needed rest now before traveling on to their place in the valley that they wanted to check out. I knew it had hot springs near it and was hoping that both of them would enjoy having that so near. They needed to be putting it to use quickly. I said a quick prayer for our breakfast, adding them in to it. Diving into another one of Chef's wonderful meals, we discussed getting our claim filed. Then we wondered if the supplies were in yet and decided we would go check with Mr. H. on that after breakfast. If those were in, or the packages we had ordered, we would pick those up, go file the claim with Mr. H and then say our good-byes to everyone and get back to our little homestead. That's if we had enough daylight left to get back there. Otherwise we would stay yet another night at the Lodge. Since the dogs and the chickens were out in the wagon yet, hubby ate and went out to check on them and get them fed and exercised while I cleaned up our mess from breakfast and went back to the room to tidy up a bit and pack us up just in case we had time to head back today. Once hubby returned from outside, we went in search of Mr. H. I just kind of stayed in the background as the men hashed things out. Some of our packages had arrived and were in a storage room here at the Lodge waiting to be picked up. Mr. H. would show us where on the shelves in that room they were so we wouldn't have to play guess and search all morning lol. Hubby also asked him about having a bulletin board here to post "Want ads" and notes on. He said it was on the way to the office and would show it to us right after we grabbed our packages. He said he would wait while we ran those back to our room. We ran them back with arms loaded and got back to Mr. H. asap. He showed us the bulletin board, a large wall with a piece of cork covering it and push pins all over off to the side for use to stick the messages up on it with. Then I left Mr. H. and hubby to go off to the office and get the claim on our land filed while I put up the notes on the board. The first one was for a horse. I put the note up that said..."Needed: One good horse for riding circuit around the valley for medical check ups on others. Will trade for it or buy outright. See Mr.Q or Q for details." The next one read this: "Needed, one or two goats, preferably milkers for milk and cheese and meat on down the road a bit. Will consider all offers. Trade, barter or outright buying. See Mr. Q or Q for details." I had one other one I wanted to put up but figured I would wait a little bit on it first so not to make hubby upset. And I thought I would check with mt3b first and see if they had any of the boys that might want this one. It read: "Wanted, one good strong back to help on occasion around our place. Need help with heavy lifting and moving. Will trade, barter or pay $$ for the help. See Mr. Q for details." I held on to that one. Figured I would give it to the hubby after we talked to mt3b's first, then he could post it if they didn't have anyone who could lend us a hand now and again. I knew we wouldn't need someone all the time, it would just be a once in awhile thing. We surely couldn't afford someone all the time. Mr. H. and the hubby came out of the office smiling and shaking hands as I was standing there reading the board. I broke into the testosterone party lol. I asked Mr. H. if he knew anything about people riding circuit in the valley for medical care or spiritual needs yet? Nothing he knew of yet. I told him that once we got our place going, probably not even this year but the next one, that I was considering doing just that in the valley as a nurse, doing wellness checks for blood pressure, childbirth and the likes. He seemed to really like that idea. I told him it was all dependent on us getting a horse somewhere first since I didn't think it was going to go real fast driving the wagon or trying to ride one of those beasts all over the valley LOL!! He told me that if I was going to be checking up on everyone that he would make a list of names, what was wrong or what they were needing medical wise, make sure that the clinic in town knew what I was doing out there and get me together with them on this adventure lol. He also said that if I was going to be checking on everyone, that he would gladly supply the horse! I asked him for how much and he clouded up real quick. "For nothing at all but a check up now and then!" he said to me rather loudly. Ops, I didn't mean to offend him and told him just that. He smiled at me and told me no offense was taken then. We shook on the deal and he told me to see one of the boys out at the corral before we left to go back to our homestead today or tomorrow. They would help us pick out a good rider and get us all set up with the needed tack too. I asked if that came with lessons since I had ridden many times, but never had to put on my own saddle! Surely, he said. Whew. With that problem out of the way, I swiped the notice off of the bulletin board and followed the men folk back downstairs. So far, it has been a pretty good day! We have our claim filed now, picked up some of our packages, and got a horse! Now to go talk to a few of the folks here and we might even be able to get home today. Home. Our home. Finally ours. Wow, was I ever going to sleep good tonight! Hubby asked Mr. H. before he took off to help some other folks just when he thought the other supplies might come in on that mule train his kids were going to have. He told us how bad things were getting out there in the world. He was very worried about his own kids and even Mr J, back at the Rockin' J ranch. Seems they had been having their share of trouble too with people trying to wrestle some cattle to feed themselves with. Problem was most would kill the cattle, cut out a little meat and leave most of it lay for the preditors. What a waste and one that couldn't go on obviously. They were worried about safety there also as the gangs became bigger and more bold about attacking places like the Rockin J. I asked Mr. H. if it was possible that they may need to move out of there and into the valley at some point? He told us that provisions for that possibility had been made a long time ago, that they would move here lock, stock, and barrel if things got to bad out in the real world. They wanted most of the grazing range in the center of the valley and with most of us going south or north so far, that didn't seem like it was ever going to be a problem. I was happier knowing that they might be moving in here at the valley, but that would also mean that we had one less contact with the outside world. Lets hope they could hold out for a good long time yet. But as for the mule train, he said that his sons were trying to gather the stuff asap. But there were so many shortages now that it didn't look like we would ever get all that we had ordered. But his boys would get what ever they could and get it to the valley asap. I could tell by the look on Mr. H.'s face that he would be more than happy to have his sons here with him rather than out in the world at the Rocking J. Poor guy. I could sympathize with him having my own kids out there instead of here in the valley with us. Maybe at one point they could come. I doubted it though. They seemed to think they could all ride it out at our old place in TN. We had showed them our escape plan there over to LBL park and the cave we had found and stocked up there. It was only less than 10 minutes away from our house by car, shorter by the car/boat route. And they knew that if for some reason, the nukes started flying, that they all needed to beat feet and meet up at that cave. It would provide them all the protection and supplies they would need to ride that out. I knew they would be safe, but they were just too far away for my liking. Best not think about that now...we needed to get a move on and get ourselves settled in at our new place! We got back to the room to check out what the packages were when a knock came at the door. It was SF coming to see if I would go check on mt3b. Seems she was coming down with something and he said she went back to their room mumbling something about wanting her pillow and that she didn't feel too good. He said she had a cup of tea that Mother had given her to drink. LOL, I told him that she would probably be asleep when we got there, but I could still check her over even so. Off we went to their room. He opened the door for me to go in, but stayed outside in the hall saying he didn't like medical stuff lol. Why is it that men are so chicken when it comes to all things medical? It's not that bad really! I peeked in on mt3b. She was sound asleep cradling her pillow. I didn't have the heart to wake her, but I had to touch her to check for fever. Her face was definitely flushed. I laid my hand gently on her forehead so as not to wake her. It was hot! I sent SF downstairs to ask Mother to get him a cup of willow bark tea and tell her that I needed it for mt3b for a fever. I knew Mother would know just how strong to make it then. She was resting well, breathing was even and easy. She did sound a little rattly though like she needed to cough something up. I started writing out on a piece of paper for SF just what he needed to do... -Willow bark tea. One cup every 6 hours for fever. -Keep the covers on her no matter how much she fights you about it! Uncovering someone with a fever could turn into pneumonia. So keep her covered well. -Come get me if she gets worse. You know which room we are in. Will stay the week-end to watch her if it's needed. -If she starts coughing...make sure she sits up and coughs it all the way up. If she can't, cup your hand and gently hit her on the back on both sides where the lungs are. About 20 times on each side will help. While you are doing that, make her lay across the bed with her head down and hanging over the edge. That helps the mucus come up and out of the lungs. -Keep the room warm and no drafts on her. -Get some food into her. The body needs the nutrients in the food to fight off the fever and help cure itself of what's wrong. She doesn't have to eat a big meal. Some soup, chicken is best, and crackers will do to start. Then move her up to scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. -I will be back in the morning to check on her. I handed the note to SF as he got her to drinking the willow bark tea. I smiled at him and told him not to worry, that it wasn't too bad and she would be okay. Let her stay in bed the week-end to get her strength back and that I will come back in the morning to check on her. He seemed okay with that and she just smiled at me while drinking the tea. I left them to it and went back to our room to let hubby know the change in plans. I told him that he might as well go on down to the corral, get the oxen fed and put up, take the dogs potty, feed the chicks, and then pick out a horse for us and learn how to saddle it up. I told him I would be staying here in the room while he was gone just in case I was needed so I could be found. I knew this was the start of it, that there would be more calls for help. I didn't want to tell him that. I knew this was going to put more work onto him to get things done around the homestead. Maybe I should put that note up on the board after all? I thought about it while sitting on the bed. It just felt so soft after sleeping in the wagon. I am sure it wouldn't hurt anything if I just laid down on it for a minute or two................ Q 　 　

