Today we made the decision to pick up camp and move to a new location. we decided a change of scenery was in order. after my father's boot hill incident there was mounting tension. we started bickering amongst ourselves and the kids have been having nightmares of people breaking into our home. after examinging our map, we decided to hike through the rockies into black hills forest in colorado. after we packed everything up, we filled our home in with the dirt we saved so we can come back if we want to. we only filled the entrance tunnel so it looks like no one has been here. in time the grass and things will grow back and any trace of us will be gone. we all walked but we put the kids on the horses, and started our journey. we walk everyday for about two hours at a time. the journey is nice and we havent gotten lost yet thanks to our navigational skills and good map planning. from time to time we come across other people. we have gotten funny looks but so far we have come across no violence. the dogs have become a close knit hunting/security unit. they play together, hunt together, and patrol our area together. we no longer need to leash them as they always stay near now. we do, however, keep the leashes because we may need to use them. we take turns riding the horses and walking so we dont get too worn out. after traveling for three days, we came to a meadow glen and have decided to spend a couple of days here. the men and dogs rode out a ways and scouted the area. the nearest sign of civilization has been estimated as about five miles away. we will keep camp tight. we used the tents for the first time in three months. if your wondering what happened to our cars, we sold them to that rancher for three cattle, some various electronic battery powered items, and a supply of batteries in various sizes. we gave a cd player to the kids. it had disney cds with it. the rancher said it belonged to his seven year old grandson. the grandson was taken away from him by the departement of children's services for failure to vaccinate him with a "vaccine" that came with a twist: one out of five people who took it are now paralized. after they took his grandson, the rancher fled from his home in phoenix, arizona out to this sprawling twenty acre spread he said he inherited from his father. we forged a trade relationship with rancher but we remain on guard. there isnt a water source near by in the meadow so we are relying on our bottled water reserve. we build a fire and cook out under the stars in our secluded little meadow surrounded by forest.the meadow is about 30 feet across and is just big enough for our camp. tonight we had home made chilli. we ground meat using a hand crank meat grinder. i must say it was the best chilli we have had in a while. its different to sleep above ground and i feel sort of exposed. the kids have passed out about an hour ago and we are all talking and entertaining eachother with stories and songs. if you told me a year ago i would be here without t.v., central heat and air and a ton of conveniences at my finger tips AND i would be happier for it, i would have called you crazy. but now, i dont miss my old life anymore. the kids have adjusted and are as skilled in some ares as we are. they will never get lost, they know which foliage is dangerous and are learning to track animals and identify them. we are closer than ever before and life is good.

wildlife...

today a bear wandered into our camp. thankfuly our home is now below ground or it could have been bad. as it was it was just scary. we knew it was a bear because we made tripwires connected to jingle bells to alert us when someone or, in this case, something enters our camp.when we emerged from the tunnel, we looked around and found a bear some twenty yards away heading deeper into the Forrest. likely it was just passing through. our neighbors are different here than they were before EOW. there is a whole Forrest culture we sometimes tap into here and every one of us does their part to maintain "good fences". likely, the bear smelled the human scent and came to investigate and when it found no people present, moved on. one benefit of living in our new neighborhood is that we all seem to be losing weight and gaining muscle. no sodas, candy, or constant availability of junk food to make us gain weight. we are all used to our new diet.we ration out food, only eating at mealtimes. water comes from the stream and none of us has had soda in months. coffee and tea we still drink, though only from time to time as these things are a luxury now. we supplement our fish with rice, and sometimes beans. we also track deer for venison. one good size deer can feed us for several days. plus, the hides make excellent blankets or rugs. we use everything on the deer we can, the rest we take far into the woods for other animals to enjoy. the kids have gotten very handy with tools. they are learning knots and have become quite proficient. yesterday, they tied my husband up and he couldnt get the knots undone! my father had to undo them....we are still chuckling at that. they are also learning to identify different wildlife tracks and know safe berries and foliage from dangerous ones. all in all, i would say we are getting accustomed to our new home rather nicely.

First month in our new home.....

Hello. my name is not important. All you need to know is this: my tale is true, and these are the stories of our time spent in our eow compound.

when we recieved word from my father that we needed to come up for a family meeting, i was worried. i knew this was it. they told us to gather the bags and supplies we packed, get the dog and come up to their house. after much frustration and confusion we arrived late in the evening. it was a time getting to their house because traffic on the highway was backed up due to the panick caused by all the food shortages. when we arrived, my sister and her husband were already there(they lived closer than we did). after a short gab session and exchanges of greeting, we got down to business. the meeting was about the survival plan the family spent the past 2 months making. all those road trips the guys went on, the research we all did, the supplies we all packed. this was it. we had it all loaded and our faithful canine companion was meeting her new pack mates for the first time. naturally, my father's small dog was the first to assert her dominance. our dog didn't really care. as long as she had us, kibbles and water she was fine. after the meeting was over, we all went to bed so we could get a fresh start. the next morning, we loaded up the cars. our two children chose to ride in the car with nana, so my sister, nana and i piled in one car and my father, my husband and my brother in law rode in the other car. after fueling up both cars and providing snacks for everyone, we were on our way. hondo valley was gorgeous. the view from the spot we chose was resplendant. we set up tents to start out and while the guys scouted the area and caught fish, we girls and the children started getting things out that we would need. it was only a five minute walk to the stream so we could wash clothes, bathe, and fish. once tents were set up and a decent fire was made, we gathered extra firewood and an assortment of berries recognized as edible thanks to the outdoor survival guide my father thought to bring along. 3 hours later, the guys arrived with an impressive string of fish they had cleaned and prepared to cook. we took one of the pots we brought along and gathered some water from the stream. we then boiled it over the fire to make it safe to drink. to that we added tea bags and sugar. (not much, though. we dont know how long this sugar has to last). the kids werent impressed with tea, but they drank it and ate the fish. to take some of the stress out, we got out a bag of marshmellows, some hershey bars and some graham crackers and made smores over the fire. the kids were loving that. after singing campfire songs, talking and sharing funny stories, we put the kids to bed(they naturally wanted to sleep with nana in her tent so we let them. this was hardest on them in the beginning because they didnt understand what was going on or the fact that we probably werent going back home.) while they slept, the adults made plans for a more permanent shelter and we decided a dug out would be best. less to notice for anyone who may stumble through our area. the "door" was made out of a sheet of wood painted brown and green to match the colors on the ground. we topped this with a green army net laced with greenery and dirt. the next day we began digging. a few weeks later, we had our home in the ground. sure it was dark, but the candles made it nice and we took the kids out to look for flowers and pretty things to put in the walls. by the time we were done, it was a flower filled home. the knitted quilts kept us all warm when it was cool and we even gathered fallen trees and made furniture to sit on around the fire pit. this was the first month in our new home away from home.