Notes from JWR:

My congratulations to Mac Slavo, the editor of the excellent SHTFPlan blog. His site now has a higher web traffic ranking than SurvivalBlog’s. When I had checked for competitor stats last year, SurvivalBlog was ranked #1 and Mac’s blog was #2. But now we are in the #2 position, and SHTFPlan is ranked #1. OBTW, I should mention that some of our visitor traffic is now directed to our dotted quad address (95.143.193.148) and therefore the aggregate traffic is not reflected in the site rankings. Congrats also to The Survival Podcast, presently traffic ranked #3 among preparedness-oriented web sites.

SurvivalBlog now has more than 2,730 inbound (“referring”) links from other web sites. These help our overall ranking and our visibility to search engines. If you have a blog or web site and would like to add a link to SurvivalBlog, then see the links and graphics available here. I’d love to see 3,000+ inbound links. This is a cost-free way that you can help promote SurvivalBlog. We will be happy to reciprocate with links from our Links page to most sites. (Note that we do not provide links to sites with racist, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, prøn, or otherwise objectionable material.) Thanks, folks!

—

Today we present another two entries for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Surviving Snowmageddon, by Lugknut32

In January, 2012 Washington State went through what the locals called Snowmageddon. My family and I had just returned from being stationed in Germany for the preceding nine years. Some of our belongings were still packed up out in the garage. Mostly my “camping” things. Having just started at the new assignment, I had not yet taken the time to unpack everything. I had bought some heavy duty shelves for the garage (in anticipation of unpacking my gear). While in Germany, I was stationed in Bavaria (Schweinfurt and Graffenwoehr specifically). I had been raised in the Midwest, so I was used to a lot of snow. The love of my life was a military brat, born in Lost Wages, raised in Europe. To the kids, lots of snow meant extra days off of school.

I arrived in Washington in time for the salmon runs, so my freezer was full of fresh fillets, family value packs from the butcher, and a bunch of frozen fruit from COSTCO. I had started to stockpile some canned soups that I got a good deal on, as well as several cases of bottled water. My wife and kids just rolled their eyes and called me a prepper like it was a dirty word. Then, on the 18th of January, the snow fell hard enough to knock the power out, luckily after dinner.

When the power died, so did the heat. While in Germany, we had purchased large down comforters for each bed, as well as some full size blankets. We normally keep the heat at 65 in the house; if we get chilly; we put on some layers or cover up with a blanket. I was not worried about staying warm or food, but cooking it soon presented a problem. The next day, I went out to the garage and started to dig out the camp stove. My gut clenched when I saw that it had been murdered. A forklift tine had punched through the box at some point and the stove was the casualty. The box had been re-packed and nothing said to me or my wife. It happened to be the only thing that was damaged in the move. I went into the house and looked at my wife through the hole, grinning at her facial expression.

I hiked through knee deep snow out to Cabela’s, about two miles away. They were operating on generators and the debit cards were still working. On the way, I stopped at the Shell station and got lucky with the ATM and was able to get a couple hundred dollars cash just in case. When I got to Cabela’s, the stoves and propane were all gone. I also noticed that most of the sleeping bags and trail food were gone. Undeterred, I tromped another 1.5 miles to Wal-Mart. Same result there. I then went to Big 5 Sporting goods, and was able to get a stove for $45 cash. They were also out of propane. I made my way to Wholesale sports and got lucky on the propane; I got the last six cans. Sales were cash only. While in line, the guy behind me tried to talk me out of half of them “They last a while, what do you need with 6 cans?”.  I told him to pound sand, and he grumbled something about Army attitudes. Since I do not have my concealed permit, I was carrying openly, which he noticed. I got out of line under the pretense of having forgotten something, just to keep him in sight. There was no incident, but I was not going to take any chances. In each of the stores, there was generator power only (while the fuel lasted), cash was the only thing accepted (with the exception of Cabela’s), all the stay warm gear and camping food was gone. I went across the street to Safeway and got another can of coffee. Cash only.

I got home, wiped down my sidearm, and started cooking dinner. The psychological effect of a hot meal cannot be under rated! The next day (19 Jan), I took a couple of my Rubbermaid tubs out back and piled snow around them. Everything from the refrigerator went into one and the now semi-frozen fruit went into the other. I cooked all of the pork sausage up and it went into a cooler out on the patio. I had a sedan; it took me 3 minutes to back out of my driveway and 45 minutes of shoveling and pushing to get it back into the original position. A couple of hours later, one of my coworkers roared up in his 4WD and we made our way to Fort Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord or JBLM). We secured a couple generators and fuel from his shop and drove/ slid home. FYI, the use of the generators was sanctioned by the Brigade Commander.. The generator was enough for the water heater and the kitchen lights were very dim. We decided to leave them off. The value of a hot shower ranks right up there with a hot meal.

