ISOLATED IN MONTANA
©2020 by Shawn Jipp
Revision 1.2
“Life is full of turns and dips and unexpected monsters, some monsters so small that they can only be seen under a microscope”.
—Shawn Jipp April 2020
It was Thursday, March 19th, 2020 when Robyn's mom called us in Las Vegas inviting us to come and live awhile in Montana in a 1987 Fleetwood 25 foot (7.62 meters) fifth wheel permanently mounted about 40 feet from her cabin in her remote Montana rural location which is about an hour drive from Miles City, Montana. This call came very unexpectedly. She had been feeling that we were not in a 'safe place' especially since Robyn worked at a Walgreens store and interfaced directly with the public, some that may have COVID-19. I had been feeling this too especially after a Walgreens customer came up to Robyn the last day she worked at the Walgreens in Centennial Hills and thanked her for risking herself by coming to work and being at the store! So after a quick discussion we decided to go. I had decided the week before to take two weeks absence from work without pay and Robyn was on her day off. She called her boss at her actual Walgreens store on strip. He was very understanding and said several others had called and said about the same. He said to call back in one month. Her store on the strip had shut down when the Venetian Hotel (and all casinos in Nevada) were ordered to shut down. She worked one more day at a Walgreens nearest us in Centennial Hills that was swamped. People stocking up on everything. The last day she worked was when a customer had come up and thanked her for risking herself for being there. Wow, reality check.
After a frank and tearful talk with our friend and landlord Theresa, who surprisingly was supportive of our decision and did not think it to be crazy, we raced around packing our new little Mitsubishi Mirage (a very small car!) to the brim. We brought medicines, all our important documents, toiletries, paper goods such as toilet paper and facial tissues, Q-tips shavers, too paste, traveling overnight kit, hand sanitizer, batteries, flashlights, some food items, my LUMIX camera, canned goods, a diabetic test kit, a magazine, a book, a plushy Porg (a bird creature from Star Wars), a few clothes, and our newly acquired dog Chase. We should have brought much more clothing and I even forgot to pack any pajamas or thermal underwear. No, we did not take our swimsuits!
Along the way from Las Vegas, we decided we would not risk giving or getting the virus by going into any stores except stations with public restrooms and to register with motel desks. After using debit cards at gas pumps our hands were cleaned with hand sanitizer as the virus can live on plastic for 9 days. The toughest part of the trip was planning bathroom visits to not go near others entering or exiting the facility. Finally we found that upscale motels/hotels had few guests and we could go in and use their restrooms off of the lobby. Twice we asked permission, but the larger places just assumed we were guests so we did not need to. We stayed at a Motel 6 in Utah, a Motel 6 in Twin Falls, Idaho and a My Place motel in Billings, Montana. Motel 6s do not charge for pets. My Place charged an extra $10/night. The My Place chain is also extended stay so it had a kitchenette and was much nicer than a Motel 6.
In downtown Pocatello near the college, I parked at a 7 Eleven equivalent store that had a bathroom at the front of the store near the window. We waited until there were no cars around. Robyn went in. I kept hoping she would exit and get back into car before any other car showed up. All of a sudden a lady drives up to the pump and decides to walk into the store just as Robyn was exiting the door! Robyn quickly rotated her body 180 degrees around from the woman while holding the door open. The lady had no clue as to social distancing!! We saw this lack of distancing numerous times in Idaho and Montana. Even saw a Denny’s and Applebee's appeared to have customers inside but maybe they were picking up orders inside?! Both states have low infection rates thus far so maybe people are lax and not worrying. Some people can not change their lifestyle so quickly even if it may be a life and death decision. Perhaps some people are not really aware of the risks and some people are just stupid and take too many risks. Rugged American individualism with a God (Constitutional) given right to do whatever we damn well please is not very compatible with a stay in place order because of a pandemic consisting of a very contagious virus that seeks any human host, regardless of their nationality, citizenship, politics, or religious beliefs and is 10-20 times more dangerous than the flu!
The trip up was scenic. We took Highway 15 up through Utah, through Salt Lake City (we did not stop there as they had many cases reported) into Idaho and on into Montana. We went over the Medina pass in Montana at 6,254 feet (1,906 meters) and completely bypassed an over 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) pass near Butte, Montana by instead exiting in Dillon, MT and taking highway 41 to connect to highway 90 then after Billings, MT we switched to highway 94. We exited at the appropriate destination exit and then proceeded to drive 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) south down a dirt road at no more than 25mph (40 Km/h). Her mom met us halfway and we followed her in. We off-loaded our mobile worldly possessions into the back of her old green Dodge four wheel drive pick up truck. Then we got in back and she drove us up her long and muddy driveway circle in two wheel drive mode. Wow, it was quite a ride. At one point we were bogging down in the mud and she had to switch to 4 wheel drive. We slowly crawled away out of the mud. I am now convinced 4 wheel drive is better than 2 wheel drive. I knew I would not be able to get my car up to her place with the current driveway condition as the driveway road was muddy as it had snowed hard the morning of the same day in which we arrived. Our drive was 1216.8 miles (1,958 kilometers) door to almost door as my car is currently parked at one of her neighbors houses about a mile away. Her friend is an older American women that was raised in the north east of England near Durham. This lady has some MAJOR health issues and has lived alone since her husband died. She had a heart attack and then a bypass surgery with six stints put in. She had a second heart attack on the operating table during the bypass surgery! Yes, she is living alone in a fairly large house. She is worried her Doctor might want her to visit him. He is in Billings, about 132 miles (212 kilometers) away.
Why do these older people choose to live alone and away from civilization in such a rural environment? I guess I will find out.
We had arrived. It was Sunday, March 22, 2020. Our isolation had begun.
DAY 0-1
Wonderful sunny day with a high of 60F degrees (15.6C).
