I guess not only in South Dakota, but not unexpected. Yes, the Prepper Show is coming to Rapid City! It is no surprise that South Dakota has more than its share of preppers. In fact, we have one of the few prepper communities in the country just a few miles south of us in Edgemont. Scratch that, I just did some research, it is not one of the few prepper communities in the country, it is THE largest prepper community on the Earth! An 18-square mile former military base, this community consists of 575 bunker homes that can house 5,000 residents.
If you are interested, or just mildly curious here is a link to one for sale. It can be yours for a mere $100,000! But you cannot just buy it and you are in, you have to be interviewed and approved before you can buy it. They boast having doctors, trades people, farmers, you name it. A diverse community should the zombie apocalypse come to our area.
I have several friends who lean a little on the "preppy" side; all good people, just a little more cautious than others with stores of food, water, fuel and yes, ammo should the world go to pot. No, I will not be going to the show, I am content with our stores. Maybe one of our friends will take us in as we have some skills that would by useful should the world come to an end. Well, Barb does, maybe they will take me out of pity.
What other oddities do we have in South Dakota? Did you know that South Dakota is basically two states? Even us SD residents refer to it in such a manner that one geographical feature is basically a border within the state. Hang around here long enough and you will hear someone refer to someone as either a west-riverer or east-riverer. Meaning, what side of THE river do you live on. THE river is the Missouri river which basically cuts the state in half. You will also hear people refer to east-river residents as "flat-landers" as well, as the terrain east of the Missouri is basically flat, which west-river is more rugged.
Other oddities? Of course, there are the tourist attractions, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park, the Sturgis Rally, but those are not really oddities. Well, maybe the rally is. Oh wait! How about a 140-acre polygamous compound a mere 5 miles from us! Originally founded and built by Jeff Warrens in 2005. Jeff reportedly had 24 wives. Hell, I cannot handle one, who would anyone want 24?!?!? While Jeff is now in prison, the compound is going on live and well. They pretty much just keep to themselves and do not bother anyone. 
That is all the oddities I can think of at the moment. Wait one more, I caught this oddity on one of my trail cameras! Neighbor Jim is about as scary as they get.
I have a camera on one of his water tanks. Here are a few more captures from each of our tanks.... We are in a severe drought in our area and water is vital to the survival of everything around. It is amazing how many critters we capture using these water tanks not to mention the countless bees and other insects that do not trigger the camera.
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| Dove |
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| Jays |
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| Squirrel |
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| Robin |
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| Whitetails |
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| Mule Deer |
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| And of course, the ever-present turkeys |
Work on the garage continues. Kevin came over one day to design and show us how to make some wood features for the front. We have them all cut out, Barb has sanded and stained them, now we just have to get them up. Barb insulated and wired her shop; we got two windows and doors installed and I have been working on some metal trim and completing the north side of the building. We have not been hitting it too hard, so progress has been slow.
Barb has also been out in the forest playing lumberjack jill. She sent me this picture the other day. The biggest tree she has cut down with her mighty DeWalt battery operated chainsaw.
No water? Ummm I'm not sure that's fun! Just curious, do you pay for it or is it free to haul? Do you haul water in the winter or melt snow? I'm guessing you're a half prepper ... guns, ammo, bows and arrows. Yes you do have some interesting neighbors!!! And thank you for providing water for the critters!! I would do the same.
ReplyDeleteOh no, it is not free. We pay $0.11/gallon delivered or $0.02/gallon if we pick it up. The winter does make it more challenging. Last winter was the first time we did it and there were a couple of times the valve was frozen shut on the tank and we had to thaw it to haul the water.
DeleteHow often do you have to top up the cistern? Also, do you have a dedicated spot for your slide-in camper? Barb has her own shop? Kewl! I never really thought about the Missouri splitting the state like that. Love the critter tank.
ReplyDeleteDepends. When it is just Barb and I and we have the cistern filled to the brim, it will last us a month. With guests, or visitors half that long. We try to keep it over 50% that way we are not going to town just to get water but instead get it when we are going to the grocery store or doing other business in town.
DeleteI am still waiting to hear more about the BIG event, something fun I hope.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing all the camera photos at the water tanks, lots of cute birds and critters. We have well water and a septic tank here, but we need to store extra water in case of power outages. I guess we could not be called preppers. Next power outage I am going to a hotel. The garage is looking good. Take care, enjoy your day!
