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Yesterday I went to the local Target.

Kinsa

By Kinsa,
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Kinsa

Kinsa 31,594

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Lol!!!!! That place looks dangerous for your wallet 😉

 

Ok, seriously... what's your closest Target/Walmart?

 

About 250 miles away for either a Walmart or a Target.... except for the one in the picture.  (LOL)

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mamiof5

mamiof5 2,527

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About 250 miles away for either a Walmart or a Target.... except for the one in the picture. (LOL)

I can't like this. NO WAY. I'm no Target or Walmart fan, actually dislike them both for different reasons...but they are around everywhere! How do you live??? I go to our grocery store at least once a week, without counting dh's emergency trips for last minute items 😂.

 

Would love to hear your story? How did you end up literally in the middle of nowhere?? What about work? Not being noisy...I just can't imagine it. We have 5 kids, dh works. Dh would actually LOVE to live where you are, but it's just not feasible, we need his job. I guess I'm too much of a city girl! I have 2 targets, 3 Walmarts, all within a 4 mile radius (and I am supposed to live in a town, it's not formally a city...but I'm pretty sure size wise we are a city, just not legally) 😉

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Kinsa

Kinsa 31,594

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I can't like this. NO WAY. I'm no Target or Walmart fan, actually dislike them both for different reasons...but they are around everywhere! How do you live??? I go to our grocery store at least once a week, without counting dh's emergency trips for last minute items 😂.

 

Would love to hear your story? How did you end up literally in the middle of nowhere?? What about work? Not being noisy...I just can't imagine it. We have 5 kids, dh works. Dh would actually LOVE to live where you are, but it's just not feasible, we need his job. I guess I'm too much of a city girl! I have 2 targets, 3 Walmarts, all within a 4 mile radius (and I am supposed to live in a town, it's not formally a city...but I'm pretty sure size wise we are a city, just not legally) 😉

 

Ah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how to live here.  We just moved here July 1st.  (LOL)

 

My husband took a job in Big Bend National Park, in remote west Texas.  We live in the park, along with about 100 other employees.   Last week I went to a general store about 30 miles away, which carries essentials.  https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhee5oj6tvk52hz/20150922_115125.jpg?dl=0  Yesterday we drove "into town", which is about 1.5-2 hours away, population 5000.  It has a real grocery store, but it's not a chain store.  It's locally owned and small, but it will do.  I had to plan our entire day around it, took two coolers along with me for our frozen and refrigerated goods, and got some food into our house.  We also hit the local library, the park, the DMV, and a local charity to drop off donations.  It was a full day.

 

Here where I live, there is a neighborhood with houses for the families and apartments for the singles.  (If you look closely in this picture, you can see the neighborhood along the side of the mountains:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfpootd6glur19g/20150722_112416.jpg?dl=0 )There is a small community room at the park headquarters for us to use.  There is a small K-8 school here (with a total enrollment of about 25-30 students), and a small gas station (two pumps) and convenience store.  That's all.  For anything else, you have to drive at least 30 miles, but most likely 100 miles or more.

 

There's not much else to tell!  I'm just trying to learn how to coexist with wildlife, resigning myself to the fact that I have to do a lot of driving, and sitting and watching the world go by as I live in my little bubble out here in the middle of nowhere!

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frugalmamatx

frugalmamatx 1,008

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Ah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how to live here.  We just moved here July 1st.  (LOL)

 

My husband took a job in Big Bend National Park, in remote west Texas.  We live in the park, along with about 100 other employees.   Last week I went to a general store about 30 miles away, which carries essentials.  https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhee5oj6tvk52hz/20150922_115125.jpg?dl=0  Yesterday we drove "into town", which is about 1.5-2 hours away, population 5000.  It has a real grocery store, but it's not a chain store.  It's locally owned and small, but it will do.  I had to plan our entire day around it, took two coolers along with me for our frozen and refrigerated goods, and got some food into our house.  We also hit the local library, the park, the DMV, and a local charity to drop off donations.  It was a full day.

