Two Letters Re: Advice on Retreat Locales–Former Microwave Sites?

Dear Jim and Family,
This is in response to the article about microwave sites for survival shelters. As it happens, I spent half my summer just South of Whitehall, a couple years before I met you in [deleted for OPSEC]. I was finishing my geology degree and the geology of the area is very interesting.

This is the new free mapping program through Wikipedia. It allows for annotations and contains good quality aerial photos of the terrain using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

The region described around Whitehall is curious and deceptive. For one thing, there’s an active gold mine north of the interstate, where much of the town’s population works (or worked, I’m not sure if its still open.) One of the forks of the Missouri river flows through the area and its geologically complex. If a person were to consider land there, they shouldn’t settle for 1.3 acres when they can still buy land by the full section [one square mile] for a reasonable price. Pasture land is worth the most, land that held trees but has been cleared is worth the least. Hilly/mountainous or rocky land is also worth little so sells cheaply. Or did 10 years ago, anyway. Whitehall is on the wrong side of a mountain pass from the nearest city, Butte. Its further, around 60 miles to Bozeman which has the highest crime rate in the state due to the high numbers of Los Angelinos. They have drugs and gangs there, from what the locals told me.

Whitehall is a very close knit community. They are predominantly religious, and their main battle is with losing their kids to the city, the second most war is being fought with alcoholism and unemployment. Everybody in the region knows everybody else. They’re all good rifle shots and visibility, when it isn’t overcast and raining, is something around 80 miles. In that country, artillery would make you king, not a mere 50 BMG. That said if you’re an outsider you may find yourself in a world of hurt. It would be really important to practice the same religion, to suffer the same hardships and attend the same schools as the locals. Its the kind of place where being there 20 years still makes you “the new guy”. If you are from California and intend to emigrate to Montana, reconsider. They don’t like Californians there. You could say they’re in agreement on the issue. Californians are bad, no matter how good you may be. That’s why I don’t live there.

As with all poor communities with failing employment, everybody has 2-3 jobs besides their main one. With the collapse of the US dollar, if there’s still gold in Whitehall it will continue to be mined and some of that money will filter into the local economy.

The local king there is the inventor of the circular irrigation systems, the source of those circles of green on the aerial photo. I’ve never met him and don’t know his politics. He cares enough to stay in his home, which means something. Its cattle country and they grow a lot of hay and alfalfa but it also rains in summer, which means crops like wheat and barley are often ruined. They also get a lot of frost, even in summer mornings, so don’t expect veggies to survive without using greenhouses. Most of the population have large metal quonset huts for their barns, and some people live in them. They’re all over the landscape.

As for wildlife I saw Elk, Grizzly, eagles, and wolves there, as well as many coyotes and rattlesnakes. Horseback riding is popular and 4WD is mandatory for most roads there, as pavement is optional. Its worth visiting the place to get your own take on it, just don’t think you understand them simply because you visited once. There’s a lot of hurt in the region. Sincerely, – InyoKern

 

Jim,
After reading your blog a few days ago, regarding surplus microwave tower sites, I was a little suspicious that it sounded too good to be true. I did a Google search and discovered any information about it was at least six years old. One of the primary sources was a company called American Tower. This morning, I called the Western states rep to ask if this policy of selling surplus towers was still ongoing, and she replied (1) she hasn’t been involved in this surplus tower sales in the past and (2) she was amazed that besides my call, she had received at one email regarding the same issue. (I suspect a fellow blog-reader is pursuing the same trail.) She did say they do sell surplus sites, and if I wanted to make an offer on one, that would be fine. I explained to her I was trying to find out what sites might be available for sale. She suggested I send her an email with my specific question, and she would get the information to me. So apparently they are still available (I suspect maybe for more money than $20K), and I will continue following this trail and share whatever information I can. – Chet

