Mother

It was cold in the camper wagon. It's almost morning according to the battery operated clock beside me but you sure can't tell it from the light outside. Each night for weeks, unless we were where there were lights, I've put a lit votive candle in a small candle lantern on the small stove to give us a night light in case one of us has to use our camp potty. I ALWAYS have to but last night it was so late when we all finally got into our beds and I was so exhausted that I didn't get up once. Laying there snuggled into the quilts I realized that we might have a problem if this blizzard keeps up. We have no latrines dug and though I believe that most people have some sort of convenience in their wagons we're still going to have to have a place, away from camp, to empty them.

I reach a hand out of the covers and pulled back the heavy curtain on the back door and look out but I can't see anything but icy snow hitting the plastic. The wind is howling around the wagons and I realized that it had been a littany all night, back ground music to the sounds of icy granules hitting the roof. We are lucky perhaps in that the sides of our wagon are solid wood and come up fairly high and only a couple of feet and the roof are canvas. As I look around I realize that the modifications we made are actually helping to keep us warm. We'd hung square metal mesh cubes from the roof supports over the bed and over the small camper stove/oven that sets next to the 'necessary' between our bed and Mom's. They are filled mostly with clothes except the one above the stove, which holds cooking supplies. These are serving the purpose now of holding the heat closer to the bed.

I look forward to the front of the wagon where mom is still sleeping deeply and am glad we'd done the same thing in the front of the wagon even though it made it difficult to get in and out of the front to drive. I'm also glad we'd moved Sasha and her pups last night. The back of the front seat lays down to make Mom's bed and I could see the dog nuzzling her nursing pups there. I have an idea it wasn't all that quiet with her under there but we had decided her body heat would help add to the bed's warmth. Normally the small 12 volt refrigerator lay under there as it works standing up or laying flat but we'd moved it for the night. It now sat at the end of the seat with dozens of boxes and other items piled on top of it. At least the dog and Mom had a warm looking nest-like sleeping area. I hoped she was warm enough.

We'd had to abandon the nice mattress that came with the wagon in favor of a more narrow one so we could gain room on the opposite side of the wagon for stacked totes. They went clear to the ceiling and were secured with straps. These contained some of our food supplies, the rest being distributed among the other wagons for security sake, but even without looking in them I knew that many were less than half full. Still, now they were adding their own form of insulation as were the vaious boxes full of this or that tucked under the bed.

I was uncomfortable now that I was awake. Normally all our extra clothes, blankets and other material goods were laid flat under our mattress, giving it more cushion. We'd taken most of that out to hand out to the extra people and it wasn't nearly as soft. I was grateful for Q's offer of the extra quilts for them but I couldn't help worry about how they were.

I couldn't help worry about everyone. We'd tried the radio several times during the evening and even late into the night and only got static. We must have a hill or turn in the trail between us and the front wagons. I can't believe that we'd be that far from them but then the area we were camped in didn't feel right. I hoped that we hadn't gotten on another track some how. Mr.Hughes had told us there were numerous old logging roads that branched off from each other in this area. The fact that we could hear that donkey of Mt.R's for a while last night but we hear nothing now worries me. That sound carries a long way.

Well, from the sounds of the weather outside, this storm shows no signs of abating any time soon and we're going to have to figure out what has to be done to keep us all alive and fed if it doesn't. Sasha is whining and probably wants to go outside so I might as well drag myself out of this warm bed.

Brrrrr I can see my breath in here. I hate to open the door and let out what heat we do have in here.

What a job to get Sasha tied on a long rope and get the door open enough to let her out. The wind, which had died down earlier, is almost gale force again and blowing against the door. I almost couldn't get it open. I won't dare leave her out long.

Oh great, I hadn't thought of this problem. The suitcase type camping potty we use had obviously been used a lot last evening is about half full and it's FROZEN! We aren't going to be able to empty it until it's thawed. Good thing we have an old fashioned bucket with a seat on it too.

I let Sasha back in and dry her the best I can with an almost dry towel before letting her go back to her pups. The pups are chilled in just that short time and we'll have to watch them closely that they continue to be warm enough to nurse.

The water in the coffee pot has ice on it too. Hmmm now that I think of it, the water wagon is with the other group. I guess we'll going to have to check in with Q, Annachy, Big D, Michael and Lori, and the others first thing this morning to see what they think we should do about making it through the day if it continues to storm like this. We're going to have to take stock of what we have and try to see how we can work together. The radio is still giving me static so it looks like we're on our own yet.

That, of course, gets me to thinking of the situation with the latrines and it makes me remember what our little GS said last night. When Mom speaks up from her bed to ask me why I'm smiling I tell her to remember if she uses the outside 'facility' not to "pee in the wind or she'll regret it". We both laugh. A good way to start what looks to be another nasty day!

The wagons are finally circled. From what I can see we are in some trees. A couple of big pines are actually inside the circle. Somehow I thought we were going into a narrow canyon but this just doesn't seem right. For now, at least we have the animals, those we can find at least, all inside the circle of the wagons. We've managed to tie some but the others we'll just have to trust not to stray. Several of us are trying to get the cows and goats milked now. At least it's a bit warmer under them but my hands are almost frozen despite doing this with gloves.

Mr Q and DH have gotten several people throwing a quick snow berm around the outside of the circle, up against the wagons to help shield the wind. I can just barely make them out by their greenish shake up lights that we handed out earlier. I had a whole box of them along for the GS as he's a bit afraid of the dark and I thought these would be helpful. I didn't realize how helpful they would be. We've reminded everyone of their whistles too. I can just make out the lantern they have lit to be able to see somewhat. I’m surprised it’s still it. Must be one of our storm lanterns. They’re pretty good. The wind is doing a pretty good job of throwing drifts up against the opposite side of the circle. I just hope the wind won't take it all off again. It's packing pretty well so maybe it will stay. This makes shelters under the wagon for some of the smaller animals and the covered cages of poultry. Their body heat might help heat the wagons a bit too. We made sure that anyone who stepped beyond the circle was tied to a wagon with a rope. It would only take a few steps in this storm to get lost.

Some people are trying to get a fire started in the middle of the circle but it's not working. Wind is too great. Maybe once the snow is banked around us it will be better. We need to see if we can melt some snow to water the animals. Dehydration is serious for man and animals alike. They're going to keep trying but we can't afford to be out in this much longer without some form of heat out here.

Mom and a couple of others are in our wagon getting a community soup and coffee heated on our small camper stove. Everyone brought what they could to put in it. We HAVE to get some warm food into these people or we're going to start having people go down.

DGD is trying to go from group to group taking a count to see if we can account for everyone. She's also going to be checking for sleeping places and extra dry clothes and blankets or quilts for the extra people.

I feel like there are a lot of people looking to me to come up with some plan. I know my family is but I'm so cold it's difficult to think. I have to get warm but I want to get these cows and goats milked first so they don't get sore. We can use the milk too but the wind is blowing it right out of the pail. We'll try to get as much into the wagons as possible though. Maybe we can get some of it heated up with some honey or sugar and cinnamon. That will help thaw us some.

I have no idea if the other wagons are okay. If I could just…… AH MAN!!!! I forgot,,,,,THE RADIO! It's in the wagon!

MOM? Turn on the radio and see if you can reach anyone. Nothing but static? Well it was worth a try. We'll try it again every few minutes to see if we can get out. How are you coming with food? Just about ready? Good. We've done almost all we can for tonight. I'll pass the word to come get food. Once we are all fed and warmed as much as possible with dry clothes we'll see if we can figure out sleeping arrangements.

Oh good, I see the guys coming in from shoveling. Looks like everyone has about the same idea. Now if we can just get organized some.

