Santa Paloma Valley

[A.Aperson 0]

Note: The two letters after the date refer to where the update was. See the key below for more info.

Key:

RE: Rancho del Eisel

FH: Firestone Hot Springs

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Page One:

1. Lost (05/24/09) [RE]

2. Oasis (05/30/09) [RE]

3. Homestead (6/21/09) [RE]

4. Surveying the Trail (6/26/09) [RE]

5. Ranch Developments (07/05/09) [RE]

Page Two:

6. A Town Grows (07/13/09) [RE]

7. Gold Rush (07/22/09) [RE]

8. Construction (07/29/09) [RE]

9. The Beginning of Firestone Hot Springs (08/10/09) [FH]

10. Health Resort (09/07/09)

Santa Paloma Valley will be a historic-ish CJ set in the Western US. Now please remember this is my first CJ, so be gentle. If I forget something, do not hesitate to correct me.

UPDATE 1: Lost

September 10th, 1889

It has been exactly 6 months since we left Connecticut for California. There are only roughly 150 miles left until we arrive at Los Angeles. I can't wait to start a new life. Here is a picture of the trail in Arizona.

September 11th, 1889

We are lost. During the night, one ox broke loose and we tried in vain to chase after it. We did for several minutes, but it ran off. It was then I realized we were lost. We will be fine though. The trail is not far off. We need only to go back to way we came from. We will be back on the trail shortly.

September 14th, 1889

My prediction was wrong. We are not back on the trail. We have been lost now for 3 days. There is nothing out here but scrub and weeds and sand.

The heat is nearly unbearable, prickly on my neck. I fear the worst, that we, the Eisel Family, will all die out here. No one will our bodies and bury us; we will be eaten by vultures. They are already preparing to feast on our corpses. My daughter Kate, I fear, is weakest. We are all weak. The food rations ran out yesterday and we were forced to eat the leaves of plants like animals. The worst, though, have yet to come. The water is about to run out.

[De Ja Vu 117]

Wow I'm very impressed by the first picture..I don't know why but I just can't help my self watching it over and over! Interesting story also. Great job!

[Teeparex 6]

Interesting start, hopefully the Eisels won't die before the next update! Looking forward to more of this.

[Raysfan16 5]

Wow, an unorthodox way to start, and I certainly love it! Keep it up!

[Schulmanator 5,812]

Nice start. Looks cool... can't wait for more.

[Hawkeye9 0]

Very nice start!!! Good luck on your first CJ!!!

[Bamafan 0]

Nice start! Can't wait for more!

[Follarch 327]

Another story based CJ! Can't wait for the next update, and please don't kill off the daughter, she doesn't deserve to.

[buildsolid 4]

Intreging start. will be a cj to watch if you keep this up, lets hope they don't all die out there.

[feliwi 4]

nice teaser so far, really can't wait to see this CJ developed!

[Twenty20 28]

Interesting start, I'm waiting too for the next update.

[A.Aperson 0]

REPLIES:

De Ja Vu: Thanks! I'm glad you like the first pic!

Teeparex: Thanks! The Eisels won't die anytime soon.

Raysfan16: Thanks!

Schulmanator: Thanks!

Hawkeye9: Thanks!

Bamafan: Thanks!

Archean: Thanks! I'm not going to kill the girl off.

Buildsolid: Thanks!

Feliwi: Thanks! It'll take a while for some development, Sta. Paloma Valley will move slowly.

Twenty20: Thanks!

UPDATE 2: OASIS

September 17th, 1889

We have been without water for a day now. Our mouths are parched. I fear I may be writing my final words. Night falls. Hungry vultures surround us, waiting for us to collapse and die.

September 18th, 1889

Finally, a miracle has occurred. We found an oasis in the desert. We drank and drank and drank and ate wild oranges from the orange grove.

We also killed several birds and roasted them. Our bellies are full and our throats are no longer parched. Now, the next challenge is getting back to the trail...

[De Ja Vu 117]

This is like watching extreme survival without Bear Grills I hope they can manage to escape the rough terrain!

[ironicepitome 0]

awesome! i have that feeling that they're gonna establish some kind of community there. As my kazakhstani friends would say:

"very nice! how much?"

[jacqulina 162]

great start and intro my friend,great story and pics.

[A.Aperson 0]

REPLIES:

De Ja Vu: Thanks. I never thought of the Eisel Family like Bear Grylls before.

ironicepitome: Thanks. You'll just have to wait and see...

jacqulina: Thanks. It's an honor to have a CJ great like you comment.