JWR Replies: Anyone that is now looking to buy one of these sites is indeed about five years too late, at least for the American Tower Company auctions. However, many of these sites may now be available on the secondary market, assuming that some of them were bought by speculators that never did anything with them. In my opinion, if you can find one that has water, it would be a bargain at twice the typical “+/- $20K” price from back in 2001. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that most of them were bought up by cellular phone companies. In many instances, all that these companies were looking for was a site with good line-of-sight, and they probably didn’t use much of the original infrastructure–perhaps not even the original tower. In that case you be able to buy the land and structures and “lease back” or perpetually “grant back” the cellular site rights to the cellular carrier. And for those that were bought by private parties, you can always track down the current owners by way of the County Recorder’s Office.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Kara S. told us about this story: Thieves Steal $200K In Copper In Broad Daylight

   o o o

Our friend novelist Michael Z. Williamson mentioned this book that might prove useful in extremis: Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin W. Schwabe

   o o o

For our readers in the UK that are wondering about the vaguely survivalist Jericho television series produced in the U.S., Simon in England mentioned: “Jericho is starting the the UK cable / satellite channel Hallmark at 20.00 on Friday 12 January 2007.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I believe that reaching into one’s own pockets to help one’s follow man is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into someone else’s pocket to help fellow man, I think is despicable.” – Dr. Walter E. Williams, guest hosting the Rush Limbaugh radio show, Dec. 29, 2006

Odds ‘n Sods:

Simon in England notes that do-it-yourself and garden centers there are presently selling off their ‘Christmas candles’ at closeout prices. He said that he got ten of the large pillar type candles for just £0.49 (around $1 USD) each that otherwise would have been £3.00 (around $6 USD) each. The nice thing about these candles is that most of them are formulated with extra stearic acid, for longer burning.

   o o o

From Yahoo News: 6 of 75 cities get top disaster rating. Jason says: “Yet another reason to ‘get out of Dodge”

   o o o

Front Sight director Naish Piazza sent this reminder: “Find Your Local VERSUS (VS) network channel, so you can watch Front Sight Challenge starting Fridays at 5:30PM PST and Sundays at 2:00PM PST. (The air time for Front Sight Challenge is based on Eastern Standard Time of 5:30pm on Fridays and 2:00pm on Sundays, and must be adjusted for your time zone. Example: Here on the West Coast, Front Sight Challenge will air at2:30pm Friday and 11:00am on Sunday.) Go to the VERSUS web site and enter your zip code to locate your local VS Network channel so you won’t miss a single episode of Front Sight Challenge.”

Letter Re: How Should I Store My Extra Garden Seed?

Dear Editors:
What is the best way to store my extra garden seed? I want to make it last several years, but still germinate properly. Also, what are the best kind of seeds for survival gardening? Thanks, – Liz, near Toledo

The Memsahib Replies: Your seed stocks should be all non-hybrid (“heirloom”) varieties, so that the seed that you save from each harvest will breed true and continue to produce, year after year. (Hybrid varieties won’t!) Heirloom seed is available from The Ark Institute, the Seed Savers Exchange, and Ready Made Resources. Long term storage of gardening seed is best done by drying and freezing. Ideally, gardening seeds should be “dried down” with an equal weight of silica gel desiccant and stored in sealed Mason-type jars, labeled with both the seed variety and the date of pack. (A Sharpie pen works well.) These jars should be stored in your chest freezer. Remember that seeds are living things, so resist the urge to vacuum pack them!

 

Letter Re: Recommended Versatile Dog Breeds for Retreat Security

There is a very good breed of dogs that I haven’t seen mentioned (and I did read through all the archives when I first found the SurvivalBlog): the English Shepherd (and their close cousin with no registration papers, the farm collie or farm shepherd). They are in the same family of dogs as the Collie, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, and Sheltie, but with some advantages over all those breeds. Descended from the dogs brought to the United States by Scots escaping the Highland Clearances in the 1700s, the English Shepherd is a medium-sized dog of all work. They herd, hunt, and protect the family and the family livestock. Calmer than most Border Collies, quieter than Shelties, and with an easier-care coat than the Collie (some breeders call it a ‘teflon coat’), they are ideal for small diversified farms, especially farms with livestock of all kinds and children. If you go to the American Working Farmcollie Association yahoo group and read through the archives, you will find stories about dogs who have saved small children from drowning or when they wandered out of the yard; dogs who have flattened themselves over newborn lambs in freezing rain to try to save their lives; dogs who have put the livestock back in the fence after they got out while the owners were away from home; dogs who put the neighbor’s strays back in his fence without direction; dogs who run predators off the farm; dogs who run trespassers off the farm (in at least one case it was someone the dog knew, who was coming in from the back side of the farm while hunting — if he’d been coming up the driveway, she would have been fine with it); dogs who have saved their owners from injury or death by rams, bulls, or horses — I could go on. The stories about these dogs are nearly endless — they are the real-life “Lassies.”

