From the journal of John Archer, the Archivist, April 15

April 15, 2017

     Crystal wanted to know approximately where her mother was buried. So,last night we looked at the map and checked the mileage on some of the cars. We figured Stephanie and Rose were buried somewhere on the outskirts of Idaho Springs. When we drove away from that camp, we went through a small town but didn't see any signs to tell us what the name of the town was. I put a small cross on the map about where we had been and Crystal was satisfied when we told her the name of the small town. I think that she wants to know so she can visit her mothers grave at some point in the future. Poor kid.

     Getting out of the Denver area was a long slog with us having to stop every few miles to clear a traffic jam. It's dangerous, too. We never know if there are any undead in the cars we need to move and we usually don't find out until we walk up to the car and wiggle the door handle. It has been made a rule that there has to be at least two people per vehicle and one has to be ready with a weapon while the other jiggles the handle. That way, if there is a zombie in a car, one opens the door and the other takes out the undead. It is getting a little less clogged on the roads the farther we get from the Denver area. Now, it is just the little towns and intersections that are causing us to slow down.
     We made it as far as the outskirts of Silver Plume last night. It was almost 35 miles from Idaho Springs but felt more like a hundred. I know losing the two women is part of that, but we still have to keep going. We scavenge everywhere we can along the way, looking for food, water, ammo and anything else that might be useful. Every traffic jam has the potential to be a gold mine of supplies. Although, we usually get only a few things from each. Yesterday, we found three boxes of granola bars, a case of water with only two missing and a cache of mini chocolate bars. The kids were thrilled with getting dessert last night and the sugar kept them zooming around for a couple of hours past their regular bed times. Even Crystal smiled when she was given the chocolate.

     Today, we are going to leave soon after breakfast, which should be ready any minute now. The plan is to try for Vail, find a place to make camp and then stay for  couple of days wherever that happens to be. It looks like it will be around 30 miles from our present location and there are not a lot of towns listed on the map to slow us down. If we make it to Vail by tonight, we will still have almost 150 miles to go, but it would allow us to rest and try to scavenge from some of the houses around there. We are starting to run low on food and really need to find some supplies to keep us going. So far, the cars have really only yielded snack items and water. Now, these will keep us alive,  but some staples would be appreciated. We need flour, baking soda and baking powder, salt, sugar (if possible) and other basic necessities for cooking. I think houses are more likely to provide these items, hence the stay over in Vail.
     From Vail, we have mapped out a course to get us to Aspen in approximately 30 mile jaunts. Vail to Eagle, around 30 miles. Then Eagle to Glenwood Springs, which will be the longest section of the journey at around 41 miles. From Glenwood Springs, we head to Basalt, which is just under 30 miles and then to Aspen covering the last 19 miles or so. It will take us, including today, the next 6 days to get there. We are hoping to be able to find whatever we need along the way and make it to Aspen without losing any more of our group. Hopefully, we can find a place to make secure once we get to Aspen. It would be great if we could find one of those compound type houses that are featured in architectural magazines. One with a yard would be great, so the kids can have somewhere to play. A wall around the compound would be ideal,  but we can build one if we have to. Please, God, let Aspen be the right move for us.

As a writer and artist, I appreciate any readers and their comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Please, come read the other blog I write for our artisan collective, Raven's Castle Creations, on our website at www.ravencastlecreations.com. It includes posts on art, the mythology of symbols we use in our art, history and more! Also, come see the art we produce in our Etsy store at etsy.com/shop/RavenCastleCreations. Follow us on Twitter at @ravencastleart and on Facebook at @ravencastlecreations.