by Pete Thorsen
I don’t want you to die. I want to come here once and a while to visit with my neighbors and maybe at some point do a little trading with you. I want to have a spot I can run to where you will take me in if I’m in big trouble. In return I want to help you so you are strong enough to provide for yourselves and help any others that may wander here. Not all people are evil and you could sure use some skills that an outsider may bring.”
“So what should we do?”
“Lynn and I will stay and work with you on some ideas for a little while today. She is smart and grew up here which is an advantage. When we leave you guys have to talk and plan. The plan has to come from you.
The work to implement the plan has to come from you. We are not some experts. We are just a couple of very ordinary people that two months ago you would not have even given a second glance. We might come back occasionally to provide a little more assistance.”
Everyone actually started to get down to business and planning was started until Don stood up to address them all again.
“Which group here are the lower class people? I see you have separated the men and the women, I assume that is because one group is all stupid and the other is all smart. Is that the case here? Or is it because the women are weak and can only hoe the garden and cook the dinner?
You have a small group. I would very strongly suggest that you utilize everyone in your group to their full potential. Whether they happen to be a man or happen to be a woman. Obviously you will have to break down into smaller groups to cover certain tasks but even then I would suggest that each small group be integrated. Men and woman think different and draw from different life experiences this is often a big help.”
The group immediately came together with everyone nodding their heads yes. They talked and talked for a couple hours and notebooks were found and used to write down ideas and list things to do and maybe acquire.
At one point Don and a few others went to look at the pump and its hook up. After studying it for a bit Don explained exactly how to wire in more batteries and additional solar panels. Finally Don drew Lynn aside and they talked for a bit between themselves.
“We are going to leave you now. You have a start and a whole lot of ideas. We don’t want to try and influence you too much. This is your group and we are not a part of it. If it is OK with you we would like to visit you again and we would both be very proud to be considered as your friends.”
Everyone came to them and thanked the two for all their help and for the food. Everyone asked them to please come see them again soon. After a lot of hand shaking Lynn and Don were allowed to get in their pickup and leave the group to decide their own fate.
On the way home they talked and talked about what they should do to help the lake group and how much help they should give. Both understood the need to make sure the group could stand on their own feet to meet their own needs but both wanted to do as much as they could to help them.
On the way home they again stopped at the food warehouse and loaded the covered trailer with a load of food for themselves. They decided that they would rearrange all their food when they got home so all canned goods were stored in the house and they would use the covered trailer to store food that would last a long time and not be hurt if it froze during the winter.
Don said he wanted to go to the Home Depot and get a small propane space heater and install in their house and try to find one or two more large propane tanks that they could bring up to their place for future needs. Propane never went bad and could be stored for many years. They decided that they had plenty of work to do just like the folks in town did.
The trip home was uneventful and the next day they spent just about the whole day inventorying their food and rearranging all of it. They had quite a lot of shelf stable food and now with the inventory they could see items that they could use more of and repacking all of it made it all fit better and was now much easier to find the things they wanted. Though it was quite a job they both thought it was a necessary job and they thought it would be a huge benefit to them.
Day Forty Nine
The next morning they left early with both the pickup and the old car that Lynn had been trapped in the trunk of. Don drove the car as it brought back bad memories to Lynn. Their first stop was yet another trailer then off to the food warehouse. This time they filled the trailer but were careful to keep an eye out for the items that they were short of and kept those items aside.
With the trailer loaded they drove both vehicles back to see their friends by the lake. When they arrived Don backed the trailer up to the garage where they had unloaded it the previous time. Everyone surrounded the two vehicles and Don noticed that a couple of them were now sporting holsters with pistols in them. It was a start anyway.
Don told them that the trailer was again full of food and they could unload it. Lynn told them that they would leave the old car for their use so they could haul more stuff back to their places. Don suggested that they remove the trunk lid and maybe even cut it open so it was more like a small pickup. The old car was certainly made strong enough. Maybe they could mount a trailer hitch on the car so they could pull a small trailer with to haul even more stuff.
When the trailer was unloaded Lynn and Don stayed and talked to the folks and went over the plans they had made. The plans were fine but both Lynn and Don came up with possible additions that the group could talk over. When it got to be lunch time they asked the two to stay and have lunch with them which they graciously accepted.
Don noticed with all the talk that the group was taking things very seriously and he thought they might even make a go of it. After lunch Lynn told the group that they weren’t the only ones with a lot of work to do to get ready for winter and her and Don had to go get to work also. After the thank you’s they left amongst a lot of waves and ‘hope to see you soon’ wishes.
