Eastward Ho!

The call of adventure had me antsy for the road again today.  I tried so hard to stay put and take care of domestic chores, but I just couldn't get my mind and heart off the need to go.  So my intrepid road warriors and I headed eastward for Hancock, MD.  It's a place I've seen Main Street as a passenger in someone else's car a handful of times so it seemed like a good jumping-off point to start today's explorations.

Photo from Hagerstown Magazine.
Today these rocks were covered in ice that looks like
a curtain of flat icicles.  The Rest Area is just around
the bend.

First, we had to pull off for a potty break at Sideling Hill.  All this time I thought it was just a good spot for a Rest Area... but it has a history.  There was a Civil War battle there on what's known as the Gettysburg Campaign.  I got the boys out to take care of their business.  They were so intoxicated by all the unfamiliar smells they almost forgot to get their legs lifted...  And then I went to take care of my need and saw the historic marker explaining more about the battle.  There's also a Vietnam Memorial I want to take time to explore one day and some of those pay-per-view binoculars that let you look out over the many layers of blue-tinted hillsides.

Just off Main Street in the center of Hancock, you'll find this
access point for the Rail Trail and a section of the Chesapeake
& Ohio Canal National Historical Park.  Looking uphill from
the driveway, you see St. Thomas Lutheran Church that was
used as an Army hospital during the Civil War. It was such
an important establishment to the Union Army that they
fortifications to surround it during the Confederate invasion.

Sideling Hill is only 30-some odd miles away but even at freeway speed, it felt like it took forever to get there!  Hancock is just a quick 8 miles further.  It marks the end of I-68/beginning of I-70.  We cruised down Main Street with me taking note of the many antique stores.  Oh for the time and money and place to put all the treasures I'm sure I could find!  Our first stop was a central access point to the Rail Trail built on the abandoned rail right of way which ran parallel to an even earlier mode of moving goods to market, the C&O Canal and its towpath for the men and animals that pulled the barges along.  193 miles of the Canal and towpath, running from Cumberland to Washington DC, are under the protection of the National Park System and known as the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

Hancock Visitor's Center,
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National
Historical Park.

A bit farther up the road, you'll find this old mansion right on the bank of the Upper Potomac River that now serves as the Hancock Visitor's Center.  Parking was a bit far to leave the dogs in the car and the gate was only half-open so it was foot traffic only today.  And the dogs were so naughty that I wasn't about to walk them up there!  Everywhere I got them out of the car, they had no manners that are good... it was pull and strain and cry and circle around my legs like obnoxious little maniacs.  More than once I told them I didn't want them along on future adventures if this is how they're going to act.

Just about a mile past the Visitor's Center, there's a store that I've wanted to stop at as long as I've been in Maryland.  But I was always in a rush or I was the passenger and so it never happened until today.  I made a stop at the Blue Goose Market!  They have a fun selection of merchandise, local wines, gourmet canned goods, and their own bakery!  It's pricy.  But so worth the stop...  For a treat tonight, I picked up a caramel pecan sticky bun that's as big as my outstretched hand.

Entrance to the Blue Goose Market.  You can't tell from
my photo, but the flag in the background is huge.  From
the road, it looks as big as some houses!

For our final stop, I decided to make a short side-trip to see what's the big deal about Berkeley Springs.  The sign said it was only 8 miles into West Virginia... The claim to fame is the public baths.  I think they were once marketed as having some sort of healing properties because they are fed from warm mineral springs.  The town also hosts an International Water Tasting event.  I might just have to look into that more!  Again, I passed lots of antique shops and one with the windows full of handblown glass.  I also caught a glimpse of a giant cat's head painted on the side of an old house and a sign that said Cat Cafe and that you could adopt.  I think lunch with the felines is in order.

Warmer weather, a few dollars to spend, and an early start to the day... Hancock and Berkley Springs both deserve a deeper exploration!  And I think I'll get a sitter and leave the dogs home...

The Amish Cook Does Frogmore Stew

That little dish I picked up on yesterday's adventure came wrapped in a section of year-old newspaper.  The only possible name I can find on it, Weekender, seems unlikely especially since it's dated Thursday, January 24, 2019.

There's a regular column called The Amish Cook authored by Gloria Yoder and on this day she's telling the tale of Frogmore Stew.  Her picture and recipe are intriguing... and the story about how she was first introduced to the dish is cute.  The editor notes that it's more commonly known as a Low Country Boil and is an example of how non-traditional foods find their ways into unexpected kitchens and become family favorites.

