Duchesne has a population of about 2,000 people. But we don't even live in the city of Duchesne. We live in the county, about 5 miles north of Duchesne. It's pretty much the wild west out here, and people move here so they can do whatever they want with their land and their life. Kind of like us. We found a nice home "in town" but at the end of the day, we realized we'd rather have some land than a home on a cul-de-sac, so we decided on an adorable little home with 5 acres in the country.
I've wanted to write this out for awhile, to give context to my friends and family, of what my life is like in out here. Sometimes someone will suggest something like, "You should just go online and reserve your movie tickets for the moving coming out this weekend!", that makes me realize they have no idea what life is like in the country. For example: 1) the only movie theater I have access to is 30 miles away in a building that probably hasn't been restored since the 1940's and is run by a ma and pa and some volunteers and probably doesn't have the latest movies playing for another few weeks:
So here's a quick collection of things I've noticed since moving to the wild wild west. Basically just imagine moving back in time about 10- 50 years and that's about where we are with technology and life. I'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts too, especially if you've lived in the country and in the city.
1)Water. You might live in the country if you know all about water. As in where the water in your house comes from. Where the holding tank is. If it's on gravity and whether or not you are at the end of the line. The first thing you find out about land out here is if there are water shares (access to free irrigation water to water your land) or not. I knew nothing about water when I moved here, but I quickly learned that we only have 26 pounds of pressure on our line because the pipe is too small and we share it with too many people. But we don't complain because at least we have access to culinary water, which is lucky being so far out of the "city" of Duchesne. Not too many years ago, everyone up here hauled their water. Meaning they would get 300-400 gallon tanks in the back of their trucks and haul out to a water dispensing facility every week to fill up, and haul back to their house and hook up for their showers and cooking needs.
When I lived in Provo I never once thought when I turned on a faucet, "hmmm, I wonder where this water comes from". Water and water shares define wealth out here. It determines whether or not you can cultivate your land to grow crops, or hay to feed your horses. Otherwise you just own land that is a bunch of sagebrush and not too useful.
2) Internet I've alluded to this above already, but when we were considering whether or not to buy our home, it never ONCE dawned on me that it could be a possibility that there could NOT be access to high-speed internet. We moved out here while I was still working in Provo and was working remotely for Qualtrics- where I HAD to have internet for web meetings and online demos of our product. In Provo, the big announcement had just come out that Google Fiber was coming and everyone was ecstatic. And then I moved to the country where I couldn't even get dial-up. As I started "shopping" around for internet, I realized that a cruel joke had been played on me. There was no shopping and comparison pricing, there was only one game in town- Strata. And to my HORROR I was told that we did not have wire or cable laid to our home. We couldn't even get a phone line! So when I worked from home, I would drive my little car into town, park infront of the library and poach off of their free Wi-fi in my car all day long. Mobile office. It worked. We still have to do this if I have to do anything online that is more than web browsing. Youtube at home? Netflix? Forget it.
Now anyone else that lives in a rural area knows that if you put a home on 5 acres of land out in the middle of nowhere, YOU have to plan to obtain all of your utilities by blood, sweat and tears - power, phone, water, gas, etc.- and that each of them comes at a high price and you generally install them yourself. But our home was already constructed and I just assumed every home came with easy access to all utilities. That includes internet, right? Wrong. There was definitely no Google fiber. There was internet through my cell phone provider that cost an arm and a leg per gig, and was still very slow.
Let me tell you what. At first I thought it would be no big deal to not have internet. "We'll spend more time together and less time on Facebook!" I thought. Nay nay my friend. Let me let you in on a little secret. The WORLD RUNS ON THE INTERNET and expects you to have it! From paying bills, to replying to emails, to watching a YouTube video on how to fix your water heater. Life has been a little painful. Strata did eventually give us a consolation prize- and high powered antenna that provides minimal access to some internet (not good enough to stream or download, but enough to web surf and do email), but at least we don't have to pay for data by the gig like we did with Verizon.
Needless to say, we were ECSTATIC when Strata came out today and started digging a trench to our property to eventually lay fiber for internet.We might actually be coming into the 21st century soon!
3) Cell service - This is closely related to #2, but can't go without mentioning. Michael and I are on Verizon, which has the best service out here, but the truth is every carrier uses all of the same towers. And that means, that in the middle of nowhere our cell phone service at home is questionable at best.
One weekend I coordinated to have a friend come out from the city (Provo) to come visit with us. When the day arrived and I hadn't heard from her at all, I assumed she totally flaked out on us. I tried calling and texting and leaving messages, and nothing. So I went on assuming that she had totally ditched us and was mad at her for about a month. Only to find out that she had called and texted and didn't get through at all. MY PHONE DIDN'T EVEN SHOW A MISSED CALL!!! No texts ever came.
Needless to say, she also wasn't too happy with us for totally standing her and her husband up. She only got 1 of my voicemails after she had left Duchesne and no missed calls or texts. I received none of her calls or texts. NONE! Where did they go? Into the sagebrush. So if you ever call or text and don't hear back- just know, you are probably a victim of the cell phone black hole. Just keep trying and it will get through eventually.
4) PO Boxes Some people that live in rural places don't have the option of having mail delivered to their home or subdivision. I never knew this. It didn't compute that someone wouldn't have a physical address. Everyone has an address! Nope. We are forgotten by Google. Some people really like this aspect of living in the country.
Now, we do have a physical address. But it is all but useless because it's not in the Google system, the system upon which FedEx and Amazon and other delivery services base their companies. In short, you can't find us on a map. We are definitely here, 5 miles north of town on 5000 South. But you wouldn't be able to find us on a map. And the post office doesn't deliver outside of the city. So we have a PO Box. Did you know that MANY vendors and suppliers will not deliver to PO Boxes? Why this is so, I still do not know. But let me tell you the nightmare of trying to order Christmas presents or baby supplies or anything else and coming to the very last page, only to find to see the dreaded "I'm sorry, we cannot deliver to PO Boxes" pop up. The horror.