Don stopped at the Home Depot store and found a heater they could use and he also picked up a roll of copper tubing to hook it up along with quite an assortment of different fittings that he thought would be good to have on hand. He also found solar controllers and took two of the largest ones to try at home.
Lynn was busy doing her own shopping and had three carts full that she put in the trailer by the time Don was done. Lynn had Don stop at a department store and a clothing store also. The stores were pretty well trashed but they both picked up many things and had to make several trips back out to unload.
They again stopped at the food warehouse and loaded a bunch of the food in the trailer and back of the pickup. Don also stopped at an auto parts store and grabbed a bunch of fuel stabilizer, a large hand operated fuel transfer pump, and a back up inverter for the house.
The fuel stabilizer he dumped in at the gas station that was closest to their place and he also left the transfer pump there which he used to fill the pickup tank. By this time it was getting late and they went home and had supper. After supper they made plans themselves for what needed to be done before winter.
Day Fifty to Fifty Five
In the morning they unloaded all the stuff from the pickup and the trailer and when done left with the trailer behind. They went back to the little town where they had gotten their other large propane tank and looked for a couple more. There were tanks at just about every house but they had various amounts of fuel in them.
Two were found pretty quickly that were very close to being full and they loaded one of those into the trailer with the help of a come-along and a few pieces of lumber. As long as they were this far they continued on the highway checking all the trucks they saw for their contents.
They found a few things they could use and wrote the locations down on several in the notebook that they had started carrying in the pickup for this purpose. They wanted a list they could go to if they wanted to find things in the future without trial and error or relying just on their memories.
They drove farther than they ever had before and found that every truck had already been entered though
most still had stuff inside. They did not know if it had been the Mexicans or others like themselves or both who had entered the vehicles.
The full propane tank was a pretty heavy load and Don turned around and they returned home. They worked together and unloaded the tank next to the last one. After lunch they drove back and got the other full tank they had located earlier and unloaded it next to the other two.
They talked about their propane supplies and both knew that at some point they would lose the ability to drive the trucks due to the fuel going bad. Don admitted that he was not a mechanic and if they had engine trouble he would very likely be unable to fix it. They decided to bring back two more propane tanks while they could and one for Sam also.
Then they talked about firewood for the wood heater the house had. Don thought the best way to get firewood would be to look around when they picked up the next propane tanks. There were likely many stacks of firewood in the little town. They decided to try to get at least a couple trailer loads of firewood. They said when they brought the propane tank up to Sam’s place they would check with him to see if he needed any firewood also.
The next day they made two trips into the little town and brought back two more propane tanks. While there they located another full tank for Sam and many stacks of firewood. There were several of the covered trailers sitting in yards that would be excellent to haul and store the firewood.
With the four large tanks of propane at their house now they would be set for a very long time. While getting the big tanks Don also brought home many of the smaller twenty pound tanks like used on gas grills. They also brought home a nice gas grill that they thought might be a way a cook outside in the summer so as not to heat up their house inside.
The next day they picked up and hauled the last propane tank up to Sam’s place and set it next to his original one. Sam thanked them and they asked him about if he needed any firewood. He did admit that he would need more firewood but didn’t want them to go through a lot of work just for him.
He said he could get by. Don just said he would see what they could do. They stayed well into the afternoon visiting with Sam before going home again. When they got home they both spent some time looking over the place and Don moved a couple of the trailers and also their spare truck. He picked out the spots they would park the trailers of firewood they hoped to bring up starting tomorrow.
The small place was certainly filling up with all the stuff they had brought up from the valley below. Lynn and Don also made sure to leave room so they could enlarge the existing garden. Even though they had done nothing with the garden this year it would have to be enlarged and planted next spring. They had plenty of food right now but both knew they would have to grow their own food next year to survive.
Don remembered the big truck full of fertilizer and would bring some of that home also for the garden. Don was waiting for cooler weather before he went deer hunting but they would have to keep the freezer full of meat from fall on so they had plenty when canned meat ran out.
They both also realized that they would need a pressure cooker and lots of jars and lids. Don said they would have to scavenge many things that they had not thought of previously. A dehydrator would be a good thing to have and also a bunch of zip lock bags to put the stuff in that was dehydrated. Freezer paper would be needed to wrap the deer meat.
They could look for a vacuum sealer and bags for it. They should also pick up some garden fertilizer and garden tools. Also they should try to get a couple of small trailers for their bicycles they could use when the truck no longer worked.