Crud, well that is just how mine started too, with a dern sinus cold from the dry heat, no doubt. Thanks for the gentle hugs gals, they were much needed lol. And hugs back to you both and anyone else needing one today. I am trying to write a post for today but I'm struggling with it. I hate when that happens lol. Most times I can sit down and just whip out a post with no problems. But then I had Mt.R. and Mother giving the direction to go in too. Now that we are on our own, I have to slow down and remember we are starting with about nothing and go from there. Well off to read and write a little more then I am going back to bed. See yall tomorrow. Good Sabbath to yall! Q

Having been down in bed all day I missed all the goings on here. ((((Lois)))) it is SO good to see you post!! I hope you keep right on enjoying our story. And knowing that you have a lot of knowledge in that head of yours on plants and their medical/etc.. uses, please do post some of them here if you think they could be useful in our UNreality story! As for the date...I will happily go along with what ever yall decide. Just let us know. Now I am going to go read todays installments and see if I can come up with a little something before I end up back in bed again (pain is B A D bad today and flu still too) and unable to catch up.... Q

It has been a very full day today. And right now I am so tired that I hope the hubby doesn't find me face down in the journal in the morning lol! Where to start?? How about sun up at our new homestead! We woke to the sound of the bubbling stream as it ran down the small waterfall beside us. I could hear the birds just chirping away overhead. I peaked out of my sleeping bag to the most beautiful sunrise I had seen in years. The sky was hues of purple, pink, and blue as the sun started to rise over the mountains, shining on the clouds that were left over from yesterdays rain. You could see the clouds heading out of the valley and going to the south of us. Looking up to the north of us there was nothing but clear skies and trees that were doing their level best to burst out new buds. Birds of all kinds were flitting about diving after each other and having a grand time it seemed. I turned on my side to watch the water flow down the big flat rocks, making a small waterfall at the end of each one. It looked like four large slabs of rock making a giant sized set of stairs. The water was as clear as clear can be. And there were fish! Small ones that I could see, but where there are small fish there has to be bigger ones making the small ones lol. I couldn't wait to drop a line in the pool to see what we had in there. Hubby started stirring beside me. I poked him in the sleeping bag and told him "Good morning honey! It's time to rise and shine and start our first day at our new home!" He just looked over at me grinning like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. I knew that twinkle in his eyes lol and I had a good idea that coffee was going to be late this morning. After initiating our new home <ahem> I got up and slipped on my robe, wandered over to the Coleman stove and lit it for coffee. I took the old grounds out that we had already used three times and started a compost pile over by where we were going to put the garden. Hey, it's a start! With coffee brewing we got dressed and ready for the day. Each of us got a cuppa and went to sit over by the waterfall to figure out what the day would hold for us. We knew that we were expected back at the camp by the river by nightfall. We wondered if they had to move back or if they went ahead and crossed the river and was everyone okay? I got a little twinge of something talking about the rest of the group...not really loneliness, but I was missing them this morning. We had all been together so long and here we were all alone without everyone now. It was a big change in routine. Yeah, routine. That was another thing we were going to have to figure out all over again. So we talked and decided to look around here a little bit in the good light of day minus clouds and rain lol and see what else we could find, if anything. We were planning on leaving the little wood stove in the cabin and some of our other things too just to lighten the load on the oxen. Hey, they had worked hard too getting us here and since we were planning on coming right back the next day or so, hubby didn't see any need for us to tote all of our stuff all over the valley again. So that is where we started, unloading the wagon. And wouldn't ya' know it just about the time we had gotten what we wanted into the cabin...we got our first visitors!!! Thank you Lord! It was mt3b's and her family. Seems we were going to be neighbors!! I was just so thrilled when I first saw them coming through the trees that I let out a little war hoop! LOL I just couldn't help it, our first visitors! That thought in itself made me start welling up to cry. I just hope mt3b's doesn't think I am nuts or something lol. Well she and I got to talking and visiting just like we were long lost sisters or something. I think we could have talked the day away too. The guys had wandered off down by the stream. What is it with men and water? We got a message to give to her family up at the lodge too and we will deliver it later today when we get there. I was just so tickled to find out they will be our neighbors and they will be close enough to lend a hand if needed. And of course, we offered the same to them. So far, this was turning out to be hard work but very rewarding and satisfying. And now with the promise of good people for neighbors, well I just wanted to thank God for it all and shed a few tears too, of course. Mt3b's and her family took off to look over their own place and the trappers cabin. They had a full day planned for themselves also, just like we did. It got pretty quiet again after they left. Hubby was out back looking over the spot we wanted to put a garden in at and I walked out to join him. We stood there, hand in hand, not saying a word. Just looking at the garden spot with the mountains to the south in the background. This surely was a beautiful placed, one blessed by God's own hand. Nothing of this magnitude could have just "happened". I felt the need to say a prayer of thanks and did so. Hubby turned to me and asked if I was ready to head on into town now and that we could do our talking while we rode along. I told him I sure was and that it would be nice to head on in and make sure all of them were safe and dry. I hoped they had gotten to the lodge by now and that the river would be safe to cross somewhere along the way. Hubby got the oxen hitched back up from grazing over by the stream and we got in and headed out. You could tell the difference in the wagon by the way it was riding. It handled a bit better too with all that heavy stuff out of the back and the middle of the wagon. I knew it