I can't wait to try this!

FROGMORE STEW

Broth:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup vinegar
3 oz pkg of your favorite crab boil (I like Zatarain's but this is Old Bay country....)
3/4 cup salt
2 tsp black pepper
16 cups of water

Stew:
6 lbs chicken breasts or tenders
5 lbs link sausage (I'd pick Andouille or a smoked sausage ring and cut it into pieces)
2 lbs shrimp
12  unpeeled potato wedges (or as many new potatoes as you want)
1 1/2 lbs baby carrots (or big ones cut into 2-inch pieces)
18 cobbettes of corn
1-2 green peppers, chunked
2 12 oz pkgs of button mushrooms
3 lg onions cut into wedges

Leave burner on high at all times.  Bring broth to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.  Add potatoes and carrots and cook for 10 minutes.  Add sausage and cook for 10 minutes.  Add chicken and cook for 20 minutes.  Add mushrooms, onions, and corn and cook for 10 minutes.  Add shrimp and peppers and cook for 5 more minutes.  Turn burner off and let sit for 5 minutes.  Drain liquid and serve immediately by dumping onto the center of your table (or on a big cookie sheet placed on the table).  Have dipping sauces available.

Ms. Yoder suggests catsup, barbeque sauce, sour cream, and ranch dressing.  I might add cocktail sauce and horseradish infused mayonnaise to her list...

In her story, she tells of being a young woman working at an Amish store and being invited to the boss' house for dinner.  They only told her the meal was Frogmore Stew and she was curious but also a little worried it was made from frogs...  When she arrived, she was shown to their dining room where the table had been expanded to accommodate several guests along with the family and was covered with a plastic cloth.  She noticed that there were no plates set, only napkins and forks... After a prayer of thanks, she watched in wide-eyed fascination as they dumped several piles of drained vegetables, chicken, sausages, and shrimp right onto the table!  Dips were passed around and each person dobbed the ones they wanted on the table in front of them and then used their fork to stab a morsel from the pile, dip it, and enjoy.

The dish made such an impression that she and her parents made it for a visit from her out-of-state boyfriend (and later husband).  Maybe it's the dish that won his heart?

Well, you know... Valentine's Day is coming right up!!

Where The Road Took Us

When I got up this morning, I felt in need of an adventure. This probably isn't the brightest move since every time I take Nelly out on the road I have a niggling worry if she'll make the trip or die somewhere along the way. But I did it anyway. I took the doggies and stopped for gas and then we went wherever the road took us. All my stops were unplanned but quite wonderful!

Somehow we ended up on Rt. 28 in Wiley Ford, WV. (Confession: I thought Wiley Ford was an auto/truck dealership the first time I saw the words in a newspaper but it's less car and more wading across the river kind of ford.) We followed this road as far as it goes. I stopped to check out the discount grocer that's out there and got couscous, salsa verde, canned beans, and some cheese that was on sale. We went on through Short Gap and other places with names that I'm sure must have stories like Hanging Rock and Loom. When we got to Romney, I drove around looking for a bathroom... Thank the Lord for the region's abundance of Sheetz! And instead of getting headed toward home, I made a wrong turn and we were on the way to Winchester, VA. It's a pretty drive, even on a day as dreary and gray and wet as this first of February. Sometime after crossing the Little Cacapon River, I found a place to turn around.

Photo courtesy of bridgehunter.com.
The John Blue Bridge crosses the South Branch of the Potomac River.
John Blue was an early settler in the area, arriving in 1725.

Even in the drizzling rain, I took the opportunity to stop at every historic marker (except the couple of them where it wasn't safe to pull over), thrift store, and interesting looking wide spot in the road! Right after we crossed the decidedly green John Blue Bridge I learned about the Civil War skirmishes fought over the railroad line at Camp Washington and the Wire Bridge Engagement.










We went by the places where even earlier forts stood... Fort Forman, Fort Sellers, Fort Ashby, and coming home, Fort Cumberland. Each has an interesting history that I'd never heard of before living here.

Photo courtesy of Potomac Eagle Facebook page.
Two of the engines that pull the Potomac Eagle Excursion
Train that runs from Wappacomo Station to Petersburg.

We kept passing brown tourist signs for an Excursion Train and finally went past Wappacomo Station where you could board the Potomac Eagle.