That is funny right there! We have a generator hookup that will run our house as well. We have not used it yet as our power outages have been very brief.
DeleteYou definitely have some oddities as you described in South Dakota. A different life compared to us city people. I don't take water for granted after years of rving, but most people do.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing that the "city folk" you mentioned have no idea the differences between living in the country and the city. I know for one, many of them could not imagine driving over an hour just to get to a grocery store!
DeleteIf you want into the SSUVFL, you will have to send me a list of your skills, and Barb's. I've got so much to do now that soup season is over, I don't know if we will make it on time.
ReplyDeleteBring it along, we might need it for our own compound!
DeleteCritter tanks are great! Jeff suggested we add a camera and I can see why it would be a fun addition. Yes SD does have its "interesting" features along with its beautiful locations. As preppers always seem so private it's strange that there's a convention - and a large community that everyone knows about. We have several properties in our area that haul their water although I have no idea where they get it. There are also several wells that draw their water with working windmills (many with "back-up" solar panels. Those huge corbels are impressive. As usual you two are amazing at what you do yourselves.
ReplyDeleteBoth of those communities I talked about are guarded. One just cannot drive up and stop by for coffee. You would be stopped and asked what you are doing or who you are visiting.
DeleteNice wood project Barb! That water tank sure has a variety of visitors, that Buck is really nice! I checked out the bunker, very interesting:)
ReplyDeleteThose bunkers are interesting for sure. While all of them are owned by someone, not all are occupied fulltime. The others are probably filled with stores and the owners will rush there should something happen.
DeleteI love ❤️ this post and all your photos. So lovely to see the animals and birds. Water 💧 is a necessity for life, both for humans and creatures. Thank you so much for sharing. I am 68, retired and live in a 6th floor apartment in Montreal. I do not take Water for granted, sad that some do.
ReplyDeleteI would say that better than 50% of the population takes water for granted. I know that we did in our old houses when we had wells.
DeleteYes you all are ever busy again. I loved the deer pictures. They are so cute.
ReplyDeleteI got a really cool shot of an animal I was not expecting last night!
DeleteNow I know a lot more about SD than I did. For instance, I didn't know it was a place where people like to live in large groups. :)
ReplyDeleteBoth the bunker encampment and the polygamist camp are pretty good examples of that. I am sure there are more, but those are the only two I am aware of.
DeleteI didn't know about the river split or the preppers or the Wind Cave. I only knew about having to get your water brought in from you having to do it on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI always love to see the visitors to the water tank.
Barb is a very capable and talented woman!
Now, just waiting to hear about the Big Event! ;)
You only have to wait 6 more days!
DeleteTook me awhile to figure out Prepper, mostly bc I overlooked the survivor part. eventually clever me figured it out. And then I saw survivor. Duh. At least I figured it out.
ReplyDeleteNow that your curiosity is peaked, go on YouTube and you will get all the information you need to and then some!
DeleteI didn't know there was such a thing as a prepper show but I'm not surprised that there is one in the States.
ReplyDeleteApparently, there is more than one, they go on across the entire country!
DeleteMy idea of prepping is a lot of cat litter and food. A mattress would be nice, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat more does one need?!?!?
DeleteI guess I can understand the preppers. It's a crazy and scary world out there! SC is one of the few states I've never visited, and you have an impressive list of things to see. One of these days...
ReplyDeleteCovid gave us a glimpse at how things can get out of control quick. How many people have stores of paper towels and toilet paper in their houses who hadn't before that?
DeleteWhat about the Corn Palace? That’s odd! Also, the Minuteman Missile National Monument. I came out of that movie at the VC depressed!
ReplyDeleteYes, the Corn Palace! That is a must stop while traveling through the state just for the oddity of it. We've never been to the MMNM.
DeleteHow interesting re the bunkers, yes thanks for the link went there and looked, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteNo water, hope it's not expensive when you buy it and of course you would have to watch how you used it as in being not wasteful.
After living in our RV for 6 years as we traveled the country, we became very conscientious about how much water we used. Although we are a little freer with our water use, we still try to use as little as possible.
DeleteDoes no one have a well for water? Curious.
ReplyDeleteOn our road, I know of only two people that have wells. You could try and drill one, but so many have come up with nothing that several of the well drillers will not even try in our area.
DeleteI've watched a lot of zombie and/or apocalypse shows and it seems like a pretty bad way to live life having to fight for survival everyday. That is why my hope that should a zombie apocalypse happen, I am taken out in the first wave. Thus I too don't worry about my stores.