Feeding them isn’t much of a problem as long as there is goat milk and the offal from butchering, plus whatever rodents and pests they can catch. (Mine eat mostly dry dog food with goat milk over it, plus whatever offal I can give them, as we don’t have all that many animals to butcher each year.) Especially if you have livestock, an English Shepherd or two will more than repay the cost of their keep. For more information, look at this Farm Collies breed site. – Freeholder

Letter Re: Night Sights for Pistols

Hi Jim,
I just wanted to tell you about the TRUGLO “TFO” (Tritium Fiber Optic) night sights that I recently got from Top Gun Supply and installed on my Glock 17.
These things are amazing! The design combines the best of the Fiber Optic insert’s ability to gather ambient light during the day with the benefit of tritium night sights. Outside during the day, the sights look like three single LED lamp flashlights are switched on. At night they look like regular night sights.
I have Meprolight brand and OEM Glock night sights on two of my other Glocks (a G26 and a G19). However, I have always felt that the “three green” night sight arrangement was less than optimal. I felt as though that color combination slowed me down significantly from quickly acquiring a good sight picture in the dark. It always felt like a version of The Shell Game. I had to think through: “Which one is the Front Sight?” and “Where is it?”.
So, in my quest to find the perfect night sight, I ordered the TRUGLO “TFO” sights in the Green Front/Yellow Rear combination. Unfortunately, this combination is not widely available. However, I found them at Top Gun Supply. He has them for Glocks, SIGs, H&K USP, and Springfield XD. After a trip to the range to see if I had made a good choice, my reaction was “Oh! Wow!”
I am very pleased with the sights in this color combination and the Fiber Optic’s daytime brilliance. In fact, I am now considering retrofitting all my Glocks to the “TFO” night sight with the Green Front/Yellow Rear color combination. I should mention that the pictures at the TRUGLO web site do not do justice to the TFO night sight. Regards, – D.S.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Democracy is the most vile form of government … democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention, have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property, and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." – James Madison

Note From JWR:

The following is another article for Round 8 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. If there are a lot of great entries this round of the contest, I will again be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win the contest, start writing and e-mail us your article. Round 8 will end on January 31st. Remember that the articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Knowledge and Skills are the Keys to Survival–Start With Gardening, by Bill K.

The truth of the matter is that most of us with the survival mindset are not rich enough to own all the radios, bunkers, and other fancy stuff we read about. Sure we drool about having the forty acre “gulch” all ready to go when the SHTF, but it’s just not in the reality of the regular working family, just a fantasy.
I’d like to suggest a great survival tool for the rest of us. The very best and the cheapest and the least hyped survival tool is parked right between your ears and can be put to use for your family by education and the little used common sense. Shine up and sharpen up this tool and you can make good progress without much in the way of financial resources.
Let’s use vegetable food as an example;
All the stored seed, fancy heirloom varieties in the world will not feed your people if you’re not educated and experienced in gardening in your area. The spot of your refuge may have a very different microclimate than where you live now.
Use that brain; you must absolutely get “Hands on” experience growing that food in sufficient quality/quantity to do the job now, not later. Later is too late. I promise you that growing beans or tomatoes at sea level here in Olympia, Washington. Is very different than at 3,000 feet of elevation in intermountain Idaho.
Own hardcopy books on this subject stored at the retreat, the Internet will be down and memory may not serve.

