Category: Retreat Locales

Letter Re: Dick Proenneke–A Modern Day Pioneer in Alaska’s Bush Country

Mr Rawles, I saw the link to the anchorage daily news about alaska and I thought that you or your readers might be interested in a man named Dick Proenneke who basically left his life behind in the {Lower 48] states and lived alone in the Alaskan bush for about 30 years. Yes, he did have some outside support, and a few visitors a year but the man was amazingly resourceful. There is a documentary he filmed himself that actually shows how he made his own cabin by hand with no power tools, he makes not only the table and …


CDO PIK: Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Trash Back

When I attended the U.S. Army Northern Warfare School back in 1980, I was amused to see that all of the trash dumpsters at Fort Greeley, Alaska were stenciled with “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Trash Back”. I was reminded of this slogan the other day when I was doing some reading about the unfolding derivatives fiasco. I’ll get back to the quip about trash near the end of this blog entry. Let me start with some background: Just like in the traditional bond world, with Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) it is always the holder of the highest rated (“senior”) …


Press Awareness Increases on the Nascent Real Estate Market Collapse and Credit Implosion

In the past few days, I’ve had readers forward me links to several very disturbing articles on the declining real estate market and what appears to be the opening stages of a full blown global credit implosion. First, I read this: Mutually Assured Mayhem: Wall Street is on edge, scrambling to buck up Bear Stearns and avert a domino-effect debacle. Then came this very telling piece: Bear Stearns Meets Possums in Georgia as Foreclosures Increase. The key quote in the article: “No lender wants to own real estate, but at the same time you can’t just unload these properties because …


Letter Re: Coastal Southeastern Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Mr. Rawles: I have to take issue with your abuse of Alaska in your [Recommend Retreat Areas page] location recommendations. There is a substantial area in Southeast Alaska that has none of the downsides you cite. I speak from experience and on the ground knowledge that affirms that the Wrangell-Petersburg area of Southeast Alaska is The absolute best location to be in the U.S. bar none. We have gambled everything on it and were absolutely right. We are not earthquake nor Tsunami prone. The biggest recorded tsunami here was not noticed. The fault lines all go out to sea South …


Letter Re: Cell Phone Coverage Maps as a Tool in Choosing Retreat Locales

Greetings, Jim: Several times you have mentioned using “lights of the night sky” [satellite] pictures to show where people are centralized ([assuming that a greater concentration of] people = trouble) in choosing where not to live/retreat. I have another suggestion: the maps of cell phone companies of their cell coverage. Cell phone coverage means lots of people or major travel routes. if a person wants to find a place to get away from people then looking on the no coverage area of cell phone maps is one tool to use. thanks for a great web site and great books. – …


Reducing Your Sound “Footprint” by Countrytek

I’ve been lurking about SurvivalBlog for about six months now, and have found a lot of useful information hereabouts. There are lots of good tips about securing your retreat and making it less visible. One thing I have noticed though is that there appears to be a blind spot. Why go to all the trouble to screen your retreat location from view and practice nighttime light discipline if you are going to announce your presence far and wide audibly? One thing I’ve noticed lately is there is a lot of discussion on stocking up on two-cycle and bar oil for …


The Bear Stearns Bears–The Near Collapse of Two Real Estate Hedge Funds Sends Economic Shock Waves Around the World

Last week’s big economic news was that two Bear Stearns hedge funds worth $20 billion are teetering near collapse. These two Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) funds–ironically named the “Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund” and the “High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund”–are in trouble because of their heavy exposure to sub-prime mortgages. A well-publicized rescue plan involving Merrill Lynch fell apart. At one point Merrill Lynch–one of Bear’s credit backers–said that they planned to seize about $850 million worth of collateral assets from Bear Stearns and sell them on the open market. Reuters reported Bear Stearns injected …


