Category: Retreat Locales

Here is a county-by-county map showing the outcome of the November 2012 presidential election, in the same format as the familiar 2008 election map. Note the similar tallies in both elections for the conservative American Redoubt region. Parenthetically, I must mention that the western halves of Oregon and Washington are not in the Redoubt, for good reason. Those parts are largely populated by statists. The eastern halves of those states are solidly conservative, with folks who favor small government.    o o o Cynthia B. mentioned “a fabulous little company in Columbia Falls, Montana that designs and develops quadrocopters [and octocopters] …

Gun sales, concealed permits on rise in Wyoming before general election    o o o Wyoming’s wolf season is starting off slowly, but some zones have already closed, with the small quota numbers already reached. (FWIW, the standing joke in my region is that “wolf tags come 20 to a box.”)    o o o Mapping Migration: Who Moves To Idaho    o o o Sabotage in the Redoubt? Damage Reported At Sinclair Refinery Near Rawlins    o o o Man missing for a week came out of Idaho woods on his own

I noticed that Dale Fricke Holsters (up in Montana) has expanded their line. Since we store our guns loaded in our vault, we’ve put their great little Zacchaeus holsters on all of our Glock and XD pistols. (The Zacchaeus holster adds new meaning to the word minimalist!)    o o o The latest flying video from Ttabs is both beautiful and a geography lesson: Moses Coulee and the Ice Age Floods.    o o o Idaho was ranked #2 in the recent list of 10 Best States to Retire.    o o o Idaho Towns Welcome Firearms Despite Gun Control …

Wind production exceeds hydro in Pacific Northwest for the first time Tuesday.    o o o Reader Dave T. suggested a link to some unexpected statistics on economic equality. They show that several of the Redoubt states are among the highest scorers on an index of economic equality. Dave’s comment: “That kind of yeoman population is what our founders saw as the democratic ideal, and it’s the kind of atmosphere I would want to raise kids in if mine were still young.”    o o o Spokane High school Player Kicks 67-Yard Field Goal. (That distance, by the way, is …

James, In response to the Major regarding southwestern Iowa as a Retreat Location: While I have a fond affection for the southwestern Iowa and surrounding region, I do not feel that it is an ideal retreat location, especially during certain circumstances, such as a power grid failure due to EMP or solar flare. There is an abundance of fertile farm ground, but I’d like to point out there are also two nuclear power plants in the area located at Brownsville, Nebraska and at Fort Calhoun. Nebraska, just north of Omaha. I, for one, will be vacating the area under those …

James Wesley: I just read something about why Iowa wasn’t considered as a retreat when TEOTWAWKI occurs. In your response you asked for feedback. I live in soutwestern Iowa. All along the western edge of Iowa in the Loess Hills region which extends from Missouri to Minnesots. This is a region that one could defend. Actually people in the Great Depression of the 1930s dug caves into the loess soil to live in. The soil is the best in the world and it is close to Omaha and Offutt Air Force base. We’re almost 200 miles north of Kansas city, …

Some interesting crime statistics: Of the 12,996 homicides in the United States in 2011, just 21 were in Idaho, 21 in Montana, and 8 in Wyoming. More populous Oregon and Washington had 78 and 151 homicides respectively, but the vast majority of those were west of the Cascade mountain range (outside of the American Redoubt.) For comparison: In 2011 there were 515 homicides in New York City, and in just the first nine months of 2012, there have already been 391 homicides in the City of Chicago. (They are expecting around 500 by the end of the year, a 25% …

Some interesting statistics: Immigration to Wyoming    o o o Farm to Fork movement helps out Idaho.    o o o Another great new flying video from Ttabs: Idaho Elk Country. This one includes some inset still pictures of his recent archery elk hunt. (The unusually hazy skies–most noticeable at 2:30 and beyond–are from some recent large wildfires in Washington and Oregon.)    o o o I’ve just added another church to the list of Reformed churches at the American Redoubt page. It is: The Well, in Boise, Idaho. Reader B.Z., who made the recommendation, notes: “Pastor Matt Marino has …

Dear Mr. Rawles, After several years of reading your books and web site, and watching things continue to deteriorate, my family and I decided to “vote with our feet” and relocate.  We tried Internet searches, but fortunately  found a reference to Todd Savage and his service on your web site.  We now know we were truly Blessed to have found him.  I cannot imagine trying to do this without him.   He more than exceeded all of our expectations. Here is what I posted: My family, after finally deciding on an area for our retreat, found a reference to Todd …

For newcomers to SurvivalBlog, here is my primer on the geography and philosophy of The American Redoubt    o o o Combine demolition derby renews BSU-UI rivalry    o o o Wyoming rig count down three: The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. remained unchanged this week at 1,864. And in related news: Red states equal green jobs.    o o o Notice a great big hole in this map of school districts where teachers have been caught cheating on standardized tests? Yes, it is the American Redoubt. Well, to my chagrin there …

Keeping track of trends in The American Redoubt, it appears that both Idaho and Montana will follow Wyoming’s lead and will enact Constitutional Carry (unrestricted concealed carry) in the next sessions of their legislatures.    o o o Guns galore draw enthusiasts to tactical expo. (And here is a link to their web site. I predict that it will be a much larger event, next time.)    o o o Teton County hunters quick to grab wolf tags. And in other hunting news, the top prize for a Stating The Obvious headline goes to: Wounded grizzly bear in Eastern Idaho …

How crowded is the American Redoubt? To put things in perspective: Delaware measures 2,489 square miles and has about 910,000 residents. Meanwhile, Connecticut is 4,845 square miles and has about 3.5 million residents. But consider Idaho’s two largest counties: Idaho County, Idaho is 8,503 square miles and has 16,267 residents, and Owyhee County, Idaho is 7,696 square miles and has 11,526 residents. Then there is Phillips County, Montana, with 5,212 square miles and 4,253 residents. And how about Sweetwater County, Wyoming? 10,491 square miles (think of it as more than two Connecticuts or three and a half Delawares) yet is …