DH, do you and the boys want to get with DGD and gather clothes for the extra people? Take them into one of the wagons and see if you all can get changed. Then get everyone to come eat if they don't already have something in their own wagons. It's a bit warmer in there and if they eat in shifts it will give people a chance to warm up. Yes, I'm going in now. I'll see about getting changed too. I can change in Mom's bed area. I know a few of the others have already changed. We have to get people warm.

brrrrrr. I'm so cold I can't feel parts of me. I'm pretty sure if I could I would hurt. Great, I can't get up the steps into the wagon. Oh DGS thanks. Yeah, I need a hand. Could you just give me a shoulder to lean on as I go up? Wow, it's warm in here compared to outside. Where's Sasha? I figured she would be in the way. She's under the bed? Hi there girl. NO stay there. I just wanted to check on you and the gang. Mom you are a dear to have thought of dry clothes for me. I'll go behind the curtain and change now. A towel? Yeah! I guess I DO need one, don't I. Thanks. No you all go ahead and start feeding people. I should be able to manage. I hope I'll be able to manage to change my clothes that is. I'm really colder than I realized. I'm glad these are all pull on or over things. I'm not sure I could manage buttons. The zipper on my down jacket is bad enough. There, got it. BRRRR it's really not all that warm in here, or at least not in this section with that curtain drawn. I wonder if we can get Mom to sleep back with us. I think the mattress is big enough and it would be a lot warmer. Well, we'll talk about it when everyone else is settled for the night. There, I think I have everything but my socks changed. I think I need some help getting the wet ones off. Guess I'll open the curtain so it warms a bit here and someone can set here to eat if they want.

Hey, someone want to give these socks a pull for me? They are really only a bit damp as my boots are good ones but I want to put on these warmer ones and I don't seem to be able to bend over far enough to reach them. Thanks, yeah you can put these ones on too. That's a lot better. No, I don't think I want anything to eat yet. Let's get the others fed first. I will have some tea though if you have hot water. No, I'll just put some ginger and honey in it. That will warm me I believe.

I know I should be out helping but there is not a whole lot we can do but get inside out of the wind and snow. I'll just set here curled up in the corner of the bed while I drink my tea. Maybe as they come in we can figure out where to put everyone. We've moved the animals out of the supply wagon and there's room in there for several guys to sleep with our son in there. We can put all the grand kids, except for the little K, together for warmth. That will leave a wagon for some others. I'm almost sure we have eight or ten extras, mostly Benefactor's people. Not sure we have enough quilts though. Thankfully each of our wagons has a small safe tent type LP heater if needed but I'm not sure how far those small canisters will last. We have a lot of them along but from what I know about these storms, they can last for days. We might have to be very frugal with the heat just in case we need it later.

I best get moving again or I'm not going to make it the next hour or so until everyone is settled.

The day started out warmer than last night and yet it is just getting damper feeling by the minute. The wind is picking up and it's suddenly bitter cold. The sky is a deep lead color too and the surrounding light looks more like late afternoon though we've only been underway, after our noon rest, for an hour or so. I really enjoyed Michael's impromptu sheet seminar. Nice info there.

Strange, there isn't a bird in sight. Something is going to happen. I hope it's not rain. With this cold it might give us some slippery footing and I'm not looking forward to that. It's a good thing I had the family get out their rain gear as well as the heavy winter clothes we are all wearing. Most of them are either walking beside their oxen or riding herd on animals. The oxen, in fact all the animals, seem to be acting strangely and will only keep moving while we are walking with them and the cows and goats keep bunching together. The horses are antsy too. It's all I can do to keep them going. They keep holding back. Usually they are so eager.

Oh, great, SNOW FLAKES! Just what we need but they do look kind of neat coming down with that wind sort of blowing them here and there. They are huge and when I look closely at the ones landing on the front plastic they each have a unique pattern to them. It would be fun to photograph them. I always have liked the snow. This is getting thicker though and now the wind is really picking up.

GOOD GRIEF, What is THAT? It looks like a wall of white up ahead. Is it FOG? I can see the wagons each disappearing as they go into it. Their animals are shying away from it though and some of the drivers are having trouble getting them to go through. Just what I need....What IS that stuff? Kind of looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Maybe they are just going around a bend in the trail.

OH MY LORD, it's SNOW, a perfect wall of snow coming down so thick I can't see through it !!!!

Hang on, Mom! I don't know how these horses will handle this! GET UP THERE BESS! YO BOB!

I can't see a thing. The snow is blowing so hard against the front of the wagon it's packing there. I've got to get this plastic curtain out of the way!

OH GOOD! Mom, can you get that tied back. BE CAREFUL!!! I DON'T NEED YOU FALLING OUT! Still can't see anything and that snow is really coming in the wagon. GO BACK INSIDE! WE DON'T NEED BOTH OF US SOAKED! NO, I THINK I'LL BE OKAY WITH THEM. THEY SEEM TO BE MORE RELUCTANT TO MOVE THAN ANYTHING. THAT WIND IS NASTY. GO ON BACK INSIDE AND GET WARM!

Never saw anything like this before. HO BOB! GET UP THERE! One minute little flakes and now this swirling mass of solid snow that is already piling up around me inside the wagon and on the backs of the horses. I can barely SEE their backs let alone anything in front of them. Where IS that next wagon? I can't even tell if I'm on the trail yet. Even their tracks have disappeared in this blowing snow!

MOM! CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING OUT THE BACK? ARE OUR WAGONS CLOSE ENOUGH TO SEE? I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING OUT THE FRONT. I HATE TO STOP FOR FEAR THEY WILL RUN INTO US!

Oh great, she can't see anything ot the back either. NOW what do I do? WHAT DID YOU SAY? I can barely hear her with this wind. YES, I DO REMEMBER THAT MR. HUGHES TOLD US THIS NEXT STRETCH WOULD BE NARROW. MAYBE I CAN JUST KEEP THE HORSES MOVING AND WE'LL EVENTUALLY COME TO THE AREA HE PLANNED TO STOP FOR THE NIGHT!

This is rediculous. We've been moving almost an hour, or so it seems, and still no sign of the wagons ahead. MT3B's last wagon should be right in front of us but I just don't see it or even any tracks.

WHOA! PULL UP THERE! STOP DARN IT! SOMETHINGS WRONG! THE HORSES AREN'T PULLING RIGHT! I THINK IT'S A BROKEN STRAP! OH GOSH, YOU SCARED ME COMING OUT OF THE SNOW LIKE THAT DH! I THINK THERE'S A STRAP BROKEN AS THEY ARE PULLING MORE TO ONE WAY. M? YOU ARE HERE TOO? GOOD! ONE OF YOU WANT TO SEE IF YOU CAN FIND SOME TRACKS AHEAD? I CAN'T SEE MT3B'S WAGON ANY LONGER.

That wind has a real raw bite to it. My skin feels like it's being sandpapered with that blowing snow.

WHAT? CAN WE GET THAT STRAP FIXED? YOU DID? GREAT!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND ANY TRACKS? THEY HAVE GOT TO BE UP AHEAD OF US. WHAT SHOULD WE DO? CAN THE REST OF YOU SEE EACH OTHER BACK THERE? WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMALS? OKAY, WE'LL JUST KEEP GOING AND HOPE THE HORSES ARE FOLLOWING THE OTHERS.

Dh and the others can see each other only if they travel real cose so we'll have to be cautious. Don't need anyone running into anyone. I'm glad they tied the cows to the wagons and managed to get the Nigerian goats into the supply wagon along with some of the smaller goats. I can imagine the mess that's going to be in there but at least they are secure. Good thing the poultry was all riding inside today. I wonder how the rest of the animals are faring. I know we have a lot more animals back there than just ours. I hope the riders are able to keep them all together.

Okay, guess I'm ready to try this again. The others must be ready back there by now.

GET UP THERE BESS, GO ON BOB! Come on! You can do it! That's it, there you go.

Just that short stop has us setting in drifts. I'd feel better if I could at least see some tracks but if anything this blizzard is only getting worse. We won't dare give it more than another half hour or forty-five minutes before we are going to have to make a decision. It's getting darker and we'll need some light if we are going to circle. FIRST we have to find a place wide enough to do that and I can't even see what's on either side of me.

WHAT MOM? THEY WANT ME TO STOP SO WE CAN HAVE A CONFERENCE. OKAY!

Whoa there! Whoa! Boy, they don't have any trouble stopping but the wagon does. I think some of our riders are checking out the areas to the side of us. I can just barely see them moving through the snow. It seems a bit more open feeling here.

