Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Cave Men only "Oooga Booga" => Topic started by: rockrush69 on September 21, 2013, 10:47:52 pm
-
I am in search of AT I am in search of ... i am in search of a tipi village so.ewhere in north america ... i was very much so turned on to this way of life from a few posts i found on here then some more resear ch online . But the one that I was planning to move to in South Oregon seems to b on its wa to extinction :( so now I am looking for a nother anywhere where it is not sweltering hot .... anyone know of such a place ?
-
Sorry my phone seems to malfunction on this sight . Lol makes me type studdering . Lol
-
coming from a guy that moved to Montana, build a small log cabin and lived in it totally off grid a while.... here are a few words to advice to hopefully help you in your quest. Many states it is ILLEGAL to live offgrid. Montana is one of the only states that they wont bother you, but the sacrifice you give is having to live amongst the dregs of society.. Unfortunately your neighbors will likely not be the romantic primitive living types that you hope. Lots of people who live like this are on the run thieves, druggies and miscreants. Just wanted to point that fact out because I didn't realize it until I lived there! Any place extremely cheap to live, they'll call home. Now if you can find a strict tipi community, you may make out better... but you are still living on borrowed land and that can be tough. The best thing you can do is buy your own land in a state that has no rural habitation or building laws. Look for outhouses in the area.. you'll only find working outhouses in places that will tolerate off grid living... it's tougher than you think. The problem you will find with a community of people is there will be a conflict in land and how people use it. Someone will inevitably take a .22 out to shoot rabbits and squirrels on a regular basis and game will become very scarce very quick. People will make poor decisions with their waste and soon it wont be such a pretty, pristine place anymore. These are reasons that no one wants people living like this on their land and why state/federal lands have a maximum limit on camping days.. unfortunately the days of living this lifestyle are gone in this country unless you want to live in the ugliest, God forsaken places that no one else cares about. If there is a community that pops up on a nice ranch, it is inevitable that it will be short lived or they will start charging rent on the land in order to keep things cleaned up and keep the riffraff out. I really wanted to live this lifestyle with my family, we made electric with solar, had satellite internet and hauled our water.. it's romantic until you realize that you have to work much harder to live b\c you providing for yourself... not much down time.. always chores that NEED done. We lasted a few years off and on but it starts to be no fun when you work so hard for what you have and you are afraid to leave it because your neighbors down the road are known thieves.. gets to where you are afraid to leave your wife and kid alone too! Winter is flat out tough and depressing. Off grid places are notoriously tough to get in and out of in the winter and/or rainy seasons. They are going to be dirt roads with poor access... no one will want to plow them or grade them for you for cheap. Living off the land in these conditions are extremely tough.... a lot of people died in these situations before modern civilization. Now I dont ever want to discourage anyone from wanting to go live the primitive living dream because some of us need to go explore this route, myself included. I live in FL and was born and raised here. I up and left to Montana to pursue this dream and it cost me soooo much money. When I add up the cash I spent in the long run of moving costs, land costs and solar, electric necessities, after 3 years in MT I spent around 50k dollars that was completely flushed down the drain, no recovery. Had I just stayed in FL and saved more I could have just bought myself 10-20 acres of FL land when prices bottomed out and I could have set up a nice "camp" there. FL wont let you live in a house without running water or septic and wont let you "live" in a dwelling under 600 sqft (unless you have an old house that was built prior to the building codes) You actually are required to have A/C to live in FL too... if they catch you without a\c they can condemn the house! ... BUT the good news is you can "camp" in Florida all you want and you are not required to have running water, a/c electric or septic, but you can't " live" there.. but you can camp every day of the year..you just cant "live" there.... so basically you need to have a home address to show that you don't live there and you are just camping.... so a relatives house? or good friend? It's not a bad idea to have a backup plan should the situation not pan out. I know FL probably doesn't sound like the dream place, but it's actually better than you think. think it's hot here in the summertime??? You would not believe how hot central montana is in the summer... no joking..100degrees every day....hotter than FL and no coastal breeze! I didn't think you needed A/C in the summertime of MT... dead wrong.. wow that was miserable. Winters in FL are mild yet you will find that living in a tipi in FL will get pretty darn cold too... but living in a place that can hit 20 below zero is down right dangerous.. In