Robyn's mom Pat has a dog named Bessie. She is a huge, 13 year old, 100 pound (45 kilograms) 1/2 Saint Bernard, 1/2 Australian Shepherd. She has arthritis, but loves the snow and we have been told she often chooses to lay in it. We introduced the dogs but we are keeping a strict 6-10 foot (1.8 -3 meters) social separation protocol between us and her mom and us and we are keeping the dogs apart too. We will do this for 14 days.
Robyn and I once had owned a 32 foot 1984 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Class A recreational vehicle and lived in it for awhile. She did and does NOT like living in any recreational vehicle, even for short periods of time! The Pace Arrow had a Chevy 451 cubic inch (4 liters) gas engine and a 3 (4?) speed transmission and got a maximum of 7 miles per gallon (11.3 kilometers/26.5 liters)! It was built using the same engine and frame as all the UPS trucks used at the time. I had also owned two other recreational vehicles before earlier in my life: a 22 foot (6.7 meters) 1972 Toyota Class C built on a Toyota truck chassis with the famously dependable 2.5 liter (152.6 Cubic Inches) model R22 4 cylinder gas engine with a 4 speed automatic transmission, and a 22 foot (6.7 meters) 2007 Tioga Class C built on a stiff but sturdy Ford 350 chassis with a Titan V10 engine and 5 speed automatic transmission. They were all pretty reliable but the newer Ford had to have its electronic instrument panel replaced (thankfully under warranty) and the 1984 Pace Arrow had many ceiling leak issues which eventually all got fixed. It had also had to have its transmission completely rebuilt by the previous owners at only about 30,000 miles (48,380 kilometers).
I discovered if I walked up the driveway (a long circular one mile (1.6 kilometers) driveway and up to the top of a hill overlooking another neighbor's house and their meadow, I could get one bar 4G LTE signal on my phone most of the time! This was totally unexpected and exciting since we were 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) from the last cell tower I had seen at the turnoff from highway 94 and we seemed out in the middle of nowhere. The signal from 3G/4G cell towers usually doesn't reach more than 5 miles (8 kilometers). I connected and tried sending pictures out. The connection had low bandwidth and I had to return after several pictures failed to send via text to my friends Carol Jean and Cathy (they actually did send even though they reported as failed). However, our recently rescued and acquired little dog Chase glares when I stop too long at the magical one bar signal location and pulls on his leash and gives me that look as if to say: DON'T TEXT WHILE WALKING YOUR DOG!
Robyn and I were sitting and talking that night in the recreational vehicle. Suddenly we heard coyotes howling in the distance (which we hoped were further away than they sounded). Chase immediately looked up. I told him those were his distant relatives out there. First I shined my light in the yard and then slowly along the fence to see if any eyeballs were reflecting light back. No animal or demonic phantoms were seen so I went out and closed the gate and then pushed the full and colorful windshield wash bottle up against it (there is no lock). The purpose of the gate is to prevent animals, mainly horses, from wandering in and getting trapped by the fencing. We found later that it also keeps FedEx drivers from barging in and not maintaining their social separation distance, but that is another story.
Day 1-2
Robyn and I took the dog all the way around her driveway. He loves going for walks. He pulls us along.
We found out my iPad and Robyn's Amazon Fire pad can get the wi-fi signal from Pat's house while we sit in one end of the RV, but just barely. Sometimes the signal drops. The phones usually do not receive a signal inside our RV. To use wifi calling to send and receive phone calls, I usually must sit on an old truck wheel near Pat's door.
After many calls to several pharmacies I managed to get my prescriptions transferred to a Walgreens pharmacy in Billings, Montana. It is about 132 miles (212 kilometers) away. It is the closest Walgreens. But they can then mail our prescriptions to us here. Thank God.
Today's accomplishments included me taking all my high tech skills, accrued knowledge and taking a shovel to dig a hole for a percolation pit for our solid waste. Pat has a composting toilet in her cabin which works well. It is made by Sun Mar and does not need electricity. They have made this ‘off-grid’ and no electricity model since 1981. If we all survive two weeks she will probably order one for the RV or the storage shed next to the RV which will become a sort of outhouse and the toilet could be placed inside after clearing out the items. Note: The possible future plastic outhouse is visible in satellite flyovers during picture taking orbits.
Meanwhile 70 year old Pat put up a rain gutter on one entire side of her house. She rolled a big empty 300 gallon (113.6 liters) collector water tank around to behind her house. The plan was to collect water on that side too but she said it did not work out the way she wanted and she would need to modify her plan. I did not inquire further. Yes, I offered to help. She declined but thanked me anyway. Social distancing.
A little bit later we were not quick enough to keep dogs from meeting and they touched noses. They will get along fine someday when they get to play together.
Later we left Chase inside the recreational vehicle and the three of us were outside talking. Suddenly, through the window, we saw the dog knocking over the wash water and the propane heater. Thank God the propane heater was off at the time but we heard gas and quickly checked for leaks. We could not find any as maybe propane heaters don't maintain gas integrity well if upside down and pointing towards the earth. Unfortunately, the new 10 year guaranteed smoke detector which I had just set up the night before was now submerged in water and emitting an ear piercing siren. Apparently smoke detectors detect smoke AND water! I tried for the next hour trying to shut up the smoke detector. It was sealed and even the battery was soldered in. I did not want to smash it as there is a small amount of radioactive Americium 241 in each smoke detector. Eventually the alarm changed to a (loud) low battery alarm. As it was getting later in the afternoon near dark, I had to get the shovel and dig a hole to bury the detector in loose dirt near her car parking area. Finally silence!
I saw a wild turkey, black and white, fly away after we scared it when we came out to walk the dog right before sunset.