would all be safe at our cabin while we were gone. We headed west to the river by the old homestead and planned on following the river all the way up to the lodge. Since we were lighter and the oxen well refreshed, we made good time getting there too. Along the way we saw lots of small game like rabbits and squirrels. We saw a few doe still out grazing near the tree lines too. It was kind of late in the day for them but with all the rain that fell they may have been a little behind on eating lol. Hubby thought it looked like the river had gone down some from yesterday. I didn't see that, but it did look less "angry" at us and not flowing as fast nor as rough as it was yesterday. That made me feel a LOT better about maybe having to go across it later today. As we rode, we got to talking about our place. First thing was going to have to be the garden. I had already gotten all the paper pots made for the peppers, tomatoes, etc... and planned on digging up some soil from our place to put in them and get those started as soon as we got back from this little trip up the valley. Hubby and I figured we could get it all turned okay by shovel and such that we had brought with us. I guess the wagon was going to be our tool shed until we could build the barn. Getting fire wood cut and stacked was going to be another chore that needed done quickly also. I was going to need it in the wood stove for canning season. Hopefully we could find some dead fall not too far away and tote it back with the wagon. We had a chain saw and a little gas that we had brought with us, but not much and I think he was planning on using that to fell logs for the barn, not just for plain ole firewood. That was going to be the axe and the maul and such. Hard work for two handicapped people, let me tell ya'! Right about then, I saw something shining in the sun on the river bank. I had hubby stop the wagon and I got down and being the brave soul that I am, went close up to the river to see what is was. Hum, a wash tub? I wonder how this got here? It looks almost new too and it was a #10, so I grabbed it up and was going to take it back to the wagon. I saw some clothes along the river bank a little farther up so I hollered at hubby just to ride along with me as I walked the river bank gathering stuff up in the tub lol. I found about half a tub of clothes that way and didn't see anything else on up ahead, so I had hubby stop the wagon and I put the tub in the back end and jumped on in myself, walking up to the front seat through the wagon bed. We started back on talking where we left off on what needed done besides the garden and fire wood. Then there was getting the cabin livable, re-chinking the logs, etc...then we needed a barn before winter. I looked at the hubby and asked him what he thought the chances of for us to get all this done before winter set in. He said pretty slim, but we could do it. I asked him if he had given any thought to maybe seeing if we could find someone wanting to hire out to help us? Nope, he hadn't. He just figured everyone would be too busy building their own places to do anything like that. I told him that I would write up an "ad" and see if maybe they didn't have a bulletin board up to the lodge to put things like that on yet? Hey, it was worth a try. Anything to help him not have to do so much heavy lifting and that all by himself would make me happy. I didn't want him pushing too hard and then getting hurt or laid up for a few days. But we would see how things went first with just the two of us he said. So I didn't write up the note after all. I did keep it in the back of my mind however... We got to the lake and kept going until we met up to the next river and started up that one. I didn't see a soul in sight! This was where they should have been, but no one was around! I guess they went across after all? I didn't see any notes hanging off of any trees lol, so I figured they went on across to the lodge. That must be where the tub had came from and the clothes. Hubby spotted a good place to cross the river on up past the lodge a little bit. It must have only been 10-15 feet across, so away we went. I don't think it ever got up to the bottom of the wagon. One of the oxen slipped once, but quickly regained his footing and we were off again. Having gotten over to the other side, we headed back down toward the lodge. I could see it and saw some people outside moving around. As we got closer I gave a shout out and jumped out of the wagon. Hubby went ahead and took it around back and unhitched the oxen putting them in the corral for the time being. Now there was another thing we're going to need, a corral or some such for our animals! I was watching hubby put the animals up when Mother came up behind me shouting "Q!! You all made it here! We missed you!" and gave me a hug big enough to squeeze the breathe out of all outdoors! We got to chatting about what happened, what we had seen and hubby saw W&A and gave them their message. About that time here came mt3b's bunch! Mother grabbed her and squeezed the stuffings out of her too, just laughing and having a large time. We told her that we were going to be neighbors too and that just tickled Mother to no end. I think it kind of relieved her too that we would both have someone close by just in case it was needed. Hubby ran back out to the wagon and grabbed the tub with the clothes in it and brought it up to Mother asking her what he should do with it? She just laughed and said that it was hers and they lost it going across the river. She told him to leave the clothes in it and she would wash them up and put those in the lost and found they were starting at the lodge. We all got to go in the lodge finally! I was awestruck at the beauty of it on the inside. Just wow! And you could see Chef back in the kitchen just happy as could be to have a non-rolling stove lol. He was whistling and cooking up a storm. Well we all got a fine dinner later, one that meant a lot to us. Here we had come, after months on the trail to what was a symbol to us of freedom. We were finally here and that was the biggest hurdle to jump, next would be setting up our home. But for now, we enjoyed a good night of food and fellowship, swapped stories about what we saw to the south, what our place looked like and we found out how to file our claim or deed while we were there. After all that and with the long day we had had, we begged off any further activities and asked for a bed for the night. Mother was kind enough to have one of Mr. H's people show us to a room upstairs. And here I am about to fall asleep in that same room, sitting at a desk writing this wonderful entry into my journal. So I am off to say my evening prayers now before hitting the hay. I pray for you dear reader of this journal, many blessings and much safety. Tomorrow we file our claim and see if our packages have arrived yet.... Q

