2019 PDC for Scientists, Engineers, Educators and experienced Permies

Registration sent for the ATC and confirmation email received!

Will there be an online course with similar content available?

Chris Wang wrote:Will there be an online course with similar content available?

We have video of a previous PDC and ATC at https://pdcvid.com

So the PDC page has been updated to show that the early bird price ends on march 31.   Anything else that needs a bit of a tidy?



https://richsoil.com/pdc.jsp




https://richsoil.com/atc.jsp

Im hoping that the videos from these courses will be all put together like the 2017 one and sold to us folks that couldnt make it. I will be the first in line as soon as it becomes available!

At this time there is no plan to video this course.

Aww man! Thats too bad. The atc topics and the indepth nature of the pdc for engineers, teachers etc seem wonderful and a totally next level experience from the 2017 version.

Well, hopefully at least some pieces of all those great things are released out to those who cant make it!

I totally want to say we would come film if you wanted that. Just to make sure all of that golden information gets recorded. No clue how we would make that happen... but where there is a will...

Cheers
Bryan

Bryan,

Are you an experienced videographer?

Hi Paul,

I am not an experienced videographer. But I am good with technology, quick to learn things, creative, and willing to work hard to improve.

I have helped with other peoples projects including my wife’s kickstarter, and have experience with theater directing, lighting and sound production - some of those skills transfer.

If we went forward with this idea, I would spend the next three months leveling up to be ready for the experience!

I hope you might strongly consider the possibility. :)

Cheers
Bryan

Gonna let this go at this time.

No prob. :)

I wish i could make it this year. It hurts me to miss another one. Hopefully next year!!

This one falls precisely in the due date delivery window for #3. Want to add "How to deliver a baby the traditional way" to the course list?

Do you anticipate doing another PDC like this that is more technically geared for Scientists-Engineers-Educators? Like an every other year rotation?

I would like to make this a regular event.  I very much like Alan's style - and the type of student he attracts.

What is the definition of 'experienced'?

If you have to ask...  

this course it geared toward those who have studied permaculture, homesteading, science and/or engineering

Note that the main web page, https://richsoil.com/pdc.jsp, with the schedule, mentions the tour on the Saturday before the PDC starts. Now, we've added another tour option on the Sunday after.

Tours are:
June 15, Saturday
or
June 30, Sunday

Tours start promptly at 9:30 a.m. and meet behind the shop/auditorium (in Arrakis) to get started. If you are late, you could miss the group. Pack your own lunch for a lunch break (we won't have meals going for the PDC or ATC on these days), and the tour resumes after lunch. Be prepared for uneven and steep ground at times, and being outdoors in Montana weather. We used to do the tour in about three to four hours (cue the Gilligan's Island theme song!), though now it takes about 6 hours, and can even be 8 hours long if there are a lot of questions.

Jocelyn, Kay Gelfling has some questions she posted here: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Could you help her or refer someone to help answer her questions?

Anne Miller wrote:Jocelyn, Kay Gelfling has some questions she posted here: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Could you help her or refer someone to help answer her questions?

Thanks Anne - dunno how I missed that - I'm on it!!

Anne Miller wrote:Jocelyn, Kay Gelfling has some questions she posted here: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Could you help her or refer someone to help answer her questions?

Anne, thank you so much! =)

I, um... I asked a couple more questions. (Same subject, clarification questions.) Thank you all for the help!

Kay Gelfling wrote:

Anne Miller wrote:Jocelyn, Kay Gelfling has some questions she posted here: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Could you help her or refer someone to help answer her questions?

Anne, thank you so much! =)

I, um... I asked a couple more questions. (Same subject, clarification questions.) Thank you all for the help!

Answered! Follow that link from Anne above for some rather thorough replies to Kay, the last part of which includes descriptions of parking and camping (and RV) situations at base camp.

Just a heads up that Coco and I are scrambling a bit to both help run the first ever, learning-as-we-go PEP1 gathering / certification workshop, plus wrangling all the other details and things that we do. Which is to say that this week especially, we just don't have time for individual responses (phone calls, e-mails, or purple mooseages) and there will be some delays.

