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 the coming American Redoubt real estate boom.  (See the Region-Wide section.)

Region-Wide

Reader C.D.M. wrote to ask: “I’m wondering if you have any thoughts about price trends in the Real Estate markets over the next 12 – 18 months?  I’m guessing that real estate will take somewhat of a hit, but that rural, retreat and farm properties will fare better than city and suburban homes.”  JWR’s Response: I believe that the pandemic will inspire another wave of relocation to the American Redoubt region. Seeing the locust-like stripping of store shelves made it clear to nearly all Americans that we have vulnerable supply chains. And the population density of cities and even suburbs is making millions of Americans feel very apprehensive while in “lock-down”. Note for instance how urbanites are buying guns in record numbers, and that many of these folks are first-time gun buyers. The collective anxiety meter is pegged! People will surely remember this crowded feeling, and they will naturally yearn for the hinterboonies. “In town” tract house sales have temporarily slowed, but real estate agents are already reporting to me that they are getting lots of phone calls, and e-mails from buyers with detailed property specification lists for “remote” properties. They are even receiving sight unseen offers on rural properties with water. So… what will things be like by August and September?  And by the May of 2021?  My #1 Son, who operates SurvivalRealty.com, expects a multi-year boom in the market for retreat properties. But the property inventory is thin, so prices can only head in one direction: Up! – JWR

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Wyoming Troopers Use Spike Strips to End Chase, Arrest Idaho Man

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At INW Report: When a Constitutional Sheriff becomes Judge and Jury

Idaho

Details on COVID-19 numbers and locales in Idaho. (That page will be kept updated.)

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The snow geese have arrived — and there are so many of them!. Here is a snippet:

“Last night I figured there were from 15 to 20 thousand and there is almost twice as many tonight.”

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Zombies and Cain’s dark 50: Court documents offer a look at what those close to Lori Vallow have to say

Montana

Gas prices drop below $2 a gallon in Billings as oil industry braces for fall

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Montana state officials update COVID-19 case count to 34

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Is 60 mph limit too fast for Highway 2? Some cyclists think so

Eastern Oregon

From the left-of-center Bend Bulletin: Pandemic-driven gun sales concern law enforcement

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Rural Oregon fire districts to link up

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Here is a PDF with some interesting stats on the booming Bend-Redmond area: Economic Development for Central Oregon.

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Fossil Beds modifying operations to implement latest health guidance

Eastern Washington

Whitman County announces its first COVID-19 confirmed case

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Getting There: Rappelling engineers get close-up look at aging Latah Creek Bridge

Wyoming

The Wyoming State Health Officer signed an order, effective immediately, that prohibits gatherings of 10 or more in a single room
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School districts across Wyoming announce closures following governor’s recommendation

Send Your News Tips

Please send your American Redoubt region news tips and event announcements to JWR. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.




45 Comments

  1. I always appreciate your analysis JWR. In regards to real estate in much of the redoubt, it is simply supply and demand. I live in Flathead county in northwest Montana. This county is very large (about as big as the state of Rhode Island that I lived in for 2 years) however if one looks at a county platt map then you quickly see how little land is available for private ownership. I am fortunate to have had money to pay cash for my home on 5 acres before the boom came. If I was 20 years old and just starting out again it would be much more difficult. The price for property here is very high compared to other rural areas of the U.S.

  2. One more thing JWR, why is no one raising a stink over these governors infringing on our 1st amendment right to assemble? In the end we are going to find out this was just a distraction while the banks were being bailed out and the Petrodollar was being dethroned as the world’s reserve currency.

    1. Hospital employee here…. It’s not just a distraction.
      Lot of very sick people coming through.

      Wide scale infections are a lot like the game “Othello” or “Go” – you don’t want to let the other guy pile up enough stones to control the board. You want a lots of your pieces to be out there controlling the board. That’s how we killed polio and smallpox in the US.

      The problem “our pieces” are people who’ve been vaccinated…and there’s no vaccine for this yet. So imagine a game of Othello where the other guy gets a whole bunch of free moves.

      Reducing the number of people out there “in play” is reducing the territory he can take, and it’s really all we can do right now.

