From Prepared to Practice

I learned a valuable lesson this weekend. That we can prepare, learn, create, and believe we are as ready as we can be for the unexpected. However, until we put it into practice we may not know if we are as prepared as we need to be.

I had intended to attend a solar cook-off in Taylorsville, California. To gather information for use here on the ranch, and also to share what I had learned with you. A week prior the lists were made, shopping done, two days prior packed the 5th wheel and got the ranch ready for us to be away for a couple days. We really thought we were prepared.

Now, very few trips have been made in the 5th wheel, and I really had not gone on long trip in quite some time. That being said off we go... two hours into the drive, we blew a tire on the 5th wheel. Luckily, my father is a wonderful driver and other than the damage to the 5th wheel inside and out, we were able to safely get to the next exit. Then we realized that yes, we had the spare but the tire iron was missing. We were unable to change the tire without assistance. Our tire was changed, new ones purchased and we were back on the road 15 hours later.

The trip went on and there were several things we forgot. As prepared as we thought we were we truely were not. So what about our emergency preparedness? Will we have what we need when we need it? Like having cans of food without a non-electric can opener. How do we know for sure?

Maybe a trial run will be an important part of our emergency preparedness. Put our skills to the test and do a simulation of an emergency medical situation, living without power for a few days, etc. Because everything we have done to prepare is useless unless you have all the tools to benefit from your self sufficient resources.

Have any of you tried a trial run? What happened? I would love to hear your expierience!