Our cell phones we working intermittently, either due to the fact they are 3G, the ice and snow build up on the towers, or both. I have an inverter for the lighter socket in my vehicle, so keeping them charged was no issue. My boss called and told me to just check in on the phone until I was able to get my car on the road. That night we did not run the generator, but you could hear all the other ones in the area and see lights here and there. They would have made good targets if the power was out longer than 6 days. On the 3rd day, I cooked everything from the freezer and put it all into the Rubbermaid containers. We were not going to freeze or starve, and we played a lot of board games, some match stick poker (Texas hold em and 5 card stud) and a couple of snow ball fights. Neither my wife nor I were able to go to work for the whole week.

Most of our neighbors had left to either relatives or hotels where the power was still on. Some of them had even left their pets, which really angered me. On day 7, the power was restored. I disconnected the generator, wiped out the fridge, and put all of the food back into it. I cleaned the propane stove and put it on a shelf in the garage, along with 4 bottles of propane. We had not touched the food stores in the garage, still had plenty of food in the fridge, and our bellies were full.  My neighbors started to return in the afternoon. The single mom next door threw out all the food from her freezer and fridge, as did most of the others who had left. The HOA had not even made the attempt to plow the roads.
My wife and kids no longer make fun of my preparations, and they no longer dive into the bottled water stash. I was extraordinarily lucky to find a working ATM, new stove and fuel when I did. Almost every one of my neighbors chose to flee the situation instead of make due, allowing all their perishable food to spoil and leaving their homes and possessions susceptible to loss. Some even abandoned their pets. I do not associate with them; I find their values and morals to be lacking.
Looking back, I have learned a few things.

  1. Stocking up may not be the cool thing with the family, but do it anyway.
  2. Make sure you have distractions (other than books) for the whole family.
  3. Rubbermaid containers can impress your wife.
  4. Even in the Pacific coast, a truck is a must (I now have a 4×4).
  5. Above ground power lines are stupid.
  6. Make the time to check all of your gear, especially after a move.

This is not a complete list, but it encompasses the points I feel are the most important. The next purchases for my new 4×4 will be a brush guard, winch, and plow. If the HOA will not honor their commitment, I will be able to help my neighbors. I continue to read and learn on a daily basis, as we all should.

Keep prepping and keep your powder dry.

Some Alaska Outdoor Survival Experiences, by M.C.R.

Preparedness is a mental state and  where I live it is extremely unforgiving if you are not ready.

I travel the bush in the state of Alaska as a telecommunication technician which means I travel mostly in small commercial planes or in bush planes along with helicopters, boats and once in a while via snowmobiles (called “snow machines” here) to get to the native villages.

This happened to me in the mid-1980s when Exxon was drilling in Arctic Ocean on a drilling rig called a Concrete Island Drilling Structure (C.I.D.S.). Exxon had chartered a helicopter company to fly supplies and personnel to the drilling rig using the Super Puma helicopter–a very nice rugged helicopter made by the French company Aérospatiale.

I was tasked with making sure the air traffic radio equipment and Non directional beacon systems where working for the flight operations which in this case had failed for some unknown reason so I called up a flight loaded my gear and off we go to the drilling rig.

When we reached about 8,000 foot altitude we ran into some weather. It had mixed snow, rain, sleet at different altitudes and yes this was in early March in the Arctic Ocean

We started to build up major ice on the airframe and the pilots were trying to find warm air to melt the ice off the airframe we went up down and I swear around in the air in circles but it just kept building up on the airframe.

I was in the cargo section with the intercom headphone on when the pilots informed me we would set down on the Ice pack and I was going to get out of the helicopter and proceed to smack the ice off the airframe.

Have you ever played with your kids whiffle ball with a plastic bat? Well we had several those bats on board. So we set down on the sea ice very gently. Luck was with us since we did not punch through the ice or hit a snow pile which could have tilted us side ways which is a bad deal since rotors tend to fly off when the hit something solid like ice.

