Sinagua Rising: A story of survival after a worldwide catastrophe

by R. G. Andersen-Wyckoff

  While JR worked on the rock siding for the new Meeting Hall, Bud and Matt began laying linoleum squares that looked like tile in the kitchen, Meeting Hall, and the restroom area. When they finished, those areas had an easily cleanable surface that could handle lots of foot traffic. It took them all day to finish the floors and they determined that the next day they would make a trip to Bishop’s house to reclaim the granite counter tops Carly had only had installed the week before the CME. They intended to install the counter tops strategically throughout the kitchen, at Michael’s direction, and on a serving counter they would build to separate the kitchen from the main meeting room.

  Jack and Philip passed the day installing four water heaters, two each in the bathroom and kitchen. The next day, when the roof was tiled, they would begin installing the solar panels to power the water heaters, lights, kitchen equipment, and electrical outlets.

  JR made good progress on the rock skirting but would require at least one more day, and maybe two, to finish the work. He stood beside Colby and Jorge, who had spent the entire day installing flashing and laying the roof tiles on the new building, admiring their work.

  “I think this will be a building to stand the test of time,” stated Colby.

  “And, it looks pretty darn good for a Sinagua village,” added JR with a smile.

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  As they began gathering for dinner that night, the honeymooners showed up, proclaiming how hungry they were, which was met by knowing laughter by the others.

  “Did you get all your planning done?” asked Kiera innocently. The honeymooners looked puzzled, but Carly responded, “I imagine they got most of it finished, Kiera.” Matt explained it to them, quietly, and then they too joined in the riotous laughter. Kiera didn’t know why they were all laughing but she knew she was the center of attention—and liked it.

  True to his word, Bishop had barbecued a large beef roast which, combined with fresh corn, mashed potatoes and gravy satisfied everyone’s appetite—including the animals.

  Following dinner, Bishop had reports from everyone on the progress they had made that day. Colby took that opportunity to tell everyone about his plans for the bathroom facilities.

  “I know you would all like to be able to take warm showers or soak in a hot tub,” he said with a smile, “but given the circumstances we’re going to need to be a little more conservative. The bathing facilities will be more Japanese in style,” he said, “in that we’ll have flexible shower heads with hot and cold water installed just two feet off the floor. We will fill small buckets with water, wash with soap and that water, and then rinse off with the flexible shower head. The soapy water can then be put down the drain and the room will be ready for the next person. There will be six small washing rooms with dividers in them, a dressing bench, and hooks to hang clothing, so we’ll all have to take turns. Each room will have a tile floor and they’ll drain to two common drains. In addition, we’ll have separate men’s and women’s restrooms with the appropriate urinals and stools. Again, as we’ll be sharing these facilities, as we currently do, there’ll be no camping in there,” he said, which drew the appropriate laughter in response. “Oh, yes, there will be two sinks in each restroom,” he added. “I hope this will meet with your approval.”

  There was applause from the group and then Celeste raised her hand. “Will there be mirrors in the restrooms and shower stalls?” she asked.

  “Good point,” Colby responded. “I almost overlooked that most important item. So, yes, there will be. In fact, we have some pretty large mirrors to place over the sinks, along with counter space around the sinks, and I’ll place smaller mirrors in the bathing stalls. And, before you ask, I’ll build enough storage cabinets in the facility to allow you to keep your toiletries and towels there, rather than in your rooms.”

  “What about using the lockers from the clubhouse at the golf course?” Jack asked. “We saw them when we were there to get the batteries. I think they’d look right nice in our bathhouse,” he added.

  “Good idea, Jack,” Colby responded. “It will require another trip to the golf course, but I think we can manage that.”

  “Why can’t we have regular height showers?” Ellen asked.

  “Well, besides the fact that they tend to use more water than the system we’ve devised,” responded Colby, “a regular height shower head would be a little above the maximum elevation we can use to have sufficient water pressure from the water tanks and the water heater. Whereas, the lower heads will have plenty of pressure to rinse the soap off.”