Please ask questions in this thread (or the relevant thread) if at all possible. This means we can help multiple folks at once, or others can chime in with answers if Coco or I are in the middle of something.

In the next day or two, we'll be adding you to a private forum to start meeting each other and getting a great orientation from Alan before the course starts!

Thank you for the help! I have created my Big List of Questions. My questions are detailed since we are flying to the mainland, then we have only a day to pack up, and i like to be prepared beforehand when possible.


Please don't feel like you have to answer these questions this week, or any time that you are too busy. If I had answers by June 7th or so, i will still have a week to prepare. And if we don't have answers in time, i am no worse off, and we will wing it for whatever we need. =) The first ever PEP1 !! That is so exciting!!


General Questions:

1) Cell phone signal: I am reading that Verizon is "very good, typically 5 bars" and AT&T is reported "good". Do you have any info on Sprint or T-Mobile?

2) During the tour, how much of the time is walking vs how much of the time is standing a looking at things? (If we are going on an 6-8 hour hike i need to do some serious (for me) training!)

3) I read to "Bring Tools." Since the PDC is design, do we need any tools? For the ATC, which tools should i bring? (I don't want to miss out on an activity because i didn't bring a tool. Since i'm flying, I might have to buy one on the way over.) Please ignore this question if there is more info about this on the way already.

4) How many days of the PDC should we expect to get really messy? How many for the ATC? I am imagining that laundering is reasonable to do once-a-week, and pants are a bulky item in a suitcase, so i'm trying to figure out how many i need to bring. (I have the categories of "paint pants" which can get paint or glue or holes and rips, "work pants" which can get muddy and dirty but not physically ruined, and normal jeans which i hopefully can wear for a few days before i need to swap, and hopefully will not become stained.) A ballpark estimate is good enough.

5) I normally buy a large jug of generic vinegar at costco for washing clothes and general cleaning- but at the PDC, should i make sure to only bring organic cleaning vinegar? (How about baking soda and rubbing alchohol? I use those for cleaning- are there versions of those to buy, or should they be avoided?)

6) Do you happen to know if there is any place in Missoula to find organic marshmallows? I've found a lot of vegan and/or "natural" mallows, but not organic

Food Prep Questions:

I am guessing that most people attending the PDC and ATC will mostly be eating what is prepared. But I will have support people with me who are not on the food plan, so i am trying to envision what will be needed for a month of food.

1) Dishes and washing: I assume we should bring our own dishes? If i was camping without use of a sink, i would normally bring disposable supplies such as paper plates, cups, paper towels, etc, and burn them after, and we would have some small squirt bottles water for washing knives and silverware. At home of course we usually use reusables and wash them, which we could do during our visit, but would you want us to use the bathroom sink, or go outside to a specific place to wash so it doesn't get out of hand with so many campers? Or is it better to go with the paper products for now?

2) Similarly, rags vs paper towels. What do you prefer we use? Rags will probably have to hang dry somewhere.

3) Are there any organic foods which are banned for everybody in common spaces, such as peanut butter? (some schools do this)

4) If we are able to use rocket stoves or ovens, is it a good idea for us to bring our own pans and pot holders, or are there "guest" ones?

5) How easy to get to from the FPH are the low-energy cooking options? (For instance, are they a short drive, a short walk, on the porch, etc? Practical for regular use, or would we be in the way?)

6) We usually make our own meals. We certainly wouldn't find it practical to drive to Missoula to eat out every day, every meal. But without a fridge, I could see us using a lot of shelf-stable, one-use products. I can imagine myself going to costco and buying (organic of course) individual boxes of juice, shelf-stable milk, applesauces in packets, jerky, and other similar things. It's so much packaging, but i'm guessing the cooler will need to have space for cheese, meats, and other items which really have to be cold. We can certainly have some amount of dry goods but not all. There's the old peanut butter sandwich and bread, which we will certainly do (if PB is OK), but i do want a balanced diet for my 5 year old. i'm having trouble thinking of a good way around this, and would love any suggestions.

7) If making food seems too overwhelming to my support people, can we buy them food tickets to join in on dinners? I'm not sure if we would be more disruptive joining in or trying to make our own food.

Questions When Renting the Bunks Room:

The bunk room feels part cabin, part house, so i just want to check my expectations!