Each night we do crossword puzzles, Doctor Who Fluxx game (once was enough), play cards, pet the dog and I write this journal. Robyn does not write a journal because she only writes fiction stories.
It is supposed to snow this morning sometime between 1-3AM. I'm not sure what to expect. I guess just snow and cold temperatures. Walking the dog and my outdoor pee visits may become less enjoyable.
Day 2-3
Wow! It is snowing lightly and it is all over the ground! A Winter Wonderland...but it is almost April! It is not Christmas. Woke Robyn and Chase but they did not want to go outside or leave our bed. Temperature at our end of fifth wheel recreational vehicle is 64F (17.8C) but is usually around 70F (21.1C) I went out to pee. Every time I walked on the snow it makes a loud crunching sound as if it is squished and compressed. Imagine having a lettuce sandwich with lots of crisp lettuce and slowly biting down on it. Same sound, I think. Odd sensation. I walked to the fence. The warm urine immediately melted the snow and one can then see the ground vegetation underneath the snow which is still firmly attached to the ground. The view was surreal. Snow was everywhere. I touched some of the snow that was sitting on our precious 15 gallon (56.8 liters) propane tank. It was very soft and flaky yet sticky. It was very cold. My hand was now very cold. The outside (inaccurate) thermometer said it was 30F (-1.1C). If true, then things could always have been much colder. I don't want to dwell on that possibility. At least there is no wind. Wind chill always makes things much colder.
I checked the battery voltage and the solar charging system. The battery is barely above 13 volts and there is no charging happening. I guess the flat solar array sitting on top of the RV is covered with snow and thus the layer of snow is blocking most of the light from reaching the panel. The solar cell array charges a very large 12 Volt AGM type sealed battery. Voltage is limited to a maximum of about 14.6V. If voltage is above about 13.6V and charging, we can then turn on the large 1,500 watt true sine wave inverter (as opposed to a simpler and inferior square wave inverter). The inverter steps up the 12V DC to 110V AC. An elevated external 50 foot long extension cord carries the 110V to Pat's house which is about 40 feet (12 meters) away. All of these sub division lots were plumbed in the 1990s with cable TV and telephone land lines (which provides the high speed internet). We thus only have internet access when her wireless router has 110V available. Bottom line, solar cells do not charge if the sky is too cloudy or it is raining or snowing! Also in late afternoon as the sun goes lower, the light hitting the solar panels (they are mounted on top of RV roof parallel to the ground and do not move or track sun) decreases until there is no longer any charging effect. When the battery voltage drops to about 12.7V, we turn off the inverter.
By afternoon the snow had mostly all melted. Later in the day I let Chase off his leash in Pats’ fenced-in yard. He sniffed around and worked himself towards the slightly open gate. I yelled at him to come closer to the recreational vehicle. What did he do? He walked out of the gate and began running full speed (freedom!) up the driveway (a huge circular driveway). I chased after Chase while yelling “CHASE!” but he did not slow down. I was worried he was going to get the sniff of the neighbor's dog from the house a mile away and go to meet the dog. I would then have to go up to the door and talk to the humans. He stopped to smell something and I got on ground and asked him to come here. It did not work. Then I thought what would the dog whisperer do? So I stood up and began running back to the house asking Chase to chase. He did and he was running so fast he passed me and got back to the fence but it took Robyn calling for him for him to find the gate and then he ran to the recreational vehicle where she opened the door and he ran right in! Meanwhile Shawn came slowly walking back to the property totally out of breath yet very relieved.
I can't believe how different things were a few weeks ago. I would only worry if it was too windy to take our inflatable boat to Lake Mead. Now every day I worry about one of us waking up with the virus. Then if we will have enough supplies. Then if we will have enough battery to power the 1500W inverter so that we can communicate with friends and family and the entire outside world that day. Then if we survive these two weeks, will we catch it from someone in town at the grocery store? My estimated 10% fatality rate from this virus plays in my mind. I have asthma, am male, am 61, am A+ blood type, have had pneumonia twice (the first time was the sickest I have ever been in my entire life), and am diabetic. Not good conditions to have before catching this virus!
Day 3-4
For wild animals today, we saw two large turkeys, one male and one female walking off into the woods. I do miss turkey, my favorite meat. Pat said my job was to get a hatchet and chase them into the woods. I said no thanks.
Had to call our Doctor in Vegas to get a refill for Robyn. Was informed by receptionist that our Doctor office has been totally closed down until April 6 and she said maybe longer. Receptionist did contact Doctor and she approved refill. The Walgreens store in Billings, Montana will mail the medicine by Fedex. Distance is 132 miles (212 kilometers) and should take 2-3 days to arrive.
We were sitting after finishing crossword puzzle #23 when I noticed the propane heater was making a slightly odd noise. I thought maybe this is how it sounds when the propane bottle is nearly empty as we have no pressure gauge. It got more pronounced and we saw dark areas across the ceramic heater flame front becoming larger. Robyn said maybe its going to go out and it immediately did. I jumped up and went outside and changed the 15 gallon (56.8 liters) propane bottle. I am so glad the bottle ran out while we were awake and not while we were asleep. We may have woken up nearly freezing and I would have had to go out at night to change the tank then it would take several hours to heat the recreational vehicle back to livable temperatures.
Took our used toilet paper bag and dropped into burning drum out aways from Pat’s home. Tomorrow I will take our burnable trash (all other paper products) to the burning drum. She burned items yesterday and we did not even know.
Looks like our Porta Pott (portable toilet) may have a liquid leak. One item that one does NOT want to have a leak. I placed some precious paper towels down on the floor and we will have to work on it tomorrow. Time for sleep.
Day 4-5
We slept a total of 9:15 excluding the inevitable 30 minute bathroom break in the middle of the night.