my thick walled cabin I spent many nights of no sleep slaving over the wood stove to make sure the house didn't freeze inside despite the stove burning full blast... and that was in a cabin! There is no such thing as- build a fire before bed and the coals will keep you warm all night. Its, I'm up every 2 hours filling the stove... in a non-air controlled tipi fire, your logs wont last very long and you may be paranoid to sleep afraid you'll burn the place down. Nothing is worse than waking up frosty and having your water frozen! It's tough out there. Only after you live it can you realize that it's not romantic...it's down right scary and amazing how our ancestors survived like this for thousands of years. Before you head out on your adventure, I'd set up camp at some state camping grounds. some have a 3 week maximum camp time, then move down the road to a new one. try this out with your tipi in FL first this winter and see if you still want to take the next step before you commit to a cross country move and find yourself working odd jobs to save enough money to move back home. It's a sobering experience that I wouldn't give up the knowledge i gained in the process, but I wished I would have talked to someone who did it before I went. If you can find a couple acres of land here in FL to owner finance or buy outright, that may be a good option for you. Just enough to get your camp out of sight from the road and neighbors. That is what I am in the process of doing now. I came home, saved for a solid year while working and paid cash for a $24k house so I have a home, now I am saving cash to buy my own few acre camp.. with any luck I will find a few affordable acres below the flood plane for cheap that backs up to a state forest. Then I can have my get away camp for whenever I like. Stay as long or as short as I like and no one to tell me one day that I have to move. I sure wish you luck in whatever adventure you take. A part of me wishes I would have gone the tipi route instead of the cabin, but my wife refused the tipi idea so I compromised with the cabin. It was way tougher than I ever fantasized it would be. I left Montana humbled and somewhat relieved (although I hate to admit that).
-
Wow . That sucks . I did libe in wisconsin for a few years and spent an entire wi ter living in the back of my pick up with a camper top .. and it sucked . Then i rented a deer camp and spent alll night stoking fires too . I even documented it on youtube . "Survivorman living out of truck " lol . It was fun . But sucked too . Im kinda over it . It seems like our world has changed and is not allowed to be the way it was before . The rural areas are as you said filled with thiefs and what not .... its sad ... anywYs .. thanks for the advice .
-
Well the tipi village in oregon has invited me to come stay in the big tipi and visit so ... maybe i will just go tryit out .... i can always just leave if i dont like it .
-
yup, that may not be a bad deal for you. just getting there and back would be the only obstacle. good luck on your adventure. I made some good memories on mine... most involved hunting or building the cabin.... the living part made me some bad memories tho!
-
Ryan
Thanks for being so candid. Your explanation of off the grid living will take the wind out of someones sails and open the eyes off another considering it. We all fantasize that the grass is greener but it never is. I like most would like to chuck my regular job and for me move back to Michigan where land can be had relatively cheap, even better if there is a cabin on it and live semi autonomous but as you eluded too it is whole lot more work than think. Plus for me, my wife doesn't want to move back to Michigan. Our kids, and grandkids are here and she doesn't have plans on leaving. Buying land in Nebraska is pretty much out of the question. It is very expensive if you live within an hour of the Omaha/Lincoln Metro and don't desire to move to Iowa. Anywhere outside the hour where it is rural is farmland, which is expensive.
-
If you look back in history, there are many clues to how tough this life was. For example, read the accounts of the mountain men. Granted, only a few ever wrote their memoirs and only later in life at that. There are lots of accounts of homesteaders and how they worked sunup to sundown, only to lay awake at night worried about how they were ever going to make it. Or just look at the once nomadic plains tribes today. They have some tipis here and there, but they rarely spend that much time in them. Even they readily admit that a hot shower and a flush toilet are pretty handy amenities.
Fact is, it was all very highly romanticized. I run in the Rendezvous scene. In camp, we are required to maintain the look of a camp prior to a certain date in history, typically 1840. Folks are allowed to have things like coolers as long as they cannot be seen. I go to the extremes along with other Historical Trekkers and eliminate everything that dates after my cutoff of 1776. It's not unusual to be in camp asking yourself just why in the blazes you are putting up with these miserable conditions when you don't have to.....but a week or so later when you are on the phone with a buddy halfway across the country you are speaking very fondly of time in camp! It's only enjoyed in the anticipation of going to camp, and the relief that comes a week or so after camp when multiple showers have scraped off the layers of grunge and funk!!!
