Copeland, KS - Sublette, KS
 

My BF and I have decided to get out of the city and go live in his family's farm house in Kansas. It is somewhat close to both Sublette and Copeland. When we go to this area, I realize once again how enormous the sky is, and appreciate the magnificent beauty of the Earth.

Copeland has the population of about 400. Sublette is about 1200. That counts all the college students that come back to see their families there in the summer. We are planning to add another 1% to Copeland's population. My BF knows everyone in this town, as he grew up here, and left at 18. Much of this town is centered around agriculture. Most jobs in the area are having to do with agriculture. The people are kind and unassuming. The kids have a swimming pool in town, where swimming lessons are taught. The adults have one bar in town (owned and operated by a couple who also own the small liquor store). At the bar, there are 2 drinks served: Bud Light and Coors light. This is the only place to go hang out in Copeland and it is open until 2 am. The bar walls and ceiling are lined with a multitude of beer posters, featuring airbrushed almost-naked women. I have heard countless stories from my BF about the different people he has known in the area and every story is interesting in some way. If it isn't a story of someone finding happiness in their individuality, it is a story about some obscure trajedy or a story about someone who just lost their way and either went to jail or left and made an interesting story for some other town. Everyone is different in these places. Most of them live in farm houses, dwarfed by neighboring feedlots and fields of corn or wheat. Some live in small houses with carefully manicured lawns in town, down the street from the small market or the restaurant. There is a person known locally for his exceptional dedication to his job as a postman and his kindness. There is another known for his ability to create tools out of stone. There is yet another known for her constant attention to your beer mug. All of them have an interesting story and each individual is different. Nobody cares what kind of car you drive or whether you went to church on Sunday. Nobody minds if you decide to have a campfire in your backyard, if they even know about it. The newspapers are covered in stories about someone making a difference in the community. The streets are not all paved. It is a peaceful community and I look forward to our life out there.

Is this an indirect way of saying you won't have internet access anymore?

nope. I will. :)

Well then it can't be too bad there. :) But what's the employment situation like?

Employment isn't super, but it isn't terrible, either. If you don't mind working in a stinky feedmill or for a farmer, you have a ton of opportunities. If you don't mind driving a semi, you are also in for a lot of opportunities. Generally, those jobs pay pretty well for the area, depending on who you work for. If you don't like any of those things, there isn't much else to do, but after a while, positions do open up with the school or at the market, and without many people in the area, these jobs may stay open for months. There's also stuff like road crew and landscaping, as well as opportunities for small businesses. BF and I are looking at what is missing in the area...there are no computer resellers or repair people. There are no Italian restaurants for miles and miles. There are a lot of holes, but who knows if they would work, or someone might have tried it by now...? The upside is, living there is super cheap. You can buy a decent house in town for under 30,000 and cheaper, if you know enough people in the area. We want to eventually buy a few acres outside of town and build our own house with the help of friends and local businesses. If you are close to the community, many folks trade service for service, or goods, (like I may give someone some tomatoes and corn if they help BF fix the vehicle, etc.)

What do you trade when it's not harvest time? :mg:

Have you gotten the custody issues resolved that this point? And will they interfere with your ability to move?

Custody never was much of an issue. We both recognise each other's importance in the Jamey's life. The hard part was coming up with an agreement to minimise the travel and upheaval in his life. I'm thoroughly pleased to say we came up with a great agreement. I understand that the Summer is the best time to live on a farm when you're a kid, so he's getting that. And I would never interfere with her ability to move. :P

I wasn't talking about you, actually (although I was curious). I was thinking about case's BF's psycho-ex story.

Oops. I was having a "the world revolves around me" moment. It's been on my mind because I've spent so much time thinking about it lately. My bad.

No, that's okay, I WAS concerned about you too, but I figured that you and case negotiated something to your mutual benefit, or rather, to Jamey's benefit.

Well...this is going to be a serious example of environmental shock, idnit? Going from incredibly gorgeous Boulder to incredibly flat and rural Sublette...

Good luck, Case. Post photos!

Sounds like a great place to let your creative juices flow...hope it works out!

whew, yes. This is going to be a little different from what I am use to, but I am truly excited about it.

As far as custody goes, it was pretty much all figured out, and since the judge allowed her to move to Texas (see that thread I blathered on about this) we thought this would be a good way to move a little closer to them and make their time with us as comfortable and healthy as possible.