Now to the “must know/must have” list for garden food:
Seed; only varieties that your family will eat, that fit your microclimate, degree days, and total growing season. Find out what these terms mean. Opt for open pollinated [“heirloom’], stay away from exotics and hybrids. Learn how to save seed.
Prep; new garden soil will rarely produce well without changing its chemistry, adding organic matter, or adding structure. Gardens need a lot of water. Figure how to gravity feed irrigate unless you can store a lot of fuel for the generator. All this must be done ahead of time before the real need arises. Put back extra Dolomite. Find and store manures and other organic materials. Store extra garden tools.
Start; Many “bug out” areas have climate challenges for gardeners; consider cold frames and other season extenders. Get these in place ahead of time, plastic row covers, fiberglass panels and the like may be hard to find later.
You must get in tune with your local growing season and this takes practice. What would happen to your family if your garden frosted out and you had planted all the seed you had stored? Always hold some seed back. Some areas frost every month so get educated and prepare a defense.
Store; Once you’ve grown it, defended the crop from rabbits, deer, etc. you’re not done yet. Eat all you can yes, process the rest. Family food consumption lists are available or you can estimate what each person will eat per week then add it all up. Add some more for charity or refugees. This represents a lot of quart jars, rings, lids, and other supplies for just a small family for a year. What if the situation lasts longer?
Consider dehydration for some foodstuffs, pickling or salting for others and of course all this needs practice before need too. The root cellar seems to be a forgotten art but works well as does leaving root crops in the ground to be dug when needed. They must be covered to protect against freezing and rot.
Perennials need a mention here also. Berries, rhubarb, sunchokes, and fruit/nut trees can be planted and will just be waiting for you. Plant more than you can use as folk that have been eating groats for the last two months will make amazing trades for fresh fruit.
Food growing augments the bulk grains and beans you own and makes for a better all around diet than all those freeze dried packages in the closet the last 10 years. As with any food program just make sure what you grow and store is what your family will eat.
If all this seems like too much work, it is; what is the plan “B”?
P.S.: We live on the west side of Washington State and just experienced a huge storm, [which resulted in] more than a week without power for many people in the region. Attitudes went downhill fast. Any major disruption would be much worse, so this is a real wake up call. – Bill K.

Odds ‘n Sods:

B.H. in Spokane mentioned that VCI paper desiccant rifle barrel protective tubes are now available commercially, under the brand name “Barrel Guard.”. (Any of you that ever bought a M1 Garand from the CMP–or from its DCM predecessor–will remember these, which are inserted in a rifle’s bore.) Barrel Guards are ideal to use as an adjunct to (but not a substitute for) Rust Inhibitive Grease (RIG) and silica gel desiccant packets for long term firearms storage or caching.

  o o o

A demographic milestone: City dwellers are poised to take over the world. This adds more credence to my assertion that our modern word–with tremendouse infrastructural and technological complexity, long chains of supply, power grid dependency, and a small percentage of farmers and fishermen feeding the world–will make the next global economic depression far different than the Great Depression of the 1930s. The next time round, the metropolitan regions may very well tip over into Mad Max-ish TEOTWAWKI. Here is a brief snippet from the article: “London, some 200 years ago, became the first city since ancient Rome to reach a million inhabitants: now, there are more than 200 such cities. About 20 of these are”megacities” exceeding 10 million, and one, Tokyo, has become a “metacity”, with more than 20 million.”

   o o o

I just heard that Kurt Wilson of Survival Enterprises bought an entire 40 foot cargo container load of nitrogen packed long term storage foods from a cannery that is going out of business. (More than 5,000 cans!) These foods were nearly all packaged in the last 18 months, and will be sold in full case lots only. The prices should be fantastic. They will be available for ordering within two weeks. For any of you that live in the greater Spokane/Coeur d’ Alene area, these case lots will also be available for pickup at their storefront location. (Please identify yourself as a SurvivalBlog reader when you make your purchase.)

Quote of the Day

“We had strayed a great distance from our Founding Fathers’ vision of America. They regarded the central government’s responsibility as that of providing national security, protecting our democratic freedoms, and limiting the government’s intrusion in our lives — in sum, the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They never envisioned vast agencies in Washington telling our farmers what to plant, our teachers what to teach, our industries what to build. The Constitution they wrote established sovereign states, not mere administrative districts for the federal government. They believed in keeping government as close as possible to the people.” – Ronald Wilson Reagan

Note From JWR:

The first letter presented today is from the enigmatic”Commander Zero.” Both he and his bride-to-be are preparedness minded, expert shooters, amateur radio enthusiasts, and dedicated bloggers.

Letter Re: Advice on Retreat Locales–Former Microwave Sites?