It's fun to do as a hobby, but there is a reason why very few people do it full time. In this day and age when people are being raised with constant affirmations that you are exceptional it's tough to understand, you are very likely NOT a 1 percenter. So, before you chuck it all in the dust bin and run away to the circus to be a lion tamer, just see if you can make your dog in the backyard behave first! And if you are honest with yourself, you will check your motivations immediately. If you are dropping out of common culture because life is so hard, or you don't like your boss, or showing up on time, or you don't feel like giving 110% all the time, you are in for an a$$whipping of epic proportions when it's time to cut enough firewood to heat a tipi thru a long winter...remember, their insulation rating is R-squat.
-
A couple things though ... number one ... this tipi village moves twice a year . And has been there for six years . There are rivers to wash in and bathing tubs to take warm heated baths . They are already colonized some . And there is a parking place fifteen min walk away . And most of them work in the near by town . They get food assistance and go shopping in town . And they haVe solar panels and cell phones with internet . And if a tipi is made right with a liner it is actually very warm . And has fresh air and perfect flow for smoke . I understand i will work hard . But as a carpenter and a roffer in Florida. And for five years in wisconsin ( where for one year wi ter included i lived i. An un insulated shack with a wood stove for heat and cooking . ) i lived very ruffly . This will by no means be my first rodeo . But man you guys are all very cool and i do appreciate you trying to save me a bunch of bull crap ! Actually . Most people would just let someone go die out there ... just another Testament i feel like i have a bunch of big brothers looking out for me . And thats a very good thing . Thank you my friends . Namaste
-
I have to tell you guys about this cool adventure I went on I took off with o I took off with one friend across the United States we ended up in the appellatio we ended up in the appalachan mountains where we Sat for a long time stuck. Up on a mnt. Top with no gas and had to live off the land for 2 and a half months till we could finally talk my pops into wiring me eighty bucks ... we ended up in wisconsin. And lived on a farm in our van keeping bees for ten bucks an hour and trimming xmas trees . I met my babies mom there and fell in love . I am a musician and was suppossed to be on my way to cali... everything changed when i met christy ... got an offer to be in a band back in Florid with some of the members from "COLD" and " SHINE DOWN " THE BANDS NAME IS "ALLELE" i joined the band. Moved back to florida ... got a record deal with sony atv and hype music ( mtvs label) we have a music video on mtv.com and youtube ( search " ALLELE IMMUNE" ) and got to tour in a fifty ft. Prevo ( tour bus) all across the usa. I have played broadway and everything . ... but the lifestyle was not for me . Being away fromy son was killing me . So i quit the band and started learni g survival . Made my first bow while still in allele . And. Havent stopped since . ( by the way the tipi village has i think eight kids living there one was just born there ) i have seen alot . Done alot . And im naturally an adventurer . I habe a solid network of people all over the usa that i can run to if things go wrong . So if i do go to the tipi village for a few weeks/months/years . I can allways bail if it starts sucking .but as i drive through my city i cant help but be disgusted with how badly over populated it is and how much of an a hole most people are ... i just want a pure life for me and my kids and i would rather work my butt off and keep thwm pure and free of the negativity . Then live in this melting pot of thugs and gangster wanna be s shooting eachother and begging for money . S.w. florida has a pill epidemic going on bad . And everyone here is a junky . I have even fell into it a few times with a hard hard recovery . And i need an escape. I hope you enjoyed my story slash rant . Annd i ment no offense to anyone withm words . I love all of my fellow archers . Peace .
-
Living in a campsite by myself for a while was a good experience for me. It helped me "heal" from many of the sicknesses of living in society. But I couldn't have done it without the umbilical cord of electricity, steady income, and hot water. And raising the kids in camp? No way. I kept my camp very clean a free of anything I didn't need, which was basically anything that wouldn't fit in my tent. I couldn't do that with my family living with me.
I was forced to live off the grid because of work (remote jobs) and the fact that I couldn't afford to live in a hotel. I know I could live that way forever but it's lonely. I wouldn't do it unless I had to. Eventually I hope to live on a small farm and eat fresh, homegrown food every day. That's my dream. :)
-
Dude allergic hobit !!!! I learned to flint knap from you . You just commented on my english longbow the other day andiwas super happy to see a person i looked up to say something i did was cool . :) i am actually following your build Long for sinew bowstring on youtube right now
-
;D Heheh... Thanks, man. Post then string when you're done (if you decide to make one). I'd love to see it.
