The Patrol Bicycle, by Kim Kipling

No regular reader of SurvivalBlog needs to be encouraged to prepare for an uncertain future. Inspired and instructed by this forum, many of us spend great amounts of time, energy and money making preparations and setting aside tools, commodities, and supplies against the day when they are needed in an emergency, no longer available, or prohibitively expensive. And if you are like me, many of these items fall squarely into the category of “I pray I will never need this.” It is prudent to have them, but times will surely be hard if we ever have to reach for some of our stockpiled items. There is one useful tool, though, that is often overlooked, but which can be regularly used now, and which will pay immediate dividends on the investments necessary to add it to your preparations. I am speaking of a “Patrol Bicycle.”

The bicycle is one of the most efficient forms of transportation ever devised by man. It allows a single rider to travel farther, faster, with a greater load, and to arrive less fatigued than almost any other form of personal transport other than the automobile. It doesn’t eat, doesn’t require daily watering or grooming, it will tolerate very poor conditions with minimal shelter, and it doesn’t bite, kick, or poop. Properly chosen and maintained, it is a relatively inexpensive, highly durable tool. It is a simple machine, easily understood and maintained by the operator. It is inexpensive to operate and maintain. If one stocks a handful of specialized tools, a few spares of consumable items like tires, tubes, chains, and cables, and perhaps a spare wheel or two, it should last the adult user a lifetime and beyond. Parts are readily available, and expertise to repair and adjust it is likewise quite common. (There are many useful reference books and “how-to” guides available, and I would recommend investing in one or more.)Continue reading“The Patrol Bicycle, by Kim Kipling”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on a  gender statement by an Idaho high school senior that had school officials nearly postpone a graduation ceremony. PIctured is downtown Kellogg.

Idaho

Redoubt News reports: Kellogg High School Graduation Postponed Over Gender.

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A follow-up: Kellogg High School graduation held ‘without a hitch’ following walkout.

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Police: Boise man uses vehicle to hit two people, one dead.

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Photos: Opening of Dog Pool in Kuna.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.” – David Hume, Essays

Panasonic RF-1600 Radio, by Thomas Christianson

The Panasonic RF-1600 is a vintage, six-band radio with many premium features. It delivers great sound.

I found it easy to tune into stations on the FM and AM bands, but had trouble at first finding stations on the other bands. I thought this might be due to a defect in the equipment. Alas, that was not the case. The defect was in the operator, not the equipment. I consulted with a friend, who is an experienced radio operator. He experienced good reception on all of the bands. As is often the case, it is not sufficient to just own good equipment. One must also become proficient in using it.

The Backstory

My mother passed away recently. She is a follower of Jesus Christ who is now safely rejoicing in the presence of the Lord. My family and I miss her a lot, but we don’t feel sorry for her. She is doing well.

No one heads for heaven with a U-Haul full of stuff trailing behind. The stuff all gets left behind here on earth. My wife and my siblings and I were busy for a while getting Mom’s condo ready for the market. That involved sorting through her things and deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to donate, and what to trash.

One of the things I decided to keep was Dad and Mom’s Panasonic RF-1600 radio.

Description

The Panasonic RF-1600 has six bands (AM, MB, SW, FM, Air, and VHF). It tunes to the following frequencies:

  • From 525 to 1605 kHz on AM.
  • From 1.6 to 4.5 MHz on MB.
  • From 5.9 to 18 MHz on SW.
  • From 87 to 108 MHz on FM.
  • From 108 to 136 MHz on Air.
  • From 136 to 174 MHz on VHF.
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Recipe of the Week: Dandelion Skillet-Roast Chicken

The following recipe for Skillet-Roast Chicken is from SurvivalBlog reader H.C.. She says: “This is a variation of a recipe that I found online. I make in the late spring or summertime, when dandelion greens are available.”

Ingredients
  • 8 small bone-in chicken thighs (leave the skin on them)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 bunches of washed dandelion greens.
  • 2 bunches of small carrots
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Directions
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 450°F.
  2. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.
  3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to suit your taste.
  4. Add chicken to pan skin-side down and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
  5. While the chicken cooks, trim stems of carrots and wash them.
  6. Add carrots to chicken fat in pan and place chicken, skin-side up, on carrots.
  7. Transfer skillet to oven.
  8. Roast chicken and carrots until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender — only about 12 minutes.
  9. While chicken is roasting in the oven, wash and trim dandelion greens.
  10. Transfer chicken to serving plates and toss greens with carrots and lemon juice in hot pan until wilted.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at some impacts of the raised debt ceiling.

Precious Metals:

Adam Hamilton, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold’s Fedspeak Pullback.

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Uganda’s ‘huge’ gold discoveries.

Economy & Finance:

Trillion-Dollar Treasury Vacuum Coming for Wall Street Rally.

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FHA Floats New Program To Use Taxpayer Cash To Pay Mortgages Of Delinquent Homeowners.

