Chapter 6

The area was so peaceful and the weather so good that Wendy and I treated our time there like a second honeymoon. We moved away from the others to have and give privacy. Of course, the whole expedition was a delayed honeymoon trip but we never said that to anyone. All the other couples separated out also during our stop at Storm King. For the two of us, it gave the opportunity to talk through questions that had developed during our busy marriage. It was a very good time. I could have stayed longer and I think Wendy could have, also. We made love and snuggled at all times of the day and night. Finally one morning, we were approached and told, "It's probably time to get moving again." We nodded together and then laughed realizing how close and understanding of each other we had become. We gathered together and made our plans that day. We would get an early start the next morning.

We went north a bit and crossed the Hudson on the I-84 bridge. We then moved east and north skirting Hartford. Our decision was that people still living in big cities were poor survival risks and could pose a threat to us. We looked for areas where farms could work as we went north. Neither of us had been to Maine and that was our target.

Close to the Massachusetts/Connecticut border, we found a sizable thriving community. They had named themselves, Land Goners. They said they picked the name because their lands were gone and they had moved into this area which had a nice lake and empty farms which they claimed. Seeing that we had no interest in their lands, we had a nice meeting with their leadership. I explained our system in North Carolina and how we communicated by radio. Those leaders talked to Paul and Susan by radio who willingly answered their questions. When we left, we took with us a few gifts of food for our trip and left behind our usual information on radios. I expected the Land Goners to work at developing a communications ability and to communicate with the Woods. That did happen later.

We continued north entering New Hampshire and moving a little eastward to see the Atlantic once again. I expected that we would find a coastal community somewhere as fishing was a big thing in this area of the old U.S.

We entered Maine and reached the coast. I found it less inviting to me than I had expected. It was windblown and chilly even in the summer compared to the south. We found the Kenne's the next day. They were fishermen and farmers who had banded together to fish and farm in this rough, but beautiful, land. There were more men than women and there were some eager looks at some of our extra women. Wendy and Doreen had worked, if not wonders, then well and many of the women were looking back. We allowed nature to take its course. Before we left, we only had two of the Kepler women left. Melissa and Eudora were the most disturbed and least likely to heal. We explained the radios as usual which they understood. Their biggest issue was a shortage of diesel fuel for their boats and tractors. I tried to suggest that they wean themselves away from fossil fuels since no one was refining or distributing gas or diesel any more. They were not looking to the future as much as they should. As we left, I wondered if they would successfully manage to transfer themselves away from fuels. They later contacted the Woods by radio but the contact was sporadic.

We moved a bit away from the coast and talked it over one evening. We had decided to head west for the St. Lawrence Seaway gradually moving south after that. I knew there were no points given for going further north and we were going back to the Woods someday. Heading west, the terrain became rough. I realized in looking at the map that we were in Vermont and the White Mountains! We finally made it and came down into the St. Lawrence valley. We found a quiet, out of the way spot and settled in for a longer camp to rest our horses and ourselves while we mended our equipment. When you are dependent upon yourself for repair and maintenance, it keeps you focused upon maintaining your equipment in good condition.

After performing maintenance and needed repairs, we continued southwesterly along the St. Lawrence heading for the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls. The trip was beautiful and quiet. This area received what was called lake effect snow during the winter. I could imagine living conditions would be difficult if you had to farm here. I expected that people were living further away from the lake or to the other side of it rather than on this side. Our scouting did not find anyone in the area. We skirted the cities and arrived at Niagara Falls. The Falls were stunning. With no people around but us, the roar of the water was all-encompassing. We stayed out of the spray. We crossed over to the Canadian side, said to be the prettier and made camp for the evening. We had seen no people since going over the mountains and only a few isolated farms that might or might not have people. We spent the night under the bright stars and listened to the roar of the Falls.

