Category: Retreat Locales

News From The American Redoubt:

Reader T.K., who lives in the Tri-cities [Richland, Pasco and Kennewick] region of Washington wrote to mention that local credit union, HAPO, is ordering in $2,000 in nickels for him with no fee charged. “I’m simply taking $2,000 out of my account with them and they are giving me $2,000 in nickels. It is going to take a week for the order to go through and they asked me to have some kind of bins to put them in but other than that they had no issues with me getting a bulk shipment of nickels. Yet another reason to live …


In-Extremis Travel; Red Light, Green Light, Yellow Light, by Will Prep

There has been a lot of debate over whether or not to remain in place or to leave your home and retreat to another location within the prepper community. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but that is not the scope of this article. I simply want to address the moment that all of us may come to, both the bug-in crowd, when they realize their initial plan is untenable, or the bug-out crowd, when they have made their decision to move to “higher ground.” We all remember the game “Red Light, Green Light”, we played as kids and tried …


News From The American Redoubt:

Spokane man invents safe hidden in couch. (There are more details, here.)    o o o From The Idaho Statesman: Seed library preserves the Valley’s botanical heritage    o o o And speaking of Idaho, This company is noteworthy: Freedom Munitions. They have great prices and are willing to sell by mail order, so it is worthwhile to put together a “group buy” of ammo with your local friends, anywhere in the United States.    o o o Thusfar, much of the American Redoubt is enjoying a mild winter. Here at the ranch the weather has been easy on our …


Letter Re: Population Density, Traffic and Getting Out of Dodge

Mr. Rawles: During the recent Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I drove from my house, to my brother’s a mere 270 miles, a mere 4 to 4-1/2hrs drive. With accidents and construction, it took almost 8 hours. And it was in both directions, North and Southbound. I was perplexed at the mass confusion, weaving in and out, driving over medians to get to the access/frontage road to get ahead of others, only to find out that that road went off in another direction or dead ended.   Coming home on Sunday I saw 15 accidents in a 20 mile stretch, one accident …


News From The American Redoubt:

Reader J.T. in Montana wrote to mention: “I went to my first ever Black Friday sale at Wal-Mart Thursday night, in Ponderay, Idaho. [Near Sandpoint.] The place was crowded and lines were long waiting for certain items. Everyone I saw excused each other as they moved through the crowds. We stood and passed the time discussing with those around us how good it is to live in such a great place and to be blessed enough to even be able to buy things we need or want. We never heard anyone raise their voice nor did we see anything but …


Two Letters Re: Secession in These United States

Jim:: I think some writer on this topic miss an extremely important point about secession.  That point is immigration and emigration.   Taking your original argument that the Federals would not allow Redoubters to go in peace – then most likely the Feds would immediately cut off all “benefits” paid to those who reside within the American Redoubt.   It is unlikely Social Security would be cut off because there is no problem presently paying SS to ex-pats who have chosen to retire in foreign countries, Honduras, The Bahamas, Spain, etc etc.  By what logic would it be different here? …


Guest Article: Reflections on Secession, by Partisan

Sure, I signed my state’s petition to secede.  (Coincidentally but not at all comparable, an ancestor signed the Ordnance of Secession of Georgia.)  Most people correctly realize that these petitions are symbolic of our frustration with and desire to reject federal statist policies affecting all 50 states.  Still, there are those who act as if these petitions are the spark that will somehow ignite nationwide revolt.  In and of themselves, these petitions are a circus detached from reality and they’re a distraction from a real solution. I believe that secession can be a real solution but, as you’ll see, it carries …


News From The American Redoubt:

Washington’s wolf packs are spreading west to the Cascade mountain range. [JWR’s Comment: I predict that it won’t be until wolves start snatching dogs, cats and perhaps kids out of back yards in western Washington that the state legislature takes action.]    o o o Election maps show “shrunken” Redoubt. These maps illustrate how light the population density is here!    o o o A reader told me about another prepper-friendly church in Idaho: Grace Sandpoint Church.    o o o Montana lawmaker asks to be paid in gold. His request was very quickly denied.    o o o A …


Letter Re: Anticipated Refugees Flows in a Grid Down Collapse

Mr. Rawles,   I’m currently trying to do a cogent analysis of the lower 48 and where my optimum safety location/region might be. I’ve read your articles on the great redoubt, rankings and ratings etc… I can respect your criteria and agree with most of it. The question that I’m pondering however, is that in a serious SHTF scenario, how will mass migrations occur. The “head for the hills” mentality will motivate millions to escape die off zones desperately seeking life’s basics. I agree that in a scenario of seriously “grid down”, a great many Americans will die. In contrast …


A Legal Review of Secession, 150 Years Later, by Attorney Terry E. Hogwood

Introduction The Civil War [aka War Between The States] (or The War of Northern Aggression, depending on your personal view) ended in 1865. However, the legality of secession by the Southern States simply will not die 150 years after Texas formally seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. As late as May, 2011, secession by part of the State of Arizona from the rest of the State is being proposed. Secession is often bandied about by politicians on both sides of the spectrum but do any of its proponents really understand what secession, from a legal …


Letter Re: Natural Gas Explosion in Indianapolis

Just writing in for the first time to bring an interesting incident to the forefront of the readers minds. It’s been lost in the national news since it happened . Saturday night, November 10, 2012 at just past 11 p.m. an explosion rocked a south Indianapolis neighborhood. Officials immediately cordoned off the neighborhood and started doing sweeps of the debris looking for survivors. In all four houses were totally destroyed, two were wiped to the foundations. Several surrounding homes were damaged beyond repair and 80 homes were damaged. The scene looked like a war zone with the look of a …


News From The American Redoubt:

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] …


Prepping Across Three States, by Kris S.

Many years ago, my two childhood friends and I began to prep for TEOTWAWKI.  At first, we just began buying whatever was recommended by certain web sites, throwing our equipment into a box and then telling the others about what we have.  Doing this allowed us to collect many things, however we were not sure what was really practical since we never used the items.  We decided to change this about five years ago when we got serious about what we are doing and decided to take a camping trip.  The camping trip would include about a one mile hike …


News From The American Redoubt:

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


News From The American Redoubt:

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 …