-
I definatly will post pics of the sinew string once its done .
-
I own 70 acres with a 30 foot construction trailer on it. It has electric, range, full sized fridge, outhouse, outside tented area with wood stove, and thousands of acres of national forest within a short walk. The driveway is 4 miles from the blacktop road.
Living back in there full time is not impossible, but it isn't easy either. You would have to grow about a half acre garden, hunt, fish, trap, and still you have to produce an income to cover the electric, taxes, and to pay for the things you can not make or grow.
I just returned from a ten day stay, where I never left that area during the ten days. The mast crop is a total failure this year, and the only plentiful food sources this year, are hickories and walnuts. Gathering enough hickory nuts, and preserving the nuts or processing for the oils, would be easy this year, but since the mast crop failed, even squirrels would be hard to come by right now.
The animal population has dropped to the point where our garbage from the first day, was still there on the 11th. A deer carcass laid for a full week without being messed with. It would be a hard place to winter this year at a subsistence level.
I have spent extensive periods of time living hunter gatherer, and I was good at it, albeit with a modern air rifle as my hunting weapon.
One lesson needs be learned from the beginning.
I went out a day before season, to get in the creek looking for good stone, or artifacts. I was picking up likely looking pieces and striking a couple of flakes off to see what they were. I rapidly recognized that most of the likely pieces, all had a couple of flakes already knocked off of them. Almost every single one. Some of it is likely natural, but more than one person had been up that creek looking for stone, and some of the scars were so old, they had the same patina as the rest of the stone. I found one block that appeared to have been used as a core to drive blades off of. Where ever it is, someone has tried to live there in a primitive or off grid manner, and did so, for a very long time period. It can be done, but it depends on what you require.
I do not require company, and I am quite happy to live that way for long periods, or was. Then we reach the really hard part. I am now old enough that most of those activities hurt. I am already older than the life expectancy of someone living that lifestyle. The older you get, the harder it gets, and the more it hurts. This should be a prime consideration from the beginning.
-
I really appreciate this thread. My wife and I have cut tipi poles and we plan on liven in it at least most of the year at some point. Comfort is a thing that we relish and need nowadays because we have it. Like building a bad ass plywood form for a recurve….in my ancestors' days they would have just known how to bend it over their knee but nowadays I see so many more precise, reliable ways to do things without having to be absolutely knowledgeable. Unless primitive archer is my Facebook and I just stalk sweet bows all day, which I do, so I appreciate the sweet nectar of knowledge I have gained from all on here. We are a tribe, people of all walks of life, if put in extraordinary situations due to natural disaster. Just hope I could find Bryce, Carson, Blackhawk, Half Eye, Gordon, Pat M, Gun Doc, and to many others to mention! I hope you find your way Jesse, just cause it is impossible don't mean it can't happen. :)
-
And george of course
-
This was a great thread to read. Like many of you, I considered living like this at one time (in my 20's). I am happy with my lot in life now, and do not regret my choice to live with all of the modern amenities. I have a few acres in north central Texas, and I can camp out when ever and for however long I wish. If I had spent 50K like Twisted, with nothing to show for it, I would not own my own place now. I do the primitive camps like JW, and I agree with what is saying about completely. We camp a couple of weeks, get a small dose of the experience and then get to go home and relive the "fun" for years to come. As for the insulating properties of the liner, don't delude yourself. In winter, it is warm when you have a fire, and cold when the fire goes out. I've also done the "stuffing grass between the liner and cover" routine. SLIMBOB will verify the fact that only marginally affects the temperature. We stuffed with hay one year. It kept the wind out, but that was about it. Your warmth goes out the top of the tipi. And the business of using the liner to keep it cooler in the summer is a bunch of bunk too. I don't know how many times I've heard "using the liner makes it about 15 degrees cooler in the tipi". It doesn't do anything of the sort. If it is 100 degrees in the shade, it is 100 degrees inside the tipi as well. The fact that it does offer shade is a plus, only in an area without trees. If there are trees about, sitting beneath them is a better deal,,,,,,,, more chance of breeze! Curtis
-
Yep. Temperature down in the teens, or maybe single digits with sleet falling. We stuffed the liner with hay as best we could and kept a mountain of wood handy. Daytime was pleasant, as we just bundled up and kept the fire going. Worked on bows and strings and other projects to keep busy. Nighttime was a whole nuther story. Whoever woke up first as the fire was dying was to add wood. But the instant the flames died out the temperature bottomed out, so we both kept the fire going all night every night. Our drinking water stored in the tipi was frozen solid every morning. That trip was as memorable as any I've ever been on and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything, but it's far to easy to over romanticize all this. Living this way full time would be a hard scrabble existence to say the very least. Curt and I have stayed in his tipi all over the country and it's always a blast, for a week or two at most. Then I want a hot shower, hot meal and a warm soft bed.