One of the markers I couldn't pull over to read more than the name, Oriskany Sand, marks a specific sandstone formation where more than a million cubic feet of gas has been produced.

It's marked California Pottery
but it reminded me, both in color
and shape, of some of the Homer Laughlin
china lines.  I'm using it as a spoon rest.
This is my 52 cent treasure from the
Augusta, WV Goodwill!

Coming homeward, a bathroom break was again making its need known... I pulled into a little strip mall in Augusta and thought maybe I can find one in Goodwill while I see if they have anything interesting.  They had something interesting... but it was the Burger King across the parking lot that saved the day!!



I saw lots of places today that beg for more exploration! Stonewall Jackson's headquarters, Indian Mound Cemetery (where we saw a gravestone with the captivating epitaph "Dead yet Speaketh"), and the site of Blue's Gap Battle are on the list.

Now, we are back and I've made Jambalaya for dinner (mental note: get Zatarain's next time!). Now to settle in for the night and plan for future adventures!

That Year End Wrap Up Post

2016 started out hopeful... kind of went straight to hell from there but ended on a decent note.  I gained many experiences.  I'm going to trust that the ones I didn't enjoy and don't see the reason for are truly needful in some plan bigger than me.

So just what did I do?

I started saying "YES" to the adventures that presented themselves.  I went out and explored myself instead of waiting for a human companion.  I took more pictures because this world is an icredibly beautiful place.  I talked to strangers and listened to their stories of how life led them from where they were to where they are now.  I healed my soul a bit more and got a little closer to actually being me again.

I experienced some firsts. Even at my age there are lots of first times left!

• visited 13 states - AL, SC, VA, MD, WV, and PA for the first time
• tasted hominy, sauerkraut, bok choy, fish sauce and persimmon
• tried some new combinations of food - kidney beans and potatoes fried together, turnips cooked with beef, potatoes, onion, celery and carrots in a pressure cooker (I'd always eaten them raw from my Dad's garden before), a Pennsylvania Dutch dish called Slippery Pot Pie, and Vinegar Cake
• lived without running water or electricity for 3 months in a semi-remote mountain setting
• showered at a truck stop (I didn't even know you could before this experience!)
• drove a box (moving) truck
• had to ask for a jump when I ran my car battery out
• gave a jump to a stranger who was stranded alongside the road having done the same
• made blueberry jam (never lived where a bush grew in the yard before and I'm too cheap to buy them!)
• got the car stuck, and luckily unstuck, in the mud a few times
• learned to clip the dog's nails by myself

I also did some things again that I hadn't for a long long time...

• bathed in a creek
• pooped in an outhouse
• shot a pistol
• observed wildlife up close - mostly deer, wild turkey and a variety of other birds
• blogged a bit more regularly (at least toward the end of the year)
• picked enough wild blackberries and black raspberries to make jam
• experienced a Ward/Stake split/reorganization at Church
• took a course where I struggled hard to learn the material (thinking I will go out of  my way to avoid using it forever more - it was that hateful!)
• read the Book of Mormon
• forgave someone who was very hard to forgive

And I even did one thing that I'd sworn never again... moved to a place where winters are cold and snowy.

I've marveled repeatedly at just how adaptable, accepting, and forgiving my dogs are... troopers through thick and thin. They amaze and inspire me daily to try harder and do better and grow up to have their attitude about just taking life as it comes.

I failed friends.  Circumstances changed suddenly and I didn't/couldn't do what I promised and I'm still scrambling to get that set right. And friends failed me. Different ones in different ways. It hurts but I still love them and want them in my life so I'll get over it.

I've been scared. And sad, And lonely at times. I've had people worry about me. And I've wondered myself if I'm ever going to get me put back together and rebuild an entire life and future.

I've also felt peace and love and hope and connection.

And, again, declared the coming year to be THE YEAR OF ME!

This Place is Trying to Kill Me!

I swear it is!

Let me tell you about the string of mishaps this past week.  First off, we've had about 10 days of mostly wet weather so the ground is quite soft and mushy. Again.  Mud is my constant companion.  And enemy.  I've decided I dislike mud almost as much as snow... slimy, slippery, oozing over the top of my shoes mud everywhere.  I don't have a single kind word to say about it and after it introduced itself to my bottom (clad in clean pants no less!) a couple of times I refuse to even try to find kind words about it!