DH? YOU THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH ROOM HERE? WE CAN TRY IT. WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? I SEE THE TREES? YES. I THINK THEY WILL GIVE US A BIT OF PROTECTON. NOT SURE I CAN GET INTO THEM THOUGH. DID ANYONE CHECK THEM OUT FOR DITCHES OR DOWN TREES? THEY DID, GOOD. OKAY, HERE GOES.

YAH THERE, BOB, COME ON BESS, CIRCLE UP! THAT'S GOOD BABIES. CIRCLE UP! YAH THAT'S THE WAY! At least I can finally see the rest of the wagons. OH NO! Big D is having some trouble with her horse. Oh good, DGS is over there taking the horse into the circle for her.

WHOA! WHOA I SAID! STOP!

Finally! Wagons was sliding all over the place. Great, DH has hold of the horses. I'm not sure I can even let go of the reins.

I'm not much help but I guess I better get out there and try. IF I can get out with all this snow around me. It's even on the seat; Mom's bed. OH NO! That's going to take some clean up. I'll just scoop out as much as I can now and then I better get these curtains down again so no more snow comes inside. Then I'll go see what I can do to help the rest get settled in. This is going to be one terrible night and the sooner we get the animals tucked inside the circle and chores done, the sooner we can all get out of this nasty weather and figure out a few things.

Like how we're keeing warm for the night, where we're sleeping the herders who's wagons are ahead of us, and what we're feeding everyone !!!!!!

Good morning Michael. Yes, I'm up and around though a LOT slow this morning. I haven't seen Mt.R this morning yet but I seem to remember her saying that it was business as usual today. Except that she was hoping during our noon stop you'd give us that mini-seminar you were talking about last night. We all learn so much from these info sessions. I hope we can have them all the way to the valley. It's certain we're all going to be too busy to do much socializing after we get there though I sure hope we'll all be able to help each other as much as possible.

Well, good morning Q. It's so nice to see you feeling a bit better. Yes, I know just what you mean by the guys doing the heavy work. I wouldn't mind doing that once in a while too. The problem is that the women in our family have always been so darn independent.

I am having trouble moving around today so DD is going to be driving for me this morning for a change. She's been either driving their own oxen or riding herd. With the extra teams they've been taking turns with the herding. It's harder in some ways but easier too as a lot of the B's people are helping out back there as they now have more teams and animals too. I sometimes feel like we are leading a whole cattle drive the way they trail behind us like that. It really is strange to look forward and backwards along the train. Wagon after wagon trailing about 100 feet behind each other, riders roaming alongside back and forth. Then for hundreds of yards behind there is almost every type of livestock. Sheep, goats, cows, oxen, horses, even some poultry occassionally when it's safe to let them graze are being constantly herded back together as they stop to grab a nibble of grass or in the case of the goats, wandering over to a tree line to stand up on their back legs to pull down a leaf or twig. I always smile a little when I see a horseman pit wits with a wiley goat around a big tree but I know that it's hard on rider and horse alike. Unfortunately the same ones get the tough jobs like that back there. I'm glad we've got some fairly good herd stock but I know I couldn't take that zigging and zagging on a horse bent on corraling a recalcitrant animal.

Well I better get in and help Mom get things stowed away for the day and get some already cooked beans ground up. Mom's got an idea for a bean loaf she wants to try. She's going to use the beans just like she would ground meat with seasonings and eggs and dry bread crumbs. I said I'd work on the beans for her. She's a game one but we all try our best to do what we can to lesson her need to do so much. I'm not much better off than she is though. I only hope when I get to her age I'll be able to do the things she does! Half the time now I feel like she's taking care of me instead of the other way around.

You all take it easy today.

(((( ))))))

I have been cold all day. The damp cold just seemed to soak in even with the plastic curtains down in the front. I finally convinced Mom to go into the back and set bundled in her rocking chair with Sasha and puppies cuddled at her feet. Laughingly she says that dog gives off a lot of heat and maybe we should consider making a bed for her under the front seat where mom sleeps.

She's joking of course but If it stays cold like this I might just do that. I'm glad that we put insulated curtains up inside the front and back curtain. I wish I could have closed them today to keep out some of that wind that played around with us this afternoon. I've been eyeing the trees around us today as we've been driving. I've seen no animals but the birds seem exceptionally active. I watched them feeding heavily all day. That usually means a weather system coming in and that makes me suspect it could get really cold tonight.

At least the horses have been very sedate all day. I think the uphill climb is giving them a good workout and it's taken some of the zip out of them. I'm worried that we'll have to hitch the team we got at the ranch with them. I know there's no way I can handle four of them and that would mean someone else would have to be taken away from herd duty and leave them short as I can't handle the riding. Well, okay, if I have to I CAN but I'm not going to be very graceful either getting on or off a horse and I'm not saying I'd be able to stand up afterwards.

I really enjoyed Mr. Hughes info on tracks. I used to know a lot of them but I was glad to have a refresher course and Bear and Mt. Lion were both new to me. I would have recognized the Mt. Lion track as a cat but that's about it. I really am surprised we haven't seen more animals if only at a distance. I suppose the noise of our animals and wagons are spooking them.

I was really glad when we got stopped for the night. Those of the family walking or riding were picking up wood most of the day and sticking it inside the supply wagon and under some of the others but it wasn't all that dry with the mist on it. We had a hard time getting the fire going even WITH matches. A couple of the grand kids finally found some dry pine needles deep under the drooping canopy of a big tree. They joked about it being warmer under there than in our wagons. I wouldn't doubt it. Most of those big trees will hold a lot of heat in their trunks and those big pines and especially firs will droop their branches clear to the ground, forming a sort of cave. I'm surprised they didn't find some animal in there getting warm.

This morning we had put beans to soak and at noon we brought them to a boil and put them in the insulated cookers with dried meat and dried carrots. We are getting tired of the same old thing and had hoped the guys would have been able to bring in a couple of rabbits or even squirrel though some of the family isn't crazy about squirrel. It would have perked up the meal some.

Late this afternoon DD found a big patch of lambs quarter and rode up to get our big dishpan to harvest some. I was surprised, as spring seems to be a lot further behind here than lower down. These were pretty small leaved but there was enough there to share with whoever wanted it. I noticed that only a few did. Some are just not used to eating wild yet but LQ is one of the mildest of greens and can be used just like spinach. Mom cleaned it while we were doing chores. She used some of the bacon fat we'd been saving and made wilted salad out of the LQ with a bit of vinegar and honey mixed into the fat as a dressing. It was a welcome change.

It's nice to set here around the big community fire in the center of the circle but I believe I'll go in and check to make sure that the plastic curtains are all snapped down securely and that the inner curtains are tight. I wish we'd taken time to make snaps for them too so they would be held secure against the wagon box. We have Velcro there but with this wind I'm not sure it will be enough.

Night all.

MICHAEL! That was brilliant. I love your coal keeper. I've always wanted one of them. They used to use them when they were traveling or they could be used to go "borrow" a coal from a neighbor when their own fire was out for some reason. Though sometimes that 'neighbor' was a long ways away, sometimes miles.

I know where I'm going to get MY fire from next time.

It looks like someone really wants me to try to start a fire without lighter or matches. This set up is almost as nice as the folding camp cooking table I have in the supply wagon. I could start that fire more easily with one of our black powder guns but I guess that's cheating?? Oh well, Guess I'll go get my flint and steel can.