  “Okay,” responded Ellen, “just thought I’d ask,” which got a chuckle from everyone.

  Henry raised his hand. “It appears y’all will have a pretty nice facility,” he said. “But I cain’t figur’ out where you’re goin’ to put the hot tub.” That drew more laughter from the group.

  “I understand some of you will be tearing up those expensive granite countertops in my kitchen in the Village that I paid good money for a year ago,” Bishop said, “so while you’re at it help yourself to anything else you find that might be useful.” He made it sound like he was being sarcastic, while still smiling.

  “We’ll do that,” responded Colby. “Got any treasures hidden in a safe somewhere?” he joked.

  “Well,” said Bishop, “I think, since it’s the Fourth of July,” that we need to have a campfire and some more singing. There doesn’t appear to be much of our nation left to celebrate but, maybe someday, she’ll rise from the ashes, as we have, and celebrate her Independence Day again. God bless America!” he said.

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  When they returned from Bishop’s the next day, Jack and Philip, with help from Bishop and Jorge, had installed the solar panels and were busy putting up ceiling fans in the three sections of the new building. Jorge had also built a small raised section in one corner of the bathroom/bathing area for one of the electric area heaters, where there was no danger of it getting wet.

  Colby and Matt went right to work installing the salvaged granite countertops, installed the hood vent, and hung the hanging rack for pots, pans, and other utensils, they had salvaged from Cucina Rustica.

  Bud had been helping JR with the rock skirting, and they finished it by dinner time.

  The next two days would be required to finish the tile work in the bathing rooms, build a large walk-in pantry in the kitchen, install the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, and do any other finishing touches needed to the building. Once they tested everything, they would then move the last kitchen appliances from the field kitchen to the new building—and they’d be ready to move in. It would be a kitchen worthy of a quality restaurant.

  At dinner that night, Henry indicated they should be getting back to their farm. Mattie informed them that she would be accompanying Hank back to the Stenton farm, as well. Though they didn’t like the idea, the Thomas family understood that their daughter, now a married lady, would go with her husband. Hank was needed on the Stenton farm—and one day it would be his.

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  The next morning, as the Stentons prepared to leave, Matt pulled Henry aside. They had a quiet conversation, shook hands and Henry climbed into his truck. Mattie’s meager belongings were put in the back of the truck. She gave her mother, father, and grandfather a big hug and then turned to her grandmother. As Jen hugged her granddaughter she whispered in her ear, “Always remember to follow your heart, Mattie,” she said, “and be happy.” Henry followed Matt down to the Ranger Station, through the fence, and out the gates. Mattie waved to her father as they drove off toward Beaverhead Flats Road. Tears trickled down her face—and Matt’s.

  When Matt got back to the village, everyone was already back at work. He stopped to talk with Bishop before heading up to help with the new building. “I thought you ought to know that I’ve arranged to meet Henry at the Rimrock Turn-off on I-17 in eight weeks,” he said. “I think we need to visit Jonas at Scorpion Meadows before winter, and that
’s a good excuse to have Henry meet him, as well. We can also check up on Rafael at Hauptman Farm so everyone knows everyone and the alliance really gets started. It’s easier for Henry to go down the Cornville Road to I-17 to the Rimrock Turnoff than to come here first.”

  “Makes a lot of sense, Matt,” Bishop replied. “I’d like to see my friends Jonas and Cindy, who’s probably had her baby by now, and see how Rafael is doing, too. I’ll plan on going with you, and I’m sure some of the others will want to go, too. We’ll make an excursion of it. I’ll have Carly keep track of the days so we don’t go on the wrong day. I assume Henry will do the same. In the meantime, let’s see if we can’t get the new Meeting Hall finished.”◘

  Chapter 42

  The Alliance

  The next eight weeks went quickly, because they all kept busy.