It's made the main drive into what I now refer to as Deathtrap #1.  There's a part of it where one side is a steep 4 or 5-foot embankment, the other drops off 10-12 feet to a tributary creek, and the part where your car needs to be is... mud.  It's only that way for a few yards but a few yards is plenty!  My back wheels find absolutely nothing to grip through here so I fishtail wildly.  Usually falling short of making the top, I slide backwards down the hill until  my tires can grab on some stray bits of grass convinced that if that drop off doesn't kill me I will be injured badly enough to wish it had.  By the time I make several tries and fling enough mud to crest that little rise and roll on up to the cabin, my hands are shaking and I've screamed a rather creative string of profanities.

As an alternative, Jason showed me where to turn off by one of the natural gas wells and come up the back way through a pasture.  A couple of days ago, that presented itself as Deathtrap #2.  There's a specific spot where the car is tipped so far to the side that I'm scared I will roll so I've been going around it, just a few feet lower around some young trees. I spun out there and slid backward down the hill.  By the time I got the slide under control, my back wheels were about 6 inches from the edge of the high creek bank.  It took 45 minutes of inching forward and back and desperately trying to convince God this was not a good day for me to die to get the car turned sideways so I could back up enough to find a different angle to get up and around that corner of the fence. I did it!  Mud put up a heck of a battle that day, but I won!!  And when I got to my parking spot next to the cabin, I sat there for a few minutes shaking and saying a prayer of thanksgiving.

I also have to tell you about Gizmo's new habit.  He has taken to grunting when he wants something.  It's a deep, gravely, irritating sort of grunt and then he raises his little eyebrows and stares off into space with a coyly innocent expression while I try to devine what it is he wants.  Outside, food, water, a treat, a R-I-D-E to the P-A-R-K... it all gets the exact same grunt.  He woke me up with the grunt a few nights ago.  I figured out that he was going to barf pretty quickly and struggled to get Jack and Lightning off me so I could jump up and open the door.  The doorknob fell off in my hand.  And Gizmo did not get out in time...  Is there anything more disgusting than cleaning up a giant dog barf in the middle of the night?  Unfortunately, yes.  There's the part about fighting him back from eating it, as if round 2 is going to sit any better in his tummy, while you clean it up.

After a half hour of fidgeting around I did get the knob to slide into place but it's still coming off about every third time I need to open the door.  Mostly that's just a nuisance but it has potential to make a real problem into something even worse.

Like last night.

I was feeling rather pleased with myself for beating mud at its own game 2 days in a row and wanted to sit down and peacefully sip a cup of cocoa before bed... I put a pan with some water on the Coleman burner and proceeded to put the hot chocolate mix in my cup.  I've said before that thing ain't right... but Jason can't find a problem and dismisses my discomfort with using that flaming little burner.  So I grit my teeth and so far have managed to cook a few meals on it. I still say that thing ain't right!  I think it might be possessed and whatever is in there sure as heck doesn't answer to "Genie!"  It flamed out. Again.  This time worse than ever before... It spit up fuel like a fussy baby which caught fire all over the top of the dry sink and nearly lit up my sleeve while I tried to shut it off and smother the flames with a damp towel. The flames jumped to the floor this time so I did a little dance stomping them out. And I managed to burn a dishcloth, too.  Not just a little singe on the edge either... half the dishcloth is a gaping black hole.  And the cabin is filled with the acrid and ever attractive scent of Eau de Ashes.  Or is it Charcoal #5?

I think it's time for a new adventure.  And this next one really must include a hot shower, a real indoor toilet, and a fully functioning kitchen!  I've proved I can survive an off-grid prepper sort of existence.  Maybe not thrive in it, but I can survive.  And that's good enough for  me.

5 Minutes You'll Never Get Back

Last night as we were getting settled in bed Gizmo decided he needed to snuggle. He may be all sorts of wonderful but a snuggle dog Gizmo is not... He just doesn't have that soft, squishy, comfortable-to-cuddle-on-your-lap kind of body and he doesn't usually even try but every now and then he decides you are in desperate need of a dose of his kind of lovin' and heaven help you, there's not a darn thing you can do about it. You will be Gizzered!

Gizmo, November 11, 2016

Last night was my lucky night...

