The journey south, a record, day 1

The first day is really a pre-day. The company’s leaders’ spirits are low; there is so much to do and so few of us to do it. Our supplies are being set aside, but the wagon can only hold so much. The newest member of the company, Bindi the dog, must have sensed our desperation and learned quickly where to urinate, so that we would not have him along as a food source. The guinea pig and the birds may not be so lucky. We have a second difficulty with Bindi, who, following in the proud tradition of many members of our family, gets wagon sick and howls pitifully on long hauls. I will go to the general store to purchase earplugs tomorrow.

There are some workfolk coming to pack up the rest of the homestead on the morrow. The children of the party are nervous that the packers will covet some of their belongings and make away with them. Needless to say, we are sending the younger folk out for the day. Our provisions at this point mainly consist of salt and sugar sources, but we are hoping to add some meats and fresh produce soon.



The children have been helping as they can; the small one whines a bit more than the older one, so we may bribe the older one to entertain the younger. This can be difficult, since at about 3 feet distance they each complain that the other is breathing on them.

Our first stop will be a La Quinta. I think this means, “The Shack” in Spanish. We shall see. They do allow animals, which alone may say everything. We will use this as a base-camp before setting out on the longer part of the journey. Some kin of ours will meet us on the first leg of the trip and feed us breakfast. We surely do appreciate the offer. One can get tired of warm milk, stale bread and old muffins offered by many lodgings.

The Dr. in our party is very nervous. It is on his shoulders that our success at our destination lays. We are trying to comfort him as we can, but it is a burden he must bear, until he becomes accustomed to our new life in the South. He is a big man with broad shoulders enough to see it through and has been trained to have confidence enough if he remembers.


Signed; Pam ‘Whipper’ E
June 27, 2006