5) Reputation/Last Names Never before when I introduced myself in Provo did someone ask for my last name multiple times and study their memory to think if they had ever known anyone in my family. I have been shocked at how important heritage and family are in a small town. Luckily I have some street cred because I married a cowboy that grew up in a small town- and small town people know all the other small town people in Utah. But me on my own- I'm just glad I don't have to tell them that I wasn't even born here and I was a transplant of less than 1 year. Because then I would have no credibility. NONE! Even though Michael and I have lived here for over a year, we will always be the new family in town.
There's like this knowledge base that people have about everyone else in Duchesne- who everyone's parents are, grandparents, occupation, how the kids turned out, how the farm turned out, etc. It's a legacy thing. If you come from a family with strong ties to Duchesne, even if someone doesn't know you, they know your parents, and they instantly have expectations of you.
In Provo, when meeting someone new, we'd talk about what we do in our jobs, education, travels, etc. Never about our hometowns or families. Since moving here I've probably talked about my education/jobs/travels less than a handful of times. It's a strange sensation at first- almost like an identity being erased. But it makes me feel determined to earn a good name here. And that comes from years and years of being a good person. Not just a degree or a cool job title. I'm up for the challenge. One day, the name of The Brinkerhoffs will go down in fame in Duchesne.
6) Hard Work Hard work is the measure of a man out here. Literally. I know people always think "a good work ethic is a good attribute". But this is an entirely different thing. Hard work truly defines the value of a person out here- including employability and respect. I think that goes for any agricultural community, where you have to get up early and work long and hard until the work gets done, regardless of how many hours you already put in. But that especially carries over into the Oil Field. In case you didn't know it, the top north east corner of Utah is entirely an oilfield. I was not even slightly aware of this before meeting Michael. The Uintah Basin is almost entirely a labor economy- and that means even if you are smart and have a desk job, you still have to work the long hours that everyone else does. But almost everyone works outside on the oil rigs and wells. The economy out here grows and shrinks based on oil prices (which isn't a really great thing as of late). The way you ensure your livelihood and respect as a person is by working hard.
The oil field works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through holidays and weather and every condition. I used to think hard work consisted of putting in a few extra hours at the office, maybe working 50-60 hours a week. When I met Michael, his average work day was 16 hours. There were no days off, there were no holidays, there were no excuses. Everyone worked all the time. And everyone still does. I'm just grateful that he works in a job now where his average day is 14 hours instead of 16. That's still about twice as long as most work days in Provo Utah. But at least he now has a schedule, and he gets 3 days off after working 5. He still has to work on holidays and Sundays, and he puts in a lot of overtime. But to him it feels like a cushy job because he has days off in between.
7) Self Reliance- This is close to hard work, but not as universal. I've realized that people in the city look at self reliance as back up plan thing we should do one day when we get around to it, because the prophet said so- and it mostly consists of food storage. But when you live in the country, every day is a natural disaster. You have to fight to get water, power, heat, food, and everything else- so everyone here is really good at stocking up, storing, and figuring out creative ways to live without having access to a Wal-Mart 10 minutes away. In town we have a grocery store and a hardware store and these are mostly sufficient for our needs. But anything else we have to plan for- and running out to the city isn't always an option. So you make due with what you have.
I have been AMAZED at the living situations of people out here- who have built homes and farms out of literally nothing, and have done everything by hand. There's just this latent knowledge about how to do and build and fix everything. Digging and installing water tanks, planting gardens for food, raising cows and chickens for milk, meat and eggs. People have built their own bomb shelters and homes that are ready for EMP and nuclear attacks, live off the grid with solar panels and coal/wood burning stoves. They build their own homes and shelters with their hands, and when they run out of money, they find a way to get a trailer and build a house around it. People are incredibly hardy and resourceful. And they are serious about surviving and thriving when the whole world explodes with Ebola, ISIS or whatever it is this week that is leading to impending doom. Although some of the preparations may be a bit extreme in my mind, I also know exactly where I'm going to go if there's a disaster. And I love the way that makes me feel when I watch the news and worry a little bit. Then I remember that the Henry's live up the street in an EMP proof fortress they build out of cinder blocks with military grade solar panels and extra water storage, and I know I have a place to go.
I love the spirit of self-reliance and grit that comes from living off the land and away from the resources that are at most people's finger tips. There's a pride that comes from hardiness and self reliance out here, and most people just get it. Of all the places in the world, I'd want to be in a small town like Duchesne in a natural disaster because these people are ready.
So I guess that's only 7, but I'm sure I'll add to this later. There are so many quirks about living in the country that I just love. At first I thought this whole Pioneer living was a cute little novelty and some of the small town quirks kind of drove me crazy. But now, I just absolutely love it. I can't imagine going back. I am so excited to raise my kids in a place that they'll actually have responsibilities to teach them hard work, and a dad who knows how to do everything. I get kind of claustrophobic now when I have to go into the city and am always excited to get off the freeway and head up the canyon to my little homestead.
I am so eager to learn about it all and just embrace it to the fullest. I want to do it all! Raise chickens, cows, horses, bee keeping, gardening, preserving. All of it. I want to become a pioneer woman and teach my children how to really enjoy living off the land and off your own labor. I love how much I'm learning and the confidence that comes from becoming hardy enough to do without conveniences. Because the rewards are awesome. Just living the dream with my cowboy.
Nicole, this post cracked me up! I love how you are embracing your new life. Keep on blogging.
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