      A lot of people (spring breakers on the beach) are now starting to pay the price for being out there, and every one of them is another stone flipped that endangers the rest of us in the long run.

      1. CutterJeff, as of today COVID-19 has resulted in 610 deaths of Americans. Specifically how do you justify the infringement of the 1st amendment for millions of Americans based upon COVID-19? Heck about 36,000 Americans have died so far from the seasonal flu, much like every year. Should America be locked down every flu season?

        What we are seeing is the permanent destruction of liberties orders of magnitude greater than post 9/11. Prove me wrong.

        1. It’s not just the mortality rate. This virus is highly infectious and when large numbers of the population have to be hospitalized it overwhelms the healthcare system. As you mentioned, this is on top of our flu season. So if many thousands more ICU beds and ventilators are being used for a COVID-19, then people will also be dying of other unrelated illnesses like heart attacks, respiratory problems, car accidents, etc. simply because they’re are no resources left to care for them properly.

          1. LL Retired nurse here Youre exactly right. On a normal day their are no empty beds at many hospitals in our nation. ICUs are usually full. Staff is always short. That’s on a NORMAL day. It doesn’t take much to overwhelm them. This is much much more contagious. Everyone is isolating and its still spreading like crazy. Just think if we weren’t isolating.

            God bless

          2. One thing is obvious; in the early stages of a crisis many people will not see it or understand it. To say that there are “only 610 deaths” at such an early stage of this covid19 crisis is foolish. There will be many, many deaths before this is done and many who are naysayers today will be saying then “why didn’t we do more?” The problem in a nutshell is this: The virus will blow up without some form of self quarantine (that is “infringement of the 1st amendment” for you folks who can’t see what is happening). When it blows up it will overwhelm our hospitals. When it overwhelms our hospitals a lot of people will die. They will die on gurneys in the hallways, at home in their beds and even non-covid19 patients will die because doctors won’t be able to get them in for care. Car accidents will result in unnecessary deaths because of overwhelmed hospitals. Your loved ones will die in front of you as other patients are using the very equipment that would have saved your loved ones. We don’t understand this because it hasn’t ever happened in our lifetime so we deny it. This ISN’T the common flu. It has the potential to kill over a million Americans in the next 18 months and maybe beyond. This is something different. Our only hope is to control the spread or to lower the curve. Keep the numbers needing treatment somewhat manageable. Even if we succeed at that it will be a disaster. Almost everyone medical expert in the world is deeply worried about covid19. They are not the slightest bit interested in taking away your 1st amendment rights. This is a serious crisis and it’s time to stop seeing black helicopters everywhere.

            The country has two very different and very important challenges ahead of it:
            1. to moderate the spread of covid19 so that hospitals aren’t overwhelmed and thus causing far more deaths.
            2. To prevent the economy from crashing and to try to keep people solvent until we turn the corner on the covid19 crisis.

        2. @MontanaGuy:

          I assume when you express concerns about infrigement of the first amendment you are referring specifically to the right to assemble? If so, in this modern age, people continue to assemble via electronic means every single day. I just got off a call where I assembled with medical professionals across the country – via videoconference. The people who insist on either ignoring or diminishing this pandemic in furtherance of their selfish interests (hello, spring breakers) will also be the first ones rushing into the hospital when they need medical attention due to this virus. If you truly are “Montana Guy” and you live here in Montana, then you know we’re already medically underserved *on a good day* – both in terms of equipment and clinical staff. Right now, critical care medical personnel in Montana are working long hours and feel it’s their honor and duty to do so. But should we be subjected to even longer hours and be exposed to even more patients with a highly contagious illness simply because people were too selfish to be inconvenienced by quarantine? Pardon me for being slightly exasperated. And what’s going to happen when we (medical personnel) are all desperately sick (or dead) and there are still patients who need care? If you think it can’t happen then you should take a look at ICU staffing numbers at your local Montana hospital.