1) Do we need to bring bed linens (ie sheets, pillows, blankets?)

2) since we are renting the bunk room, do we get to use the hall bathroom and shower inside the FPH, or should we be going outside for the willow bank and the shower shack? (I see the FPH resources are listed as a backup, but since they will be right next to us it is going to feel natural for us to use them, especially at night, unless it is discouraged.)

3) Do we need to bring towels / washclothes?

4) Do we need to bring our own toilet paper and hand soap? (If so, are there certain brands which are /are not OK? I'm thinking Dr Bronners for hand soap (if we can find it) but for natural TP, i'm unclear on the requirements!)

5) Is there any good place to hang wet towels / washclothes / coats / clothes / shoes that have been rained on? (I assume we wouldn't leave anything in the bathroom, since the bathroom is space for everybody. I am envisioning muddy days sometimes too in the ATC.)

6) Does the door to the bunk room lock?

7) Is it okay to have a cooler in the bunk room? (Or does it need to be in the car?)

8) Is it okay to eat and prepare smaller items (such as peanut butter sandwiches) in the bunk room, or do we need to go outside or somewhere else to do that?

9) Is it okay to have fruit and or veggies sitting around inside the bunk room? Perhaps in a cardboard box or basket? I imagine we will go to the grocery or farmers market every week, but if we leave them in the car i worry they will wilt and bake.

10) How early is it OK to arrive on June 15th? We plan to arrive the morning of the 15th, in time to attend the tour, which is 9:30am, so we should be outside and ready for touring at 9:15am, (so we should try to arrive early enough to say hello and unpack heat sensitive items before then.)

11) If we bring a hot plate, that has an energy use, same with a plug-in hot water maker: would those be encouraged or discouraged? Would it be better to bring a pot and a camping propane cookstove that we set up ? outside?

12) is there anything that you guys need that you would like folks to bring?

I am editing to add a question!

13) Roughly how cold is it inside the house at night? It seems that it would be best to allow the temperature to be where it is, so we need to pack clothes to try to match the climate. I'm guessing maybe 60s? Or will it be colder? We are not used to cold night temperatures, so we will pack either warmly or *really* *warmly* with mittens and night caps, ha ha.


Sorry to have so many small questions! A lot of these we could ask when we arrive but we might forget a question, or we might not get a good chance. And then we would guess the answer, and we might guess wrong, so as a Planner i tend to want to just ask. Thanks again!

Hello!

I was given a ticket from a friend who couldn't go. But I have some special needs due to a disability--cystic fibrosis. I love camping and don't mind sleeping in a tent, but I was wondering how much access to electricity there will be? I need to do breathing treatments a in the morning and at night (sometimes a 3rd one during the day). It seems like the accommodations are for roughing it. I don't mind that at all, normally when I go camping or backpacking I have battery operated treatments but those only last a couple of days.

I'll also be flying in, so if a small cabin or whatever is best to rent to minimize luggage, that would be fine too.

What are my options?

Lief Bamberg wrote:I love camping and don't mind sleeping in a tent, but I was wondering how much access to electricity there will be?

I don't know anything about availability of cabins, but my understanding is that most of the cabins don't have electricity. However, if you are camped near base camp, i believe they said they might be able to have access to an extension cord for power. (If you arrange it with them and they are OK with it!) Also i think there should be places to charge devices during the day, i think in the workshop, and maybe other places too?

From this thread: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:"That said, we do have some limited capacity for regular extension cords to plug in at the back of our shop/auditorium and extend out in to our parking lot there. So it's power only, not RV hookups. And we could probably only let two campers plug in at most. And that would be first come, first served."

Kay Gelfling wrote:1) Cell phone signal: I am reading that Verizon is "very good, typically 5 bars" and AT&T is reported "good". Do you have any info on Sprint or T-Mobile?

Sprint and T-Mobile used to be horrible but they seem to be okay now. I think they might have piggy-backed on the Verizon tower near us.

Kay Gelfling wrote:2) During the tour, how much of the time is walking vs how much of the time is standing a looking at things? (If we are going on an 6-8 hour hike i need to do some serious (for me) training!)