I slid the door hatch open and it wass about 80 below zero since they still had the rotor spinning so the down draft was very brisk that day. Next, I threw my Arctic survival  river bag out on the ice with a plastic sled strapped to it just in case the helicopter takes off without me or catches on fire or Mr. Murphy just plainly messes with your day.

My sled is an orange kiddies’ sled that can be bought anywhere it has two fiberglas poles attached to it along with a leather belt that attaches to your waist.

In my survival bag is a river bag the largest REI makes–65 Liters–so in this  I carry: 3 days supply of food 5,000 to 6,000 high calorie food(s) canned sardines with oil, salami, cheese, salmon strips   dried moose with fat and if I can get dried seal strips and some seal oil that is good too along with 2 gallons of water,  juices , crackers , candies ,sugar , salt , pepper , teas and instant coffee.  For my winter sleeping bag combo I have an inner bag and outer bag that is water and wind proof and a tent that slips over the bags. I also carry several caribou hides rolled up make very nice ground cloth the hairs are hollow so the retain heat. 

My bag also has lighter, matches, candles with a holder a small camp stove with about a quart of Coleman liquid fuel along with an old military metal canteen cup spoon and fork combo. A small pocket knife and sharpening stone I carry a roll a toilet paper and baby wipes too. Also 2 pairs of socks silk and wool along with a spare set of silk underwear and spare wool gloves

My clothes: I wear silk underwear silk socks then the next layer wool pants wool shirt wool socks and a down vest. For my outer layers I have outer parker made Actionwest FR, Indura down Arctic Parka along with Bib coverall and bunny boots 

Headwear: coRaggs, Ragg Wool Balaclava Facemask/Cap and Headsokz Inc., Black Wind bloc Headsokz.

My gloves are Newberry Knitting, Ragg Wool Mitten along with surplus army mittens and wool five finger gloves

I also carry snow goggles and a wrap around wool face mask so as not to frost your lungs. I also carry a climbing ice axe, Climbing Snow shovel, Ice Crampons and ice pitons screw type along with 50 feet of 3mm utility cord all these items are for ice. I also carried a rubber coated flash light with spare D batteries the rubber coat protects your hand if you have to hold the flashlight without the heavy mittens.

The Ice axe is for getting water smack it into the blue ice not green ice pull out the chunks or out of a snow bank. The snow shovel is for snow caves if you do not have a clue get the OLD Boy Scout manual it is very detailed for ice cave instructions I have used with my own boys and their troop in the Talkeetna Mountains. Ice pitons are for securing a tent in ice along with 3mm utility cord to secure your tent .

Since it was on Exxon company property I left my Remington bolt-action .30-06 along with 40 rounds 180 grain bullets in the carrying case in my room. (Exxon had a strict gun policy.)

So I am out of the helicopter with the plastic bat along with the copilot and we proceed to beat the helicopter to death but gently since it has pitot tubes and all kind of flight sensors that can be damaged so it was go slowly but methodically.

It took about 15 minutes to get the majority of the ice off the airframe and all this time the rotors were spinning the turbines were screaming and the pilot is looking real serious because the helicopter is burning flight fuel.

So when the copilot gave the thumbs up I threw my bag back on board closed the door hatch securely strapped myself in pulled my head gear off and put the headset on so I could sweat with the pilots as we lift off the ice. The pucker factor had been very high as we took off skimming the ice toward the oil rig as we gained some altitude all of us were looking out every window for more ice buildup which for us did not appear. So Mr. Murphy had his fun with us for that day.

So we all made it to the rig I fixed the equipment and went back to Deadhorse about a week later on the same helicopter I was flying with a news crew  a women reporter and her camera crew they are doing a report on the C.I.D.S. oil platform. As we are cruising she asked me why all the gear I said,” We went down on the Ice last week due to ice buildup on this helicopter. Looking her over, I stated: “The way you are presently dressed you are going to die if we have a malfunction and stay on the Arctic ice.”  

The woman reporter gave me a funny look. So being an ex-military NCO I do not mince words. She could get us killed with her ignorance. So I treated her and her crew like raw recruits but minus the shouting. I said bluntly: “Your outfit is nice (she had a matching dress, light jacket, ankle boots and gloves) but do you realize we are flying and it is -40F outside? If we have to do an emergency landing on the ice you have about 30 minutes before cold takes your toes, fingers, legs, face and then your life. You should be wearing Arctic clothing from Refrigiwear along with the boots which Exxon has for visitors on their main compound.”