Don thought another heavy duty cart like he had would be a good idea also. Some extra solar panels that they could put in storage for replacements would be a good idea also. They could use so many things and it was hard to think of everything that might be needed in the future. The time to gather things was now when they had the pickup to use because it would be much more difficult later. They left a list in the kitchen so they could add things they thought of anytime.
After more discussion they decided that they would put off getting firewood for a day or two and make one or two salvage runs into town for the items they had thought of. And also just look through several of the stores for things that they might not have thought of so far.
Don and Lynn left in the morning with just the pickup and stopped at the dealer and got yet another new trailer. They drove to the Home Depot store and got a lot of things there and spent a considerable amount of time just looking through everything so they wouldn’t miss anything.
The next stop was a hardware store and again they got a lot and spent a lot of time shopping. They also shopped at a large sporting goods store and a department store. By the time they thought they were done it was late afternoon and both the pickup and the trailer were very full. It was a big enough load so Don drove slowly all the way home. It was sundown by the time they arrived at the house and they left everything and just went inside, made supper, and went to bed.
In the morning they unhooked the trailer and unloaded the pickup then left for another trip into town. After getting yet another trailer they stopped at Don’s old store and shopped there for awhile.
Besides another cart like Don had already they each got more work clothes and all the hikers and work boots in their size. They also picked out several jackets for each of them. Almost all the clothing in the store was heavy work clothes which was exactly what was needed for the times ahead. Fashion was definitely a thing of the past. Leaving that store the trailer was already a quarter full or better.
They stopped at just about every store in town and picked up a few things at each. They even went in the grocery stores. Knowing the food was long gone they picked up canning supplies, toilet paper and other paper products, a lot of pharmacy items, and many mixed items from throughout the stores. Again the pickup and the trailer were both packed full by the time they left town.
This time they got home early enough to unload the pickup and for temporary Don left the two trailers full next to each other and also parked their empty one next to the other two in case they needed it for ‘overflow’. They unloaded the two trailers completely and then repacked them carefully keeping out some items and putting in other items that were already at the place.
As they loaded the trailers back up they inventoried every item put in and wrote it down on a list which when done they attached inside the back of the trailer. This was done to each trailer. They ended up not using the empty one and after they were completely done Don moved the two now re-loaded trailers to their ‘permanent’ spots.
After supper they decided they were done shopping in town and would start gathering their firewood tomorrow. One of the things they had brought home from Don’s store (and other stores) were many, many pairs of work gloves which they left a few pair for each of them in the pickup to always have with them.
They knew they would need those gloves when they were handling all the firewood starting tomorrow. They were both plenty tired just from today’s work and both went to bed early knowing that tomorrow would be another day of very hard and tiring work.
They left right after breakfast with their only empty trailer in tow. They had already spotted quite a bit of wood while getting the propane tanks so no time was lost searching for it. It was actually pretty fast and easy to load the trailer full of firewood and they were traveling back to home in no time. At home all they needed to do was park the trailer and leave so they were heading back for another load in short order.
They were in no hurry but it was a project that they both wanted to see finished and put behind them. They did always take the time to brush out their tracks both coming and going. Their house was their safe haven and they would continue to do everything they could to keep it safe.
Don backed up to one of the covered trailers they had spotted earlier on their trips. And they were soon loading wood again. Things went well all day with most of the time spent traveling back and forth between their
house and the little town. They were able to bring back four trailers full of wood that day alone and had spotted a few more trailers and plenty of more wood. That night both Lynn and Don were tired but happy with the work they had accomplished that day.
Day Fifty Six to Fifty Nine
It was bright and clear the next morning but it was breezy which both thought might mean more rain could be coming. Wanting to make better use of their time they each drove a truck that morning. It was Lynn’s idea because the drive time was the biggest part of their day and using two trucks they could in theory move more wood. So they decided to try it out.
On one of the trips yesterday Don had seen a covered trailer attached to a truck on the highway but when they stopped it was full of tools and building supplies so they left it there (at least for now). On the way to the little town Don stopped at a home along the highway and picked up another trailer there.
In the town they got another trailer hooked up to Lynn’s truck and soon were loading more wood. It seemed like no time at all and they had both trailers full of wood and they were dropping them at their home and heading back for two more but now it was totally cloudy.
Two more trailers were found and loaded but just as they were closing the doors on the last trailer they heard what sounded like more than one vehicle traveling on the highway. They were on the back side of town and they slowly and as quietly as they could drove the back way out of town.
When they were on the back side of a hill Don stopped and they walked back to the top to see if there was any pursuit and if they could gather any intel. They each had binoculars (they now had many pairs) and they stuck their heads up near small bushes to help from being discovered from below.