It's a lot of standing and looking at things, not 6 hours of hiking! Some folks are more winded than normal at our 3,000 to 4,000 foot elevation, and we have some rather hilly places to walk around, though it's not that much walking during the tour. An hour lunch break in the middle, and the lab half of the tour is mostly a driven / driving tour since the lab has more acreage to spread out.

Kay Gelfling wrote:3) I read to "Bring Tools." Since the PDC is design, do we need any tools? For the ATC, which tools should i bring? (I don't want to miss out on an activity because i didn't bring a tool. Since i'm flying, I might have to buy one on the way over.) Please ignore this question if there is more info about this on the way already.

The design and hands on activities in the PDC will not be very tool intensive, and we will have tools for the ATC. Some folks prefer their favorite hammer, or gardening or utility knife, etc., so that's only if you have a favorite you'd like to bring. Plus, it's Paul's sense of humor because we have guests and students who break or lose our tools, and he's hoping more folks will bring a tool and forget it here to make up for the tools we burn through!

Kay Gelfling wrote:4) How many days of the PDC should we expect to get really messy? How many for the ATC? I am imagining that laundering is reasonable to do once-a-week, and pants are a bulky item in a suitcase, so i'm trying to figure out how many i need to bring. (I have the categories of "paint pants" which can get paint or glue or holes and rips, "work pants" which can get muddy and dirty but not physically ruined, and normal jeans which i hopefully can wear for a few days before i need to swap, and hopefully will not become stained.) A ballpark estimate is good enough.

The PDC will be mostly classroom time, so not very messy at all. The hands-on activities that Alan plans are typically more of the science kind as well, such as testing for microbial activity in a pond, so the mud or mucking about is rather minimal.

The ATC, however, is all about hands-on with lots of sawdust, mud, mucking about and getting dirty.

Kay Gelfling wrote:5) I normally buy a large jug of generic vinegar at costco for washing clothes and general cleaning- but at the PDC, should i make sure to only bring organic cleaning vinegar? (How about baking soda and rubbing alchohol? I use those for cleaning- are there versions of those to buy, or should they be avoided?)

We are trying to use everything as organic as possible, so organic would make us happy. I, too, had been buying a cheap distilled vinegar for cleaning until I found out it was made from non-organic GMO corn, and Paul was concerned that could leave toxin residues on our stuff and in our soil. We're not perfect, but we're doing our best to stay about 90% organic or better.

Kay Gelfling wrote:6) Do you happen to know if there is any place in Missoula to find organic marshmallows? I've found a lot of vegan and/or "natural" mallows, but not organic

Hm...good question! I don't know that I do know of a Missoula source for you. I did find these on Amazon that have some organic ingredients:  Smash Mallows (affiliate link).

Kay Gelfling wrote:Food Prep Questions:

I am guessing that most people attending the PDC and ATC will mostly be eating what is prepared. But I will have support people with me who are not on the food plan, so i am trying to envision what will be needed for a month of food.

1) Dishes and washing: I assume we should bring our own dishes? If i was camping without use of a sink, i would normally bring disposable supplies such as paper plates, cups, paper towels, etc, and burn them after, and we would have some small squirt bottles water for washing knives and silverware. At home of course we usually use reusables and wash them, which we could do during our visit, but would you want us to use the bathroom sink, or go outside to a specific place to wash so it doesn't get out of hand with so many campers? Or is it better to go with the paper products for now?

In the past when we had families camping and not attending an event, they had their own dishes and washed them apart from our event food and dishes/dish washing set up. That would be preferred. Unfortunately, we do not really have extra sinks or dish washing areas at this time - we're pretty limited in that sense. Meaning that sink space could be at a premium such that dishwashing camping dishes at a sink could block folks from washing after relieving themselves. We do, however, have several water hydrants, where it would be easy to get a bucket of water for washing. And we have extra buckets.

Kay Gelfling wrote:2) Similarly, rags vs paper towels. What do you prefer we use? Rags will probably have to hang dry somewhere.

We have plenty of laundry lines at base camp for hanging up rags. There could be a limit on what we're able to burn (and we do not compost paper or paper towels here) - i.e., open fires could be banned depending on the weather and forest fire danger, and we do not yet have grills or other enclosed fire things at each campsite yet. There could be the use of some rocket stoves or TLUD stoves though, if available.