The next day saw us continuing west. We went north of Lake Erie and just south of Lake Huron through Canada west toward Lake Michigan following whatever roads offered themselves. It was a long trip. We reached Lake Michigan north of Chicago in mid summer and were thinking to head south before cold weather arrived. We were not equipped for winter in the north. While camped along the shore of Lake Michigan, it was time to study our maps again and plot a course back to the Woods.

We had seen surprisingly few people and settlements. That was disappointing because it meant that more people had died than we had originally thought. My guess was that the survival rate after power was lost and fuel became an issue was low. We had received an influx of people at that time at the Woods who were in bad shape. Up in the north where we were currently, the cold would be worse. During our radio talks to Paul and Susan, I suggested that we start keeping weather records and find some old ones for comparison purposes. Where did the climate seem to be going? That question could be very important.

We planned our route home. We would bypass Fort Wayne and go between Indianapolis and Dayton also bypassing Cincinnati. That would get us into Kentucky and we would bypass Louisville and drop down closer to Frankfort. We would have to cross the Appalachians to get home and the exact place would depend upon roads and weather. I was leaning toward going south to Knoxville and then following the route of I-40 to get home. It wasn't the most direct but probably represented the easiest traveling. It also put us where there was a better likelihood of people living where we would travel.

After some discussion, we decided to follow that route.

We left for home the next day. The horses were well watered and our wagons were in good shape for the trip. We felt we were seasoned travelers used to weather and having an understanding of the land.

We were, I believe, in Indiana when the storms struck. We had watched that morning as the sky became blacker and blacker as the day slowly wore on. It started to rain right after we ate lunch. As the rain became harder and lightning began to crack, we started looking for a spot or spots to get out of the weather. Because of the size of our party, we split up. Wendy, Arnie, Melody and I continued on in the rain and increasing wind. We saw a farm off the road and went toward it. It was deserted and had a good barn. We went inside the barn out of the rain and stabled the horses and set up camp for the night. It would be a camp without fire as everything was wet. We stripped and toweled ourselves. We hung our clothes to dry and put on dry clothes from our packs in the wagon. Wendy wanted to check out the farmhouse so we all put on ponchos and went across the yard and into the house. Inside the house, we found no one nor any bones. We did find a note on a board saying to "Junior" that they were headed to the hospital. Apparently, they never returned. We decided to sleep in beds tonight. Arnie and Melody had become a couple during this trip. They worked well together and complimented each other in their actions. I keep noticing that the wind was rising and the lightning was becoming worse.

"Wendy, let's find the storm cellar while we have time and aren't rushed. We may need it."

"Okay, Jim," she replied. "You know you worry too much."

"I know but it's more like being prepared."

She hugged me and kissed me. "It's all right, I like you this way."

We rousted Arnie and Melody and found the basement and a door for a storm cellar there. We looked inside and found kerosene lanterns as well as light bulbs in fixtures and flashlights. We checked the lanterns for kerosene and topped off two of them so all would be full. It was a two story house with a wide wrap around porch. We could go outside on the lee side of the house and watch weather without getting wet. The wind was still picking up and the lightning was intensifying.

Finally, I said, "Guys, let's go to the storm cellar and prepare it for the night. Something about this storm bothers me." Wendy gave me a troubled look and nodded. We all went into the cellar and I barred the door. It hadn't been ten minutes when we heard a boom like an explosion and the cellar shook violently. Wendy reached over and held me tightly with her face buried in my chest. I was a little surprised because my wife is a brave woman. I admitted to myself that I was becoming scared as the booming and shaking continued. This continued for maybe ten minutes though it seemed longer. Then we could hear the weather seem to ease up. The wind and the lightning diminished considerably until a hard rain was all that we could hear and that sound was curiously muffled. Arnie and Melody were comforting each other as were Wendy and I.

It troubled me that we couldn't hear the rain as clearly down here as we could before all the shaking occurred. There was nothing to be done except go to bed. All night, Wendy snuggled closer than usual and held me tightly even in sleep. Neither of us slept well that night.