From the journal of Earl Thompson, June 20

June 20, 2017

     Moshannon State Forest is beautiful. We got there yesterday and spent hours driving around the forest, weaving through the trees and driving through creeks. We finally found a place that has rock walls on both sides of us and we secured the ends with spears we'd brought with us, so nothing could get in. Then, we set up camp for the night.

     Today, we found the cabins and concession stand. We've decided to stay in one of them tonight. And since we haven't seen anyone, alive or undead, I'm going to explore a little. I found a map of the State Forest and there are some neat things here that I'd like to see. Come to think of it, I should ask the others if there was anything any of them have always wanted to see along the way to the Greenbrier. We can't go into the cities, but there are some battlefields and other historic properties along the way.

     Our plan was to go from State Forest to State Forest all the way, until we're close to the Greenbrier. We planned it that way because we can skirt the larger cities and towns and even skip some of the back roads by driving through the forests. We just have to be careful of natural obstacles like trees, streams, rivers and cliffs. But, I think we can work our way around, and some of the forests have roads through them, which will make it easier.

     The girls, Annie and Lisa, are getting bored with being in the woods. They're used to being in the city and I know they miss what used to be. This morning, Lisa was complaining about the instant oatmeal and telling Annie about her favorite restaurant. She used to get strawberry Belgian waffles with freshly made whipped cream. She went on and one about their coffee and their burgers, until Phil finally told her to shut up about it. I'm glad he stopped her. I know none of us are happy with the food we have, but there's no refrigeration or freezers still working, at least, that we've found. So canned and dried foods are all there are left that are safe to eat.

     I know I miss a lot of stuff from life before this shit started. I miss being able to get anything I wanted to eat at any time of the day or night. You want Chinese? No problem. You want Thai food? No problem. Burgers? Waffles? No problem. There was this little Italian place, not four blocks from my flat, and they had the best Chicken Parmesan. It just melted in your mouth and just thinking of it makes my mouth water.

     Now, the closest we can get is the MRE that says it Chicken pasta with vegetables. I think we have some chicken soup, too. But food is for survival now, not for real enjoyment. Maybe, once we're settled at the Greenbrier, we can scavenge around and find some chickens and food to grow. We'll have to. Canned food is only good for a couple of years and eventually, the dehydrated foods will run out. We'll have to plant crops and find farm animals to raise. That's going to take people, and I mean, lots of people. The four of us won't be enough to clear enough land, plant the crops, keep us secure and all the other things that will need to done to survive.

     I hope there are other people already there, and it would be great if they'd already started thinking about the future. If not, I don't know how we'll make it. We can live on the supplies that are supposedly in the bunker, if they're still there. But they'll get eaten or spoil eventually, and without other people, it's going to be really hard to grow enough food to keep going.

     Hopefully, if there are people there, they're still human and not evil mutant bikers. We've already experienced that one and don't ever need to deal with them again.

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.