#119 / 2010 Survival Camp: Fort Stockton

SURVIVAL CAMP PLANNING

#119

January 13

We hit the road for Fort Stockton and our good friend Neil Astor's house last week. We will be moving onto his forty acres in Study Butte as soon as this polar front moves out of town. We got to go see the property on Sunday and it is pretty spectacular in its starkness. Windswept, open land amidst the Chisos Mountain range and many more I don't know by name yet. The sunsets are absolutely spectacular. The goal is to go in and survive for six weeks off the grid.

It's an experiment just to test our mettle and save a few bucks. Imagine, if you got off work one day and someone told you, "You can't go home.”Imagine everything you knew and understood was taken from you - electricity, gas, water. What would you do?

Well we're about to find out. I was comforted to know that Neil's brother is already living on the property. He works in a mine 30 miles away and has a campsite with a travel trailer. I think I would be a little more intimidated if he weren't there. At least he knows the ropes.

Once I get my van in there, if I get my van in there, for there is one really step hill and more than a few intimidating ravines to cross, then it will stay parked till we come out. One time in, one time out, is the plan. The store three miles away has wi-fi so we can stay in touch but the prices on food are prohibitive. The best grocery store is five miles away, but hopefully Neil's brother Henry will give us a ride from time to time.

Now, on this imaginary doomsday scenario that I am modeling, I do have a few obvious advantages. I have the luxury of preparing and tomorrow, the 13th of Jan., we will be stocking up on dry goods. I have a shopping list and more survival tips coming to the third page of my website. It's not up yet but will be soon. I'm having fun thinking about what to buy and how to make it all last. The basics are coffee, oatmeal, powdered milk, pinto beans, rice, trail mix, crackers, raisins, bouillon, brown sugar, and peanut butter all in bulk. So much for the low-carb diet that helped me lose 40 pounds. But I guess if the store is five miles away that might prove not to be a problem!

Happy Trails

Beatlick Pamela

Note: As it turned out I never made it to Survival Camp in January. I had an abscessed tooth and had to drive all the way back, from Fort Stockton, to El Paso. After oral surgery we put off Study Butte until the weather improved. We heard reports of only 13-17 degrees out there this year. Pretty unusual I am told

So we pointed the van west instead of east and headed to Truth or Consequences, NM, to take advantage of the hot rental deals and the hot tubs.