A place to survive

I'm glad Fairy brought up survival. It gives me a chance to change the subject.

In case of a BIG emergency in which all basic services are lost, a city is not the place to be. I'm not talking here of some act of nature that sends people scurrying for an emergency shelter set up by government agencies or the Red Cross.

I'm talking here of the really big deal that puts everyone on their own for an extended period of time.

Our mountain hideaway had everything to survive: Pure spring water delivered by gravity flow, wood heat, the ability to cook on wood, a never-ending supply of wood, a nearby river filled with fish to be caught, a meadow and forest teeming with wildlife to be harvested, a pantry brimming with canned goods to fill in the gaps.

On the downside was a cold winter that lasted about half the year (Fairy's ideal and the source of my main complaint) and isolation (my ideal and Fairy's main complaint).

So, we have by happenstance ended up in a place where we are too warm, surrounded by people, dependent on a water company, a gas company, an electric company and a grocery store, to name but a few.

Our main occupation seems to be searching for the ideal survival spot in a state (Arizona) that may not have one but a state we are not willing to leave.

We have looked, and continue to look, all over the state. So far, nothing has clicked.

We have found a couple of country places that had their own ponds and water supplies, but were too expensive.

As we're not tied down by jobs at this point, we now seem to be working on a small place in the desert with its own well and the same thing (emphasis on small) higher up.

We have a piece of desert land with a well. No electricity is near, so solar is the best option. We are investigating. There are no fish to catch but plenty of jackrabbits and deer to eat if it gets to that point. There's enough mesquite wood around for cooking and heat

If that works out, we need to find a mountain place to escape the summer's searing heat. It, too, would need water and someplace nearby to harvest Nature's bounty if the need arises.

And who knows. We also could find a year-round affordable place at that 4,950 elevation thing Fairy mentioned.

The search continues.