winter storm 09

[kevin57]

from metropolis il. we got 1 inch of ice plus 2 inches of snow last tuesday and wed. was without electricity for 82 hours. thank god for propane and kerosene. don't have regular internet yet, i'm using my wii because it has wireless hookup. and no cable so no tv. waited in line 11/2 hours to get kerosene and 2 hours for gas. but we survived thanks to all of our camping supplies.

[Miriam C.]

Glad to hear you made it! We had that two times last year. Keep the Kerosene stocked now. Though oddly enough the price dropped when the ice hit this year.

Keep safe. I guess everyone else caught in the storm will check in sometime.

[hiker chick]

Camping certainly does pay when you find yourself in a survival situation and have all that gear.

I have friends in western Kentucky who say it is unbelievably bad. Their town finally got water going again, thanks to a generator that was brought in.

Good luck!!

[conbrio]

Glad you made it.

I live about 100 miles east of Paducah, KY, and I have met people from there in the past few days who say they have been told 2-3 weeks before they get power back

[Mike M.]

I live near the Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky border. We got 10" of snow, and 1" of ice. Not sure how we kept our electric, but we did.. We pray for the less fortunate

[48Rob]

Glad you pulled through with a minimum of trouble.

As Miriam suggests, NOW is a great time to "stock up".

In this day and age, we have all become lax in taking responsibility for our own welfare.
Much easier to write a check to the power company, drive to the store and gas station when we need a "little" more, than to plan ahead like was required for basic survival not so long ago.

With all the climate change, and world unrest, everyone really should have at least a few weeks of food, water, and fuel/heat source to be able to comfortably wait out a minor interruption...

To those with children, or others who count on your judgment, to do otherwise is, at very least, irresponsible.

Worst case, well, it is quite painful to imagine what could happen to your loved one if food, water, or heat is no longer available through any wait, or amount of money...

[Mike C.]

Well like Miriam said. We were without power for 6 dyas, twice last year.
I'm kind of a survival nut, so I keep 15 gallons of kerosene at all times and we have a real fireplace and I try to keep at least 2 cords of wood minimum always. We also keep bottled water and 3- 50 gallon barrels of water to flush with, since we're on a septic system. Also keep lamp oil and small propane tanks. We have around 10 oil lamps and a stove that runs on propane. Food, is canned and kept about two weeks worth+. When our power was off, it was like camping out, inside for two weeks. The only problem I noticed was you would walk into a room and flip the light switch without thinking. We have a gas water heater, which requires no power, so we had baths and hot showers during that time. That always makes you feel human. One of those weeks, we were without power at work, which means we worked with coats on and by flashlight and hand wrote all of our sales orders that we normally would put into the computer. My boss decided that was enough fun for him and he installed a 60 Kw generator, because he said he didn't want to go through that again. Conditions like this are a good learning experiene. You find out how short you are of what. Like having a battery powered radio and TV and batteries, plus flashlights. Board games and cards. The kids were amazed that you could play solitaire without a computer. We also had candles, but you have to be careful with those. I did notice that at night, it was really good sleeping, because there were no light sources, other than the moon.

Glad to hear you made it through ok.

[kevin57]

thanks everyone. today i found an old indoor ant. and was able to watch the steelers win. so i guess things ain't that bad. lol

[ARKPAT]

YEP !

Lots of LED rechargeable/solar battery powered lights! Lots of rotated (DATED WHEN PURCHASED) CAN FOODS / Camp stoves ( Used Outside or ventilation is needed). NEVER TOO MANY SLEEPING BAGS ( even the old worn-out one make Great comforters when recycled ) on hand; that can be used in layers for sleeping on and under. A retreat location out of the area of disaster/storms ( if possible to travel safely). A GOOD TTT or TearDrop Trailer loaded to go.



Dang this sounds like my truck ( HE HE HE EH.....).





Pat

[KERRY J.]

I feel you pain since I'm only about 40 miles away. Went 12 days without running water, electricity, about 7 no phone service. Some still don't have power back on and may not for a week or so. Lots of tree limbs down. Unloaded teardrop to get by, candles, dutch ovens, lamp oil. Cooked meals on wood stove or coleman stove, heated water on wood stove. Caught melt off the roof to flush toilets, lost about half of what I had in the freezer, ended up taking stuff out and putting it in milk crates outside to keep it from thawing out at night and back in during the day. Finally my brother in law brought me a generator to use so kept the freezer going. Cooked up some fantastic meals on the wood stove, soup, fish, deer, ham and eggs, pancakes, waffles (took the grills out of my electric waffle iron and placed them on the stove poured in batter and laid the top one on, about ten minutes flip it over and about another 10 just like you get at the resturant). Pot pies in DO. Egg rolls and fried rice even, but had to use iron skillet, wok didn't want to heat fast enough to suite me. Back to work now and things gradually getting better.

[Miriam C.]