He took a mighty leap at my side and ended up clinging for dear life with his front legs wrapped over the top of my head and the rest of his body hanging down past my shoulder. His embrace felt more like being trapped in the clenches of a love sick baboon than something pleasant, but I love my little dude so I endured it. Jack was sound asleep and snoring by my other knee already folded into as neat a little ball as a 100-lb Doberman can get which is, actually, surprisingly compact. And in that moment, for no apparent reason whatsoever, I got the giggles. Like out of control, could not stop, shrieking-at-the-top-of-my-lungs kind of giggles proving once again that I am awfully easy to keep entertained. Anyway, I laughed so hard there were tears running down my face. I was gasping for breath and probably turning blue from lack of oxygen. I laughed so hard I almost threw up. Lightning was so worried! He kept stomping round and round and over the top of me, crushing a lung in the process, and sniffing at my face. His expression was utter confusion about what was wrong with me. I guess I don't indulge in a good hard laugh often enough... I guess that needs to change!

Jack, November 11, 2016

After I finally got myself under control, and Gizmo off of me, I decided I was hungry and deserved a snack for surviving such a most excellent workout. I've been very good and didn't even buy any easy-grab-and-snack-junky stuff on the last grocery run so I had to resort to one of my Mom's standby munchies: buttered saltines. Yeah, I know. Ew! Could there be a food that tastes more like cardboard? And butter "just greases it up so it slides better," as she used to say. My Mom buttered everything. Everything. Even pepperoni pizza. But I digress... We were snacking on crackers (which I don't even like except with chili and then it's more like I have a little chili with my bowl of crushed up crackers) and Lightning burps like a third grader in a school yard contest. I swear if he knew how, that was a burp where he could have got the whole alphabet out. He looked as surprised by it as I was!

Lightning, November 11, 2016

To celebrate his utter lack of good manners and top the evening off, I took on the challenge of getting all 3 boys to howl at the moon with me. Not an easy fete! It's like they know howling is a talent that they missed the heavenly line up to get for this lifetime so it takes some serious effort to get an "owoooooo" going. And they still sound more like strangling goats than anything... Is it sad that I have a better howl than my dog? True story!

If you're still reading you've either laughed with me at least once or I just succeeded in wasting 5 minutes of your life that you've got no chance of ever getting back.  Either way...

Thanks for sharing in my bit of ridiculousness!!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Several nights ago I was having a hard time going to sleep, and then staying asleep once I found my dreamland, so I spent some of the dark hours looking at the stars.  They are so bright and clear here in Ellenboro!  Even brighter and bigger than I remember from childhood when my Dad would try, with unending patience... even as I'm sure I unendingly tried his patience with just not getting it, to show me how to find the constellations of Idaho's night sky.  During my gazings, and trying to equate what I saw in the sky to what the Sky Map app on my phone told me I was looking at, I started to wonder at the imagination of whoever anciently decided which stars go together in that cosmic scale dot-to-dot we call constellations.  These are the stars of Capricornus.  You don't see that astrological goat the zodiac uses to symbolically describe the attributes of people like me who are born between mid-December and mid-January either?

Now?  Having the lines drawn in sure makes it easier to see...  My mind is still in awe at the idea that another human brain came up with this.  How did they pick one star over another, that our finite earthly sight, looks close enough to keep the same shape? And what inspired them to look for patterns among the stars?  What keeps us looking today?

I fully admit that any time I go outside at night, I look up.  And I can usually spot the Big Dipper, a part of the Ursa Major constellation, and sometimes even its smaller counterpart that features the North Star, Polaris, as the bright jewel of its handle.

That, sadly, is about the extent of my ability without the help of some sort of chart or map or more experienced star gazer.  I fear wouldn't get far if I had to navigate a trip using the stars... Thank goodness today our cells phone offer an app for that!

I was still star gazing at 1:00 am when the dogs decided they just had to go out.  With the door open to slip the lead onto Lightning's collar, I noticed one really bright star just over the top of the hill this little cabin faces.  I took a guess that it might be Sirius.  I was right!!  How appropriate to be greeted by the "dog star" on that particular errand!

When we were all settled under the blankets again, I noticed on my app how many planets were lined up on or next to the line identified as the ecliptic.  I don't know that this kind of planetary alignment has any special meaning or not, or that the planets were even all lined up anywhere but on my phone app, but it reminded me how big and very ordered this universe we call home really is.  And what a small bit of dust I am in it.  And yet my Bible and my experience tells me that I am important enough that the very God who created all this takes thought of me.  Even when I'm questioning and don't really feel like I've got much of His attention lately... Maybe that's the best reminder of all that I could draw from a night spent looking at the stars and wondering about what's really out there.