Breakfast was a spinach and bacon omelette and one piece of toast. It was served on one paper plate to minimize usage and we split it in half. Her mom is cooking meals for us, 2-3 per day, as we do not yet have propane reintroduced to the RV as we do not know if the recreational vehicle propane line is rusted or leaky as it has not been used for years. She did not have time to test it. Our 15 gallon (56.8 liters) bottle for our Buddy Mr. Heater is just outside this recreational vehicle with a short single gas hose line coming into a slightly ajar window with a foam strip to keep bugs out.
I replaced the bottom of the Porta Pott with another spare from her shed. We will see how that works. I will empty the old one tomorrow. What fun. Gee, I can hardly wait.
Today's wild animals:
In late morning I walked up the driveway to find a tree to lean next to for my #2 business (yes, I brought a shovel). I heard something and looked up and there was a bald eagle flying right over me. Two others flew in a loose formation all going the same direction. Wow. That was cool. A real bald eagle! I have never seen one before. I asked Pat later if they have bald eagles here and she said yes. Should I take the appearance of America's national bird as a sign that the United States will survive this pandemic?
We are trying to take a family walk with our dog every day. Usually we just go around her long circular driveway which is probably 1/2+ mile (.8 kilometers) but today we decided to go all the way down to the main street. The main street is the one that goes 17 miles (27.4 kilometers) and connects with the main highway. We got all the way down to the main street (dirt, of course) and I pointed out to Robyn where our car is parked up the hill at the neighbor's house. Just then I looked down the street and there was a big wild horse standing just looking at us. It was less than a block from us. Then there were two. Then yours truly makes a sound for them to come to us. Then a third one appears out of the woods and they start walking towards us. Then two more appear and now we have 5 wild horses coming our way! I quickly told Robyn let us get the heck out of here so we started back up to the recreational vehicle which was all uphill of course. We kept telling Chase not to stop and smell every 5 feet (1.5 meters). We walked aways and I looked back. They were following us up the road! My first instinct was to call her mom on her cell phone and tell her to jump in her Dodge truck or Chevy Suburban SUV and come rescue us. Then I realized we now live in the middle of nowhere and have no cell service. Sigh. We picked up our pace. A few minutes later we looked back and saw one horse crossing the path but not directly following us. If they had wanted to overtake us they easily could have. They did not follow us directly up her driveway but about 2 hours later we saw three horses on a hill across from us. They looked very, very familiar.
Just before retiring, we went out with dog to urinate. The sky was beautiful and part of milky way could be seen. Venus was very bright. I started looking for airliners. Suddenly I recognized an artificial satellite. Eventually it blanked out. Robyn had missed that one by the time she walked over. She went back inside. Right before she did did I saw another on a south to north orbit. Then another, then another. They looked like they were following each other on an orbital highway. Robyn came out and watched several of them. Eventually I saw 10 satellites before I went back into the RV. She saw 8 of them. So cool!
Day 5-6
Got our portable washer working and did three loads. Bear in mind these are mini-loads. Clothes hanging now on one of the three clothes lines to dry.
Took the bottom portion of the Porta Pott down hill and to the new percolator pit I dug. We decided today was not the day to try emptying it. Maybe tomorrow. I can still hardly wait.
Dug three holes near trees for possible future 'instant outhouse sites.' Robyn used one of them. Not a pleasant experience for her. She has since decided to always use the Porta Pott.
Took our little compost bowl with lid to compost site, emptied bowl into dirt and shoveled dirt over it. Bowl consisted of pistachio shells, apple cores, peanut shells and a smelly banana peel. Had to wash out bowl afterwards as it smelled. While I was doing this I was outside looking to the main dirt road a mile away and watched a FedEx Mercedes diesel truck turn in. Eventually it meandered its way all the way up her driveway to our gate. The driver jumped out with two packages. They were our prescription medicines for Robyn and me. For some reason they had overnighted them from Billings, Montana.
Walgreens had told me they used FedEx and not USPS but it would be three days. The driver said he was not with FedEx ground so I assume he was with their air operations. There is an airport in Miles City, the closest one to us. He started to come through the gate and we said that was OK he could just put the two packages outside on the table on his side of the gate. He seemed young and oblivious to social distancing.
Jet airliners occasionally fly high over us. I checked one today with my wonderful Flightradar24 app and it was an Alaska Airlines airliner headed for Seattle at 39,000 feet (11,887 meters). On other days it found flights to and from Seattle from Chicago, Cincinnati, and Ontario. Pat said in past years she has heard some jets from an air force base. She has lived here for most all of 11 years with a few bad winters spent in California with her sisters.
Day 6-7
After a phone discussion with my job, I was requested to write and email a short resignation email for the Operations Manager at my call center. I was sad to have to do this but I will be eligible for rehire.
Pat drove me in her Dodge truck over to her neighbor's house where my car has been parked. I sat in the bed of the truck and she was inside cab with her window closed. Definitely an E-ticket ride when going over some bumps and potholes. If you are too young to know what an E-ticket was, just Google it.
Her friend came out of her house and told me she only took my car into town for a few things. I asked her if she kept it under 100 mph (161 Km/h) and she said yeah. Then I asked her if that was a Miles City accent I hear? She paused and then said with a smile I was a smart ass. We chatted from a distance and I found out she was raised in Durham, England. I think I traveled through there at one time when I lived in Scotland for 13 months back in 1997-1998. I am looking forward to chatting with her from a distance when the weather gets better. She seems like a nice person. This is the one that had her second heart attack while on the operating table.