(Mother comes out with a small tin. She gathers some carefully chosen tinder. Wisps of dried grass mostly, some small twigs, and a piece of pine with small twigs attached. She also chooses a large leaf, not totally dry though and a couple of good sized rocks. She takes a knife and shaves some really thin curls of dry pin onto the leaf, just a few. She takes a couple of small twigs from the edge of the pine and frays them on all sides with her knife until they look like tiny brushes. She lays them aside. She carfully bunches the dry wispy grass and lays it on top of the pine shavings on the leaf. She opens up the tin and takes out her flint and steel, not much to look at but they work. She strikes them together once to remember how it's done and just to see the sparks fly. Then she pulls out a smaller tin and opens it carefully. From inside she takes a small piece of previously charred cloth. It's a bit fragile and she handles it carefully as she lays it nestled into the wispy grass. She cradles the leaf around the whole thing and then settles the bundle with the chared cloth showing between the rocks on the sheet iron. She strikes a couple of sparks onto the charred cloth, missing the first time but landing one spark on it. She gently picks up the leaf and carefully breathes on the cloth. At first there doesn't seem to be anything happening and she blows a bit more. Then suddenly a tiny tendril of smoke can be seen coming from the chard cloth and then flames. She quickly sets the leaf down and picks up the frayed pieces of pine and holds them in the flame until they 'catch', then lays them on the small fire that is now burning into the pine shavings below and curling up the edge of the leaf. Now it's just a matter of feeding small twigs until the fire is established. Wahlah! )

(I wasn't sure I remembered so I had to try it IRL before I wrote )

Phew, that was more nerve racking than I'd remembered or maybe it was just all these people watching me. The real problem is that when you really need to start a fire like this it's usually when you are lost or haven't paid attention to your fire and if you aren't prepared ahead of time you are still lost unless you can make a bow drill fire starter and have lots and lots of patience. Having the flint and steel or being able to ID flint and having a good steel knife; Having the cloth already charred and stored away from damp; having DRY tinder (lint really does work well but so will frayed jute rope or cotton) and getting it all together BEFORE you even try a spark. That is the true test.

I used to know why steel wool worked. Something about the Iron oxide in the steel wool reacting with the oxygen in the air? Maybe? sorta? I DO know that if you put a big wad of it in the end of a Civil War cannon and fire it.....flames shoot far beyond the end of the cannon and it's spectacular, especially at night. We used to use it to start fires in camp during reenactments but truthfully, it was faster and more fun to use black powder and a cap in the pistol to set off an instant fire.

(Mother gather's up her supplies, checks to see that she's got a couple more pieces of charred cloth before closing it all back into the tin, and heads back to her wagon. )

Shasha,, you didn't have to spoil my dignified exit by trying to lick my face. Down dumb dog! DOWN! Not on my feet, move over. (Mother starts to giggle and then is outright laughing and finally turns to the group lauging with her) It's really not easy being saved by a dog ya' know! They think they own you from then on. I only hope it doesn't rub off on her pups!

Hey, anyone want a cup of mint tea, I'm just going to make a fresh pot?

What a super suggestion Leah. Thanks. I have had trouble getting enough shavings.

Hmmm maybe you should consider joining our wagon train. You could win the prize

Please, everyone, be sure to add any tips like this that you think of. It helps to round out the learning process.

I was a bit saddened to crawl into the wagon seat this morning and take up the reins. I couldn’t help but look back at the ranch again and again until I couldn’t see the buildings any longer.

I kept going over things in my mind trying to make sure we’d done everything we were supposed to.

I made sure that we all gave Annarchy an okay to take on the care and breeding of the turkeys. We all agreed that we would only butcher them if there was an emergency need for food. Otherwise she would be free to barter the offspring when she had them. She insisted that she would agree to that but would always give to those in need. Bless her heart. She is such a nice person. I can see that she’s got the cage attached to her wagon but I’m not sure how they did it.

We made a place for Sasha and her pups in the supply wagon with our son but she made such a fuss last night when we put her there that we had to bring her back into ours so she wouldn't keep everyone awake. She’s contentedly feeding her pups back there as we ride along today but I know that we’ll have to do something different shortly.

I should have taken more time to check out the packages we got yesterday. I ordered some things for Christmas and though the box arrived, I didn't check to see if everything was included. I can't help but wonder what circumstances we'll be in by the end of the year. It's almost impossible to fathom being snowed into a valley that's difficult to access at the best of times let alone in the winter. It had been my hope that we would have been able to order supplies at least a couple of times before then but with our fresh supplies not getting here I'm not so sure there will be another chance. I sent a couple of orders in the mail today and will hope they have a chance of getting to us with the mule train when it brings our lost supplies but I'm not going to hold my breath that even the supplies will get to us.

We finally got hold of our son yesterday by using our GS's lap top computer and the Rockin J's internet connection. It was wonderful to be able to 'chat' with him. They are almost ready to leave and will most likely be pulling out in two days. A lot sooner than they had expected but only because they could see how bad it was getting. They have opted to rent trucks and bring what they have with them. They are afraid that their things won't make it here if they ship it as the delivery trucks, UPS and Fed Ex and etc, are being constantly hijacked. I worry about them driving but at least they have some safety in numbers and their trucks are just non-descript older box vans so shouldn’t bring a lot of attention. They are also heavily armed if it’s needed. He says they've seen a huge amount of people pulling out of the city, loading their cars with all they could get in it, and leaving for other parts of the country.

We talked a bit about the farm they will be allowed to stay in just in case they can’t arrange to get to the valley. J and J have already agreed to watch out for them and to help them any way they could. Just in case, I used a code we’d developed while he was being home schooled as a child to let him know where he could find us. I could only give him landmarks as I don’t know the exact way myself but I hope it will be enough to get him there if J and J don’t happen to be available when they get here. You never know. I worry more about them making it to the area if it's as bad as they say out there. It sounded really rough. It was hard to say goodbye to them, as this will be our last contact unless they can get a letter into the valley some how. At least he had heard from his brother overseas and found that he is doing okay.

Our noon stop was really interesting. I was glad to be on the receiving end of the whistle, light and knife as I am guilty of not carrying much on my person during the trip so far. Since my run in with the cougar I have managed to carry the small 22 pistol most of the time but besides my multi-tool very little else. I just can’t handle the weight of too many items. For that matter, I probably wouldn’t get far from the wagons but J is right. We are going to be in some pretty wild country and even a short stroll in the forest might find us unable to find our way back. As I plan to do some wildcrafting I better dig out my small BOB. I don’t remember all that’s in it but it sure doesn’t have what MtR has in hers. I know it’s got a good Swiss Army knife, waterproof matches as well as a small Bic lighter, flint and steel in a small case with charred cloth as tinder (I think there’s some dryer lint in there too), a candle, 50 yards of fishing line with hooks, a plastic rain poncho, a couple of water purifying tablets, a small flashlight, a large bandana, a couple Band-Aids and two 4x4 gauze with tape, four aspirin tablets, two and several pieces of hard candy. This all fits into an empty Boy Scout mess kit. I have a tin cup and a water bottle tied on the outside. It’s not much but it’s better than my fingernails and teeth for survival.

I’m glad we pulled into camp early today. I’m interested in the fire lighting contest. It’s been a long, long time since I had to light one without a match. Wonder if I can still do it. I won’t try the magnifying glass though I'm pretty sure I have one or two along. I’m pretty sure there won’t be enough concentrated sun with the way the clouds are piling up on the horizon. I know I’m not going to attempt the bow drill. I never could get that to work. Maybe someone will demonstrate it though and I’ll learn more. Maybe I’ll give it a try with the flint and steel but that would mean I’d have to get down to ground level. Not sure I’ll be able to get there. Might be a good idea to just watch from the sidelines from my lawn chair.

(Stay tuned in. There's a temporary glitch in production of this publication Just a minor one though. Wilderness Journey coming soon to this very forum. )

It really does smell wonderful today. We've been spending most of the day trying to rearranging (AGAIN) the wagons to decide what we have and what we will have to do without. Taking inventory of our staples and fresh foods now that we won't be able to restock from the ranch.

We got our order of flour and grains and a few of the baking supplies we ordered but the yeast didn't come nor did the baking powder. We are low on both of those items but we got the soda and cream of tartar and we already have a nice sourdough started for the bread. We'll just save what yeast we have left for special occassions. One item I am discouraged didn't come was salt. We have about fifty pounds left but had hoped for another fifty to be here waiting for us. I sure hope those hot springs indicate salt there some where. My order of seed and sets has come and that will give us an edge once at the valley though we have a large supply as it is. I am still hopeful that our son will be able to join us and we are planning to plant enough for his family as well as ours but it's not going to help us on the trail and for the first month or so until gardens start producing.

Our son sent us several packages but we haven't looked in them yet. We had talked about some tools and such that would be useful and I'm assuming from the weight of them it's what they contain. There was a lot of packages. Some I ordered and some the other family members but most were just packed away without opening as we knew they were well packed for transportation. The sad thing is that with us not having more food supplies to pack we have more room in the wagons and it wasn't as difficult to pack those items away.