 

Here where I live, there is a neighborhood with houses for the families and apartments for the singles.  (If you look closely in this picture, you can see the neighborhood along the side of the mountains:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfpootd6glur19g/20150722_112416.jpg?dl=0 )There is a small community room at the park headquarters for us to use.  There is a small K-8 school here (with a total enrollment of about 25-30 students), and a small gas station (two pumps) and convenience store.  That's all.  For anything else, you have to drive at least 30 miles, but most likely 100 miles or more.

 

There's not much else to tell!  I'm just trying to learn how to coexist with wildlife, resigning myself to the fact that I have to do a lot of driving, and sitting and watching the world go by as I live in my little bubble out here in the middle of nowhere!

 

Wow that is one small school! I'm assuming it is likely more like a modern one-room schoolhouse? How good is it? With that small of a school setting I'd be tempted to send my kids - will you continue to homeschool?

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Tammyla

Tammyla 2,197

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Is that Target box for real (pick-up site) or a joke.  I love the pictures...how I miss mountains and a clear blue sky...beautiful :drool: .

 

I sympathize with the middle of no-where for shopping location.

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SusanC

SusanC 7,446

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I "liked" this, but only because there isn't a "cry" button. At least there's Amazon.

You've got to find her Amazon sob story thread. 5-8 days for Prime. It is a whole separate world.

 

Kinsa, maybe there is a clear Target across the border...

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Kinsa

Kinsa 31,594

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Wow that is one small school! I'm assuming it is likely more like a modern one-room schoolhouse? How good is it? With that small of a school setting I'd be tempted to send my kids - will you continue to homeschool?

 

LOL - Yeah, we've belonged to homeschool co-ops that are much bigger. 

 

They do combine grade levels.  I think there are four classrooms total.  (???)  They do use the one-room schoolhouse model.  I hear the school isn't that great, but I don't know for certain.  And yes, I'm very tempted to send the kids.  My two youngest could go to school there  (rising 5th grader and rising 8th grader with special education).  I have no issue sending the 5th grader, but there's no special education program at that school that would help my 8th grader.  They would walk to school since it's just around the corner (plus no bus service), and they would take a lunch each day because there's no cafeteria, just an open-air patio where the kids eat together.

 

My high schooler, however, would have to drive (yes, drive, as again there's no bus service) 30 miles away to the 9-12 high school.  That school also has a total of about 25 students.  We toured that school last fall.  We met all six teachers, the principal, secretary, and guidance counselor.  That's everyone except the janitor.  (LOL)  The only thing keeping us from sending him is that his homeschool credits won't transfer in, and frankly it's just easier to continue homeschooling him.

 

So it seems that I will continue to homeschool, at least for a little while.  We'll see how it goes.  DH wants me to continue homeschooling, sooo....

 

ETA:  If you are interested, one of the former teachers at the school here wrote a book about her experience.  You can read the first couple pages online:  https://www.amazon.com/Big-Bend-Schoolhouse-Surprise-Park/dp/1457519267

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Kinsa

Kinsa 31,594

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Is that Target box for real (pick-up site) or a joke.  I love the pictures...how I miss mountains and a clear blue sky...beautiful :drool: .

 

I sympathize with the middle of no-where for shopping location.

 

It's a joke.  It was an abandoned railroad switch house that mysteriously got converted into a Target one night.  Still no one knows who did it or why.

 

http://bigbendnow.com/2016/01/target-marathon-another-roadside-attraction/

 

There's also a faux Prada store somewhere out here.  I haven't found it yet.

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Ali in OR

Ali in OR 15,945

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Does the library have a decent book-on-cd collection? That would be nice for the driving.

Do you have a large storage area for food for stocking up?

Is there a Costco 250 miles away? I think I would be planning quarterly trips just for my own sanity! But once I was stocked up at home, it would be fun to live the hermit life for awhile.

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Kinsa

Kinsa 31,594

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Oooo.... I figured out how to multi-quote!