I managed to get our little 2019 almost brand new (and very dirty) Mitsubishi Mirage car up Pat’s driveway without too many problems but I hit a rut or hole in the driveway and the right front tire seemed to fall into it. Car seems ok and tires all have correct pressure. This is not the proper type of vehicle to use around here! It has small tires, low road clearance, and it is powered by lowly little 3 cylinder 1.2 Liter (73.2 Cubic inch) engine with a 5 speed manual transmission. Total engine horsepower is 78 (58,165 watts). Oh by the way, the closest Mitsubishi dealer is located in Rapid Falls, South Dakota about 179 miles (288 kilometers) away as there is no Mitsubishi dealer in the entire state of Montana!
Day 7-8
Got up early and checked my blood sugar before taking any meds or eating. As I suspected, it was higher than my last test from weeks earlier because I'm eating more carbs here. Took two more tests and they got much lower and still lower. Odd. Suddenly a big yellow Caterpillar bulldozer came up driveway and got dog barking and us all excited. New neighbor down near main road came up to dig a hole next to Pat’s cabin so she can put a 1,200 gallon (4,542 liters) underground water tank which will not freeze in the harsh winters here. They did this at no charge and then said if Pat ordered the tank he could bring it tomorrow and drop it in for her as he was borrowing the Caterpillar for seven days! They are moving here from Miles City and will put a doublewide (mobile home) onto their property. Today they dropped a septic tank into their ground. We do not have a septic tank here. Pat's 1,200 gallon (4,542 liters) underground tank will be fed by the vertical 300 gallon (1,136 liters) tank which will be mounted on a secure base and collect rain water running off one side of her roof through the rain gutter. She will of course filter it and add bleach. The greenhouse extension to house will be built over where the underground tank is planted. Yet another reason why the underground tank will not freeze.
Checked a couple of flights flying over today. One going to Portland and one going to Seattle. Both Alaska Airlines 737s.
In the early afternoon we all had a frank talk about our situation, possible future scenarios, and finances. Some stuff off of everyone’s chests. At times a bit tense, but some progress.
Took a couple of walks around driveway. Estimating over 5,100 steps. Won't know until I receive charge cord for my Apple Watch which I stupidly left behind as Robyn also forgot her knee brace. I will order these on Amazon.
Pat and I refilled two 15 gallon (56.8 liters) propane tanks. There was more to it than I thought but it was not difficult. Was taught that one must check propane fittings for spiders and webs when they have sat for awhile as spiders like the fermented cabbage smell that is purposely put into propane gas so that humans can easily smell it and thus find leaks.
Our heater is running on an older propane tank for now but seems fine. Will switch back to one of her two new tanks when it runs out. Cold and rainy/snowy predicted for Wednesday to Friday. Will be a challenge as the Recreational Vehicle has no insulation and the outside temp will drop Thursday night to 16F (-8.9C) however tomorrow should be a great day and a bit warmer than today. High of 58F (14.4C) possible.
Ordered four items on Amazon today: knee brace for Robyn, charge cord for my Apple watch which is dead and needs to be charged, a Coleman two burner camp stove, and finally a 12 foot (3.66 meters) gas hose that will connect a 15 (56.8 liters) gallon propane tank from outside our recreational and adapt down to the Coleman portable camping stove or other '1 gallon' items such as a Buddy heater. It will take time before we can see if the old gas line is OK for the built in stove and oven. It has not been used for years and last time it was used the oven 'flamed out' accompanied by a strong gas smell on the outside of the RV near where the oven is located. This inspection will take place after our enforced isolation is over. The Amazon order is supposed to arrive Friday, April 4.
Was getting ready for bed when I suddenly heard a vehicle coming up the driveway. I thought the FedEx truck must be delivering medicine for Pat. I also thought it was rather late as it was almost dark. The truck parked in the driveway with its light on. I yelled out FedEx? hoping the delivery person would not force gate open and knock on her door. I walked to gate. It was the new neighbor with Pat's brand new water tank on a light trailer! She had paid for it over phone and decided to up it to 1,700 gallon type (6,435 liters). Cost of the 1,700 gallon tank is $1,500. The neighbor (I don't know his name yet) parked the trailer and said he would be back in morning to drop it into ground. He will need to bring the caterpillar in morning to make the hole in ground a bit wider and longer and to raise the tank and lower it into its new home. Meanwhile Pat must find some rope to tie around parts of tank so it can be lifted and lowered by the Caterpillar.
Later, after going out to go pee, I looked for artificial satellites but could not see any. There is a quarter moon and the sky was quite bright. Very quiet outside except I thought I heard an owl in the distance. Have not heard owl noises here before.
Along with the water tank excitement for tomorrow, we will go to a nearby well and fill some 5 gallon (18.9 letters) containers that we will all use for wash water.
Day 8-9
Pat was out early looking for rope so that it can be attached to water tank so that it can be lifted, moved, and lowered into ground by the Caterpillar. Our dog Chase was making (almost) barking noises and woke us up. He heard Pat walking around RV. Then Pat yelled to us and woke us up for us to look for rope inside RV. Then she found them outside RV. I decided to go look at the tank. We made measurements of tank and decided how it must go into ground and how deep. The hatch will be above ground and protrude into the subfloor of the planned greenhouse extension to the cabin. It will be closest to cabin. Pat had to go to a friend's house a few miles away to borrow some rope. She assured me that she maintained social distancing.
The day was the warmest since we arrived here. I cleaned two loads of laundry in our small little manual off-grid tumbler wash machine that we brought with us. I ordered it years ago as it was developed for rural non-industrialized countries with no electrical infrastructure. I think it cost $80. It's purchase, before their project had finished developing it, helped fund their non-profit project and to have project completed. When it finally arrived (it looks a lot like a small R2D2 unit from Star Wars), it was 6 months behind schedule. We tried it in our bathtub but the load size was so small and it required much foot work to spin it so it was just put away in our closet as a novelty never to be used again. On the day we decided to come up here, Robyn specifically wanted us to bring it. I am glad she did! It is either that or washing our clothes in a plastic wash basin the old fashioned way (minus the beating the clothes against a rock!). After washing, all clothes get hung up on one of three clothes lines to dry. On a warm day and with a little breeze, clothes can be dried in just a few hours, otherwise overnight may be required. If it rains or shows, the clothes will take a bit longer to dry. LOL.