It's the fresh foods I was hoping to see waiting here for us. Even our root crops need replacing if we are not going to dip into our seed supply. We'll just have to be more diligent at finding wild foods on the trail. The problem is that most people, even in my family, are not used to those foods and that could cause some digestive problems to begin with.

Speaking of fresh foods, that smell is really enticing. I believe I'll wander over and see if anyone needs help over there. I always like to help in the "kitchen" as it means I get to "taste" the food to make sure it's okay to eat.

MT3B You're back. Welcome! I feel safe in hugging you now that I've had a nice hot shower. It's good to see P walking on that leg. Oh, a rawhide for Sasha a BIG rawhide. She will love it and the treats. Come look at the puppies. (Mother leans real close and whispers to MT3B...."You can pick one out now if you want or maybe you'll want to make it SF's decision LOL.")

Sasha, get back. You are such a goof ball. Yes, MT3B loves your puppies. No you can't have your 'present' yet. Okay, maybe one treat. Here MT3B, you give it to her. I'm going to hold back the rawhide for when I need to keep her content on the trail. Never know when I'll have to keep her cooped up. Thank you so much for thinking of it.

What a day this has been. Full of laughter and greetings. It's wonderful to be somewhere that we feel safe and secure for at least a day or so. We don't dare tarry too long though or we will be even later yet getting our gardens in.

Our supplies?.. Sorry, MtR just told us that they didn't get here. We're going to have to make do with what we have now and what we can glean along the trail. I'm sure by now there's going to be greens, probably mushrooms if the sun comes out hot enough, out there and that will give us some fresh stuff to supplement our dried and canned foods. We'll be fine, it's spring after all, a time of new beginnings.

At least we did get most of our packages. I'm not sure I even remember what all I ordered. I know one of the packages hasn't come yet. Might never get it. It was material for clothing and such. I hope it comes in with the pack horses or I'm going to have to set up my looms a lot sooner than I expected. I'm going to go through our packages later to see what else I might be missing.

Looks like they're starting to serve supper over there. Want to walk over with me? It sure smells good and I didn't have to cook it LOL!

Come on everyone, let's eat!

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was such a different day I can see why most of you are sleeping in. The decision to go the long way to the bridge to avoid the impossibly high water at the river was fine with me, at first. Then I found that going the "long" way meant up and down a whole bunch of those "Little Ditches". Well, okay, some of them weren't bad but even Mom and I together haven't gotten those * ummmm * "wonderful" horses to stop RUNNING down one side and up the other, causing things to bang around in the wagon By the time DGD took over the reins I felt like I'd dug ditches all day instead of set on a nicely padded seat riding through them. They really are great horses. They are dependable and steady except when going down steep ditches and then it seems they detest them as much as I do and want to get it over with as fast as possible.

It was a long day too. Being off our course yet again made it more difficult to find an appropriate camping spot but I believe the Benefactors did a great job of it. We are not that far off the road but nicely hidden by trees so we won't draw attention and have a nice little stream for watering the animals.

I see Annarchy is already out and about bright and early as usual. Probably already fed the turkeys. We don't dare let them out of their cage but we at least managed to set them outside the wagon and cover them with a tarp for the night. I'm more than willing to let her handle them until the group decides what to do with them. I'm sure they aren't going to be butchered today as I believe we're hoping to get to the Ranch as early as possible. I'm not sure how far that is after our detour though. We'll put their cage back into our supply wagon for the day. If the group decides to give them into Annarchy's care we can figure out a way to attach a cage for them to the outside of their wagon once we are at the ranch. Perhaps we will be able to purchase feed for them at the Ranch before we set off into the wilderness.

It seems so strange to think that we have one more 'civilized' place to visit and then we are on our own, away from all modern conveniences except for what we are carrying with us, away from society except for our own, and totally dependent on ourselves and each other to make a new life. Kind of scary. I wonder how many will choose to stay behind?

I suppose I better get busy this morning so I can work out the kinks in these sore arms. I can barely lift them up, they feel like lead. I will say though, even after tough days, we are all starting to get very efficient at getting on the road in the mornings. It's amazing to see people all over camp going purposefully about their tasks almost like a well oiled machine.

I miss Michael's song this morning though. I wonder if I should get HIM up for a change.

Oh what a beautiful morning,

Oh what a beautiful day,

I've got a wonderful feeling,

Everything's going my way!

What a wonderful way to start the day, standing around a crackling fire, watching my family finish their breakfast of biscuits and beef gravy, and listening to Michael singing. (Now, even on the road, I can't get the tune out of my mind )

It took a bit but I finally got MtR to mumble some unintelligible words to my question of whether we were moving out this morning and I understood them to mean that we were. The consensus was that we would need to get moving if at all possible as we are behind schedule with all the delay's we've had. I thought perhaps my announcement to get the animals hitched up would be met with some grumbles but it seems that most people were just as anxious to get going as the Benefactors. When Mt.R gave us the words to move out.

With all the repairs and so much mud yet to deal with we never got to butcher the turkeys so they have gone into one of our extra (collapsible) dog carriers and we've stashed them in the supply wagon on some tarp. Those babies are heavy and it took two of the guys to lift the cage in there. We really should have butchered them but now that we haven't, there has been some discussion about if we SHOULD butcher them at all. There are three hens and two toms there and that is a fine start to a flock of big domestic turkeys we might be able to propagate in the Valley. They are a commercial breed and might be more problems than the heirloom ones but it might be worth a try. We can always butchering them while on the wilderness trail if we need to. For now though, they have been given a reprieve. Not exactly a presidential pardon but close.

We got on the road a bit late for our normal but at least we are moving again. The horses are a bit antsy this morning, probably because of the continued areas of mud we are encountering, but so far we've found no "Little Ditches" to cross. We did have to ford one stream that was moving pretty fast but the banks there were not too deep and it went well. I'm told there is small river a few miles ahead and the outriders aren't sure if we should attempt to cross it. It's deep and the water is moving fairly swiftly after all that rain. If we have to go around to the road and cross by bridge then we will be delayed another night. I can't make up my mind which is worse, being delayed or those "Little Ditches"

Mom just came up front from checking on the puppies and found Sasha had them tucked into a corner under the bed and was all draped around them. I'm afraid they won't nurse well with this movement today but hopefully they will get accustomed to it. I noticed that Mom took a seat next to me instead of back in her rocker where she usually sets and I'm sure it's because she wants to lend her help with the horses if needed. Her one hand is really swollen though, probably from helping me last time, and I hope I don't have to have her help out. We're able to have the plastic down today but with this bright sunshine we're leaving it open. The wagon definitely needs airing and drying out and this should help.

At least we found a way to dispose of the soiled newspapers this morning. We took them out and put them in the latrines before they were filled in before we left. That rain made not only digging them almost impossible but the wet mud to fill them in was awful for those shoveling. We've been fortunate most of the trip to have state park restrooms and in some cases we've had Porta Potties brought in for us but now that we have changed our original route there is no help for it but to dig latrines at each stop and fill them in before we leave. Once we are out in the wilderness it's going to have to be done daily. We've already got a schedule for guard duty so it's going to be a bit difficult to work this into that schedule and with so many people to accommodate with both trains, it means a lot of latrines or the lines become impossibly long. I've also noticed that the tarps we've been using for them are getting a bit tattered already after only a few uses. Thankfully a lot of wagons have their own 'chamber pots' or like us, small suitcase type camping commodes and that means only emptying them each morning before the latrines are filled in. We intend to have composting toilets when we reach the Valley and that should make things easier and less odiferous too.

I guess I better quit ruminating and pay attention to the horses; they are really frisky this morning. I guess the sun has given them a new lease on life too.

It sure looks to be a nice day.

I didn't want to get too off base in the thread but I did want to share a "Thanksgiving" story with you. Hopefully Darlene hasn't already posted something about this.

I got a call the other day. Darlene has been raising three big white turkeys and she and a friend were going to be butchering it for Thanksgiving. Being a while since she had butchered a bird she asked if I would walk them through the process.