  Colby and Jorge completed the finish work in the new building, including installing lockers in the bathroom that Bud and Jack had retrieved from the golf course. Fortunately, they had been free-standing, fastened to the wall of the clubhouse by a few strategically placed screws and were easy to remove. They were equally easy for Colby and Jorge to reinstall.

  That whole first week, Philip and Jess had commuted to and from the motorhome, where they had temporarily moved, mostly for meals, but by the end of the week were ready to rejoin the village and help with the projects being undertaken. Because Carly had done some rearranging of rooms to accommodate the Stentons, Philip and Jess were now able to take one of those double rooms in Jack and Mel’s tent. When Kiera saw they had moved back into the village she simply stated the obvious, “I guess they finished their planning.”

  Travis, Jason, Tate, and Trey, who had shown interest in the food production, continued tending the aquaponics garden and the other smaller gardens both inside the greenhouse and outside. They fed the fish and removed the fertilizer from the settling tanks to be used in various planting beds. They began harvesting vegetables almost every day and replaced them with new plants from the germination beds. With help from some of the women and children, they hoed weeds in the cornfield and made sure the growing crops of corn, Rattlesnake and Golden beans, several varieties of squash, and watermelons received water. They also took responsibility for the chickens, making sure they had water, fresh straw in their nests, and feed. They collected the eggs every morning. They had now become the fresh produce market for the village.

  Tanner busied himself making moccasins for the children with help from Jessie and Jaime, who had taken a real interest in making and utilizing the game hides. Tanner had three hides, two deer and one cattle, to work with and knew they’d have many more over time. Jaime helped Tanner beat the hides with a mallet to soften them and Jessie cut long, pieces of heavy fishing line to be used to stitch the pieces of each moccasin together. “In the future,” Tanner said, “we will learn how to use sinew for the cordage.” They would begin with the smallest children and work up until everyone had moccasins. It was Tanner’s plan to make leggings and jackets for the children for the cold weather also, when sufficient hides were available. Fortunately, they still had plenty of warm clothing to tide them over for a few years. After tracing the outline of little Javi’s feet, his were the first moccasins Tanner made. He made them so the upper part of the moccasin reached Javi’s calf, Apache-style. He paraded around the village proudly showing off his new moccasins and then all the children wanted them—a project that would keep the three of them busy for some time.

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  Laying tile in the bathing area, setting the toilets, and installing the privacy walls were the last major projects Colby and Jorge completed in the bathroom facility of the new building. Then, they built slatted seating benches out of 2x2s and small square stools for the washing area. Jen and Kristen volunteered to paint all the wood surfaces in the bathrooms using liberal applications of deck varnish and, by the end of the second week the facilities were ready to be tested. Jack had turned on the water heaters to test that they worked properly, and Colby tested the faucets at the bathroom and kitchen sinks to make sure they had both hot and cold water. Jen volunteered to test the bathing facilities first. Donning her bathing suit in the dressing room, she put warm water from the low faucet into one of the plastic buckets Colby had put in the bath area and then soaped all over. She even washed her hair. Then, using the shower head she washed the soap out of her hair and from her body, then pushed the button on the shower head that stopped the flow of the water. The water drained from the tile floor into the floor drain and disappeared. “That’s pretty slick, son” she said with a grin and, except for the soap that’s inside my bathing suit, I like it.”

  “We have to test each of the toilets,” Colby responded, “so you can remove your suit and the soap, Mom. I see you brought a towel, so dry yourself and get dressed while we flush them.”

  She did, and they did, and everything worked just fine.

  That afternoon, they moved the cooking facilities from the field kitchen to the new building and the tables and chairs to the new Meeting Hall. They also had the unenviable task of moving the refrigerator and freezer to the new kitchen, a task that took a great deal of lifting, pulling, and pushing to accomplish.