Robyn is monitoring the number of infections for Clark County (Las Vegas) and for entire state of Montana (we are in a county where there are no cases...yet.) Numbers are increasing every day. It is very depressing news. The news nowadays is very depressing worldwide and not just in the US.
It is amazing how unprepared America was for this virus or any pandemic even after years of warning from scientists and doctors about a likely future pandemic. Even Microsoft Bill Gates warned of it back in 2018. The lack of N95 masks, or any masks and ventilators is shameful. Our current President will not accept even partial blame for not taking this virus seriously and doing more at the beginning.
Late in afternoon, I got in the bed of the old Dodge truck and Pat drove us about four miles to a friend's place which has a well with an electric pump. We filled four of the five gallon (18.9 liter) plastic containers. This water is used as 'wash water' by us. We do not drink it. I have inadvertently brushed my teeth with it with no negative effects. The horses have been drinking it for at least 10 years. It does not smell and is not discolored but it does feel a bit 'slimy' because of the minerals.
There is a pond sort of near the well. Pat asked me if I could hear the frogs. They do not sound like the ones you hear on TV or in movies. We also could hear an owl in the woods as the trees became more of a forest at that point. On the ground near my Crocs shoes (yes I wear Crocs only when there is no mud or snow around) I noticed a colony of large ants. These ants were half red and half black. I remember from growing up in Phoenix, Arizona that this type of ant is aggressive and bites! I moved my Crocs a safe distance away.
Riding to the well allowed me to see more of the country and some different living structures of the remote neighbors. It seems that out here human living structures are all unique with never the same pattern or shapes or design.
The neighbor with the Caterpillar never arrived. We could see him throughout the day using it for many hours. We are all up against the Canadian originated storm system that should be hitting us Tuesday night, that is tomorrow night. It will bring rain, snow and freezing temperatures.
Day 9-10
Got plenty of sleep. Got up and peed then walked dog around entire driveway. Took trash to the burn drum. Collected more little rocks from the long driveway to be added into our growing little rock collection each time we walk the dog. BTW, all the rocks placed in her driveway are from Montana quarries.
Pat's friend Rory came up and spent many hours (for pay) building a wooden cement block foundation for the 300 gallon (1,135 liters) water collection tank that will collect the rain in one side of her V styled roof via the new rain gutter and then feed into the (soon to be?) underground 1,700 gallon (6,435 liters) water tank that will not freeze during the harshest of winters. This water in the tank will eventually supply all of our drinking water. Pat then created an external special filter pack to put into the top of the 300 gallon (1,135 liters) tank. Bleach was added. The water will then be run through a PÜR home water filter each time before usage. Pat has been drinking this type of filtered rainwater for 10 years with no ill effects. We have thus far been drinking water out of large drinking water bottles that were filled in the Miles City Walmart store that is purified by deionization, and UV light. Pat got these for us the day before we arrived. That is why Pat is also doing a voluntary 14 day isolation, because of her visit to several stores in Miles City the day before we arrived. When the Walmart sourced water runs out, we will switch to the home made, 'it falls from the sky like manna' water. If we have enough water supply because of rain (we are approaching the rainy season here), it will also be used as 'wash water', if not, then we will continue to use the well water for 'wash water' only.
The weather started getting bad. There was some very light rain and gusty cold winds. I decided to take the dog around the entire driveway loop one last time as the next few days will be cold and snowy. As we started down the path the sky got brighter and by the time we came back the battery was again fully charged from our 12V 75 watt solar array on top of the 1987 Fleetwood Resort (yes, that is actually the name of the model so we are truly living in a Montana Resort!) fifth wheel recreational vehicle.
A hawk making hawk/eagle type sounds flew right over the yard at a fairly low speed (just above stall speed). I yelled for Robyn to come out and see it which she did. Was it looking for a little dog named Chase? We will never know. These raptors are known to dive and grab neighbors chickens and give them a free unexpected one way flight!
The neighbor still did not come up our hill to drop the water tank into the big dugout. So Pat and I took a big tarp and covered the big pit since it is projected to rain and snow and apparently Pat does not want an unheated muddy swimming pool right outside her side exit door.
Day 10-11
Big rain storm when we fell asleep around 11pm. Woke up at 3:30am. Quiet. Temp in sleeping area was down to 51F (10.6C). Looked outside. Snow everywhere. By 4:30AM there were gusts of wind. Very cold outside. Outside thermometer is always off but it was covered with snow so we could not see it.
OK, now for the important question: How do astronauts (OK, let's just investigate Robyn and Shawn) go to the bathroom? Well we are not astronauts as we live at 3,066 feet (934 meters) elevation and never reach orbit except in our dreams. But we are staying away from Robyn’s mom and not going into her cabin. So let's break this bathroom thing down to going #1 and going #2 (if you're not sure what these numbers mean call your parents or your kids' daycare center).
Here are the choices for going #1. We have a Thetford Porta Pott. We place a plastic bowl inside the Porta Pott to collect urine for women. For men, one can pee into a plastic cup and then pour it into the bowl. When the urine bowl is almost full, it has to be manually carried outside the RV and thrown (very carefully and downwind!) over our fence. Alternately, we can go outside our fenced area and squat or stand to urinate anywhere down or up the long driveway, or even through the fence.