I was delighted as over the year I've watched Darlene's determination to give her family a safe, well provided, place to retreat when times get tough. I've watched her grow and change and she's fast becoming a 'country gal'.

Anyway,,,,during our phone conversation they are remarking how big this bird is. BIG bird, I am hearing and I'm guessing perhaps thirty pounds. I am thinking how nice that will be to give Darlene approximately a twenty pound bird fully dressed.....

They do extremely well throught the whole process with only a few and hoooooweeee at the more messy parts and we are laughing ....okay, *I* am laughing but they did an excellent job and after thank you's and Happy Thanksgivings we hung up.

Well, after a few minutes I get another call from Darlene. They have weighed the bird and it weights 50 pounds dressed (ahem ..Undressed!) FIFTY POUNDS. That's ten pounds MORE than the one the President pardoned and that one still had it's clothes on.

I tell you, I'm sure proud of that gal. She knows how to GROW them on her homestead.

CONGRATULATIONS DARLENE!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

The day wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone pitched in to help free the wagons but by the time that was done it was too late to consider moving them far. MIchael seemed to be everywhere and had the work well in hand. His make shift barn was a god sent for milking this morning. Lori was great with the kids, helping them to find a book to take back to their wagons and giving them suggestions for things to do on a rainy day. I especially liked that she took time to put plastic bags around the books just in case.

Annarchy has been wonderful today. She has been helping where ever she could, even going so far as to prepare chicken soup for everyone for lunch. I finally got to meet her MIL and found her delightful.I met Naome and James as well and found them seriously devoted to Big D. You don't get that type of loyalty without reason. Beneath her refined ways I suspect that she has a strength and determination. She would do whatever task she needed to. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. As we may be spending the rest of our lives living in the same community, I believe we'll have ample time.

I was a bit concerned when the children kept showing up in the hopes of seeing the puppies. I wasn't sure how Sasha would act but she seemed to take it in stride. I was careful not to let others touch the puppies so she probably felt no threat to them. She is a very attentive mother. I had to coax her to go out for a few minutes this afternoon and this evening. It didn't take long to see the problem a large dog with a growing litter of pups was going to cause in the small confines of the wagon. Mom suggested we give her a place under the front seat but I worried they would keep Mom awake at night. Mom is a very light sleeper as it is and doesn't need her rest disturbed with movement under her bed. Dh and I moved some of the boxes under the edge of our bed so she can get partially out of the isle by the door. I keep thinking of the month or so that we still have to reach our destination. I know we will have to find a better place for them but I'm not sure how she will take being away from me.

I haven't seen much of Q and MtR and a few of he others today. I sure hope they haven't had trouble with the damp and cold. I know I can feel it in all my joints but that might be from slogging through mud last night and today. My boots felt like they gained ten pounds fom one end of the camp to the next.

We made rice tonight and had it with canned pork and gravy over the top. A few dehydrated peas thrown in with the cooking rice added color and nutrition but it still seemed bland to me. Others didn't seem to mind but I had little appitite. Perhaps I am just tired, having very little sleep in the last 24 hours. I can hear the kids talking and laughing in DD's wagon and I long to join them but I am too tired. As soon as this beautiful sunset has darkened I am off to bed. Dh and Mom are already there. I just couldn't help but to take a few moments to thank God for his wonderful artistry and for bringing us all through a trying time.

Yes, Sasha, I'm thankful for you too. What? You think it's time to go back to your puppies. Yeah, I think so too.

(IRL Have a very blessed Thanksgiving all)

Good morning Annarchy. How's your MIL coming along? I was sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet her last night. I'm looking forward to it. Nice to see your little fire going in all this mud. I might take you up on your offer later or perhaps just borrow your fire to heat a few things. It will save our lp gas. For now I guess I'd better take this big lug to find some grass somewhere. She's already got four caked feet I'm going to have to deal with.

Oh good morning A. How did you all fair in the night? Oh good, I'm glad that MtR was able to help you with that leak. Have you heard from Mt3B? Annarchy's MIL brought a letter out with her. That's great. Sure I'd love to read it.

(Letter actually written by MT3B follows)

Dear W-A-N

I was sadden to see ya'll pull out last week, my heart went with you. I hope and pray you are fairing well and you are listening to Mother, Michael and Mt.Rider. If you have questions do not hesitate to ask them. A if you don't understand some of the directions to a recipe I left with you ask Mother she is a wealth of knowledge. I hope ya'll have been able to circle the wagons close to her. Don't bug her but just know she will gladly answer any questions. Just keep doing everything you have been doing so far on the trip and you will be fine. A if it makes it easier pull out the canned foods and use them instead of the dry foods. Also there are chicken-dogs in the freezer. I know W will like that.

P is doing better. Yes he gave us a real scare there but the blood thinners seem to have helped. They did another CT scan this morning and the doctor was well pleased with the progress. He said there seems to still be a slight shadow where the blood clot was but P is doing well. They have started cutting back on the blood thinners and hope to have him on aspirin by weekend. The doctor wants him to stay on the aspirin for another week but after that he should be good to go. They will do one more scan Friday or Saturday and if it is clear then the doctor said he would probably discharge him Sunday. If that is the case we should be able to catch up with you on Monday. They put the new cast on P today and they have him up walking; however him and crutches don't get along. As clumsy as he is I think I am going to just tie him under the wagon (hahahaha) The x-ray they did on the leg and shoulder showed great progress even with him on blood thinner. The doctor said there were no tears or any major damage to the shoulder. He said it was more than likely just jerked out of socket and then popped back in. He said that they really didn't have to do much to it other than realigning it. P's leg is healing really well also, the x-ray showed mending already in progress. His new cast light weight and lime green. The doctor is sending his medical record with us so in 4-5 weeks P can have the cast removed and start to putting weight on it. Hopefully our medical personal will be able to handle the removal as I know there will be no doctor available. The doctor still wants him in the walking boot until the leg strengthens so he will have to be careful with it for some time.

If all goes well, the plan right now is for us to be flown out to meet you in a private plane with Missy and her family on Monday. For security sake we haven’t been told where we are landing but I know I am looking forward to being with you again.

Love ya'll and thank you for picking up the slack and going on without us. You three have been a blessing on this trip. See you soon.

Love

Mom

I bet you and the boys were glad to hear that news. She's right. If you need any help just let me know and I'll do what I can. Have you got meals under control? For now LOL. Well if you need help just yell. Guess I better get Sasha back to her pups. I still have to figure out how I'm going to keep the mud out of the wagon. One thing she hasn't learned is to wipe her feet yet. Guess I'll have to teach her how. LOL

Morning Michael, I see you are making a bee line for Annarchy's fire. I bet half the camp will be there before long. The canopy is for us to milk the animals under? That is SUPER! Thanks for thinking of that. We'll wait until there's a lull in milking before we bring our animals over. They are pretty used to a varied schedule by now.

SASHA! DON'T SHAKE. I did NOT need that shower but I guess it's better here than inside. One thing I didn't count on was needing a rain coat for a big dog. I might have to look into what I can modify. I'm sure glad that we have oatmeal in the insulated cooker ready to eat. I'll have someone take our coffee pot over to heat water at Annarchy's fire and we should be all set.

Then I guess it will be time to check out our wagons and see if any of ours are stuck. I was worried about the rubber wheels on our wagon but it actually seemed to do well. I guess it's the snow and mud tires we put on it before we left. No one has said we're moving out today so far. I wonder if we'll at least try to move some place a bit less muddy for the night though. IF there is such a place.

((( )))

From the looks of the light outside the night is finally over. It rained all night. I know, I was up most of it.

Sasha woke us all at eleven with only an hour or so of sleep. I was amazed at how much the wagon moved just from her getting up, turning around, and laying back down again and again. At first I just put my hand over the edge of the bed and tried to let her know I was there if she needed me and then tried to go back to sleep. That was fine until she decided that she'd rather have her pups in front of Mom's bed. The space there just wasn't big enough for her to get into and I had to go coax her back to her little isle space, which really isn't much bigger. Then of course she wanted to have them on our BED!! I ended up setting right next to her the whole time to keep her on the floor.