ReplyDeleteFunny, or not so funny. We had a similar conversation at the farm recently. With all the missile silos up there, we talked about kind of the same thing, what each of us would do it we were in the field and all those missiles started launching.
DeleteLoved the info on SD. We used to enjoy watching a prepper show on tv years ago. Very interesting back then! I can only imagine now. Barb is amazingly talented in all kind of things! Loved all the wildlife that visit your home. I too am waiting for the Big Event! :)
ReplyDeleteWe watched the prepper show a few times, but of course they highlight the wackiest of the wacky, not the mainstream people who feel the need to be prepared.
DeleteI had never heard of a Prepper show!! I had to look it up and read about these events. Lots of beautiful wildlife around your place. The garage is coming along nicely...
ReplyDeleteI would have thought being in Texas you may have heard about them. I am willing to bet there are a couple in your state somewhere.
Deletei have never heard of a "prepper" show, the details are quite interesting!! you did not follow my blog back in the day, when superstorm sandy hit the jersey shore. we prepared by going on a bike ride, loading up on treats from the bakery, and we did buy batteries...primarily because we did not have any. we have a portable generator at our office complex but we did not go and get it or fill it with gas, we were only "slightly" prepared for that 10 days without electricity. moving on....that is some watering hole you have for the critters, it seems it is well know in the area!! you have to get your own water, wow, that is foreign to me!! have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI am betting there are more than a few hurricane preppers in your area with food and other essentials. That is foreign to us, we prepare for snowstorms and such, but not hurricanes!
Deleteback again...laughed so hard this time about the dog hair, you crack me up!! GO CHIEFS!!!!! we finally did it. i knew they were waiting for me!!
DeleteI thought of you when we were watching that game, it was a good game for you to attend!
DeleteSouth Dakota is definitively on our radar sometime in the future. Your game camera pics are always a favourite. It’s a good thing you have a gang of characters coming to help finish off the garage for ya. 😉 Cheers!
ReplyDeleteCome in November, we can share a deer blind! You might want to fly however as you would more than likely run into a snowstorm or two driving!
DeleteI am surprised you travel at all with all that excitement around you!
ReplyDeleteBarb is a catch!
I don't want to prep. I can barely make my way out of September!
We travel BECAUSE of the excitement!
DeleteAs a former LDS member/leader I knew about the offshoot of the LDS church in your area...did not scare me off at all (we almost moved to South Dakota in 2020/2021), I LOVE where you live, just not a good match for Marcia with her MS...needs to be close to family here in Florida.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I guess if you are/were affiliated with the LDS you would be aware of them. You would have loved SD at least 10 months of the year. The others, you would be dreaming of something much warmer.
DeleteGood to know you're not relaxing. Wouldn't want you get rusty. I believe most states have a lot of oddities if one searched them out. Interesting to read about yours:) Can't wait to see the decorations you're making. Love the photos from your wildlife camera. Dogs!????
ReplyDeleteMy bad on not including a picture of the girls, I will see what I can do this week about including a few.
DeleteThanks for sharing all the "oddities" about SD, Jim. reading about the large preppy community (yes, I did check out the listing) was quite enlightening, who knew?
ReplyDeleteThere is a whole other world out there that we know little or nothing about.
Deleteseriously, NO WATER? That is about as odd as it can get. And to think moving to a rural county was pretty odd for me, but we do have water..lol
ReplyDeleteWe are not the only ones, there are entire communities across the country that have to ship in their water. We both grew up with wells/city water and really took it for granted until we hit the road and lived out of our RV.
DeleteHi Jim…it’s most impressive to me that Barb wired her garage. I can’t imagine a “Big Event” that could be better than that!
ReplyDeleteMaybe not more impressive, but definitely more fun!
DeleteWhat a great read. Being city folks and visiting our family in ND, I'm thinking we seem a bit green. We sent our son off with his grandpa every summer from the age of nine up until he was 16. They had him working on the farm and he loved it. It was a great experience for him.
ReplyDeleteEvery kid should have to do that for a few seasons!
DeleteOooooh I love the cameras on the water tanks capturing the critters! The turkeys are my favorites by far. Your Barb is the most intrepid woman I have ever heard of. I love it. I'm just like her ... sort of. Remove ALL ability to handle a power tool or do just about anything outdoors (except sit) and we are identical! Hahahaha xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt's almost like you two could be sisters!
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