        3. There’s a couple major differences between COVID and the Flu.
          First, transmission rate on COVID is much higher. It took about 90 days for COVID to get the transmission rate that H1N1 had in 270. This is an exponential growth – in another 90 days, at the current rate, just about everybody is infected. I know the rate will level off before then –
          expansion in the rural areas isn’t as fast as the cities. People are isolating themselves.
          In the end though many more people are going to get it. It’s a “Novel”, a brand new critter that no one has pre-existing immunity to. Go look at history and see the mass deaths that occurred when new diseases were brought to North America for an example of how things could go.

          Second, there’s no vaccination. CDC’s plan for handling things like this was ring inoculation to try to confine it. That’s completely out the window. We’ve got no technical/chemical means of slowing the spread.

          Third, we got nothing for treatment. There’s no Theraflu or any effective antiviral. We’re reduced to treating symptoms and crossing our fingers.

          So far, In the US, if you get it, then there’s a 1.2% chance you die. That’s not so bad….but that includes “you’re on a ventilator in ICU” as part of recovery. If the number of bad cases exceeds the number of ventilators, then everybody in excess dies.
          Take a look at the mortality growth in Italy, you can see the spike when they ran out of ventilators.

          The Flu tends to kill old people. I’m going to be callous, but if retired people die, then the infrastructure keeps working. Everybody else can carry on. Sad to lose them, but from a societal survival standpoint it’s not that bad.

          Corona is killing working age people about as efficiently as it’s killing old people. Kill enough working age people, and we lose infrastructure and there’s a cascade.
          Italy’s had to make the decision to only put someone on a ventilator if they’re under 60 years of age, and they still don’t have enough ventilators . The younger folks are overwhelming the system by themselves.

          My concern is that if we get into the “Italy Scenario”, where we’ve got 10% of working age Americans dead, and another 20% sick enough to be either in the hospital or in bed unable to work for several months… we’re screwed. That’s enough people out to start making it hard to keep key things running, and then we’re looking at a cascade effect.

          Lose enough refinery workers, or power workers, or truckers, or sewage treatment workers…. and the rest falls apart.

          Which brings us back to the original question – is this worth restricting First Amendment rights to free association? And to what degree?

          I think the possibility of 30 million dead Americans is worth a couple months of restriction.
          I think the possibility of 90 million Americans out of the work force either permanently (dead) or sick for a couple months is worth some restrictions, because that many could cause cascades that start something worse.

          Which leaves a discussion of the degree of restrictions that are reasonable….
          Some businesses are being told they have to change their model (take out food instead of dine in) or close for a couple months. Severe economic hardship for them, yes. I would say “better than the disease getting your employees.”

          Churches are being asked not to have services with lots of people. OK, I see the 1st Amendment issue here…. but look at the number of people around the world who’ve caught it at church. Is it worth the risk? I think the Lord would understand if you are sitting at home with a Bible instead. Heck, if I remember right, there’s even rules on quarantine in the Old Testament..

          1. Hey Cutter Jeff, your comment “If retired people die, then the infrastructure keeps working. Everybody else can carry on. Sad to lose them, but from a societal standpoint, its not that bad.”–Thanks a bunch for your concern there junior. –Actually I have encountered this attitude often thru the years. And its made it a lot tuffer for those young broncs wanting me, or my friends to teach them how to make an X-Ray quality weld, learn the trade, or teach them procedures and production tricks that they are not going to learn in any school, simply because you have to decide if they have the right attitude and aptitude to be worth the time and effort.–I’m retired now, and there is not a week goes by, that I don’t get some kind of question like, how do I weld this,?what rod? what heat range? can you fix this? how do I build this? would you build it for me?–Or–How can I raise a big garden like that? What tools do I need? could I get you to help me?–After enough years, you learn to size people up pretty quickly,–then maybe I’ll help them,–then again, depending on attitude, maybe I won’t. Terms like “Old people”, as opposed to “Elderly” are a good tip off. Now I have no doubt this younger generation are going to plug right along, with, or without elderly advice. Just like the spring breakers on the beach. But I have to be honest, it’s fair entertainment watching some of them flounder thru projects that could have been much easier with a little direction. Sharing these skills with my friends and neighbors has built up an alliance that looks out for and helps each other, most often without being asked. I’ve had the great fortune to be raised by great parents, and grand parents. Taught all my life on life skills. The kind of skills you learn only by doing. Like any kid, every so often I got to big for my britches and insisted on doing things my way. After a few wrecks they always helped me fix things and showed me a better way. On of my grampa’s sayings was “Make sure that’s what you want to do” that was usually a clue that I better take another look at things.—But hey, think what you want, Like Grampa say’s, “It’s no skin off of my -Nose-“

        4. Montana Guy, agree with you in concept. Trying to triangulate and think critically on this topic. Clearly, politicos will use this as “crisis is a terrible thing to waste” and go for cutting into freedom. JWR predicted this. So did the One Second After series by William R. Forstchen. Both authors nailed it just like you did in your post.