UPDATE 3: HOMESTEAD

September 20th, 1889

Today, while exploring, we found a grove of trees.

After a lot of consideration, we have decided that we will homestead here. The oasis and the grove make it a nice place nice. We have water and food here. Why not?

October 4th, 1889

We have been hard at work building a house for the past few weeks using wood from the grove. Finally though, we finished the house.

Our next step is to fence our land claim.

October 7th, 1889

More hard work. Our claim of 1,000 acres will take a while to fence. Already though, we have some of the fence complete.

October 13th, 1889

We have almost finished fencing our claim. Just one thing remains to be put in.

We put in the final piece: a gate.

The fence is complete. We still need cows to ranch and seeds to grow. Also, we need workers for the future ranch. How will we get these things?

[bluemoose 223]

WOW!

very nice idea

lots o' wood coming from that little grove...

very nice, cant wait to see what happens next...

[TmiguelT 10]

Great start , Awesome Idea and Amazing Story.

Keep up this great work

[feliwi 4]

nice developments! Keep it up!

[chrissc94 1]

Nice job, very realistic. I can't wait to see what becomes of this area.

[Amryai200 2]

Cool CJ so far, it's similar in some respects to mine (western US historic-ish). Can't wait to see where it goes!

[A.Aperson 0]

REPLIES:

bluemoose: Thanks!

TmiguelT: Thanks!

feliwi: Thanks!

 

chrissc94: Thanks!

Amryai200: Thanks! Just kinda curious, where did you get inspiration from to do Adobe Springs?

UPDATE 4: Surveying the Trail

October 14th, 1889

We are completely ready to take in seeds, fruit trees, cows, and other things for the ranch. The only problem is that we are not connected to the outside world yet.

Therefore, we must find a way back to the Santa Paloma Valley Trail or we will miserably fail. So far, our connection barely extends a bit past the oasis.

Tomorrow, we will begin work on extending the trail.

October 15th, 1889

Today, we being work on the trail. It will be a difficult challenge as we are not quite sure where the trail is. When we wandered up to the Oasis, we came from the

south. We are also located in a valley. As we wandered, we stayed withing the valley. Thus, I have deduced that we should follow the valley. Hopefully my guess

is right. Here is the first extension area. The trail can be seen on the right-hand side.

After extension.

October 16th, 1889

More extending. We are continuing to follow the valley. The valley has become very apparent now.

We have extended the trail all the way down the valley. Unfortunately, it ends in mountains. I will need some time to figure out a solution.

October 17th, 1889

We decided that we will weave the trail through the mountains. Here is a picture of some of the weaving.

The trail emerged out the mountains and met the Santa Paloma Valley Trail just to the north of a small settlement called Copperfield Canyon.

The trail is complete!

[dfnva 34]

Nice use of trails in the desolate desert. I also like your choice and sparing use of flora.

-Dan

[antsel 841]

I am enjoying your CJ. I like how empty and deserted everything looks. Great storyline too!

[Twenty20 28]

Nice pictures, the development of this desert area is very interesting.

[Schulmanator 5,812]

This looks very promising. I look forward to seeing it continue.

[A.Aperson 0]

REPLIES:

dfnva: Thanks!

selles: Thanks!

Twenty20: Thanks!

Schulmanator: Thanks!

UPDATE 5: Ranch Developments + Teaser!

October 19th, 1889

We have ordered a herd of cows for the ranch, as well as some orange trees. Both will take roughly a week to arrive. Here is the empty cow pen we have built.

The Grove is to the right.

October 25th, 1889

It has been exactly a week since the order was placed for the cows. They came right on time, along with other ranching supplies, like hay, feed troughs, etc.

We put in grass, hay, and food and water troughs and herded the cows in. Below is the finished cow pen.

October 30th, 1889

It's almost been two weeks since the orange tree orders were placed, but no trees have arrived. They were supposed to arrive nearly a week ago. Our field remains bare.

5 days ago though, I saw some people carrying a bunch of orange saplings up our trail. Did they steal them? I am suspicious...

I conclude this update with a teaser:

[Schulmanator 5,812]

Coming along well!

Looks like they need some rain

[jotauveefe 24]

Very NICE! I just can't wait for the next part!!

[Abc987 3]

This sounds really exciting! I love the thought of watching the tiny homstead grow into a town. Maybe this CJ will continue long enough to see it become a modern city! That would be a lot of fun. I'll be back for more!