Tag Archives: bug-out vehicle

What We Did This Week To Prep 8/24/12

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We are now truck owners! Sorta. We have a friend who attends the car dealer auctions in Colorado and we recently arranged with him to find us a truck. Yesterday he found one and bought it. Of course, we still need to pay him and pick up the truck from Colorado, but we’re much closer than we were. It’s a ’04 Ford F350 Diesel, 4×4, crew cab, long bed — exactly what we asked for. Originally we were going to Colorado to pick it up over Columbus Day weekend in October, but now we’re looking at going sooner (I try to be patient, but it’d be hard to wait that long). I’ve wanted a truck for years, but had never been able to really justify one. But since we’ve been so involved in our prepping, gardening, and building projects there have been more times we’ve needed one; I get tired of asking a friend to either use theirs or to help me out. It’s kind of a big deal too because we’ve been saving for it for over a year (so we could pay cash for it), it was also one of our goals for 2012. If we decide to go forward with the purchase of a 5th wheel travel trailer we now have the truck to pull it. And, if we ever have to bug-out, we have the space to bring a lot more stuff, and a vehicle that’ll have the best chance of getting us there safely.

In the garden, the cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes are finally producing and the other plants continue doing well. If the sun lasts a few more weeks I think we’ll be able to call it a successful gardening year. Either way, we’ve learned a lot and continue to improve.

Under the category of: There’s Not An App For That, this week we played a game of bocce ball with the kids and their friends. When I was young, playing outside was nothing worth mentioning–everyone did it–not so much now. We’re very informal with our bocce ball game, we don’t have a court, we just roll it through the grass. We played a mini-three way tournament; it was good to see the kids having fun with an activity that didn’t involve any electricity. If we ever do have a collapse–big or small–or even a power outage that lasts several days, lack of a normal routine and activities can cause additional anxiety. Plan ahead and incorporate board games, card games, and outdoor games into your daily life. This may sound trivial now, but in the future, creating a feeling of normalcy, unity, and just fun may be very important.

What did you do?

(Monday: What I Learned From Charlie In The Prepper Next Door)

Momma Bear’s June Preps

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My June preps have kept me busy with my beginner’s garden. My family has been wonderful taking turns watering and weeding! My tomatoes got over their initial aphid romance — no more picking off bugs by hand; now I just go out to talk to them, tie them to the stakes as they continue to grow skyward, and sucker them off as they blossom. The first tomatoes (the two determinant plants) were almost ready to harvest when the squirrels started eating them. I am now covering them, and the blueberry bush, with ‘bird netting’ and hoping that will be sufficient to keep away the squirrels. We also had our first harvest of FIVE blueberries! We did not actually anticipate any fruit from the blueberry or blackberry bushes this first year, but they seem to be doing well since they are putting off a few handfuls of berries. Quite a pleasant surprise to be eating berries this year!

This month we have been doing some research and are thinking about buying a used boat. Although we live close to the interstate, and not too far from Washington D.C.–imagine the gridlock in an emergency–we are also only a walk from the Potomac River (and exactly 10 miles from our marina located on a secure military installation). We have been boating with various friends, learning, and considering the many different types of boats available. A boat would serve as both a recreational and bug out vehicle. There are many great deals out there on used boats due to the poor economy, but we are taking our time before we find just the right one. Has anyone else opted for a boat as a bug out vehicle/home?

Lastly this month, I have hit a turning point on the food storage program. While I have a big storage room in my basement, my food storage has reached a size that requires me to start reducing my other “stuff” to keep meeting my food storage goals. This is both a happy and sad occasion since it means I will be downsizing in some ways, while still building my food security. At the same time, I do not want to become a hoarder that can’t stop keeping/saving things (food included). The other difficulty with food storage, for us, is that we try to eat fresh rather than canned/packaged foods; so every item I store is not necessarily part of my household food rotation. How do YOU decide exactly what foods to store? Has anyone else had to make space compromises to continue storing food? At what point do we ever have enough food stored? When is one area of “prepping” ever complete or enough? I am sure these are all issues we share in common. I would love to hear some feedback about it.

What did you do?