James:
Here is some info from someone who actually did go to look at one of these things with a preparedness mindset. The one that we looked at was near Whitehall, Montana. If you have a copy of Google Earth you can view it at (46.081522°,-112.115643° … and be sure to change the 3-D angle of view so you can see the terrific commanding view the place has.) The building itself had 8″ thick concrete walls. Over these walls was 4″ of foam insulation and then a layer of stucco. There were no windows but there were vents covered with steel louvers. Set off about two feet from the vents was a wall as high as the building. I’m guessing this was to break up blast waves before they hit the vents. All metal in the building (frames, jams, etc, etc.) were hot galvanized and grounded. The original blueprints were mounted on the wall, explaining many of the requirements for the building (which I recall had been built about 1960s and upgraded in the 1970s.) The electrical panels were enormous. There were several of them and they were all as tall as me. The building had originally come with a buried 3000 gallon diesel tank but that had been removed for environmental reasons prior to sale. The hole, however, was still there. The interior ceilings were 14′ high and although I cant recall the exact square footage it was certainly as much as the average house. There was a 75′ tower next to the building with a platform that probably measured 25’x25′ at the top. Since the building was on a hill 500′ above the road, the tower added to the unbelievable view. We were about 15 miles down a road from the interstate and we could see the entire length of that road all the way to the interchange. A person with a good range finder, spotter, and a .50 BMG rifle would easily have owned anything within a two mile circle. Access to the building was through a pair of steel double doors and ‘airlock’. The frames and doors were thick steel and I eyed them from the point of view of someone wanting to get in. Nothing short of power tools was going to get in. Bullet resistance of the building would have been about as good as you can get. The facility was on an ‘island’ of land about 1.3 acres large and surrounded by a huge ranch and some National Forest. The people who were selling it were making progress in making the site more livable. They had poured a new floor inside, painted, add room dividers and nice lighting. They also installed a kitchen and bathroom but hadn’t yet finished the hookups for septic.
Drawbacks: the place was designed as a remote, unmanned facility. There was an outhouse and absolutely no water. A cistern may have been an option for some people but unless there’s water on site I felt we’d have to give it a pass. Too bad. The place did give me a newfound respect for all-concrete construction though. There was also no provision for heating/cooling although the incredible thermal mass of the place would have made either task fairly easy. Last I saw the place was being used as a data transmission point for local wireless internet providers due to its commanding view. “K.” and I took a zillion pictures of every detail of the place. As soon as I can get her to tell me which gallery she buried them in, I’d be happy to provide hem so you can see what one of these places looks like up close. – Commander Zero

Letter Re: Advice on Small-Scale Grain Growing, Harvesting, and Processing

Sir:
Friday’s letter on grains was very good. I have acquired myriad of 19th century farm tools at what are called Threshermen’s Shows in Wisconsin. These are shows for Hit and Miss [stationary] engines, Steam engines and the tools from late 19th Century to early 20th Century Farming. There is usually a flea market as well. I have picked up a scythe in reasonable condition for $20.00. I had to spend about an hour carefully sharpening it, but I got it sharp enough to cut my thumb pretty well. After a visit to my first aid station I took it over to mt neighbors barley field and cut about a 4 foot by 100 foot swath in 20 minutes. It is back-breaking, hard work.

I would look for those shows in your home area, stay away from antique stores. I have also found that buying from Lehmans.com. for a new tool is sometimes wiser than buying an antique. I bought an antique jar and paddle type butter churn for $50. It quickly fell apart under a load. The new Amish-made one from Lehman’s works great. – Carl R.

JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning antique tractor and stationary engine enthusiast meetings. In the western U.S., these are often held in conjunction with annual county fairs. The folks that attend these meets are primarily interested in engine-powered equipment. If they have something in their collections that cannot be powered by their engines, (such hand mills, presses, and agricultural implements) they will often sell them to someone that promises to put them to good use for quite reasonable prices. From my conversations with these gents, they rightfully have deep disdain for people that buy a piece of old equipment simply to use as a decorator item. If you make it clear to them that you are a hobbyist that plans to regularly use a piece of equipment for its originally intended purpose, their eyes will light up. If nothing else, they they gladly share their knowledge with you.