In the six weeks since I arrived on the Olympic Pensinsula, we had a 4.0 earthquake south of me and a 7.0 earthquake to the north (AK). This morning we had a 5.4 at Vancouver Island, which is quite close, followed by a 4.2 and 4.8 in the same area. I already knew I was in earthquake country, but these quakes drove home the need to be disaster ready. That “big one” that California fears could easily happen up here!

It was not hard to figure out what to do. I needed to get all my camping gear back in the van. In the event of a huge earthquake that toppled the RV, the van would be another, fully-contained shelter with cooking gear, a propane heater and everything else I would need.  So, Saturday morning I offloaded everything from the car and tossed it into the van! I added a case of water, my 3-gal water jug, and a crate for food (human and quadruped). I already had clothing and cold-weather gear in there.  I noticed condensation in the van while I worked, so I covered everything with tarps.

Total time to get disaster-ready? About 30 minutes. All I need to do now is add a few more cases of water and more food. At the moment I have a few cans of chicken soup in there, which won’t get me very far!

Water and crate with food up in front of the van.

Food and water covered up with one of Tango’s many handmade quilts

Bedding,pillows, sleep pads, camping gear, as seen from the side doors of the van. It is all on top of bins which has my other stuff that I need to store.

All that gear covered up with a tarp

Clothes rack, as seen from the back doors. That area is now draped with a tarp as well!

Yikes! Earthquakes are a real thing up here, but Tango and I are ready.