-
Living in a campsite by myself for a while was a good experience for me. It helped me "heal" from many of the sicknesses of living in society. But I couldn't have done it without the umbilical cord of electricity, steady income, and hot water. And raising the kids in camp? No way. I kept my camp very clean a free of anything I didn't need, which was basically anything that wouldn't fit in my tent. I couldn't do that with my family living with me.
I was forced to live off the grid because of work (remote jobs) and the fact that I couldn't afford to live in a hotel. I know I could live that way forever but it's lonely. I wouldn't do it unless I had to. Eventually I hope to live on a small farm and eat fresh, homegrown food every day. That's my dream. :)
Good dream Patrick. Great dream to aspire to.
Cipriano
-
;D
Let me add that I would like to have LOTS of trees on my farm. I get a little twitchy if I can't get fresh bow/arrow wood.
-
Well, out on the Navajo Nation, people can live in hogans if they want to. Usually, it's just very traditional people who do. Even the smaller towns on the Rez have electricity and so on. I can tell you that the water in Many Farms isn't so great. But the thing about a Hogan is, it stays warm provided you have firewood. But the toilet is an outhouse and the bathing done in a basin. Not a lot of people opt for this even though they can if they want to. Mostly hogans are used for ceremonies, but some people will live in them as a temporary thing until they can find something else.
In other words, on the Rez, people could live in such dwellings but not many choose to. Many people like electricity and running water, even if they mostly rely on a woodstove for heat.
-
Hey, good thread! My family and I just left Tipi Village, in Southern Oregon, after a year of living there. We left to come visit family in Missouri for a bit and are pitching our lodge here for the winter until we can afford the drive back to Oregon. I can say that it was a fantastic village, without any "on the run thieves" or anything of the sort. People just love scaring people away from the wilderness, mostly cause people are scared of the wilderness themselves. That is probably because most folk think they can do it all alone like some wonder cowboy, but the truth is, WE NEED COMMUNITY. It is as necessary to the human animal as water , air and fire. That said, I hope you made it out to the village, and I just wish we would have been there when you arrived to welcome you. Perhaps you will be there when we return! If you want to read a bit I have written about the village, I have two posts title Tipi Living- on this site. Be well and aim true.
-
I have been on some extended primitive bowhunts in Montana and Alaska and two things I learned was the guy that invented the hot shower was the smartest man on earth right behind the guys that invented fast food, furnaces (camp fires are romantic but a PIA to keep going and you always smell like smoke) and water filters pumps. I got so tired of working from sun up to sun down, not seeing or not being able to get close enough to game to get myself meat.... much less being able to get fresh vegetables, or fruit. I got tired of being cold and dirty an it amazed me how much water it takes just to exist. It also takes a lot of energy just to exist. Pert near gave up on keeping my hands clean, and brushing my teeth and changing out of my dirty clothes even...and leaves are NOT a good substitute for toilet paper. And Lord help you if you need a doctor or dentist.
Some people say they were born 100 years too late .. not me .. I'd rather enjoy todays amenities (and pressures to tell you the truth) and just VISIT 100 years ago from time to time... for a couple weeks max..
-
We had hot showers daily, twenty miles into the wilderness! There was a mountain spring uphill from the village about 350 feet that a spring box was built to allow water to collect and spill over enough to maintain a natural flow. The box was bored out in the bottom and spigot attached which led out into a hose. At about 25 feet above the garden, it split into three hoses, one of which was black. The black hose ran for about a hundred feet and sat on the grass in the sun. 90 degree showers for 15 minutes at a time every hour!