By 1 a.m. she had been having contractions for almost an hour and I knew that she was having difficulties. I really dislike interfering with birthing if I don't have to but I ended up doing just that with her first pup. There was nothing wrong with the pup it was just plain BIG! Once that big boy was out the other seven came in regular order for the next two hours. Three males and five females, all doing well. From the way Sasha handled the birth and feeding them I suspect this is not her first litter. She is sleeping now but I dread letting her out to do her job. I can hear it still raining and I just know she's going to be mud when she comes back in.

I had put down a lot of the newspapers that MT3B had given to me (bless her) most of the mess, thankfully, was on them so clean up was easily done. But that brought up another problem. How will we dispose of the papers? I don't want to just throw them along the trail and I'm not sure they will burn in this rain. This is something all of us are going to have to really think about. What are we going to do with our trash? So far, with us being on roads and often near towns we've been able to do garbage details. We don't have the luxury now. Everything we can't burn we're going to have to recycle. Most of us have been doing some of that already but we are going to have to be really careful.

Well,,,,I see Sasha is waking. Guess I'll put on my half cleaned boots and take her out. Maybe I can pick and choose a path to some less muddy area for her.

((( )))

I'm SO glad they circled the wagons for the night. It's been an awful afternoon. I wasn't able to see through the plastic front curtain because of the rain pouring down it. Someone should have thought up windshield wipers for this thing. Mom pulled all the boxes from under the seat here and got them back far enough they wouldn't get wet so we could open up the front to see where we were going. Of course, that let rain blow into the wagon and onto me.

It wasn't too bad to begin with but once that thunder and lightening hit the horses started to dance so much I couldn't hold them. Finally Mom sat down beside me and grabbed hold of the reins with me and between the two of us we were able to get them under control. At least now we know how many old women it takes to handle the team

I finally managed to get the team close enough to the one in front of me after being stuck twice and I was more than relieved when DH and DGSIL came to unhitch them and get them settled into the circle for the night. The thunder and lightening has let up so hopefully none of the animals will spook and run out from between the wagons but if it storms again in the night we're going to have some trouble.

Mom and I were both pretty wet when we finally got the plastic curtain back in place and the seat area dried somewhat. I'm worried about the area being so wet because that's Mom's bed. At least the seat was covered with vinyl and her bedding was back on our bed where it is during the daytime every day.

It was pouring outside and I wanted to go out and help the family get the livestock taken care of but I was greeted with still another problem I didn't need today. Shasa seems to be restless and uncomfortable and I suspect we're going to have pups before morning. Of course, she's laying in the middle of the isle and if anyone goes in and out we have to crawl over her but I left her in Mom's hands and managed to get to the back steps and down them with out incident.

Didn't last long though. The mud around the wagon is about ankle or more deep and each furrow made by the stock and wagons is running full of water. After the second near fall I went back and reached into the wagon for my cane hoping it would at least give me some stability. I made my way to where DGD was just bringing in one of our cows. Deciding that I might as well get her milked I turned back once again to get the milk pail. I can only imagine what I must have looked like slipping and sliding back and forth to the wagon. I sure hope people were too busy slipping and sliding themselves to watch.

I could see it was a lost cause to try to wash the cow’s udder so it didn't take long to decide we'd just feed the milk to the animals tonight. The way it was raining it would have been full of rainwater anyway.

You might know my yellow slicker spooked the cow and the other one that DD was just bringing in but with a lot of slipping and sliding the girls finally got the cows tied to a wagon. They wanted me to go back to the wagon and let them milk but I was already wet and I knew they had a lot to do yet before dark. I told them to let the kids in with the does for a while so we didn't have to milk them too. I was glad we'd not weaned them totally. I grabbed an empty bucket and set it upside down beside the cow and plopped myself down on it. Plopped was the key word here as my feet slid from under me as I tried to lower myself gracefully. (snort yeah like grace is my middle name at the best of times ) I snuggled my head as deep into her flank as I could get it, hoping that I'd have a little protection from the rain and then just milked as fast as I could without spooking her more.

Thankfully DGS came to help me get up off my seat (both the bucket and the one attached to me??) and then to took the full milk bucket from me to feed the first milk to the pigs. I managed to get my makeshift stool unstuck from the mud and over to the second cow before he was back with the empty bucket. The second cow was really touchy and I tried to see if she had a cut on her udder but found none. I hope she's just being spooky and hasn't bruised herself. By the time I was done milking I was also almost done in. I gave the milk to one of the kids and said to bring the bucket to me later when they came to get supper. We'd decided earlier that if it was raining hard each family would come get food and take it to their own wagons to eat as we didn’t' have enough room in any one wagon.

Next I struggled through the worsening mud to help DH with the smaller animals in cages, glad we had moved them into the supply wagon at noon when the rain started. We managed to get some food to each of them and make sure they had water and then got them cleaned out as best we could with the rain pouring down. I felt sorry for our son as he drives and sleeps in that wagon.

When we were finally done DH insisted I go back to our wagon and see about getting dry. The mud and water was getting deeper and I could barely pull my boots from the mud and with each step the boots got heavier. I found so much mud on my boots that I just stood besides the wagon and pulled them off before making my way up the back steps and inside, socks soaked. I found that Sasha still hadn't had any pups and seemed to have settled down again but from the looks of her she's not going to stay that way all night.

I was wet, it was starting to get cold as the sun went down, and I quickly changed into dry clothes. My heart went out to all of those still out in the mess. Mom and I spent the next half hour getting our supper divided up and in baskets for the kids to pick up. We left the casserole in the insulated cooker to dish up at the last minute. The noodles were a bit soggy but edible. I believe letting them dry a bit longer before putting them in would have helped a lot.

Now Mom and I are just setting here waiting for the others to get done with the chores and watching Sasha sleep. We lit one of the lanterns and hung it from the top of the wagon and it is helping to warm the place a bit. Mom is all bundled up in winter coat and gloves. She and I both have trouble with being cold when others aren't. If it gets colder I'll light a couple more lanterns and that should help considerably. We use to use this method in our Civil War tents on cold nights at reenactments. All of the wagons have small LP type tent safe heaters too but we won't use them unless we have to. We all have plenty of quilts and sleeping bags and they should be enough.

It's getting dark; I hope everyone gets here soon. I hate to see them out in this rain any longer than they have to.

I have to echo Jeanette. That picture is great Annarchy. It's just the thing to give us a feel for what we're "looking" at in our thread. I was HOPING you'd do one. Thank you for taking the time.

I love drawings of old barns and farm houses. Have you ever noticed how the windows and doors of old barns often make them look like they have a face? I bet you will NOW that I've mentioned it though LOL. Gapping mouths, smilling crookedly if a door is hanging loose, hay loft doors often giving them a frowning appearance, sometimes a surprised look depending on the placement of the openings. I want to draw them all but I believe you have to have talent to draw. If I have it, I haven't found it yet.

Happy Thanksgiving Jeanette, hope you get your gun.

Good morning. Well, it's morning anyway. I'm not sure how 'good' it is with that red sky. It usually does tell of rain or storms coming in to an area. I believe we'll take Michael's advice and get our rain gear close at hand. I have a really nice place to drive our team of horses with the clear plastic curtains in front of and at the sides of our wagon but I still won't take any chances.

I had hoped we were all going to be able to sleep peacefully last night but with MtR's run-in with that animal we were all up and out of the wagons to see what was happening. Surprisingly enough Sasha didn't even seem interested and I wondered if maybe she was getting close to whelping but she slept the night through and this morning she was eager enough to go outside and sniff around the area. I'm just not sure what's up with her. She is definitely not like any other dog we've ever had before. (BTW, IRL we had a Saint Bernard exactly like this and her name WAS Sasha. Not only was she protective of me but she really did save my life once by attacking a very large bull intent on pounding me. I still miss her and it's fun to be able to recreate her)

Thankfully we didn’t have to deal with a lot of the milk this morning. We’d given away what we didn’t need last night and so had no cream to deal with this morning and this morning’s milk, what we didn’t use on our oatmeal, we did the same with. It’s nice to have enough to be able to share it. One of the cows is due to freshen this coming summer so I know she’ll be dry before then but the other was bred just before we left home so should be giving us a calf sometime in November so at least we should be assured of a continuous milk supply if all goes well. Especially if you factor in the goats milk we’ll be getting too. Nice thing about Nigerian Dwarf goats is that they can breed year around.