          If the deaths from this well exceed the annual flu deaths within a 30 day period, would that change your mind on certain restrictions ? I am totally for the right to assemble but based on what I am seeing from hospitals in the East, would not necessary exercise that right at present (due to disease).

          the only alternative i can see that will “brush back” these inclinations…Would love to figure out a way to make it clear via a group effort of sorts that we don’t want to give ANY rights but all of us can lock arms virtually and signal the message from GritsinMT that we are volunteering to stay home via an app petition or something. Trying to be thoughtful, not straddle “the fence” on civil liberties at all but address the situation at hand.

        5. For Montanans who wonder about implications to our health care system and why *you* should be concerned:

          A locum tenens physician who was treating known COVID-19 patients in another state has started treating patients here without being tested. Go figure…

          As of yesterday, one of the major hospitals in Montana has implemented new COVID-19 guidelines. What are those guidelines, you ask? Patients with severe signs/symptoms requiring admission are being placed on droplet and contact precautions (no N-95 mask) and limited to one visitor per patient. The visitor must follow isolation precautions. Only patients who are critically ill are being placed in airborne and contact precautions (N-95 mask required) and isolated in negative pressure rooms (IF such a room is available).

          So, we are activating stringent airborne and contact precautions only for critically ill. As we know, patients can progress from “severely ill” to “critically ill” while hospitalized, so extrapolate accordingly. Also, we have no way to ensure those visitors are truly going into isolation, so take note. And? N-95 masks being locked up in nursing supervisor offices.

          If you think your local medical staff can’t be decimated by this virus, think again.

          Of course, I realize there will continue to be people who disregard the seriousness of this virus and whine incessantly about the negative impacts on the economy. Human nature is such that we tend to only consider the importance of an event in terms of how it impacts us personally (particularly if that impact is to our wallet). It’s easier to complain than to be adaptive and find new opportunities/new ways of doing business in the midst of a crisis. There were folks who became millionaires during the Great Depression, because they seized upon the opportunities in front of them. Those same opportunities to build wealth will appear now, but most won’t see..

          God grant us wisdom, kindness, courage, and grace.

        6. I am pretty much over hearing this nonsense about people worrying about their First Amendment rights. What about MY right to be safe from people who are too stupid and selfish to follow common sense guidelines that help everyone, not just those that want to have a rah-rah with their like-minded peeps?
          As a healthcare worker I have been seeing flu-negative, RSV-negative, pneumonia-negative cases of really sick people since late December, so it’s out there in the population – especially on the neighboring Indian Reservation. Our healthcare system nationwide is about 2 weeks from being up against a battle we can’t win if people can’t look beyond their own selfish wants for a change.
          People who think this won’t affect them? It will. Eventually enough healthcare workers and even doctors will get sick from taking care of idiots who didn’t follow home isolation recommendations, or walk off the job, preserving the lives of our own family at the cost of those who thought their First Amendment right trumped common decency.

        7. Montana Guy,
          I just want to thank you for standing on the high ground.
          Even on this site, the love for safety and security waxes strong.
          I will always stand on the side of Liberty.
          Liberty First,