 

 

Sounds like trips to Target/Walmart are going to become mini-vacations in and of themselves!  How did people live out there before Amazon and online ordering?

 

I honestly have no idea.  (LOL)

 

Does the library have a decent book-on-cd collection? That would be nice for the driving.

Do you have a large storage area for food for stocking up?

Is there a Costco 250 miles away? I think I would be planning quarterly trips just for my own sanity! But once I was stocked up at home, it would be fun to live the hermit life for awhile.

 

The closest Costco is in El Paso, which is over 300 miles away.  Our house is just under 1400 square feet, so there's not a whole lot of storage space.  But we're making do!  And the library is pretty small.  They do have books-on-cd, but... well, it's small.

 

I bet it's a Pokemon gym.

 

We tried the Pokémon Go app.  There's no 3G or 4G here, so it's pretty much a bust.

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Debbi in Texas

Debbi in Texas 877

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Ah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how to live here.  We just moved here July 1st.  (LOL)

 

My husband took a job in Big Bend National Park, in remote west Texas.  We live in the park, along with about 100 other employees.   Last week I went to a general store about 30 miles away, which carries essentials.  https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhee5oj6tvk52hz/20150922_115125.jpg?dl=0  Yesterday we drove "into town", which is about 1.5-2 hours away, population 5000.  It has a real grocery store, but it's not a chain store.  It's locally owned and small, but it will do.  I had to plan our entire day around it, took two coolers along with me for our frozen and refrigerated goods, and got some food into our house.  We also hit the local library, the park, the DMV, and a local charity to drop off donations.  It was a full day.

 

Here where I live, there is a neighborhood with houses for the families and apartments for the singles.  (If you look closely in this picture, you can see the neighborhood along the side of the mountains:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfpootd6glur19g/20150722_112416.jpg?dl=0 )There is a small community room at the park headquarters for us to use.  There is a small K-8 school here (with a total enrollment of about 25-30 students), and a small gas station (two pumps) and convenience store.  That's all.  For anything else, you have to drive at least 30 miles, but most likely 100 miles or more.

 

There's not much else to tell!  I'm just trying to learn how to coexist with wildlife, resigning myself to the fact that I have to do a lot of driving, and sitting and watching the world go by as I live in my little bubble out here in the middle of nowhere!

Audiobooks. I would have to have audiobooks.

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knoxinsox

knoxinsox 461

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We used to live in Midland, and at one point, DH interviewed for a job in Ft. Stockton.  I was like NOOOO!!  I thought Midland/Odessa was out in the middle of nowhere, until we went to Ft. Davis to go camping. I know you are way beyond Ft. Davis though--we did not get out to Big Bend when we lived out there. 

We met people all the time that had driven up from Alpine or parts yonder to Midland/Odessa to shop, etc. It's just over 220 miles I think.   And the people in Midland drove to Lubbock to go to Costco or the doctor.  And my friends were always back and forth to Dallas...I never realized people spent so much time driving, but its just part of the culture out there.  It was also the friendliest place I have ever lived. 

We only drove out on vacation, and never went to the doctor when we lived out there, but they really do have about all the shopping you need in Midland or Odessa.  Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Target, Sam's Club, massive HEB stores, Natural Grocers, Ross, HomeGoods, etc.  

All that to say, DH was sure that you could get Fedex deliveries out there if you live there (not camping), so I was glad to hear that you got  your orders.  I believe your Fedex deliveries come from Fort Stockton via truck from Midland. The Midland drivers went all the way out to Pecos and surrounding areas every day. 

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath 5,703

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We used to live in Midland, and at one point, DH interviewed for a job in Ft. Stockton.  I was like NOOOO!!  

 

 

 

We'll be spending the night in Fort Stockton (about 5.5 hours from our home) on our way to Arizona on vacation.  From what I remember from past trips (Usually we overnight in El Paso), they have the smallest Walmart I have ever been there. We got our son's last sleeping bag at that Walmart on another trip when we forgot one.  There seem to be a lot of hotels for how small the town is though.