“Well no one told me”, she said. But I laughed. You see, I was in the safety briefing room along with her and it was mandatory to attend. She was too busy being a news reporter to pay attention. I pointed to her crew they had the gear from Exxon it was large ugly and bulky but it was on them so they would survive. She was angry but before she could get a word in to teach me a lesson from upon her throne I said: “You’re just a pampered fool and you’re not worth my time or knowledge to save your a**.”

“What?” she asked. My guess is she had never been talked to that way before by an Alaskan so I laughed, “Ponder this, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.'” I told her that her profession should be under this heading: “The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fool feeds on folly.”

Then I pulled out my Bible and read to her from Ephesians 6 : 10-18:

“10 Finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power. 11 Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. 13 Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and to stand in all things perfect. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of justice: 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 16 In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. 17 And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). 18 By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit: and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints/”

I had just called her a tool of the devil it just shut her down so the rest of the trip was silent, so I put on the intercom head phones to listen to the pilots and took a cat nap.

She did her interviews and the news piece. The fool flew back wearing another dress to Dead Horse the next day. Some people will just not learn.

All these years later I think God put me in the helicopter with her to test her that day even though I had no clue I was a tool for God on that day too.

Letter Re: Emergency Bags for Your Vehicle

Dear James,
I wish to make a comment about the article on preparing an emergency bag for your car. This is a prudent and good idea. I currently have one for each vehicle I own.

The only problem with the article is the choice of food. I have a tendency to leave my emergency bag in my car. The problem arises in the summer when the outside temps start to rise. With the outdoor temp at 100 degrees F the car’s inside temperature is 120 to 130. The MRE entrees only have a shelf life of 30 days at 120 degrees F. Unless you were to replace this every 30 days more than likely the meal would be unusable when a need would arise.

I was recently introduced to the New Millennium Food Bars. These are designed to with stand +300 degrees F to -60 degrees F without going bad. I leave these in my kit and I don’t have to worry if they will be good when I need them, and they don’t taste half bad. – Keith R.

Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,000 (Bid by Reader D.J.G.)

Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries.

We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, and firefighting skills, free of charge.)

The monocular is one of these. (The same model that we use here at the Rawles Ranch.) These night vision scopes normally retail for around $3,600. (Although Ready Made Resources sells them at the discounted price of $2,695.) This monocular was kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, in cooperation with Night Ops Tactical.

Economics and Investing:

A Recipe For Massive Hyperinflation or Bankruptcy: ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury, iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond

Michael Pollaro: Chairman Bernanke, Price Inflation is the Least of Your Problems

Over at Lew Rockwell’s page, Peter Schiff predicts: US Debt Crisis Will Be Worse Than Europe’s

Items from The Economatrix:

Housing To Drive Growth (Finally!)

American Consumers Upbeat In February

Inflation Remained Subdued In January

Odds ‘n Sods:

Don’t mistake this tyranny for some sort of “moderation” or “compromise”: Deal on gun background checks hinges on tracking sales. Please contact your congressmen and senators to again remind them that intrastate private party sales of used guns are OUTSIDE of the scope of the Interstate Commerce Clause. No Federal nexus means no Federal jurisdiction!

   o o o

For those who prefer to store plain sea salt: Redmond Real Salt

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Lew Rockwell: Prozacked Nation

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Rather than backtracking, “Shotgun Joe” Biden is digging himself a deeper hole. Oh, and speaking of scatterguns, there is this news from Colorado: Popular Standard Shotgun Could Be Banned Under Proposed Bill.

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A verdict in former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s latest corruption trial will likely be announced this week. Detroit’s Dapper Dresser may be in for a long stretch in Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, Michigan. Kilpatrick is of course just one of many in Mayor Bloomberg’s “crime fighting” cohort who has ended up in prison. Perhaps they should start an elite inner circle group, within Mayors Against Illegal Guns. They could call themselves: “Convicted Former Mayors Who Can No Longer Legally Own Guns with the Temerity to Demand Disarmament to the Law Abiding”, or perhaps more succinctly: “Crime Expert-Crime Fighters”. Or they could call it The World Crime League, but that name has already been taken.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The number one, primary, superlative, over-arching pinnacle of survival preparedness is to GET RIGHT WITH GOD on His terms. Everything else is secondary. ARE YOU READY?" – Kim Noel

Notes from JWR:

Now feeling fully Sequestered and safe in the American Redoubt, your Editor notes that the sky has not fallen, as predicted by the pundits on MSNBC. In fact the $109 billion in “dreaded automatic budget cuts” are merely a decrease in the rate of budget increase. Federal spending will actually be going up by more than $14 billion. But I’m sure that BHO and company will misdirect as many departmental cuts as possible, to maximize the perceived stress. Much anguished hand-wringing, nay-saying and fear mongering, to follow in the weeks to come. They will no doubt brand it a “crisis.” Oh, the horror of a decreased rate of increase. Excuse me while I go throw another chunk of Red Fir in the woodstove.