LOL you 2!! Well if I could come up with a horse.... I could ride a circuit once a week or so on a set day just to check on folks...that's after we get the homestead going. All bets are off on canning season though lol. It wouldn't take that long to ride by horse to check folks....might need an overnighter once in awhile, but I bet I could get a neighbor kid to stay with hubby for protection while I was gone...hey....lol. Okay, so the land on the map will be a smaller parcel than what I was thinking. Guess that pond is going to have to turn into a small lake in the trees there so we can spread out enough to have some bare ground too and not all trees lol. I would probably be easier on Michael too for drawing it in on the map. Thanks Mother, you have been loads and loads of help! Q

Michael...ummm did you mean for that last post of yours to go onto the story? I had to go back to the last page and make sure I wasn't posting a comment in the story LOL.... I just wanted to ask if anyone else is going south? If not I think we could write a few things into the story here like working out boundry lines and stuff with prospective neighbors? Seems like it would just add something to the story, like how even though we aren't in the wagon train any longer, we continue to work together to solve things that come up and help each other as now neighbors. What do yall think? mt3b? Mother? Beuller? Q PS...I also would like to know if it has to be a retangular shaped claim or can we use irregular but natural boundries?

Looks like we are all finally back on the same day now. I'll wait for tomorrow to post anything more to the story... Q

And to add to what Mother said, if you need a nurse just write me in somehow. I always read what everyone has written before I start my post. So it wont be any big deal to pick up on what you have written and incorporate it into my post also. Or you can pm me any time and ask questions, etc...my brain is here for the picking. LoL...sorry, that sounded kinda gross didn't it? I don't know about the rest of yall, but I am really looking forward to this part of our story too. I can't wait to see how everyone sets up and begins to work their homesteads. Oh, and the barn raising's sure to come soon too! What fun that will be... Q

That is absolutely beautiful! And how appropriate for the Valley too. I am going to save it to my computer right with the map lol. Q

Well after talking things over, we decided to head south and take a look around. On the map we were given, there was a stand of trees at the end of a small river between the trappers cabin and the old homestead place. That was our destination. Since no one from this party had been down that way, we thought it would be at worth a look and see. We figured the small river was mostly run off from the mountains or it could be a spring fed one? Only way to find out...go investigate! So we let the others know of our plans, hitched the oxen back up and headed out. Being that it was still morning, we figured we could make it there with plenty of time to look around before dark. We would stay in the wagon over night and head back in the morning to join the rest of the group. We had seen mt3b's group head out before us, but since we hadn't firmed up our plans yet, we weren't sure if we would go that way or not. So, we just let them go on ahead. Why hold them up if we didn't have to and we were all well armed and would be close to them if they needed help or if we did too. Just had to fire three shots in the air and I knew someone would come riding over. We stayed within sight of the swollen river as far as we could. Still raining down this way too but seemed lighter than farther north of us. Looking up, you could tell that the sky here was a little lighter. We saw horse tracks in the wet ground around us and knew we were going the right direction. Well that and hubby's trusty pocket compass! Some of the trees were starting to bud out and I watched them carefully while sneezing into my hankie. Great, pollen already. So if I am sneezing, there has to be some red oaks around here. Nice wood to build with! The grass was starting to come up too and it just looked to be the run of the mill prairie grasses so far. But, if we had to build a house, it would make a nice sod roof. We were happy so far with what we were seeing. And as we rode along looking at everything, I pulled out a bit of dried fruit and some of our deer jerky to munch on for lunch. I figured with all the looking around we wanted to do, no sense filling up and getting sleepy lol. You can't look around if you got your eyes shut and snoring! So munch we did and kept riding. I thought we should have been there by now, so we got out the map after stopping the wagon to take a look at it. Okay, we were at the big bend in the river to the south, so we started out due east for a few miles. Getting away from the river, the trees thickened up some here. The grasses stayed about the same but it was a darker green. Humm..I had hubby stop the wagon and jumped down off. Grabbing a hand full of new grass I yanked it up out of the earth. Turning it over I found just what I thought I would...dark black earth! You could spit in that kind of land and it would grow! Oh wow, this was what I was wanting for soil too. Now if it just held to the grove we would be in business. So I got back on the wagon when hubby reminded me that daylight was a wasting and we took off again, still heading straight due east. We hit an area where the trees thinned back out again so we headed just to the South this time. We must be going back up in elevation just a bit here because the land was starting a gentle rolling of hillside. We came over the first rise and off in the distance you could see a very thick stand of trees, almost like a mini forest in the middle of all the grass. Hubby said "There it is darlin', that's the place we want to look at. See the little river over to the east going into the trees?" Yep I told him. I do see it! We took off as fast as oxen can go, which isn't that fast lol. Not unless THEY want to. As we got closer