-
I remained in camp, because of the equipment and such that was still there. The rest pulled for home in front of the coming storm, taking all of the vehicles with them. They promised to be back in a couple of days.
I stoked the stove and slipped into my sleeping bag near by. A small insect bit me on my left side. I simply swatted the bug, and brushed it out of my bag. Next morning, it was a little red spot that itched.
That night a storm began that ended up laying down 6 inches of ice, took out a large part of the area power, and pretty much stopped everything in its tracks out in the world. That morning it started to swell for real. Over the next four days, I tried all of the self remedies, but the knot kept getting bigger, and I kept getting sicker.
By the time I realized how how much trouble I was in, I was no longer was capable of walking out on my own, due to the conditions. I was having fever dreams when they came back to get me and the rest of the gear on the fifth day after I was bitten. I took a shower, and went directly to the hospital, but could not be seen. The ice had the emergency room overflowing and the wait to be seen was over 15 hours. One of the Med-Stop type clinics pumped me full of antibiotics, and they sent me home.
The scar is a trophy today, where they had to cut the whole area away, but it also carries a hard lesson. Alone, I would likely have died from such a simple little incident.
Comfort is not all that the modern world has to offer.
-
but as i drive through my city i cant help but be disgusted with how badly over populated it is and how much of an a hole most people are ... i just want a pure life for me and my kids and i would rather work my butt off and keep thwm pure and free of the negativity . Then live in this melting pot of thugs and gangster wanna be s shooting eachother and begging for money . S.w. florida has a pill epidemic going on bad . And everyone here is a junky . I have even fell into it a few times with a hard hard recovery . And i need an escape.
"Be the change you want to see in the world"-Ghandi. Before you take off ask yourself if you're going to Oregon or running from Florida. The answer to that question makes all the difference. I felt like I needed to say that. You remind me of someone.... now let's talk about killing things with bows and eating them and wearing their fur and stuff!
-
Twisted limbs could you post pics of your cabin?
-
Heres a thread from another site,that Ryan posted pics of his cabin.
http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=220804&category=88#2935309
-
You know,i guess its what your willing to tolerate.I grew up this way and we never thought it was that tough or so bad.
But....
Now that i have been spoiled by "Civilization"im not sure if i could live this way completely or not.
-
Health care isn't free as we all know too well. How does that work in such a settlement?
-
Health care isn't free as we all know too well. How does that work in such a settlement?
That is a rough one. I know I just had an abscessed tooth that took me months to get taken care of because I have no insurance. That is an extreme case though. Most often, for nearly all ailments, we take care of each other. If there is something that needs to be seen by a doctor, we go and pay full price. It is hard to come up with, but when you need it, you can do it. We all work in some form or another, most of us running cottage industries or doing labor around the county for ranchers or whatever comes up.
-
Are you still in the st. Louis area Wylden? I'm loading just down the river from the arch. It's a little chilly here! Josh
-
These are all good things to heed, and consider. If you have a Family, you have a lot of hard questions to answer, and many more responsibilities. It is indeed a hard life, and like J.W. said, many in the past did not make it. If you want to read some heart breaking stories, read some of the letters of the miners who went to Alaska to strike it rich. The ones who did strike it rich, were few and far between. The ones who made money, were the towns people, and businesses especially the Brothels! ::) :P. One miner who was seeing the truth of it all, was also a baker, and he started making and selling pies, for the unheard of price of $5.00 apiece! :o But he sold every one he made, because it reminded the miners of a little bit of home. He was able to go home with more money than he had before he went to Alaska. Like they said here, if you are young, yeah, it is not too hard, but as you get older, it becomes much harder to do the things you once took for granted. I used to work construction, and have done everything from digging ditches, to cutting and hauling away trees, and scraping fifty years of paint off of old clap board buildings in August. But I would not even think of doing that stuff now. I can't leap tall women....uh, I mean tall buildings in a single bound any more. ::) Heck it's even difficult to get a running start! :P A buddy of mine turned fifty, a few years ago, and he called me and said that he was now fifty years old, and asked what could he expect. I told him that when he got out of bed, that snap, crackle, and pop, wasn't his cereal! I told him that from that point on he was going to find that the warranty on many body parts was going to run out, and on a more frequent