Category: Retreat Locales

From Debt to Rural Independence, by R.T. in Georgia

You may read that the first thing you should do when prepping to prep is to get out of debt, but there is not much depth beyond that in the description of why you should get out of debt. My family has made a journey from debt to sustainability over the last seven years and absolutely the main thing that enabled that to happen was getting rid of our consumer debt. This is a quick description of one family’s fortune, what God allowed us to do and the opportunities that were made available to us when we took the challenge …


News From The American Redoubt:

Man fends off grizzly by shoving arm down its throat. (Thanks to “Keeper” for the link to this amazing news story.) o o o Montana Governor Bullock signs anti-police militarization bill o o o Wildfire smoke pollution unprecedented in 2015 o o o New plan offers hope in saving imperiled Wyoming toad o o o Things are at least a bit more common sense in Eastern Oregon: College shooting highlights school safety issues. Here is a quote: “Blue Mountain Community College’s official policy bans weapons on campus, but students with a concealed carry permit are exempt from that ban if …


Praise For Chris Walsh and Revolutionary Realty

Over a period of time I have accumulated many letters of recommendation for Chris Walsh and his real estate agency, Revolutionary Realty. (It is a two-man agency that specializes in retreat properties in The American Redoubt.) I’ve actually received nine letters of recommendation for Chris, but the latest one reminded me that I’ve been remiss in mentioning Chris in the blog. So from the nine letters, I picked just six particularly succinct ones to post, as a representative sample. Note that some of these are just excerpts from longer letters. And I’ve redacted a few details to protect the privacy …


Letter: Buying Land Inside a National Forest

Hugh and Jim, I have been reading SurvivalBlog for several years now. I’m retiring next year and am currently looking for our retirement “farm”. I never refer to it as my survival retreat. I have seen several properties for sale, apparently, inside national forests. Some have even been working farms. We have several national forests here in Michigan and many people live and apparently own land inside of these forests. My questions are: What are the ramifications of owning land within a National Forest? Do I own the trees on the land, do I own the ponds, streams, etc.? What …


News From The American Redoubt:

From The East Oregonian: LaGrande man pushing for secession to Idaho. Does that map look vaguely familiar? o o o John Jacob Schmidt of Radio Free Redoubt wrote to mention that “Sparks-31” will be conducting oneof his last comms classes, in November, and in occupied territory – western Washington State. Great training! Sign up while there are still slots! o o o Officerpays for Idaho man’s fuel, gets snubbed trying to get paid back.Update: Ontario Police Chief Mark Alexander says the officer has been reimbursed by the motorist. He says a check for $60 had been mailed but was sent …


Letter: Drought in Western Retreat Areas

JWR: Has the recent drought in the western United States caused you to change any of your “Recommended Retreat Areas”? – T.I.A. JWR Responds: No, it hasn’t. There is an old saying: “Climate is what you expect, and weather is what you get.” I do not believe that the current drought in the northwest is any evidence of any long term climate change. We are simply in an El Niño weather pattern that most likely will last only another year or two. The El Niño weather pattern has temporarily shifted the jet stream, disrupting seasonal rains, particularly in California, where …


Letter Re: Helping the Maxners

Hugh, It is never possible to insure or prepare for every event. You can only do what you are able and what is prudent. The one thing which should be different about the Redoubt vs. other “preppers” goes back to DeToqueville when our country was young. But the scene is now changed, and gradually the two ranks mingle; the divisions which once severed mankind are lowered, property is divided, power is held in common, the light of intelligence spreads, and the capacities of all classes are equally cultivated; the State becomes democratic, and the empire of democracy is slowly and …


News From The American Redoubt:

Bozeman, Montana: Transient with sword accused of attempting robbery o o o Blackfeet Tribe decides to banish drug dealers o o o ‘Regulatory War’ Fought Over a Wyoming Family’s Pond Didn’t know rocks and sand were pollutants… – MtH o o o Parents Protest Medical Kidnappings in Michigan – D.S. o o o The western states emergency/disaster services, both government and volunteer organizations, are planning for a massive disaster training exercise in June of 2016 (named Cascadia Rising). It is an earthquake/tsunami scenario based exercise that I’ll be talking about more in the near future. Many state-level ARES groups are …


News From The American Redoubt:

CCS Investigates Muslim Refugees in Idaho – RBS o o o Prayer conference in Sandpoint, Idaho – Sept 18-20 – C.B. o o o Received from a SurvivalBlog Reader: Dear Friends, In case you don’t know it, we lost our barn and home here in Idaho to a wildfire one month ago. We moved into it in December and I was just finishing up the bath tile and had not put the metal siding on yet. We were not insured and people have been asking for a way to donate to help us rebuild. So, we set up an account …


Letter Re: Living in Small Town America

Hello, Since we moved from Front Range Colorado to Western Slope Colorado in 2010, it has been a learning experience. Even though I was raised in rural New Mexico and my husband in rural New York, we had forgotten that city folk were mistrusted in rural areas. Some of our neighbors that we share irrigation with were great. But others equally close in the neighborhood were wary and did not respond to my gifts of fresh produce. Of course, people are busy. We took care of our property. Maybe they were worried we would be noisy, collect junk, or let …


News From The American Redoubt:

A good article on the American Redoubt is on the Charles Carroll Society website. – S.G. o o o And the American Redoubt is again featured in the Missoula Independent article. – C.Z. o o o Idaho History: Forest fires and smoke have been with us for generations o o o Inciweb is reporting greater containment of fires in the northwest, because of recent rains. Also see these maps. o o o Eastern Oregon: Firefighters get a welcome respite


The 20% Solution, by Redoubting Thomas

Get. Out. Now. Or as soon as reasonable. To the many who are reading this and working outside the Redoubt waiting on “something” before they sell their house and move, that is a mistake. This ongoing chronicle lists just one person’s challenges in moving. A Radical Proposal Even if much goes to hell (I’m not swearing but only using the proper word for an origin and destination), much won’t, and it will vary. Multiple nuclear bombs is a tiny possibility, like a major earthquake or volcano. It is also unlikely that it will happen suddenly. Most likely it will be …


News From The American Redoubt:

An incredible video of an ultralight flight through Bull River Valley ending at the Forrest Bird Museum. – T.T. o o o From Snake River Shooting Products: Need to take down a drone? A munitions company offers firepower o o o Wyoming man files suit over massive EPA fines for building pond – B.B. o o o Amateur Repeaters Fall Victim to Washington Wildfire – John Jacob of Radio Free Redoubt o o o A recent video from our friend, Wranglerstar, shot at and near the Columbia River: The Amazing “Super Scooper” Firefighting Plane (Wranglerstar is one of our favorite …


News From The American Redoubt:

‘It’s unrelenting’: inside the Washington town surrounded by raging wildfires o o o Video: At Least 24 Homes Destroyed in Washington Wildfire o o o Northern Idaho Wildfire Update o o o Video: Western wildfires continue to spread destruction o o o Wilder Idaho school forces student to remove Confederate flag from truck Calls it a “gang” logo – RBS o o o Idaho ammo company is in the business of downing drones – RBS


News From The American Redoubt:

Monday storm sparks 35 new fires in northern Idaho o o o Over at the excellent Paratus Familia blog,”Enola Gay” comments on the many lightning-sparked forest fires now burning in The American Redoubt: In The Line Of Fire. o o o This new listing at our SurvivalRealty spin-off site caught my eye: Bomb Shelter for 65 – Paradise Valley, MT – $179,500. o o o For those considering a move to the American Redoubt, Pastor Harry Sheppard of Mountain View Baptist Church has let us know about himself and his congregation: “We are a brand new church plant in the …