we could tell that it wasn't just a little stand of trees, it was a pretty good sized bunch. Well that wasn't going to work for a large garden since you can't garden under a tree canopy lol. But we rode on, keeping it in mind that this was just an idea, nothing was set in stone. It was pretty hard to see into the trees at all since they looked like they were pretty tightly packed together. They had a symmetry about them like they looked like they were in rows. But that wasn't possible out here since this valley was all but abandoned and no one lived here. There wouldn't have been anyone around to plant trees. Ha! We could hear the little river flowing, it didn't sound anything like the main river, which sounded almost angry at us for coming near her. This one was just peacefully bubbling along on it's merry way without a care in the world who or what was in her. Hubby pulled up through the trees. At one point we almost had to back up and try another way in since the trees were so tightly packed. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea I told him. How would we ever have enough time to clear us a spot for a house, barn, chicken coop, etc...??? And clear the spot for a garden and pull stumps and get it going? Well he decided we would just follow along the little river and see where it ended up since on the map it just looked like it hit a dead end into the tree stand? We came over a little rise next to the river, almost at the center of the grove. Hubby stopped the wagon and let out a whistle. I jumped up on the wagon seat and yelled! Yipee! Honey, I think this is it!! He grabbed ahold of me and kissed me so hard it would have made the fish blush if they could. We got out of the wagon and he tied it off on a small tree there. Then we walked up over that ridge, hand-in-hand. What we saw when we got to the top all laid out in front of us was our idea of a little slice of heaven on earth. So right then and there, with hands held, we said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for bringing us safely to this spot that we knew He meant for us. We thanked Him for all the friends we had made on the trail, for the good food, fellowship, leaning times and even the bad times for they made us all the stronger. And with that strength that He gave us we would now do our level best to bring Glory to His name. We asked a blessing on this land and it's people. For our future and theirs. With that most important part of our new life done, we set about looking around. Here is what we found on that little slice of heaven... The small river ended right there in the middle of the grove. In a pool or pond depending on where you are from lol. But before the water came into the pool, it dropped down in about what I could best describe as a stepping stone type waterfall? It had four ledges all about 5 or 6 feet long with rock underneath, well more like it was made of rock and water flowing over them dropping down onto the next ledge and onto the next and then the next one before finally emptying into the pool. Sure was pretty, but I was thinking it would be a nice place to set up some kind of water system going into the little shack that was there. Yep, a shack lol. It was small, dirty and dusty. The door hinges looked like they were rusted about through and squeaked to beat the band. But it had a roof and four walls. We could worry about the rest later lol. From the looks of it, the thing may have been another trappers cabin? All it had in it was a fireplace made of stone. Oh, and one window looking out toward the front beside the front door. We had no idea if it was even livable, but if not, we could sure use the lumber to make another little house! And there was a clearing here. Enough to plant a garden! The grass was coming up thick in that spot and it was going to take a giant effort on our part to keep the weeds down and keep them pulled so they didn't swallow the garden back up. Hubby reached down and pulled up a handful of grass. It had the dark soil too, not black like back north west of us near the big river, but still dark enough that it wasn't going to take much to get things growing good there. So now we found our spot we wanted. We walked around the pond to the other side just to look at it. The water was kind of off colored it looked like to me, but then I was used to the TN river and the Cumberland river, both of which are just about as muddy at times as the Mississippi river. This one was clearer by a long shot. It almost could be called a stream I would imagine by the time it emptied into the pond. I just wondered if it flowed all year long though. That could be a problem. Depend on it to be there and in the middle of summer, it dries up! We would end up digging a well after all. We looked around the property but didn't see one, so who ever was here before must have just gotten water out of the pond. I didn't feel that brave just yet. Maybe someday if this was where we were to end up (oh pretty please lol). Hubby and I both felt so tired. Almost like someone took the weight of the world off of our shoulders. We went back to the wagon to have a sit down talk. We were hungry too so he lit the Coleman stove and I heated up a pint of tomato soup and made a few quick biscuits and put them into the small dutch oven we had just for that. I took some dried tomato slices put one on top of each bowl of soup and a dash of salt and pepper and a tad bit of chopped dried onion too. Simple but still tasted like it was fit for a king. We must have talked the entire time we were cooking, eating and cleaning up lol. Both of us just jabbering away at each other. Sure felt good too, but now it's time to turn in for the night. We will camp out here in the wagon tonight and then head back to the group at first light. It wont take near as long to get back as it did to get here now that we know the way. Hubby says he is going to put a sign up on the door of the cabin before we leave... "MR AND MRS Q LIVE HERE" lol. He sure is sweet. Nite all and God bless you and yours who ever you are in the future readin this... Q