See how the Moon, Neptune, Mars, and Pluto are lined up?  Uranus was on the
same line beyond this screen capture beyond the Moon on the one side and
both Venus and Mercury were beyond Pluto on the other.  That faint line is noted
as the Ecliptic and points to the Sun.

And how amazing is it that we can see (maybe with the help of a telescope) so many strange and different worlds?  Wouldn't visiting them be an adventure to blog about?

(All photos in this post are screen captures from the Sky Map app for Androids.)

Marietta

If I told you I visited a place that looked like the set of a Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie would you think I was drunk, dreaming or telling you a tall tale?

Well... that's exactly what I'm telling you about Marietta Ohio!  

Middle Island is one of several islands in the Ohio River that
are in some state of being returned to nature as wildlife preserves.
This guide provides more information about the plans, activities
that are available and a map of the islands:  https://www.fws.gov/
refuge/ohio_river_islands/visit/visitor_activities.html

I wasn't sure what to expect when, during Jason's last visit, he suggested we keep exploring after a look around St. Mary's and checking out the 235-acre former farm turning back to nature for a wildlife preserve on Middle Island and headed over their lovely old metal bridge.  

But I surely was in for a good surprise!!  It was getting late enough in the afternoon that we were losing light for photographs, and a good look around, so we made plans to go back the next day.

Bridge between St. Mary's, WV and Ohio

We made that exploration a continuation of a trip to the dog park so the boys got an extra treat of taking a little walk around Muskingum Park right on the bank of the Ohio River in downtown Marietta.  They loved it!  And, even with one or the other them pulling me in 20 different directions all at the same time, I managed to get some pictures...

Muskingum Park
Dedication Marker

The park commemorates the westward expansion of our country beyond the original 13 colonies and is now home to a beautiful walking trail and a thriving arts and music community. The section we explored is situated between the downtown business district and a residential area with a number of historical marker-ed houses and churches.

One of the current arts programs is turning several dead trees into art installations by carving historical figures from the stumps like this one.  I didn't find a marker telling me who it is in place yet but I think it's a pretty neat idea to give these old trees a living voice to the history they witnessed.

Memorial to the Start Westward

Memorial to the Start Westward

Looks like it's time for a little more
restoration work...

We eventually headed back toward the cabin over the "Green Bridge," another of these really cool old ironworks bridges that have me so completely fascinated and charmed.

The Green Bridge between Marietta OH and Williamstown WV

And since I was driving, we took a couple more little side-trips to see stuff that interests me.  One of them was to the old Fenton Art Glass Factory in Williamstown.

Fenton Art Glass factory in Williamstown, WV

Sadly, the company ceased making art glass pieces in 2011 and there's just a gift shop that wasn't open the day we were there.  Seeing the glass production is something I would have loved...  Their wikipedia page gives some interesting facts about its founding and pictures the kind of glass pieces they produced at different times during the company's lifetime.

My Prepper Potty

My tolerance point with the outhouse was met during the rainstorm last week. I don't really like it at its very best and I especially dislike the nighttime mad runs to go pee. And I outright hate it when rain has turned the trail into slippery, slimy, sink-to-your-ankles, slurping, sucking mud where you get "stuck" and dirty yourself in the attempt to avoid dirtying yourself all while trying to keep your cell phone dry and clean because it also functions as your only flashlight.  Yeah... the experience was all that, with a cherry on top!

For years I've seen various prepper potties on Facebook, Pinterest, Blogs and other places and I've intended to add one to my own camping/emergency provisions but, honestly, it took this wilderness adventure to motivate me into action.  I was planning on spending around $10 on it.  I spent more. If you take the time to shop around you can probably find the pieces well inside that budget but, as noted, I had met my utmost point of tolerance with the available bathroom facilities so price wasn't my #1 concern.

$12.97 at Walmart.

To make your own prepper potty you need just 2 things: a 5-gallon bucket and a special lid. I'm using it only for nighttime needs and will be dumping it in the outhouse and rinsing it out the next morning.  And I'll rinse it with bleach water periodically, too.

$3 at Home Depot.

If you're going to use it in the traditional camping, or apocalypse, setting there are additional sanitation issues you'll need to consider. Since other bloggers have covered that in varying degrees of graphic detail, I'm just going to give you a few links to check out and not include that part here.

http://preparednessnibblesandbits.blogspot.com/search/label/Emergency%20Toilet

http://momwithaprep.com/potty/

http://www.cheaprvliving.com/bathroom/go-bathroom-van/

http://www.foodstoragemoms.com/2014/09/emergency-toilet-set/

So... you went shopping and you've got your bucket and lid.  What to do with them?