 

Looking at the map. I had NO IDEA there was a National Park down there. I would have sworn Big Bend was in the panhandle or something.  After all, not much farther down I-10, you can see Mexico on the GPS when driving past!

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elegantlion

elegantlion 21,449

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The nps website calls it "splendid isolation." Doesn't sound quite right if you have to live there. I hope you find joy in the "adventure" and will note to myself never to say "I just want to get away from it all"  because I don't really mean that far away from Target (mine is 40minutes away). 

 

It looks beautiful though. 

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mamiof5

mamiof5 2,527

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Ah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how to live here. We just moved here July 1st. (LOL)

 

My husband took a job in Big Bend National Park, in remote west Texas. We live in the park, along with about 100 other employees. Last week I went to a general store about 30 miles away, which carries essentials. https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhee5oj6tvk52hz/20150922_115125.jpg?dl=0 Yesterday we drove "into town", which is about 1.5-2 hours away, population 5000. It has a real grocery store, but it's not a chain store. It's locally owned and small, but it will do. I had to plan our entire day around it, took two coolers along with me for our frozen and refrigerated goods, and got some food into our house. We also hit the local library, the park, the DMV, and a local charity to drop off donations. It was a full day.

 

Here where I live, there is a neighborhood with houses for the families and apartments for the singles. (If you look closely in this picture, you can see the neighborhood along the side of the mountains: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfpootd6glur19g/20150722_112416.jpg?dl=0 )There is a small community room at the park headquarters for us to use. There is a small K-8 school here (with a total enrollment of about 25-30 students), and a small gas station (two pumps) and convenience store. That's all. For anything else, you have to drive at least 30 miles, but most likely 100 miles or more.

 

There's not much else to tell! I'm just trying to learn how to coexist with wildlife, resigning myself to the fact that I have to do a lot of driving, and sitting and watching the world go by as I live in my little bubble out here in the middle of nowhere!

Thank you so much for sharing your story!!! I can't say I can relate, because this is so different to what my lifestyle and upbringing was, BUT, now I understand more, and at least can picture more your new life. Dh and family lived in Organ Pipe National Park, on the border with Mexico. They were about 1hr or a bit longer away from the "biggest" town nearby, which in the year 2000 had a population of 3500. They eventually moved to this town because there was no school in their park, the bus ride was over an hr each way. So, I can't relate, but I can totally picture it. This was 20-30 yrs ago, no Amazon 😉

 

I am sure it's such an adjustment, and I'm sure it'll take some time to get somewhat used to it. But, I'm sure it has a lot of beauty and funny things that we never get to see in the city. The goat for mayor (I told dh about him yesterday! He laughed so hard. By the way, he has my vote for president, even if he's not running), the Target store, and so many things that will make you chuckle. And, your area is BEAUTIFUL. Yes, I don't like driving...here, with cars all over!!! There? I'd put some classical music and just try to enjoy the drive.

 

I'm not trying to make it sound like "no biggie", because I am sure it's not easy. Like anything, I'm sure there's pros and cons to your new location, like there are pros and cons to any location. I do have to say, dh has some maddening location skills! He can go in the middle of the desert and get back out, I can't. I would get lost, badly. And, he misses small town living...he has talked about it... he's tired of the city and hopes that we can move to a smaller area.

 

Again, thanks for sharing! 😊

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vonfirmath

vonfirmath 5,703

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I hope the speed limit is something like 80 mph.  With no traffic.

 

 

On I-10 on that stretch of the road, it sure is. (80 mph speed limit, only during the day). I'm not comfortable driving that speed so my husband drives on that stretch.

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Violet Crown

Violet Crown 22,159

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Ah, well, I'm still trying to figure out how to live here.  We just moved here July 1st.  (LOL)

 

My husband took a job in Big Bend National Park, in remote west Texas.  We live in the park, along with about 100 other employees.   Last week I went to a general store about 30 miles away, which carries essentials.  https://www.dropbox.com/s/vhee5oj6tvk52hz/20150922_115125.jpg?dl=0  Yesterday we drove "into town", which is about 1.5-2 hours away, population 5000.  It has a real grocery store, but it's not a chain store.  It's locally owned and small, but it will do.  I had to plan our entire day around it, took two coolers along with me for our frozen and refrigerated goods, and got some food into our house.  We also hit the local library, the park, the DMV, and a local charity to drop off donations.  It was a full day.