—

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Emergency Bags for Your Vehicle, by Z.T.

Most preppers probably have a pretty good handle on how to assemble a bug-out-bag (BOB). And, it’s probably so large and ungainly, that it gets stuck in the closet, just like mine. Let’s be honest, are you going to have it when you need it? I think we have covered the likelihood of being at home when “it” happens in plenty of detail in the past. We have seen that the chances of you being at home on your couch with your BOB beside you are slim. What about all the other situations? In other words, where to you spend a sizeable quantity of your life in a situation that can easily turn against you? And, in this situation, are you adequately prepared? Lastly, are you just thinking of yourself, or thinking of your dependents…who are what really matter.

Ironically, about a month ago, Alabama had one of those Jesus Is Coming moments when the white stuff from hades started falling. If you don’t catch the joke, it’s that Alabama shuts down at just the threat of severe winter weather. I was sitting here in my office when the loud speaker told us to go home. In the ice and snow. 2,500 people all recklessly driving to pick up their kids. Not only does Alabama shut down, but Alabamians don’t know how to drive in bad weather, of any kind. But they are particularly incapable of driving in snow and ice. Case in point is that on Interstate 65, wrecks caused 24 hour delays. Most of these delays were between exits in a very rural area. Families were trapped in their vehicles for a whole day.

I guess you can see where I am going with this article. The fact is, you use your car every day. You spend a sizeable amount of your life in a car. And of all things that you do, driving is probably both the most dangerous and most likely to put you into one of these situations. Here is the kicker: it is also the most likely time that you will have to fend not only for yourself, but for your entire family. Face it, being stuck in the snow for 24 hours is bad. But, you…by yourself…could hump it, if you had to. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. But it wouldn’t be the case for me.

So, my wife…ever supportive of this hobby of mine…saw a real application of survival prepping. She asked me to make an emergency kit for the car. While most of you reading would think about gas cans, flashlights, and tow straps, recall that many of us have kids. Young ones. We can’t just start humping it up the interstate. We need food, water, and warmth. Now, I know times are hard and people have a tough time spending money on things they will probably never use. But, you can’t put a price on safety, convenience, or comfort. These things do happen. All the time.

I am going to show you how to put together a simple kit that will buy you 24 hours of comfort and assurance for you and your family. And I am going to do it on a budget that anyone can feel good about, while maintaining the useful space in your vehicle.

After a few weeks of procrastinating, I finally got serious (and got paid…). The first thing I did was to shop at the Emergency Essentials web site. They have plenty of “all in one package” items, but not only was the all in one survival bags a little bit more than I wanted to spend, it took the fun out of shopping and building it for myself. Not only that, but everyone is different in their level of survivability. I started out by buying the 72 Hour Improved MRE kit. This cost $58 dollars.

 

Contents of the Improved MRE 72-Hour Food and Water Supply

  • MRE Main Dish Entrees 9
  • MRE Side Dishes 6
  • MRE Dessert 6
  • MRE Drink Mix 3
  • Water Pouch 18
  • Bread/Biscuit 3
  • Peanut Butter 2
  • Jam Packet 1
  • Cheese Packet 1
  • Hard Candy 3
  • Accessory Pack 9

Now, that’s a big box of stuff, and honestly, as I counted up the calories, I realized that we didn’t need all of this, nor could we fit it in the car conveniently. I figured we needed a solid 1,000 calorie meal and days’ worth of water. After all, we are American and it would take weeks to starve us fat people. But kids get cranky and it’s hard to keep your wits about you when you have 3 of them telling you how hungry they are. Turns out, by counting the calories in each item, it took one MRE main dish, one dessert, and one fruit for a 1,000 calorie meal. Multiple that by 5 and I actually had 1 person’s day worth of food left over, which I added to my 24 hour bag.