Start by taking your lid out of its cardboard packaging.  Then snap it on the bucket pretty much the same way you'd snap the seal on your favorite Tupperware bowl.  That's about it... Congrats!  You are now the proud owner of your very own prepper potty!!

Lid up.                            Lid down.                           Lid up.

I think Home Depot's tag line is really appropriate for this project!

Using your prepper potty is interesting the first time or two.  It's not exactly ideal height... so getting yourself positioned can be a bit of a challenge.  (If you can find it, opt for a 6-gallon bucket and it's a little better!  Those extra two inches make a lot of difference!!)  Put an old towel under it if you're using it indoors just in case, you know, you don't "do this" in a straight stream.  Hey, sometimes it happens. TMI?  I sort of thought so, too, but decided since we are all friends I'd be safe sharing that sort of weird intimate personal detail.  This prepper potty is not a perfect substitute for indoor plumbing but it sure beats the outhouse! I highly suggest one for your tent camping/emergency equipment.

If you subscribe to any apocalyptic theories - End of the World, disaster bug outs, civil unrest pending the outcome of next month's Presidential election (all well within the realm of possibility) - I have an additional bit of advice.  Make your prepper potty NOW!!  And practice using it a few times so that it's familiar, especially if you have kids.  When the world around you is in a state of utter chaos is not the time to be perfecting your technique to squat!!

Cairo

Did you say that in your head like the city in Egypt?  If you did, you just set yourself apart as not a local.  Natives say it KARE-OH.

Where Highway 31 crosses the river leading you toward
Highway 50.  I find these old ironwork bridges so charming
and appealing...

Stained glass window in the
Apostolic Church of Cairo.
I LOVE stained glass!

With homes and businesses stretching along the North Fork of the Hughes River, Cairo is another charming small town just up the road a bit from Ellenboro along the formerly lucrative North Bend Rail Line that’s now been transformed into 72 miles of hiking, biking, and horse riding trail. And like most small towns, the parts that are really interesting and beautiful aren’t apparent unless you slow down and look for them.

Since I’m trying to do just that, I pulled into a parking space on one of the business streets and waved back to the man sitting on the front porch of his bicycle shop fixing tires.  We talked for a few minutes and I learned the shop is there to rent bicycles for day trips on the trail or to repair those that have had an unfortunate mishap along the way and had to be pushed in.

The old Bank of Cairo building, situated
beautifully on the river bank, is now home
to the North Bend Rail Trail Foundation.

He told me both diners, The Trailside and Shemp’s, were decent places to get dinner.  And he pointed out a decrepit old Victorian house that’s for sale... cheap.  At least it seems cheap from what I'm accustomed to seeing real estate list for.  Like him, I hope someone who loves those “painted lady” houses comes along and makes it a showpiece of this quaint little town!  He also alerted me to the Veteran’s Monument I’d parked by and still managed to miss seeing…

There's a bell I'm guessing gets rung ceremoniously during holiday commemorations and a pair of iron benches for those who want to pause, read, and reflect. These 5 plaques are aligned on a long and simple granite marker:

It was known as the Great War... the war to end all wars.

We went "over there" to the songs and cheers of our countrymen, and marched
right into the grim reality of twentieth-century warfare.  Poison gas, machine
guns, tanks, aircraft, and submarines were devastating innovations.  We fought
in trenches, on the sea, and in the air.

We helped make the world safe for democracy... but it was only the beginning.

This memorial is in honor of all of the World War II veterans who were involved
in the fight for the freedom of America and the free world.

Whether they fought in the Pacific or European theater, they faced a resolute and
often brutal enemy; yet they possessed the inner strength and courage that kept
them going on the beaches of Normandy, in the deserts of North Africa, and on
the islands of the South Pacific.

The actions of those who were called to duty were probably best described by the
words of Admiral Nimitz: "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."

They told us, "We are going to have peace even if we have to fight for it." So we
fought in the mountains at Heartbreak Ridge and waded ashore at Inchon.

We froze in the winter and baked in the summer sun.