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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Total Farce: Real Spending Under Debt Ceiling Deal Actually Goes Up Next Year.

o  o  o

Why is 2023’s bank turmoil largely a West Coast thing?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 4, 2023

June 4, 2004, is the anniversary of the Granby, Colorado armored bulldozer incident, where Marvin Heemeyer knocked down several buildings in town. The 2020 documentary titled Tread details what happened that day, and the events leading to the rampage. Though often called the “Killdozer” incident, the only one who died that day was Marvin Heemeyer, from a self-inflicted gunshot.

And speaking of treads, today is also the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, in 1989.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 107 ends on July 31st, 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.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.)

Resources

Once you have your route options figured out and taken into account potential obstacles and hazards, the next step should be to take a look at potential resource requirements and availability. The first resource I will typically look at is food – I always have some amount of emergency food stocked in my travel kit, including bags of nuts, trail mix, Fritos, emergency ration bars, small freeze-dried meals, etc. However, for any trip home longer than 3-to-4 days it becomes difficult to pack enough food to account for the whole trip, including any delays I may encounter along the way. As part of my route planning I include a couple of maps that show potential resource locations near the starting point of my trip home. I always have a stash of emergency cash in various denominations as part of my travel kit so I can potentially fill in any gaps in my supplies before I start out.

For stores and such I tend to use Google Maps or Bing Maps, as they’re a lot more commercially-oriented than OSM, ORS, or other open source map tools. For food, I’ll usually look for smaller locally-owned convenience and dollar stores versus the big national chains, as the local stores will be more likely to continue operating even if power goes out. Continue reading“Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Part 4, by J.M.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

First, It Was Pride Day
Then, It Was Pride Week
Now, It Is Pride Month

First, They Demanded Tolerance
Then, They Demanded Acceptance
Now, They Demand Participation

News Links:

Note From JWR: Now, we can begin to understand what “The Reign of the Eunuchs” described in The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire was like.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” – John 13:1-20 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 3, 2023

On this day in 1864, the second Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia resulted in the loss of about 7,000 Union Army soldiers under General Ulysses S. Grant, began. It was considered one of the worst Northern defeats of the American Civil War.

On June 3rd, 1539, Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto claimed Florida for Spain.

June 3rd can also be considered the “birthday” of the U.S. Army. (It was established by Congress on June 3rd, 1784.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $800,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 107 ends on July 31st, 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.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2.)

The Weather

The next thing I look at when starting a trip plan is what the weather will be like at my destination as well as locations between my destination and home. For a shorter get-home journey these may be pretty much the same, but depending on distance, terrain and weather patterns you might experience very different weather in locations even 10 miles apart. For route plans that I use on a regular basis I’ll usually include monthly averages chart and just check the 10-day forecast shortly before I pack. Here’s a screen clip of the monthly average chart for Elk River, Idaho from U.S. Climate Data:

 

 

 

 

I paste this screen clip for the destination, my home location and for intermediate locations (for longer trips) into the Joplin route plan for destinations I visit on a regular basis. For one-off trips and the day before any trip I also visit Wunderground and look at the 10-day forecast. Here’s an example for Tacoma, WA:

 

 

 

Note that I’ve customized the Wunderground display to eliminate some non-critical information and reduce clutter. I paste the screen clip into the Joplin trip plan and synchronize my mobile device, and print off a separate hardcopy of just the forecast so I don’t have to re-print the entire route plan.Continue reading“Follow the Yellow Brick Road – Part 3, by J.M.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

We had a typical late May week at the ranch. We took the time for some hiking. Gardening took up most of the rest of our available time, and Lily will fill you in on that.  I cut and hauled nearly a cord of firewood. I had to repair yet another gate that our bull tried to wreck. That boy really throws his weight around!

I did a couple of half-day trips, doing some ammo purchasing for one of my consulting clients who lives within a couple of hours’ driving distance.

On Wednesday the 31st, I touched off our burn barrel for the first time in several weeks. I had to dispose of a laying hen that had mysteriously dropped dead. She was one of about 25 hens in our flock. While I was at it, I burned a rubber AR arm brace. That came off my last arm-braced AR pistol. (I had gifted, traded, or sold all of my others, in anticipation of the ATF’s new ban.)  Burning it generated a surprisingly thick stream of black smoke that smelled horrible. That brace was an all-rubber first-generation “ATF Approved” SIG brace. I even have a copy of the ATF’s approval letter for that specific model. It is a sad state of affairs when bureaucrats redefine something previously “legally approved” as a felony to possess!  I’m a member of the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), so I might be exempted under the Fifth Circuit Court’s injunction ruling, but I figured it was better to torch a $90 brace, rather than risk having the ATF come and shoot my dog, stomp my cats, and throw me in jail. All that I kept was the brace’s velcro strap. So, in essence, I now own a $90 piece of Velcro. What a disgusting turn of events! This is what it feels like to live under the capricious rule of a tyrannical state. My contempt-o-meter is pegging!

The mosquito numbers have recently spiked, so we resorted to putting up the mosquito net over our beds. That is helping a lot. But we are still having trouble sleeping because there are so many hours of daylight at our latitude, this time of year. And it is still three weeks to the solstice!  On June 21st, we expect just over four hours of full darkness.

Now, Lily’s report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”