      2. We are on the verge of the first “boom” in the big cities as Chris Martensen termed. Food shortages, and violence over food. It is going to be real bad, because of the lack of action early on, it will peak and spike high perhaps early summer as projected. My estimate of 2 to 10 million from the disease itself might prove to be accurate. Without hospital beds available, the death rate will much higher that is often touted, and might be closer to 15% IMHO, during this first wave. The second wave could less devastating, or worse depending on how it mutates. It can behave differently in different parts of the country. The Spanish Flu became subsequently more deadly during the second and third wave. Most virus mutate into a less virulent form. If the dominate strain out there is as virulent as the strain in Italy, that apparently has a CFR of now 10% and rising, makes 15% possible, both there and here. Although the Italians have close knit families and multi-generational house holds, Americans are not a healthy lot.
        Hopefully Trump does not become down with it. We’ll see severe shortages, higher prices due to scarcity, and price inflation due to the hyperinflation that is now fully embraced. Trump is already attempting to impose price controls. It will not of course work. Food is going to get even more expensive, a government check for the working class will not offset. Although wages are not indexed to rising prices, the dollar is now in the grips of a global death spiral of fiat currencies, and the race to the bottom is on.

        1. T.R. check out the story @blue lives matter about the NYPD towing the semi trucks bringing in emergency supplies while the drivers were trying to sleep. I would stop any of my trucks from going over GWB/TappanZee/VeranzanoNarrows

      1. They also burned witches. They thought Witches brought plagues and famine (insects, plant disease) as a judgment from God.

        And one response to the black death was to kill the dogs and cats, so the rats multiplied.

        Not knowing why there was a plague other than knowing you needed to quarantine those with it was prudent then.

        It is one thing when there are obvious symptoms, but Covid has “Concealed Carriers”. Also, the vulnerable are a small minority, and many are retired or otherwise not in the economy (or we could do work at home or some kind of unemployment pay sick leave).

        Too much of this is like the “we all have to give up everything lest we all die from ‘climate change’, and if you dissent, you are a denier”. Fearmongering disguised as “science”.

        There are very specific risks to the Corona virus. As there are to owning guns. We must base things on reason and evidence, not fear and “gut feelings”.

        1. @TZ

          The fact that people can be carriers while showing no symptoms definitely lends credence for (not against) quarantine measures.

          Will you kindly cite references for the vulnerable being “a small minority” of our population? I have found none.

        2. TZ, Thank you for being reasonable. The PANICDEMIC seems to have really taken hold and the misinformed have gone from “hair on fire” to “headless chicken” levels. I hope soon the panicked will be ready for the safety of FEMA camps.

    2. Big Mike: Here is a funny story from Will Rogers that you may enjoy.

      There was a mountain lion that found a carcass of an Angus bull and he ate and ate until he was gorged. The mountain lion was so happy that he started roaring and couldn’t stop.
      A hunter heard the lion and bagged him.

      The moral to the story is.”When you’re full of bull it’s best to be quiet!”

    1. I was thinking the same thing!!
      I miss his extraordinary mind and the way he explained things to us.

      TUNNEL RABBIT WHERE ARE YOU!!
      I For one hope you are ok

      Rock on

    2. I was burnt out and had to take a break. Thanks for your concern. I’ve got to get the garden going early and will start potatoes in containers this week, and I’m programming radios for some one tonight. Lots to do and the internet drains one of time.

  3. The “reason” that quarantines are made mandatory is because of the people who don’t understand the science and refuse to be educated. Fools will always upset the apple cart because they don’t know enough to make the proper decisions voluntarily. In other words, they are INFRINGING upon MY right to live by acting irresponsibly.

    And FWIW… I’ve done enough research to say that I am willing to bet my life in support of this statement: Do NOT take ibuprofen or other NSAIDs if you even remotely suspect that you have Covid 19. This includes aspirin. Educate yourselves on this matter. The information is literally less than a month or so old.

    1. Hi John Bilsky,

      I blieve the reason we should not take Non Steroidial Anti Inflamatories Drugs (NSAID), or steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as cortisone is because these drugs will reduce the fever the body creates in it’s defense. I would use fever reducing measures should the body temperature climb to dangerous brain damaging heights of 104F to 106F. If they are delirious, their temperature is dangerously high. Cold wet towel on the head may protect the brain from damage, and allow the temperature in the body on average to maintained at a higher levels. I might use a cold tub of water to reduce a fever, and once the reduction is achieved, remove the patient, and allow the fever to continue. I would check the patients temperature often, and cover them with blankets when they get the chills and shake violently as that is the natural means the body uses to to raise it’s temperature. Old folks will often have lower normal temperatures as their body metabolism has slowed down. They may not be able to produce a high enough body temperature to effectively combat the virus, and we can help them by heating up the room and cover them with blankets, and watch them [and their temperature] like a hawk during this process.