At times, we were greatly outnumbered, but we still fought on and many of us gave
our lives for Freedom... for Justice... and for Peace

This memorial was erected in memory of the young individuals who went to war
as kids and lost their youthful dreams, and some their lives, for a cause - freedom
and honor - and came back as men with the horrors of war instilled in every fiber
of their being and were never given the respect and honor they so dearly deserved
from the public or United States government.

God will one day judge our actions.  Until then, He will shine on the lives of each
veteran now and forever more because He was with each of them in Vietnam. He is
the only One that truly knows what they went through and are living with every day.

"I have seen in your eyes a fire of determination to get this job done quickly so that
we may all return to the shores of our great nation.  My confidence in you is total.
Our cause is just.  Now you must be the thunder and lightning of Desert Storm."
- General Norman Schwarzkopf

I have connections to all these conflicts - relatives and friends who've served in the Army, Navy, Airforce and Marine Corp...  And the monuments celebrating the achievements of our veterans have sure found a place in my heart, especially the ones you find in obscure places where you don't expect them. I welcome these opportunities to stop and think about the courage it takes to offer yourself up for the good of your country knowing you might be called on to make that ultimate sacrifice.  There’s something sacred about that kind of bravery that deserves to be honored.

Leaf Peeping & Stuff

Jason came to check on us and make sure we were surviving our wilderness adventure.  While he was here we took little trips to explore some nearby cities.  And since he keeps telling my phone pictures are pretty bad, I've been trying to use my camera more. Not sure it helps a lot... the problem may be just as much my photography skills as the device I'm using.  One day we drove up to Parkersburg and he took me to Rural King, where we bought dog food, and then we drove over the 50 cent toll bridge into Belpre, OH where we stopped in at the world's tiniest Goodwill.  (Seriously!  I would question if it was even 500 square feet but he looked annoyed when I referred to it as an adorable miniature...)  I had to laugh thinking 'Do we know how to romance or what?'  Another day we took off in the opposite direction and took a look around Clarksburg.  That day highlighted how opposite from most people we are - he pointed the car straight to the mall while I wanted to take pictures of cool buildings, historic sites and nature.  Here's a few pictures of stuff I wanted to see that I managed to snap along the way:

Leaves are just starting to change colors for fall.

Sometimes when you look out at the horizon it's like you can see trees forever.

You can see that it's giving way, but green is still putting up a good fight
to stick around awhile longer.

One more shot of the first blush of fall color from along Highway 50.

The dogs got to show him their new favorite dog park.  They had a great romp and then crashed in the back of the Explorer while we played a game of heads = turn right, tails = turn left going on up Volcano Road.  We ended up on a road I don't quite have an adequate vocabulary to describe (let alone get pictures of!) where the car was bouncing and lurching over the ruts and boulders... Amazingly, it finally connected to another beautifully blacktopped road a few miles later.

Shortly before the end of the Civil War, Volcano emerged as a major oil producing
boomtown in the White Oak region of Wood and Ritchie Counties...

We both thought this little cave in the rocks and tree roots was pretty neat.

We turned a corner and he hit the brakes! There was
Ginger and Cindy, horses he owned before the family
farm burned 8 years ago and he sold them. He called
to them and they perked right up and then he hopped
the fence went to pet them.  They are following him
back toward the car for more...

I hear this construction site is a new nuclear plant.  Looks like a possibility to me.  And the guard frowning at me for taking pictures kind of reinforced the idea...  We were on a public road and not trespassing on a private build site. The signs didn't give many clues, they just said Entero Energy Clearwater Project (which didn't come up in Google when I searched).

From another day... in St. Mary's:

I walked in some famous footsteps!!  And I stomped all
around the bank here just to make sure my foot fell somewhere
that his did so I could honestly say that...

The Ohio River directly behind the monument for George Washington's landing.

And just when you think the adventure is over and you've FOUND him...

...you find out you're wrong and the adventure continues!  We pulled in at the cabin well after sundown and I saw some bright lights up on the dark hillside.  I pointed them out to Jason.  He said a couple of words I won't repeat here and took off up the hill through the tall grass and brush and whatever else is growing there to investigate.  Before long he pulls up and tells me he's got to go meet the DNR officer and then they'll both come back.  An hour later... I learned the lights were some guys using spotlights on their pickups to hunt deer up there, which is illegal, on private property where they had no permission to be, which is even more illegal, and then evading arrest, which is even still more illegal.  What an exciting way to end our visit... And test if my phone, which has only super sketchy service up here, could even make a 911 call!