I feel you pain since I'm only about 40 miles away. Went 12 days without running water, electricity, about 7 no phone service. Some still don't have power back on and may not for a week or so. Lots of tree limbs down. Unloaded teardrop to get by, candles, dutch ovens, lamp oil. Cooked meals on wood stove or coleman stove, heated water on wood stove. Caught melt off the roof to flush toilets, lost about half of what I had in the freezer, ended up taking stuff out and putting it in milk crates outside to keep it from thawing out at night and back in during the day. Finally my brother in law brought me a generator to use so kept the freezer going. Cooked up some fantastic meals on the wood stove, soup, fish, deer, ham and eggs, pancakes, waffles (took the grills out of my electric waffle iron and placed them on the stove poured in batter and laid the top one on, about ten minutes flip it over and about another 10 just like you get at the resturant). Pot pies in DO. Egg rolls and fried rice even, but had to use iron skillet, wok didn't want to heat fast enough to suite me. Back to work now and things gradually getting better.

to the playground Kerry! Nice first post! We are happy to hear you made it ok. I commend you on the common sense to keep the frozen food safe and water use. Amazing how many people don't know these things.

We did it twice last year but the water was never cut off. There are some advantages to gas water heat. We are also looking into a vent free gas heater.

[48Rob]

Hi Kerry,

Welcome to the board!

Surviving is a lot of work, isn't it?

Kind of hard to comprehend how people a hunded fifty years ago found time to build our country!

After your experience, camping may seem kind of dull

Glad to hear you made it okay.

Rob

[KERRY J.]

FIRE, FOOD, WATER AND A PERSON CAN MAKE IT PRETTY GOOD. TAKE ONE OF THESE AWAY AND YOUR SITUATION BECOMES MORE SEVERE. I'VE SPENT 29 YEARS CAMPING IN PRIMATIVE CONDITIONS, TENT, DIAMOND SHELTER ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR. SOMETIMES FOR 5 TO 7 DAYS AT A TIME. MY FOCUS HAS BEEN ON HOW COMFORTABLE I CAN BE IN EXTREME SITUATIONS RATHER THAN HOW EXTREME THE SITUATION IS. RELY ON WHAT YOU DO HAVE RATHER THAN WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE. ELECTRICITY, CELL PHONES, RUNNING WATER ARE USUALLY NOT IN THE EQUATION. I MADE IT FINE DURING THE TIME AND DID NOT STRESS. SIPHONED GAS OUT OF THE CAR TO RUN CHAINSAW TO CUT THE TREES OUT OF THE ROAD SO I COULD GET TO THE MAIN HIGHWAY. PLAYED A LOT OF SCRABBLE AND LISTENED TO RADIO FOR UPDATES. THANKFUL THAT I HAD IT BETTER THAN A LOT OF FOLKS OUT THERE. HAD A CAMPING TRIP 2 YEARS AGO, MY WIFE LOCKED KEYS IN THE TRUCK, SLEEPING IN A TENT AND TORNADOS WERE TOUCHING DOWN IN THE AREA. WE WERE ABOUT 14 MILES FROM THE NEAREST TOWN IN A BACKWOODS AREA THAT IS NOTORIOUS FOR TREES FALLING ACROSS THE ROAD. SHE DID HAVE CELL SERVICE AND MANAGED TO GET A LOCKSMITH THE NEXT MORNING TO GET US BACK ON THE ROAD. THE NEXT DAY WE PUNCTURED A TIRE AND FIGURED OUT THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A LUG WRENCH, FLAGGED A GUY DOWN AND MANAGED TO GET THE TIRE OFF BUT THEN FOUND OUT THAT A 5 LUG SPARE DOESN'T FIT TOO WELL ON A 6 LUG HUB. ALSO FOUND OUT THAT ONCE WE GOT A SIX LUG WHEEL THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISC BRAKES AND DRUM BRAKES WHEELS. HAD TO BREAK THE TIRE DOWN IN THE BOONIES WITH A SCREWDRIVER AND CHANGE IT OUT. HAD TO USE A TIE DOWN RATCHED AROUND THE TIRE TO GET THE BEAD TO SEAL. ANOTHER TRIP HUNTING GOT STUCK IN A FIELD CALLED ON A BROTHER AND HE GOT STUCK, CALLED A FRIEND AND HE GOT STUCK WITH A FOUR WHEEL DRIVE HIS MUFFLER CAUGHT THE FIELD ON FIRE AND UNDERNEATH HIS TRUCK, BURNT SOME OF THE WIRING HARNESS OUT FROM UNDERNEAT HIS TRUCK. ENDED UP WITH A FARMER AND HIS TRACTOR TO PULL ALL THREE OF US OUT, POSITIVE THING IS SHE KILLED A NICE 8 POINT AND A DOE IN ABOUT 5 MINUTES OF EACH OTHER.