LOL I had ordered a truck load of supplies from the mayors wife. The truck got hi-jacked then re sent to the Rockin J. That's what is supposed to be delivered to the valley, it's all salt, flour, sugar,coffee, etc. Just the basics that we cannot produce ourselves and are so needed, esp. the salt for curing meats. Yep, was counting on the greens too in the spring for food. Like polk weed for a spring tonic. Fiddleheads for a real treat like we had back on the trail...stuff like that. I know the pack mule train had all been arranged as we left the Rockin J. It would be nice to see it arrive, or at the very least, coffee, salt and those things that we are unable to ever produce ourselves. I did buy ours while I was in town that day at her store. Plus we have the packages from Rockin J we picked up but never opened too. What I had ordered on the truck was also for us but mostly for the rest of you though. Like the medicines too that I will need to have (antibiotics and such) to give out if needed in a worst case type thing. I can't remember what else I had wrote in there that I ordered LOL. It really wasn't that much, just most food staples really. Oh yep, and we will be fishing too. So definately need the salt even to smoke it with. LOL all this is kind of a mute point right now anyways...we have to get to the lodge first hehehe. If the water is calm and there is a bridge, then I can cross a river (eyes closed). I can do a boat but only as a last resort and the water is calm lol. Oh my, in unreality I could bite the bullet and cross the river in a wagon. I just got so freaked out by the thought of it, even in unreality lol. Does that give you any idea how I am in real life?!LOL...yep, it's bad. I'm sorry. Hey if Annarchy was to dive the river and find shallows...could a rope be rigged from one side of the river to the other as kind of a guide wire type thing? Maybe we could cross where it isn't too deep that way? Mother I'm with you on tying a rope around the gal before she gets in the water!! Q

Just putting my .02 cents worth in here as someone who has an extreme, let me say that again...EXTREME fear of bridges and rivers and such, there would be NO WAY I could float across that overflowing river in a wagon lol. Even if it meant my life, I still don't know if I could do it. So, that leaves us with one less option LOL... I would vote to give it one more day and see if the rain stops, but we would move back some away from the rivers edge. In that time, I think I would be looking at our supplies and trying to see if we had enough to make it out on our own for a few weeks without getting the resupply. If so, then I imagine we might agree to head south with others going that direction (is there any??) and start looking for our homestead. We would agree to come back in a few weeks to file our claim, make our mark on the map and pick up our supplies (those were supposed to be at the lodge right???). But that is just an idea, it can be changed a little or a lot or completely scrapped lol. Q