 

Here where I live, there is a neighborhood with houses for the families and apartments for the singles.  (If you look closely in this picture, you can see the neighborhood along the side of the mountains:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/sfpootd6glur19g/20150722_112416.jpg?dl=0 )There is a small community room at the park headquarters for us to use.  There is a small K-8 school here (with a total enrollment of about 25-30 students), and a small gas station (two pumps) and convenience store.  That's all.  For anything else, you have to drive at least 30 miles, but most likely 100 miles or more.

 

There's not much else to tell!  I'm just trying to learn how to coexist with wildlife, resigning myself to the fact that I have to do a lot of driving, and sitting and watching the world go by as I live in my little bubble out here in the middle of nowhere!

I'm actually kind of jealous. We'd be doing all astronomy, all the time. Tell me you have a good telescope!

 

The stars at night are completely invisible, deep in the cloudy, light-polluted heart of Texas.

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Arcadia

Arcadia 23,213

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I'm actually kind of jealous. We'd be doing all astronomy, all the time. Tell me you have a good telescope!

 

The stars at night are completely invisible, deep in the cloudy, light-polluted heart of Texas.

We have a state park that is 39 miles away from us, that has sky parties. It is pitch dark there and easy to get lost going there. We had a cow poking his face into our car once. Our neighborhood is light polluted so we can only see constellations like Orion, Big Dipper easily.

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Violet Crown

Violet Crown 22,159

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We have a state park that is 39 miles away from us, that has sky parties. It is pitch dark there and easy to get lost going there. We had a cow poking his face into our car once. Our neighborhood is light polluted so we can only see constellations like Orion, Big Dipper easily.

We generally can't make out any constellations at all. But Kinsa would be up at high elevation in the Davis Mts., with spectacular visibility.

 

ETA: Cow!!!

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Arcadia

Arcadia 23,213

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ETA: Cow!!!

We missed the state park entrance so we parked by the roadside to get our bearings. We wound down all the car windows as it was a warm Easter Sunday so a curious jersey cow poke its head in. We were near a diary farm apparently.

 

Someone probably had 60 cows from the same farm broke into her backyard.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Cows-Break-Into-Morgan-Hill-Backyard-Destroy-Landscape-380034191.html

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luuknam

luuknam 15,836

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On I-10 on that stretch of the road, it sure is. (80 mph speed limit, only during the day). I'm not comfortable driving that speed so my husband drives on that stretch.

 

The speed limit in most of the US is pretty low. In NL the max is about 75mph (oops, apparently the raised it to about 80mph in 2012), and the population density is more than 1000 people per square mile (17 million people in a country about 150 by 200 miles big - subtract a bunch of water). I commented to my wife on the crazy low speed limits in most of the US (given vast stretches of nothingness - Germany has recommended speeds of about 80mph, but allows you to go faster if it's safe, and doesn't have any places where you'd have to drive 250 miles to go to whatever the German equivalent of Target is, though a lot more nothingness than NL), and she mentioned that increasing the speed limit would require higher standards for vehicles (especially tires). In other words, 80mph only seems fast because so much of the US has lower speed limits. Not sure that helps.

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luuknam

luuknam 15,836

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In the future - when someone says they live in a remote area - we shall judge by how many miles it is to the next Target if the term "remote" even applies.

 

KinsaRemote? Or just remote?

 

The only way to beat KinsaRemote would be to take a job on Antarctica. :lol:

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luuknam

luuknam 15,836

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My penguin loving DS10 has getting a job as a penguin researcher there as one of his potential job options.

 

But how long would it take for his Amazon Prime stuff to get there???

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