Additionally, I added:

  • Wool survival blankets for $11.99. That’s a steal. These things are heavy and huge. And they normally cost $25.
  • 5 Hothands Super Warmers. I bought these for $1 each.
  • 3 Mylar emergency blankets. I bought these in a lot of 10 from Amazon for under $5
  • 3 glow sticks. I bought these in a lot of 10 for $11
  • Baggie of vitamins and OTC pills.
  • One large flashlight
  • Basic hand tool kit
  • Straps and bungee cords
  • Can of Fix-A-Flat

Even after I put this together, I noticed that there were some other things that I think should be added, but aren’t necessary. For you, they may be, so don’t forget about things like playing cards, sanitary wipes/toilet paper, extra plastic sacks, spare sets of clothes, and, if you need it as we do, baby formula.

While the people reading this already are like-minded and see the benefit of this kit, I am trying to appeal to those that aren’t. The Top Two Questions you are asking are: 1) I bet it’s a lot of money for something I will never use and 2) That much stuff would be impossible to fit in my vehicle. These two questions were foremost on my mind when I put this together. Why? Because like everyone else, I am on a budget and I have three children and all of their stuff. Yet, it fits nicely behind the back seat of my Chevy Yukon. It isn’t very heavy. The total cost was under $60.

Letter Re: Today is the Day Christianity Became Illegal in Canada

Mr. Rawles,
I have, most of the time been proud to be a Canadian. We have our problems, much like other countries, but I’d always believed that our country was one of the best, most free in the world. It both infuriates me and causes me great sadness to write the latter in the past tense. Today I read an article from a news source I have followed for many years and trust implicitly, Lifesitenews.

Essentially, the Supreme Court of Canada has killed freedom of speech and freedom of religion in one fell blow. If we can no longer as Christians be permitted to have beliefs with regards to what actions are right and wrong, and to communicate those beliefs, I have little hope for our society. If calling certain actions sinful is ‘hate speech’, I fear it won’t be long before we see priests, pastors, teachers and parents arrested for speaking their beliefs, even to their own children. And what will happen to these children? I feel betrayed by my country, and furious that almost no one else realizes that we are being betrayed.

My parents home schooled me and my siblings for most of our school years. My brother and his wife home schooled their 9, my wife and I home school our 4, my sister and her husband plan to do likewise. There are other homeschooling families and members of our church who are beginning to wake up, but we are among the few who have not been inculcated. We are a very small minority. I wish I could say otherwise, I wish I could be more hopeful, but there will be no ‘Canadian Redoubt’, nor any reason for one. Even among the few who can see what is happening, there are fewer yet who are of the belief that anything can be done by citizens. And with that belief, they may be right. We would be as lambs to the proverbial slaughter, being the nail that sticks up, only to be hammered down.

I live in rural Alberta. I love it here. Today I started looking at Montana’s home schooling laws and gun laws. I like them, so I started looking at property. I’m a rig welder in the oilfield, and I hear North Dakota is pretty busy now.

Your prayer will be appreciated. I will pray for you and yours. God bless you and keep you – G.L.

Economics and Investing:

Jim W. was the first of several readers to point me to this piece at Zero Hedge: Silver Demand Surges To Record For February. Jim W. correctly observed that the paper markets for precious metals are increasingly irrelevant. The true relevance in the grand scheme of things can be found in the fact that the supply of paper is limitless and he supply of silver is fixed. Don’t be frightened by short term swings in the market. Just be thankful for the dips–our opportunities to buy in in the midst of a long term bull market. Buy tangibles, not conceptuals.

Read Max W. sent this quip: “The good news is that with Sequestration, the gubmint will stop buying up so many billions of rounds of ammo, so prices may come back down to normal.”

Consumer Spending in U.S. Climbs Even as Taxes Hurt Incomes

Items from The Economatrix:

WH Releases State-By-State Breakdown Of Sequester’s Effects

New Tax Codes Causing Delays In Filing 2012 Returns

Our Country Is Heading For A Complete Meltdown Of The Financial System As We Are Experiencing A Combination Of Elements From The Great Depression And Weimar Germany

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cooking With Three Candle Flames

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The Spring Survival Medicine classes with SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor Dr. Cynthia Koelker (of Armageddon Medicine) are now open for registration.  Learn to suture, cast, and much more. The available seats fill up early, so register soon.

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Safecastle now offers a discount price for quantity purchases of Waterbricks. Through a special arrangement with the manufacturer, these are shipped directly from the factory, to reduce shipping costs. Waterbricks are great for storing water, bulk grain, bulk legumes, or even bulk .22 LR ammo. 😉

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Reports of rare superbug jump in US, CDC says. (A hat tip to Mark P. for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers." – Exodus 18:21