    2. John Bilsky,that is the exact same reasoning used by Hitler and Stalin for the necessity of death camps. Your rights only extend to persons not doing you actual harm not wild suppositions,stop trying to violate others rights based on false information.

  4. Idaho Coronavirus
    According to KTVB there are currently 81 cases of caronavirus in our state. But the state web site lists 50 cases, and it has been 50 for three days. I’m not sure the web site is being updated or KTVB has their numbers wrong….

  5. Was out yesterday to get my last checks cashed and new filters for my half mask. Running P100 acid vapor filters. At least those were still in stock! Those should kill corona if it gets into the filter, as the filters have to deal with acid, and means that it’s probably impregnated with a strong alkali that will turn corona’s lipid shell into soap. It’s P100 rating for particulates is better than the N95 masks. Only downside is I need reading glasses, so I have to have my eyes exposed.

    Everyone that is wearing PPE nods and are more relaxed to others doing the same! Those not wearing are scared little bunnies! Had one little Schiff telling PPE wearers that it’s not going to do them any good. Guess we’ll have the last laugh! We have five in the county, all under quarantine, and things haven’t gotten any worse for a few days. Hope nobody brings in anymore!

    Spring breakers are coming home infected! Have some kids licking toilet seats, and others intentionally coughing on produce to post online. I catch anyone coughing on produce like that and they’ll be posting their own death! The store involved had to pull all it’s produce because of that stupid stunt. We do not need to be wasting food in times like these!

    Did find other goodies like canned plums. I haven’t seen those on the shelves for a couple of years. Also caught the last 3 boxes of Auto Match .22lr to finish off a half empty can. And added another week of pouched food to the long term storage. Thursday, we’ll do a cheese run and get a 5lb block of fresh Colby and cheese curds just out of the vat. Mom will want to get out for a drive.

  6. I have a family member who is an emergency nurse in a “hot spot”. They have no protective supplies. They are issued one mask, the thin kind you see in the doctor’s office, which is not protective enough for them. I am busy, with hundreds of other seamstresses across the country, sewing masks with good cotton fabric for our health workers. In order to create a barrier within the mask, we make them with a slit at the top for filtering material to be inserted and then discarded, the masks are washable. I searched for filter material, as many have been, some are purchasing HEPA air filters, taking them apart and retrofitting them to be inserted into the masks, some are cutting up HEPA vacuum bags to be inserted. We have to get creative. If anyone can sew and has a stash of good cotton fabric, there are a number of free patterns (search youtube), and some local hospitals requesting sewn masks and offering patterns, and fabric stores who are donating fabric. We are short on elastic right now, so some are making the straps to tie the masks on. If you can’t sew in bulk for the nurses, there is great information on making your own masks on youtube as well. And if everyone goes back to work around Easter time, as was suggested on the Fox townhall with the President today, everyone will need to be taking precautions moving forward.

    P.S. I am in a county in Idaho with no cases, but neighboring counties are starting to see cases. This past weekend there were some (asymptomatic) people that were getting out of Dodge for a “virus vacation” and bringing the virus with them. I heard from a neighbor that our one large grocery store chain in the neighboring county started asking for I.D. so that the groceries could be preserved for RESIDENTS. Wow. It reminded me of J.W.R.’s “Golden Horde” and I was thinking “gee, I guess we aren’t far enough away!” But, then again, compared to the big metro areas, the number of people coming into town was small. Several cars, and even motorcyclists, driving through my area, slowing down, looking at cabins and homes from the road. I even saw a couple of U-hauls, and a few trucks pulling campers. I pulled the hand gun out of the nightstand, and am keeping it near. Not that I think I would need it, but wanted it closer during the day. Today I’m not seeing as many people, but there are definitely people who came here to their “retreat property”. I am guessing there will be a spike in demand, even though we have almost zero real estate inventory here. It will be interesting to witness. Stay safe y’all.

