Chapter 9

As a serendipitous side effect of our hunting for hogs, we came across a cave in the side of a large bluff that was within 500 yards of the river. Naturally, being young and full of beans, we just had to check it out. The cave was similar to one of those that could have been found in Missouri: it was large, had a nearly flat floor, and had a source of running water. We had not come with the original intent of exploring a cave, so we had no torches to provide sufficient light. The one LED flashlight that we had with us was not bright enough to show all of the detail of the cave, but it struck both Bill and me that it could be ideal as a winter home.

We immediately gave up on hunting hogs that day and headed back to the houseboats to tell everyone else of our find. There was unanimous agreement that the cave needed investigating right away while we still had time to move in if the cave did, indeed, fit our requirements.

We loaded the bed of the extended-cab pickup with the items we thought we would need to do a decent job of exploring the cave. Six of us piled into the pickup, and we drove to its location. Fortunately, the cave entrance was close enough to the paved road that we could chalk that up as another advantage to using the cave for a home. Bill changed to four-wheel-drive and drove all the way to the cave entrance from the pavement without undue difficulty. We unloaded what we needed from the truck bed and entered the cave to explore it.

One of the things we had with us was a small generator that could power all of our hand tools and lights. We had included a large floodlight system that we rarely used because of all the light it put out. That floodlight and generator were the first things we set up, and we were amazed at what we could see once we had enough light.

Though it was unoccupied at the moment, it was obvious that this part of the cave had been used as a home by bears and hogs. That meant that we would have to have a way to block the door if we decided to move in. We had enough power tools so that a wall and door could be constructed, so that part of our problem was as good as solved.

We were amazed at how much space was available just in the one cavern that we could see, and there were several passageways leading off from this main cavern. That made it look like we would not be cramped for space for some time. The floor was not as flat as Bill and I had originally thought, but it was acceptable, and we could level it at some future time.

As the resident geologist, I checked out the walls of the cave to look for any recent cracks that might have been caused by the monster earthquake. I could not find any sign of cracks or ruptures in the walls, so I was delighted to give the cave my mark of approval when it came to safety from falling rocks, etc. As far as I could tell, we would not be able to find a safer place for a home.

The women, Sue, June, and Ruth, all agreed that there was enough water flowing in the stream to take care of all our reasonable needs, but it was too damned cold for using it directly for bathing. We men agreed to that comment on the temperature, but we were sure that we could find some way to warm up enough water to take a bath.

A cursory examination of the passageways showed that there were several smaller chambers that could be used for other activities. For example, one of the chambers was the source of the water and could be used as a communal kitchen. There was even a small hole in the ceiling that appeared to allow for air circulation to the outside world.

The biggest problem that we could see was providing a suitable latrine. Possibly, one of the chambers could be adapted to that use, or a latrine could be built outside. Nobody was really happy about the thought of an outdoor privy, but that was not a dealbreaker as far as the cave was concerned. We spent about four hours examining the cave and concluding that it would satisfy our needs for a permanent home.

We reloaded the pickup and drove back to the houseboats. Of course, the moment we arrived, everyone else wanted to know the results of our investigation. We had a quick supper and held a meeting to discuss the prospects of moving and the problems we might face if we stayed where we were. This meeting lasted well into the night, and everybody, including the kids, was given a chance to offer an opinion. Finally, we decided to take everybody to see the cave before we reached a final conclusion, and that excursion would take place tomorrow.

As you might expect, none of us got much sleep that night, and we were already finished with breakfast by the time daylight showed up. We reloaded the generator and the necessary lights on one of the pickups, and people piled into and on the vehicles for the trip to the cave. Also, as you might expect, not everybody was completely thrilled by the cave once they saw it. However, nobody had any serious objections to the idea of moving to the cave: the main objection was the lack of an indoor toilet!

We returned to the houseboats and had lunch, which was followed by another community meeting. A vote was taken which resulted in a unanimous agreement to proceed with getting the cave ready for us to move in.

Our community was split into teams of four people each, except that the kids stayed with their parents. The idea was that four people would stay at the current camp to protect it from scavengers, both two legged and four legged. The remaining people would travel to the cave to begin work on getting it ready for us to occupy it as soon as possible.

Again, we were fantastically lucky in that the weather did not hinder any of the work that had to be done at either location. The debris left by the former occupants was cleared from the cave while a crew worked on constructing the closure for the cave opening. There were plenty of trees available to supply the wood we needed for various jobs, so there was little delay in completing a job once it was started.

There was one delay, which was not really unexpected, which was the delivery of Naomi's baby. Everything went well, and Naomi presented to the world a little girl whom she named Mary, after Naomi's mother. Of course, this took Naomi off the work details, but she spent as much time as she could at the worksite "supervising" the other workers. Everybody took this in good spirits and there were no hard feelings over Naomi's unsolicited advice.

Well, we finally made enough progress on the cave that we were ready to move in. Of course, we were a long way from finishing the work that we needed to do on the cave, but the weather was now cold enough to force us to make a decision. The day we selected as moving day turned out to have a light snowfall. That was all the reluctant ones needed to push them into making the move. At this point, we had moved all of the houseboats to tie up at the bank in front of the cave. Thus, we were able to use the facilities aboard the houseboats to do the things that we could not do in the cave.

Even though the cave protected us from the worst of the cold weather outside, it was still cold enough inside that we needed to add some heat to be comfortable. Hank, our electrician, rigged up a way to set the generator just outside the cave entrance, so that it could safely supply us the electricity needed to run some of the space heaters we had scrounged from various stores. A wooden shelter had been constructed for the generator, so that it was protected from the weather. It only took a couple of hours to bring the temperature up to a comfortable level, and we were soon walking around in a shirt sleeve environment.

At this time, the only arrangements we had for privacy were some tents that were pitched in the main cavern or else a return to the houseboats. The problem was that the houseboats were a long way from warm enough for anything but heavy winter clothing. That cut heavily into the sexual activities within the community until several people said "to hell with it!" Within a few days, the familiar sounds of sexual activity could be heard coming from at least one tent each night.

As one would expect, there were a lot of inconveniences associated with living in the cave that first winter; however, there were a couple of hard snowstorms that convinced everybody that living in the cave was better than any alternative they could come up with. The two main points were the lack of privacy and the lack of an indoor toilet. Dammit, that privy could really get cold on a snowy night!