  For lunch that day, Michael surprised everyone by serving a salad made from the greens grown in the greenhouse, with some shredded carrots, and sliced tomatoes. A bottle of vinaigrette that had been unopened since leaving someone’s cupboard, was mixed with the greens. The big surprise, however, was the small bits of cooked chicken mixed with the salad. He had arranged with Travis to kill one of the hens without telling anyone else, other than his kitchen staff. He plucked and cleaned the chicken himself, as the others watched, and then separated the meat from the bones. He fried the meat in a skillet with a small amount of olive oil and, when it was finished, mixed it with the salad. The chicken gave the salad substance and, along with crackers from the supply tent and honey from the bee colony, comprised lunch. There were nothing but exclamations of surprise that they were eating all homegrown food and congratulations to Michael and his staff. Even Kiera, the first to comment on anything different said, “What’s this stuff in the salad?” lifting a piece of chicken. After being told it was chicken she simply replied, “Oh,” and began eating, never questioning the source.

  Travis had removed the honey combs from the beehives that morning and put the generous quantity of honey retrieved into a plastic container. While doing it he instructed his assistants in the process—planning for the future. He also explained to them that the hive was flourishing and this fall, when the bees typically became sluggish in preparation for the winter, he would divide the hive, creating a new bee colony and increased plant fertilization and honey production.

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  Following lunch, Tara and Jess took the children on a nature walk so they would not be underfoot as things were moved to the new building. While Jack and Colby removed the cooking appliances from the field kitchen, salvaging everything and leaving just a chassis, everyone else was involved in moving the tables and chairs, lounge chairs and couches, and books and shelving to the new building. They also moved one of the two 7500-watt generators to the new building where it could be wired into the inverter/controller as a backup if the solar system failed to work. The other large generator was left in the tent village to provide electricity for the living quarters. The last task was moving the refrigerator and freezer. It was an undertaking that took them well into the evening so that, after dark, their dinner was MREs right out of the packages and heated on the barbecue. It was the first truly rustic meal they had had since moving to Duwa.

  The temperature had topped out at 100° that day and was still in the 80s after dinner, so they decided a dip in the cool water of the creek would be welcome before bed.

  Breakfast the next morning was cooked and served in the new building, which they all decided would now be known in total as the Meeting Hall. Bishop indicated that they would continue to have the larg
e tent available for activities until they determined what other use to put it to; so it would be referred to as the Activity Tent for the time being.

  Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, strips of leftover ham, and corn tortillas. Estella had been experimenting with the ground corn the Stentons had brought them and found it made excellent tortillas—and everyone thought so.

  The next several days were devoted to decorating the Meeting Hall and moving the bath linens and toiletries to the lockers and cabinets assigned to each family. They moved all the food supplies to the pantry in the new kitchen and Michael, Maria, and Estella moved all the pots, pans, plates, glasses, and utensils into the kitchen cabinets. They hung one of the white boards from the storage tent onto a side wall in the kitchen where they could write their plan for each day’s meals as far in advance as they wished, or the board space would allow.

  On the wall nearest the bookshelves, in the main room, Carly and Tara hung maps of the United States and the greater Sedona area, along with two more white boards. A large throw rug, previously in the Activity Tent was placed below the white boards. This would be their classroom area except when they needed to use the tables.

  There were actually left over tables and chairs once the eating area had been set up; so, rather than reduce the amount of open space in the main room, they left some of the chairs and tables in the Activity Tent and stored the others in the storage tent.

  The stuffed chairs and sofas were placed in a semicircle around the new fireplace and a throw rug placed in front of them. The LED light fixtures Jack and Philip had installed throughout the building were separately switched so each area’s lighting could be turned on or off as needed; saving battery life in the evenings when solar electricity wasn’t being generated. Two of the electric area heaters were located in diagonal corners of the main room which, along with the fireplace, would provide ample heating to keep the room comfortable in the winter, but not overheated. The ladies hung framed paintings they had brought from their homes on the remaining walls, giving the Meeting Hall a warm, family atmosphere.