Mr Q said to tell you thank you so much! He is doing a little better today and he isn't so pale either. I'm grateful for the answered prayers! Well, I threw in an extra of my own this morning lol. What if some of us wanted to go look for a place now? Is that a possibility and maybe we all meet up back at the lodge in about two weeks to file claims and such?? The thought behind that is this...those of us wanting to build near water...it would be a perfect time to see where the flooding goes to on the land. That way, we will know how far back to safely set the houses and other structures on the property so they don't get flooded or swept away by the river! It would be perfect. And as to our being so close to the lake...hubby said if it was REality, we would be hot footing it away from that dam and river to safety as fast as those oxen would get us away. Head for higher ground if it is still raining before we get caught out there and someone gets hurt.... Q

Well getting down off of the last mountain the rest of the way wasn't easy nor fun but we all did it!! Yipeee!! We are now home!!!! I was beginning to think we wouldn't ever make it. There were so many obstacles in our way just getting a wagon and getting it packed up, let alone getting on the trail with all the wonderful people we have come to know and love over the past weeks. I just kept thinking about those good things on the last part of the trip down the mountain into the valley below. We were wiped out when we got to the bottom and I had thought maybe we could all take a breather for the day, but others wanted to push on and try to get to the lodge by sunset or there abouts. I don't blame them one bit. But for us older folks, it takes a lot out of a body to keep pushing like we have been. And it takes out precious little of what we have left. That's going to leave some to be getting sick before long if we don't all slow it down a bit. I know we are working against the clock here, but some things can't be helped. And what if they do get sick, where will that put them on the race to getting a garden in and barns built by winter? I just keep praying for those of us who are not young and in the peak of health. Like Mt.R.'s (both of them), Mother, hubby, etc.. And I was looking at the map of the valley too thinking how I wished those like them would take places that were warm. I see Mother has one spot with hot springs. I know that will help her and her mother a lot. Or take a spot that has an existing structure on it, no matter how bad it is. It would still be a help. Ah well, never mind. Some times I wonder how I get off on these bunny trails in my journal LOL!! Back to the story... So, here we are at a spring at the bottom of the mountain. Nice place too! Running water into a pool, peaceful and quiet, well shaded with some open land over off to the west of the pool that would make a nice garden and a bit downhill from the pool so that would make nice irrigation! Hey, now we may need to find a place like this to the south, if there is one. That's what I was thinking anyways. Now, later, I don't know. It's too cold there on the east side of the valley. Takes too long to get the sun on it to warm it up. Oh well it was a thought. Hubby is still sleeping right now, but I had to take a few minutes to catch this journal up. I don't want to get here and miss writing that down as much as we have been looking forward to it!! Yeah and about that....well we got everyone going again after resting at the pool for a bit. It seemed like we were going back up hills and then down them again. I had to wonder if we had to go back into the mountains for a bit to get to the lodge? It didn't look like the lake was getting any farther away from us though. It stayed pretty constant on the left of us. And it sure is pretty too. Since at this point, I was just along for the ride lol, I had time to look at the land and the trees. And that lake. Something about the water draws me to it. Did the same to my dad and granddad too. They were Navy men and I was a Navy brat. Even after they got out, they still had places on the water. I grew up around it and so had my hubby. I didn't want him to have to leave the water and become a total "flatlander". Maybe we could find land on the river south of here or at the south end of the lake? I had a feeling that was where we were going to start our search for land at. But we never got away from the lake too far. We rode along and hubby relaxed a little on the oxen. They seemed to have the hang of this pulling a wagon lol. Finally. So I kept pointing out some of the nice tree stands and such and he kept talking about the lake lol. About water lol. So what happens, it starts a raining again. And the wagons are stopping??? Circling??? I had to wonder what was going on here because the only time we had circled wagons was if there was a problem or we were stopping for the night. Huh? So we sat and waited to hear something. One of the younger kids rode back and told us what had happened. That we got to the river and the bridge with the lead wagon, but since it had been raining here so much that the river had flooded over its banks and took the bridge with it!! So, here we sit...so close but so very far away from the lodge. Well now we have the wagons circled and it's so dern wet outside that you can't make a fire. At least it isn't below zero out there and we can kind of keep warm with all the mutts in here lol. And it is so discouraging to come this far through all that we have been through to get this close to the lodge, warmth and hot food to have to sit out here in the rain and cold in the wagon still is just ....well...it just makes me want to cry. But I wont give in to it. One thing I have learned is that you can't just give up out here. It could mean the difference between living and dying. So I have learned not to give up on anything at all. I'll sit here and let myself be discouraged for a little while. But I will also let that motivate me to think a way out of this mess too. So what can we do to get to the lodge from here? I wonder if there are any other ways around this river, even if it means we have to back up close to the mountains and go around the long way. If we just sit here and wait for the river to go down with it still raining, that could take days and days. So could going around. So I wonder if they will just decide for us to sit and wait or go around a different way? Or, should we just all split up from here and go our own ways now to find our places and then meet up again at the lodge, say in two weeks? I wonder how well that idea would go over lol. Since we are going south from here anyways I have an idea that hubby wouldn't mind us taking off and going to stake out a claim from here. And since we will most likely be building our place near the water, if the land is flooded, that will give us a really good idea how far back away from the river we would need to put the house and structures so that they don't get flooded out. Or worse, washed away in the river! Yep, it might not be too bad of an idea to go have a look/see at the land now for those of us wanting to be on the water. Have to ask hubby about that when he wakes up, just in case. I can't just see us sitting here and doing nothing though! I am going to look for my newspaper today and start making seed pots. If I get enough made today then I will start putting soil in them tomorrow and get some tomatoes and pepper plants going. Maybe a few others too like eggplant and the likes. Most of our other seeds though get planted right into the ground. I just can't sit here doing nothing! Well see yall in the morning. Night and God bless... Q