Perth threw a huge tantrum and told me that I would have to move over his dead body. I figure it's harder to find a shallow grave out there where there are thousands of square miles of farmland. :P

that part about perth was a joke, as I am sure most people figured out. Sorry, perth, just putting up my disclaimer in the case of any hurt feelers.

My feelers is achin' but I'll be okay. Actually, I did throw a tantrum, but we worked it out.

I don't really think it was a tantrum so much as just a "disagreement" :D

So...I assume you two - perth & case - are the parents of a child, and you are now divorced..??.. Seems that way by those last posts. It also sounds like you're trying very hard to work things out amicably and that is great!
My son's Dad and I divorced 7 yrs ago, and finally almost 4 yrs ago, we started having a good relationship as exes and as co-parents. We are even becoming pretty good friends again, and my husband and my ex can now talk friendly also. If I had realized before how important that was to our son, I would've tried harder sooner. It's made a huge difference to our son - he's so much happier with both of us and with himself. It's not always easy, but so very well worth it. And I'm sure all us adults involved are better for it too.
Life's too short to sweat the small stuff!

Yeah, perth and I were divorced in October, and had separated over a year ago. We both made it very important that we remain friends, because we both still care about each other and our son is better off for it. My bf and perth also have a decent friendship. It definitely helps us all not to be at each others throats all the time. We both have determined that we make better friends than we do spouses. Sure, we have both had our moments, but for the most part, we get along pretty well.

Case makes a great ex-wife. :)

that was kind of a backhanded compliment, but I take what I can get. :)

Seriously, though, perth is my friend and I never wanted to lose that.

the sky out there is amazing... I have always been able to see why it has either inspired people and/ or driven them mad.. I often wonder about the pioneers.. living out int he middle of nowhere in sod houses... nothing to do but stare at that great expanse above.. watching a storm roll in from a hundred miles away... wow. anyway! take heart, and when you go nuts.. move to Lawrence... the oasis in this state...

ps. glad you found your way here.. how did you find the cellar? there used to be a thread about that.. but I guess it went away a year or so ago...

The beauty of the expansive sky is part of the reason I love it here. Last night we had a golden/orange moon in the east following yet another gorgeous sunset with all kinds of neat colors. After about midnight or so, we had one of the coolest storms I have ever seen. The wind was crazy and rain was spraying randomly while lightning flashed above. Today is calm and sunny.

I have been on the cellar for a couple of years and started lurking back in 2001 or so. Perth and I were married back then and I suppose I slowly got interested in posting because he was always reading things and showing me posts on the cellar. I was pretty scared to post at all for a while! I have only lived out here in Kansas for a couple of months.

yeah the storms over the past couple of days have been great. one of the main reasons I moved back here from SCarolina was the weather, the sheer beauty of it and the fact that you never ever know what tomorrow will bring! (also the fact that there are very very distinct seasons :) ) although I have to say watching a Hurricane (s) slide within 50 miles of the island you are living on can be quite exciting! and there's nothing like having most of the island to yourselves as everyone else evacuated! hmmm Hurricane party!

Well, here I am, again. Back in Colorado. I guess it didn't work out so well. It was a nice retreat for a little while, but ultimately, our outlook for survival was dismal at best. We were stuck with no vehicle, no money and no jobs and finally, called my dad in Colorado for rescue. Now, we are living in their basement with our clothes and a (thankfully) vehicle and the rest of our stuff is sitting in SW Kansas. I did miss civilization. I guess that learns me not to take anything for granted. It also learns me to talk like a true redneck. :)

Dude! come back, we're giving it away...
http://www.kansasfreeland.com/

Except for that part about being in Kansas, that's pretty cool.

I'd rather be in a basement in Colorado.............I think I'll buy one. With a house on top of it. Oh wait! I am! In a couple of weeks! WAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome back to CO - hope things get better for ya Case..........

Looks like we'll be able to have a Colorado Forks pretty soon! I'll bring the drums! :beer: :jig: :guinness: :band: :devil:

Happy to be back! Thanks!

Let's do have a gtg. T'would be great fun!

Oh sure, get together in Colorado, but would you come to a Pagan festival to get together with me? Noooooooo..... :lol:

Here's to things going better for you and Dakota.

I am very, very jealous El. I saw some reportage on the Heartland Pagan Festival (that's the one you host, isn't it?) M.R. Sellars was one of your speakers.