Here are the choices for going #2: We can stay inside the recreational vehicle and use the Porta Pott. Nice and convenient and warmer BUT Porta Pott must be taken apart and carried a little ways down the hill to the percolator pit and then be carefully emptied every 4-10 days. Also the toilet paper cannot be put into the Porta Pott! So after the precious and dwindling toilet paper is used, it must be thrown into a little plastic bag lined waste basket with a lid. Believe me, the smell is not good from that basket after a few days! Oh yeah one must also seal that plastic bag and take it to the 50 gallon barrel burn drum every few days. No, the plastic bag cannot be burned. Alternately, one could grab a shovel and leave our fenced yard and go anywhere on Pat’s property and dig a hole (the base of a tree works great as one can lean back against the tree) and squat and do their business. The toilet paper can be buried there too. Disadvantages are if it is dark outside, or too cold, or rainy or snowing. Too much information ? Well now you know. As for the astronauts, it must surely be easier!
Our little dog Chase is suddenly amazingly efficient at going out into the snow and quickly going #1 and #2 before running back to the recreational vehicle.
So cold outside we had to turn our Mr. Heater to high position (it only has low and high settings) for all day. Sleeping area temp about 54F (12.2C)
Robyn's mom Pat pulled over a ladder and went up on top of our recreational vehicle this morning after bringing us coffee and used a broom to sweep the snow off of the solar array. It has snowed only a little during daylight hours today and our battery has been fully charged. No, we did not turn the inverter on since the cord to her house has electrical tape in a few locations covering holes or tears in the outer insulation. Even before we arrived she never uses 110V if it is rainy or snowy regardless of the sunshine and battery charge level. This external extension cord needs to be replaced. The battery has been fully charged most of the day and we have been using the built-in Panasonic 12V radio with 2 speakers above sleeping area and 2 at the entry area. We have been mostly listening to a Montana-wide AM station (KATL!) and to NPR on FM.
While I was out walking the dog in the freezing snow, Robyn opened the recreational vehicle door and told me she just caught a hornet inside the recreational vehicle! I walked over and she handed me a plastic container with a big hornet inside. Wow! She saw it on the window cover and got a plastic bowl (not the urine bowl) and used the lid to flick him into the bowl. Normally I let critters go free outside the house whenever they are found but this time I decided to leave it in the container and took it away from the recreational vehicle and placed it into the snow. I did not want to get stung or have it hide nearby and build a nest.
So no internet today, no walks, no exercise. Darn. Listened to a lot of gloomy virus news on the radio most of day and a little music.
Day 11-12
Went to sleep hoping we would not freeze to death if heater failed. Assumed we would wake up shivering to find the heater off. Outside temp in the teens. Had some great dreams and woke up a few times during night to see that with the heater set to high at the other end of the RV was on and emitting the familiar glow. Saw that our sleep area did not go below 54F (12.2C).
Woke at 7AM and even the dog did not want to go out into the cold. Went out to pee to see how bad it was. Nearly no wind which was nice. It was cold. Very, very light snow falling. Our outside thermometer which is not accurate was indicating about 16F (-8.9C) so after coming back inside I took the metal Sunbeam thermometer and placed it outside next to the outside thermometer. It finally also indicated about 16F (-8.9C). So I guess the outside thermometer is just not correct at higher temperatures as the one day when it was warmest at about 62F (16.7C) the out side thermometer was indicating a Las Vegas temperature of 100F (37.7C)! Possibly due to sunlight shining on thermometer.
It snowed lightly a few times throughout the day. Ice held on to the 110V cord that stretches from our recreational vehicle to the side of Pat's cabin. There would be no internet today. I decided if it got warmer I would hike up the hill to the place with intermittent one bar signal strength. I did this with the aid of some old boots and hiking poles Pat gave me. I had to remove my gloves to use the iPhone. I quickly downloaded a Webster English dictionary using the books library area on iOS. It cost $4.95. This was for the game that Pat had just loaned us called UpWords by Milton Bradley which is basically Scrabble with a vertical 3D component. I also tried to download a few other free books that had been previously selected but they were still in the cloud and not yet on my phone. Some of these free books I have chosen are: War of the Worlds, 2 Bibles (a modern English translation and also a King James Version), an 1860 guide to all world religions at that time, the Book of Mormon, an 1861 Welsh-English dictionary (thought this was just a free English dictionary but did learn that the Welsh word “Ymddychwelyd” means to turn one’s self back!), a guide to the iPad, a partial History of the Catholic Church, and a 1920 United States photography book (amateur hobbyists and professionals displaying their photos in the year 1920). I also was downloading messages from friends and had little time to respond to them as it had starting snowing and my fingers were getting numb from the cold. I let a few people know we were OK and it had snowed and we might not have internet for a day or two more.
I have always been interested in religion since I was 12 years old. At age 13 I asked Jesus into my heart and life and became a born-again Christian. During high school I was on our high school debate team and even argued for Creationism over Evolution. After high school, I fell away from my faith and ran off and eloped and married my high school sweetheart as soon as she turned 18 (yes, women are my weakness). Later in life, with my second wife, we attended a Foursquare Gospel Church in Modesto, California for several years. Our firstborn son even got to play Jesus in a church Christmas play when he was only 3 weeks old! Over the years, as I studied the history of the Christian Church and specifically its early history, I came to the conclusion that protestantism was not the rightful heir nor was it logical as their base doctrine,”Sola Scriptura”, was untenable as the bible does not interpret itself and people obviously come to different conclusions when studying the bible. It took me 10 years to come to this conclusion and in 1999 I joined the Roman Catholic Church. Many of my Protestant friends were dumfounded and I’m sure began praying in earnest for me because I had joined the ‘heretical church where the whore of Babylon sits (the Pope with the claimed 666 knit into his hat) etc., etc. These days I have evolved my thinking further and am no longer a practicing Catholic but I do sometimes pray and once in awhile attend mass. I consider myself an agnostic-Catholic. Is that an oxymoron or what?! But I have found that the main story of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus to be more inspiring to me personally than other faiths of this earth. What is after death? I am not sure, maybe it is just like falling asleep and there is nothing more. It would be nice to have some other life after death but I have no proof. Out of body death experience stories are quite interesting but not definitive and doctors and scientists explain them all away as oxygen deprivation to the brain. Whatever happens, I know a truly good omnipotent Being would not torment his/her/its life forms in lakes of fire for trillions x trillions of years! So I try to base opinions/views/reflections of 'creation' (the universe) on science. Science which is based upon solid data, careful and detailed analysis, should and can be trusted to the extent that science currently explains and postulates and theorizes. Anything beyond that is pure speculation, hope, and a form of faith. If it was not for science, most of us would not be here right now. That being said, leaving our door and driving to work each day involves faith that we will probably return safe. This faith is based upon our previous experience and of course that experience is based upon mathematical probabilities.