I am going to add this here for a start then add another entry into the journal later. But right now, peeking out of the back of the wagon and from the sounds of the water flowing quicker and quicker, hubby thinks we need to move the wagon train back AWAY from the lake and the river. He says if it is already over it's banks, washed the bridge away, then we have NO business being this close to it. He said it would be different if we had all been here before and knew how the river acted when she went over her banks. But right now, it's an unknown. And he is afraid that if it floods further, from the lay of this land he thinks it will flood back behind us too. That will leave us out on an island of sorts with no way of getting us all safely to dry land since you never want to cross unknown water since you don't know how deep it is in spots. So, not wanting to see anyone or any animals drown, he is going to talk to Mother, Mt.R, and Mr. H this morning and see about getting us all moved out away from the water. What does everyone else think about this idea?? Q

Oh Mother, you are SO sweet. Thanks for all the ideas to think about. LOL you saw my ideas already on getting to the lodge. I know the others should be able to find a way around this. And you know I am going to miss the trail part of this story with all of us being together and you and Mt.R. throwing in the little "extras" for us to write around! It sure helped me a lot. Okay off to daydream some more in between checking on the hubby... Q

Ya' know, it's a good thing we don't all get discouraged easily and have a lot of that never give up pioneer type spirit! LOL...Mother!! Right about now I would like to turn you over my knee! LOL, just kidding. You sure threw us another curve ball with the bridge thing...now lets see how we can all write our way around this one. Anyone have a hot air balloon handy? A helicoper maybe? Really though, I just want to make sure I get this straight before writing anything else. We are all the way down off of the last mountain and down into the valley now? On the other side of the river from the lodge on the map? Please let me know asap so I can get to writing in between taking care of a sick hubby. He's got the flu. I'm just hoping he gets over it before the big snow storm hits at the end of the week, we are supposed to get snowed in for a few days here. Pleanty of time to write then, if the power doesn't go off!

Well camp was pretty quiet tonight. Chef was kind enough to fix dinner for us all, again, with a few helpers. I think we were all just so tired from either getting the wagons down the first stretch or from bing so keyed up about those that were doing the actual driving that it wore us down too! Hubby has been doing his level best tonight to hide the pain but the limping and favoring of his joints kind of gave that away PDQ. He never has been able to hide that from me. And while I sit here writing, I can hear him moaning in his sleep when he moves at all. I do worry about him and wonder if we are going to need to be closer to town than either of us would like to be for the medical care. Even being a nurse, I can only do so much...but for now, I am NOT going to worry about it. Not until he says something. It's cool outside tonight too. Since there is still snow on the mountain tops, it's no wonder. There is a breeze freshening, bring the wind down from there and carrying with it the cold off of the snow. I think we are going to need another quilt or two before the night is over. I have a couple extras handy just in case. I don't want to completely close up the back of the wagon just yet though. I like looking out at the night sky. You can see the moon and stars so clearly here. I do imagine that's from the lack of pollution, car exhaust, etc...hanging in the air. It's so clear and smells so good here. You can smell the pines most of the time almost like it's just gotten done raining or something. Some times it's so strong that you would think you had a pine branch right under your nose! Good thing I like trees lol. I am hoping we have some nice ones at our place. A big live oak would be nice right over the front porch and part of the house for the shade. But I don't suppose they have live oaks up in these parts. That's something that is a Southern thing. One of the many I will miss for awhile until we get used to being here instead of there. I found myself doing that a lot tonight, wondering and planning on what we wanted at our new place. It was okay planning and such before now. Trying to imagine what it might look like through the descriptions of others and the way they had seen it. Like trying to spin cloth out of gossamer threads lol. But it gave us a starting place. But now, yeah now that we had seen the country all laid out in front of us like that from the top of this mountain, it was a whole different ball game. And as I walked around the camp tonight I could hear couples in hushed tones talking about that very same thing that we were talking about. The reality of what we saw versus what we had planned and did we need to change anything now from that? It was kind of funny that we all split up into little family groups, all talking about the same thing. But no one was sitting around the fire talking about it openly. I imagine that is one of those things that families have to work out first among themselves before they will discuss it with others. I bet tomorrow night, if we all have the chance to, will be sitting around a fire talking and asking each other about all of this. I don't think much of our plans will change. We were just so awe struck with the beauty of it all. There are some things words wont adequately describe and the beauty of this valley was one of those things. I just wish my mind would shut off so I could get some sleep instead of replaying that video in my mind of looking over the edge of the mountain and seeing the valley all laid out below lol. Maybe if I close this journal and put out the light and lay down, it might help some! There are a few clouds blowing in now too I see. They are thickening up too. The moon keeps trying to hide behind them more often now than when I started writing this. I just hope we don't end up with rain tomorrow. Ugh, that would be a mess. Wagons going down a steep trail, mud everywhere and having to get out and walk in it also. And if it's raining, there wont be too much of a fire going to get close too and warm up at either. Let's hope the rains hold off until we get down off this mountain...night all and God bless... Q