Mom and I have sandwiches made for lunch. We used vinegar cheese mixed with some herbs and a small amount of mayo for the filling. We decided that we'd have a tuna casserole for supper tonight and have already brought the noodles, tuna, and veggies to a boil with water and a can of cream of mushroom soup; stirred in a little of the plain vinegar cheese; and put it all into the insulated cooker to finish cooking. The noodles are thick ones and should be just cooked through by the time we stop tonight. I hope anyway. This is the first time we tried doing it with hand made fresh noodles. They may be more like dumplings but hopefully all edible. We've filled the thermoses with tea and coffee and are just about ready to go.

Well maybe ready is NOT the word to use. I'm not sure if my muscles are going to manage the horses again today but I'm going to give it a try. DGD is ready to drive if needed but she usually helps with the livestock. I don’t do bad on the flat areas but our horses always want to run down those ‘little ditches’ and up the other sides and it takes a lot of muscle to hold them back some. But, after a quick visit to our make-shift latrines I’ll be in the drivers seat and have the reins in hand.

OH GROAN!!! I wasn't sure I could even get stood up from the seat but I managed finally. I keep telling myself if our kids weren't along there would be no way Dh and I would have been able to make this trip. If I'd had to unhitch the team they'd have had to stand in their traces all night. I'm not sure I would have even been able to bring them water. I am grateful that only Mom saw my tears of shear exhaustion and pain as I made my way to the back of the wagon and crashed on the bed, unable even to stand at that point. As mom started working on supper for us all I knew I couldn't lay there and let her do it alone though she insisted that I stay put.

As I pulled myself upright Mom handed me a hot cup of tea from a small thermos and as I took a sip I smiled at her gratefully. She'd managed at some point to make willow bark tea as she knew I was going to need it. As I looked at her with a question she told me that she'd already had a cup and would be taking the rest to our son who suffers with pain just like me. Have I said she's been a God sent on this trip?

I did feel better after the tea and a bit of rest and managed to help Mom get the dehydrated vegetables and meat we'd been soaking all day mixed with herbs and seasonings and ready to go on the fire once it was started. We had plenty of bread and biscuits made while we were stopped so that would be no problem and we decided to just keep it simple with the addition of some wilted dandelion greens that GSIL picked for us earlier. These are tiny leaves so are usable just the way they are without boiling a couple of times and discarding the water. We'll probably fry a couple of slices of bacon and put the greens in that along with a bit of vinegar and sugar or honey. We might even add a bit of cream if there's any on the top of the milk by the time we get ready to eat.

I managed to go out to check on the animals and helped with the milking while there. It was DGD job to milk tonight and she carried the milk back to the wagon for me. Her and DD and our GS's SO have been wonderful through all this, doing far more of my share than I wished they'd have to. DGD has always been good with animals and is pretty knowledgeable about healing them as well. She's been doing a lot of the bandaging and such the last two days. DD is so multi faceted that she can do just about anything from driving a team to repairing a wagon if needed. She's managed to take on the overseeing of getting us on and off the road morning and night. Between her and her DH they have most of the knowledge that it takes to handle the teams and that's a good thing as Dh and DS are just starting to get the hang of it. Our GSIL and older GS have been a great help. Though the GS is still having trouble with that leg he's managed to pitch in on meals. He was a wonder in the kitchen at home and with a grill and he's no different here. GSIL just automatically pitches in where ever he sees someone needing help. He's the one finding all sorts of edible plants along the route. He's also a very good hunter and when we get into more wilderness country I suspect we will have fresh meat often.

Wonder of wonders our hens gave us four eggs today. Must have been the rest as they seem more settled down in their cages. Hopefully they will just keep laying. We've carefully bedded the eggs into our flour. At least if they break in there we can still use them for baking something.

I see someone has a communal fire going. I guess I'll go out and see if there's room for our soup pot and a place to fry the bacon. I suppose we should try to get water hot for clean up too. I think I'll have one of the guys fill the big coffee pot from the water wagon. That way we can save the fresh water in our barrels in case we need it on the road and the water wagon is further down the line.

I'm having trouble with Sasha. She hangs so close to me that I almost trip on her. She readily moves with just a word but it's as if she has to touch me constantly. I know she's uncomfortable but it's almost as if she senses when I'm in pain and is trying to comfort me. Or maybe it's just that need to protect. If she hasn't learned that a person is 'safe' she sure makes a point of getting between me and the other person. Oh well, I'm pretty sure that as soon as she has those pups she will have more on her mind than hanging out with me. I would think that would be soon from the looks of her. Figures she couldn't have had them while we were staying still. Maybe she'll wait until we get to the Ranch. We'll have a couple of days there I believe.

"Yeah, I'm talking about you, dumb lovable dog. And if you are coming with me why don't you carry something? NO, not the bacon. I know what you'd do with that. "

Wow, I didn't realize it was so dark already. It looks to be a late night by the time we get supper done and the rest of the night time chores. I better get a move on. I'm looking forward to crawling back into that bed.

Mother sets up straight as Sasha jumps with one bound onto the bed almost breaking her leg. The hair is standing up on the back of Sasha's neck and she's growling low in her throat at the clanging noise coming from outside.

"Sasha,,, That's only Michael waking us,,,,,,rather abruptly. Get down off this bed, you're smothering me. hair in my mouth! NO! I do NOT need slobbery kisses either. Gosh dog you are getting fat. You must be carrying a dozen puppies in there. Get DOWN!"

Mom peeks out the side plastic window curtain at the front of the camper van and says good morning to Michael. She's always up early but tries to stay quietly reading or watching the sun come up until DH and I stir, which normally isn't too long after she's awake. We drag ourselves out of the camper and over to the outhouse which of course already has a line. As I stood there it suddenly occurred to me that even if there was no water hooked up in the house, we could have been using not only the toilet in there but also the BATH TUB... *groan* too late now. I try to convince myself that there was only a shower in there but then even a shower stall would have been nice to use our solar showers in. I refuse to think about it. We don't have time now as we need to get on the road or well, I guess it's really the trail this time. No more roads for us.

I try not to think of the "little ditches" out there as we head back to the wagon. Breakfast is oatmeal with raisins and nuts. We started it last night and put it in the insulated cooker. It doesn't take long to get the milking and other chores done. I take some moments to recheck all the animals and they all seem to be healing nicely. Time, and travel will tell.

While the family is getting the teams hitched Mom and I manage to get the dishes washed and the cream skimmed off the milk we set last night. We put the cream into our 'butter churn' pail, as we call it, and get it hung on the side of the wagon to 'churn' as we drive along. It's a whole lot easier than trying to shake it in a jar as we have to do when stopped for a while. I can't believe how difficult it is to handle the milk while living this way. Our small 12 volt refrigerator, while nice for keeping necessities, sure doesn't have room for all the milk we get from two cows. We have 10 adults and one almost eight year old but we still can't use up all the milk so we gladly share with others. This morning we feed the skimmed milk to the dogs, cats, and pigs and give away the fresh whole milk to others. The difficult part is keeping all the equipment and jars clean and sanitized. I'm grateful we have plenty of disposable milk filters yet and that they can be burned in our fires after all the cooking is done for the night. Still, the smell of milk permeates the air of the wagon from where we've had milk spill accidentally. Even a thorough scrubbing doesn't seem to take it all out. I'm really getting so I dislike milk immensely.

Mom and I make up sandwiches for our mid-day meal. We fill one large thermos with coffee, the other with cold water from the well and we are ready to go any time the wagon master says so. I pray for safety for us all today.

Everyone have a blessed, safe, and happy Thanksgiving. Return rested and am looking forward to the next part of the journey to your new "homes."

That was really sweeet of you AMBH, I hope your Thanksgiving is equally wonderful. By the way, we really appreciate your comments. It lets us know that someone real and not just a number, is reading out there.

Happy Thanksgiving.