Letter Re: Convincing the Unconvinced that TEOTWAWKI is Possible

James Rawles; I enjoy your blog and wish I had more time to review [all of the content]. I plan on getting the best of the blog when my funds permit. I saw the “Convincing the Unconvinced” post and thought I would reply. I like what another reader recommended on bringing people around to preparing and hope you have a section dedicated to this subject somewhere on your blog. Pushing a lot of information too fast will be counterproductive. They need to learn and decide for themselves to be prepared, and how prepared [they want] to be. MJS could try …


Letter Re: From Russia With Love

It is quite strange heading for the letter to the site like yours, isn’t it? But it is really so. My name is Andrei, I am Russian living in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia. I do have a lot of fun reading your great site. Of course, circumstances in Moscow, Russia and Moscow, Idaho, differ significantly, but there is a lot of the same stuff we must take care of if we are going to survive, be it in Western hemisphere or not. Surprisingly, actually there are no local web sites like yours while your site is a great source …


From #1 Son: Proposed Expansion of Designated Wilderness Areas a Cause for Concern

The House of Representatives is currently considering H.R. 1975, the “Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act.” This is of interest to survivalists because it will be converting a huge amount of public land into “designated wilderness areas.” The affected land currently has roads and is open to public use. However, if the wilderness area expansion passes then public access use will be severely restricted. Many of you own or would like property with forest service land adjoining or nearby. With the act, all roads will be blocked off or removed, and hunting and wood cutting will be illegal. You will even …


Letter Re: What if I Can’t Leave WTSHTF?

Mr. Rawles: I have been reading your blog for some time. I have found it quiet interesting and informative. I’m a former combat vet and security professional for most of the 1990s. I moved back to North Carolina and started a company. I was raised by parents and grandparents that were survivalist long before the term became popular. I have made extensive preparations for the upcoming events that will befall the United States . I read the [blog] site and I think about us folks that do live in the east, a lot will be in a sad shape. I …


Letter Re: Northern Idaho Versus Northwestern Montana as Retreat Locales

James: As a family we all live in Montana. Now our whole family is considering relocating to a larger parcel in different part of NW Montana, or to Priest River area or Bonners Ferry area of Idaho. We have found several suitable parcels. Politically why is Idaho better than Montana? Are the people in Idaho more stable than those in Montana? Strategically why is North Idaho better than northwestern Montana? It seems to me the people in both states are very freedom minded. It also seems to me that the area around the capital of Idaho is becoming very liberal. …


Letter Re: Adaptive Agents and the Blue Ridge Mountains

Jim, I recently discovered your blog. It is excellent — very smart and very rational. Many thanks for the service you provide. One of the most important concepts I’ve come across in years is the concept of “adaptive agents” within complex adaptive systems. Here’s a definition from a useful web site: “An entity that, by sensing and acting upon its environment, tries to fulfill a set of goals in a complex, dynamic environment. Properties: (1) it can sense the environment through its sensors and act on the environment through its actuators; (2) it has an internal information processing and decision …


Letter Re: Relocating to Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho

Jim, When I sell my place in Coeur d’ Alene, I will be looking to relocate in the Bonners Ferry area. Is there anything that I should be aware of? Are there any areas to avoid other than property near the railroads?. Thank You and Best Regards, – John JWR Replies: I highly recommend the Bonner’s Ferry area as a retreat locale. Railroad tracks are indeed a key issue in both Bonner County and Boundary County. (It is confusing to first-time visitors to the area, but Bonner’s Ferry is in Boundary County.) It seems that most of the private land …


Letter Re: Consider The Downside of HOAs and CC&Rs Before Making a Land Purchase

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Rawles; I live in so-called “rural” western Oregon. Last month I sold my home that was in a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) and moved to a slightly bigger place (3.5 acres, versus 2 )[that is] a few miles farther out into the country, outside of any HOA. Living there [inside the HOA] was worse than living inside city limits. I was forced to move [because] they had some CC&Rs that made it very diffiicult–if not downright impossible–to prepare for a disaster. Under the [“covenants, conditions, and restrictions”] CC&Rs, my storage space for all my survival goodies was …