What is the single most important tool needed by anyone who lives, explores, hunts, hikes, camps, farms or otherwise spends time away from the masses of humanity? I’m talking anyone who, to some degree big or small, might at anytime on any day in any place be forced into a situation of self reliance ……
A place to go when it hits the fan
Several years ago I was contacted by a local businessman on behalf of a group of his friends. The small group of business and other professional men were searching for a secluded acreage with year-round running water, one ingress and egress, and located less than two hours from St. Louis. Over the past 14 years…
A Place To Go When It Hits The Fan: A Shopping List (Part 2 of 2)
Previously I discussed what a “bug out property” is, how it should be used, and why buying one makes sense not only in the instance of a future life-altering event, but for use in the meantime as well. (You can find A Place To Go When It Hits The Fan [Part 1] here!) Here’s the…
Cinnamon rolls over the campfire
Making Dutch oven cinnamon rolls is super easy. Inside a Dutch oven place a cast iron trivet on the bottom. If you don’t have a trivet you can use a pie pan or even a couple emptied and cleaned small tuna fish or sardine cans. Just make sure they’ve been thoroughly washed. Nobody wants to…
A real Dutch (oven) treat
Dutch oven cooking is an outdoor skill all its own. In coming weeks and months a series of Dutch over cooking recipes and tips and tricks will be added to this site. But for now, let’s discuss one of the simplest and most tasty desserts you can prepare in your cast iron oven … a…
Home away from home off grid
Our daughter took her first steps at a campsite deep in the Appalachian Mountains shortly after her first birthday. She was standing on the rug outside the door of our family tent when she took two steps and quickly wobbled to a stop. Perhaps that’s why she loves to hike and camp even today,…
One skillet camp breakfast
Start with a skillet over the camp stove or fire. You can use either bacon or sausage for the meat. Fry your choice until it’s done and then remove it from the skillet and set it aside for now. If using sausage just fry it in the pan without forming it into patties. While the…
Getting your house in order: Spring/summer checklist
Not everyone is like me. My wife would say “Thank God for that!” But I’m a list maker and planner and prefer to map out what I need to do today, tomorrow, next week, next month and so on. She, on the other hand, usually relies on her memory or some random notes scribbled down…
When it comes to knives, stay sharp
My dad carried a folding lock blade knife in a leather case on his belt most of my younger years. He was a rural country minister by calling and a heavy equipment operator by necessity. The knife he carried had been given to him in the offering plate one Sunday by a gentleman who…
God tells us to use what’s in our hands … our possessions, talents, time and labor. For roughly two decades I penned hundreds of stories about outdoors/rural living/homesteading/country living for a long list of national and international magazines and websites. Some were written under my name and some using a pen name. It’s something I…