basis, as time went on. Remember it is not just you, it is your Family also, that has to endure your decisions. Be sure to save as much money as you can before you go, for unexpected emergencies, medical or others like vehicle repairs, etc. Also, replacing clothes, even from a thrift store, still takes cash. Washing clothes with a tub and wash board, or rock, will wear out clothes quickly. Take a look at some of the old photo graphs of the cowboys, and Indians. They have wrinkled leathery faces, and look ancient. Most were in their mid to late forties. It was just a hard life. There was a reason why some Indian tribes would leave their old and infirm, out to die. It was hard enough for the young, and healthy to survive, without trying to take care of the old, and sick. It was a harsh and cruel way, but it was a simple painful fact of life. Each knew that their time would also come. When you could not contribute to the tribe's resources, or your own, you were no longer an asset, but another burden. The Ti pi village sounds more organized than most groups, but still even with a solar hot water hose, the winter is going to be difficult, especially the out house. Like they said, leaves just don't cut it. I have become very sissified when it comes to striking timber. (toilet paper) I wish you all the best, and good fortune in your adventure, but I personally would not recommend it for a family, especially in the sense of being in it for the long term. Cutting wood with a chain saw and hauling it, and then splitting it, and stacking it is hard enough, let alone with just an axe. I had cut, and roughly piled about two or so cords of 18-20inch wide Red fir, in about fourteen to fifteen inch lengths. Well I got a manly idea, that I was going to finish splitting, and stacking that pile, before night fall. Well I finished about half an hour into night fall. Then I covered the split and stacked wood, with some tarps, weighted them down with rocks, and then went in the house, and took a nice long hot shower, and made supper, and had beer with it, and did a little reading, and went to bed. The next morning I was on my way to the Chiropractor! :( After a couple of sessions, I was a little better, but it took a couple of weeks, before I stopped looking like Frankenstein trying to do the twist, whenever I tried to move. My back, and arms, told my brain to just shut down the next time I got that idea. Now I just do small batches at a time. Once in awhile, I will go over a bit, and I pay for it. Like the Pennsylvania Dutch used to say, " Too soon ve get old, too late ve get smart!" I personally would go with just doing more self sufficient living, than go the whole primitive route. Ti pi's were useful, because they could be taken down, and put up, fairly easily, being on the move a lot, and going from one place to another, depending on game, and other food sources, and the seasons, they could be taken with the tribe. I would not want to spend time in one in the summer, let alone in the winter. You would have to assign someone to fire watch, like we had in the army, for the old coal heaters, for the barracks. Richard proenenke , or however his name is spelled, was carpenter, craftsman, and all around handy man, and built a little cabin in Alaska. He lived there for quite a few years, and there is a book about it, and there was a story on the Public Broadcasting station. It was very interesting, and informative on how he solved certain problems, and such. He also had supplies flown in. He finally moved back to Seattle I believe, to live with his Daughter, as he said he just couldn't take the winters, and hard work it took to live there anymore. We are where we are now, not because we were comfortable living the primitive way, but because we kept changing, and improving our way of life, and comforts. Some people would like to live in a castle. They are cold, and damp! The primitive way of life is a way of surviving, but not very comfortably. It is good to have those skills, and knowledge, and experience, but again personally, I would not want to have to live like that for very long. Anyway, again I wish you well, and good luck, and keep us updated on journey into the past way of life.
Wayne
-
I must comment the old man from Alaska lived there for 30 years his name is dick and he moved back into Seattle when he was 85 years old! He lived there from 1967 all the way into the year like 2000 and he loved every minute of it and in fact before he passed away he insisted that he be taken back out there and he spent a few weeks out there saying goodbye to his favorite place on earth yes it is hard but in the teepee village there are several other families with children and there is a town nearby I don't even know if that village is still there or not but I have not lost the dream and I am closer than ever before I now reside in Wisconsin I am working and I am almost ready to buy my tipi... I don't know if I will be able to move to the village in Oregon but I am definitely going to camp in the spring for at least a month in it
-
You would have to be born into it to life that life style for any lenth of time.
You have no idea how many times I've went to sleep watching the fire burn.
I have no desire as I get older to live those ways. I like to get up turn up the heat when it gets cold.