I am always available for a good discussion on philosophy, religion, politics and science.
In late afternoon I changed the heater propane tank to a full one since we would be having such a cold night as we did not want to run out of the propane.
Day 12-13
Before going to sleep the sky had mostly cleared but Pat told me it might get down to 11F (-11.7C) at night. In the morning the outdoor thermometer indicated 4F (-15.6C). Temp inside was 52F (11.1C) even though we have had our heater on high the last two days.
Two orders arrived courtesy of FedEx with final delivery by United States mail. One from Amazon and one from Atkins diet produts. Robyn got her knee brace and I got my watch charge cord. I also got boxes of Atkins lemon vanilla protein wafer crisps. We both got a Coleman two burner basic camp stove and a 12 foot (3.66 meter) propane line! Christmas in the country!
I studied the supposed watch charge device I had ordered. There was no place to plug in a charge cord. Ah, maybe it is supposed to sit on top of a phone wireless charging pad. Tried that. It did not work. Looked inside of it carefully. No wires! Huh. I went outside to get the box out of the trash to see if there were instructions inside or written on the box that I had quickly thrown away. I read the box carefully as no instructions inside. Oh! This was made in Wuhan, China! And inside there was (and still is) a piece of a human hair. What the heck?! For the next few minutes I sat bathing this device in hand sanitizer! It is just plastic made to support a standard Apple watch charge cord so that watch can sit sideways and not on top of the pad while charging. Just a fancy little piece of plastic sent from Wuhan to Montana! After cleaning it, I put it away and determined to create yet another Amazon order with a real watch charge cord.
Robyn learned how to refill propane bottles. Next time she will do it herself and earn the coveted official Propane Refill License. LOL.
Robyn's mom burned paper goods in the big 50 gallon steel drum. Entire burning process of paper goods goes very quickly. Must be done with screen and when not windy else we are setting forest fires and neighbors tend not to like having their homes burned down!
Snow melted in many places and temp rose to over 40F (4.4C)
Got camping stove set up in RV. Works great! It is sitting on top of old stove top cover and I opened RV oven hood outer vent for clear air passage. Yes, these stoves are not meant to be used inside an RV because of the potential to use up oxygen and create odorless carbon monoxide fumes. We have all our top vents open and now the the side vent for the range hood on outside of vehicle. We also often go in and out of the one door allowing more air flow and would not be cooking while we sleep. Just in case, we have a carbon monoxide detector near our bed and a fully charged fire extinguisher nearby.
I saw turkeys near our car. Later when we walked with the dog, Chase caught the scent of the turkeys on the ground and was frantically pulling the leash to run and find them. Sometimes I think he is part bloodhound! On the way back, we saw turkey footprints in the new mud created from the melting snow. BIG prints. Or where those Montana velociraptor footprints?
Robyn continued reading chapters of HG Wells’ 1898 WAR OF THE WORLDS. Scary. I suppose this is not the best thing to read during a pandemic and right before bed! I formulated a lot of analogies between the Martians and the Corona Virus and the pain and death they both had brought to humans. Actually, I guess pain and death only had come from the virus. I should not blame the as-of-yet innocent Martians.
Smelled gas but it was probably from my shirt or gloves or on the outside of the bottle from the filing process. Closed the gas line to the camp stove just in case.
Day 13-14
I surmised that if the 12 foot (3.66 meters) gas line coming into the RV which is plugged into the Coleman basic two burner camping stove had integrity and had no leaks then I should be able to ignite a flame on stove whilst the bottle valve was still closed. Tried this and had no problem lighting flame and no gas was smelled so I officially declared stove fully operational and safe to use. We used the camp stove for morning warm water sponge bath and to heat water for tea and coffee. I love having a stove! This must have been the same feelings the early Homo Sapiens felt after discovering how to create and control fire!
Did a huge load of laundry in our portable laundry device consisting of two shirts and one pair of underwear.
After last walk of dog for day and last pee of night, we could hear coyotes in the distance before retiring.
Day 14
Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020. This is 24 hours X 14 days since we had driven through McDonald's in Billings, MT at noon, our last contact with a possible human source of the virus.
This is the day. Maintained social distancing with Pat until 12:10PM when Robyn, Chase and I walked over and knocked on Pat's door. When she opened it I said that "We are with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we want to come in and talk to you about your future". She laughed and agreed. LOL. Thank God/god/chaos theory we are virus free!!
The next day the neighbor (his name is Jeff) came driving up the driveway with his borrowed Caterpillar at about 4:30PM and the three of us (Robyn watched both dogs in Pat's cabin while the rest of us were outside) worked to lift the tank from its trailer and move it over the hole in ground and gently lower it into the pit. We were all outside trying to maintain social distance but on two occasions both Pat and I had to get close enough to hand Jeff a piece of rope. Did we catch the virus? Time will tell…