  7. I can’t believe that there are otherwise intelligent adults in this country who fancy themselves preppers, and yet still think “It’s just the flu, bro”.

  8. The comments about the “elderly “ and “old people “ have me rather upset.
    On Monday, when I got to my Mom and Dads (those of you who are regulars on here know that my mom and dad are in their 80’s, have Alzheimer’s and I care for them full time) my 82 year old father, retired Police Chief & former USMC had his head in his hands and was VISIBLY frightened by all of what is going on. It took ALL of the strength God gave me to comfort my father & to calm him down. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see him this way & to have his little girl be the one to comfort HIM! Rather than he comfort his child.

    Just saying…

  9. I posted this info under the last installment on Masks, but probably not many have noticed it over there so I will repost it here. I am a retired ICU nurse (over 15 years) and I know, first hand, what GritsInMT is saying. All very true. ICU’s all across the country (I have worked all across the country) are pretty much full all the time. They build hospitals to normal capacity because it would be too expensive to build any more than that. I tear up every time I read about Italy and the incredibly difficult, but necessary triaging they are being forced to do. I can’t even imagine having to do that.

    Here in southwest Montana there is a quilters group that I heard about who have been coordinating with the local hospitals to make cotton masks with a pocket opening in the top that the hospital can put a cut out of a cloth vacuum cleaner HEPA filter in. The HEPA filter can be removed and the masks laundered and a new HEPA filter put in. They are anticipating a shortage and figure that this is better than nothing for their staff. Here is a link to the YouTube video for a tutorial about the accepted prototype for the mask in case anyone out there is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCJcE-r7kcg

    If at all possible, I would encourage all to think of something you can do to help the situation we are all facing with courage and a positive attitude about what you can do to contribute to the solutions.

    1. I’ll be making a high quality and 60 ppm nano silver in the 1 to 50 nm size that can be sprayed unto mask and allowed to dry and impregnate the cloth or material. Nano silver needs to have enough particles in the 1 to 10 nm size to be effect against this virus that is less than .3 microns, and bacteria in our body that also become infected with the virus. It must come into direct contact with the virus to be effective as well. As the virus first settles in the mouth and nose, nano silver can be a mouthwash, and used irrigate the nose as well. Hydrogen peroxide and other such as alcohol can also be used as well [externally], or simply water to flush it away. I would use these means routinely during my decontamination process after each exposure to others who might be infected. All, or any measures that can be used to reduce the initial viral load if we are exposed, can greatly reduce the severity of disease’s course. A smaller viral load will reduce the speed and severity of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) that can result, whereas a large viral load can cause the onset of ARDS to be significantly faster and more severe.

      Okay, back to writing a program for some special radios.

  10. REPLY TO OLD WELDER –
    I’m not saying losing you wouldn’t be a loss of skills.

    What I am saying is that if it comes down to losing you or losing the kids your teaching, which one has a bigger impact?

    If we lose you, then those kids are going to have to learn someplace else. Or they never pick up those tricks. … but they still struggle through and do their current jobs with what skills they do have.

    If we lose the kids you’re teaching, then how does the work get done? Welding is already a scarce trade with fewer skilled workers than there is work to do.

    Long term, losing the skill source hurts.
    Short term, losing the workers kills.

  11. It is distressing to see so many that are willing to sacrifice the most precious liberty that was purchased with the blood of our ancestors. It is even more distressing to read so many in this forum handle liberty casually. How can we who still cherish this precious liberty teach and make known the fragility of Liberty? I often fear it is a lost cause and will not be appreciated until all is lost and it must be purchased again at great cost. But then I listen to a KrisAnne Hall broadcast or read something written by a brother/sister Liberty Lover, and I am reminded that our cause is Holy. Liberty is Holy and precious and will prevail because God is with us. Be encouraged my brothers and sisters. Liberty will prevail, albeit, the Tree will need watering, she will prevail.
    An encouraging article regarding the same:
    https://www.fff.org/2020/03/25/trading-liberty-for-security/?utm_source=FFF+Daily&utm_campaign=729546010e-FFF+Daily+03-25-2020&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1139d80dff-729546010e-318097283

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