Kay Gelfling wrote:3) Are there any organic foods which are banned for everybody in common spaces, such as peanut butter? (some schools do this)

We have not banned any foods in common spaces.

Kay Gelfling wrote:4) If we are able to use rocket stoves or ovens, is it a good idea for us to bring our own pans and pot holders, or are there "guest" ones?

We might be able to provide access to rocket ovens, the rocket stove, TLUDs, a 2-burner propane cooktop, solar ovens, and/or a BBQ, (this is dependent on loads of factors, one of which is that class activities get first priority of course, plus, we do not yet have covered spaces to keep them outdoors, so access is limited and weather dependent) but we would currently do not have guest pans or pot holders.

Kay Gelfling wrote:5) How easy to get to from the FPH are the low-energy cooking options? (For instance, are they a short drive, a short walk, on the porch, etc? Practical for regular use, or would we be in the way?)

We'll have the 2-burner propane cooktop outdoors next to the FPH, though if the weather is hot, this might be the main cooking station for the event meals. Other cooking options are stored in places that are not open to guests and would take help from myself or Coco to round up for you. We'll be scrambling to meet class needs first, so rounding these up might not be a reliable option.

Kay Gelfling wrote:6) We usually make our own meals. We certainly wouldn't find it practical to drive to Missoula to eat out every day, every meal. But without a fridge, I could see us using a lot of shelf-stable, one-use products. I can imagine myself going to costco and buying (organic of course) individual boxes of juice, shelf-stable milk, applesauces in packets, jerky, and other similar things. It's so much packaging, but i'm guessing the cooler will need to have space for cheese, meats, and other items which really have to be cold. We can certainly have some amount of dry goods but not all. There's the old peanut butter sandwich and bread, which we will certainly do (if PB is OK), but i do want a balanced diet for my 5 year old. i'm having trouble thinking of a good way around this, and would love any suggestions.

I don't have the bandwidth to address this for you at the moment, though I think that's a fabulous thread idea for the cooking forum. Here's one thread already:  Recipes and tips for the fridge-less cook. I'm sure a quick search might bring up more, or, start a new one!

Kay Gelfling wrote:7) If making food seems too overwhelming to my support people, can we buy them food tickets to join in on dinners? I'm not sure if we would be more disruptive joining in or trying to make our own food.

Unfortunately, no. We just are not set up to make this work in a way that is worth it to all parties. Some day, when we have more advanced systems, we'd love to be able to offer this.

Kay Gelfling wrote:Questions When Renting the Bunks Room:

The bunk room feels part cabin, part house, so i just want to check my expectations!

1) Do we need to bring bed linens (ie sheets, pillows, blankets?)

No. Sheets, pillows, blankets, comforters, and towels are provided.

Kay Gelfling wrote:2) since we are renting the bunk room, do we get to use the hall bathroom and shower inside the FPH, or should we be going outside for the willow bank and the shower shack? (I see the FPH resources are listed as a backup, but since they will be right next to us it is going to feel natural for us to use them, especially at night, unless it is discouraged.)

Yes, you are welcome to use the hall bath any time.

Kay Gelfling wrote:3) Do we need to bring towels / washclothes?

One set of bath, hand towel and wash cloth per person will be provided, replaced with a clean set each week.

Kay Gelfling wrote:4) Do we need to bring our own toilet paper and hand soap? (If so, are there certain brands which are /are not OK? I'm thinking Dr Bronners for hand soap (if we can find it) but for natural TP, i'm unclear on the requirements!)

We provide TP and hand soap at each sink.

Kay Gelfling wrote:5) Is there any good place to hang wet towels / washclothes / coats / clothes / shoes that have been rained on? (I assume we wouldn't leave anything in the bathroom, since the bathroom is space for everybody. I am envisioning muddy days sometimes too in the ATC.)

Correct! No one is to leave their things in the bathroom or the shower shack stalls. In the bunk bedroom we have towel racks (4) and quite a few coat hooks. We have seen the bunk stairs (which are metal) used as drying racks, too.

Kay Gelfling wrote:6) Does the door to the bunk room lock?

No.

Kay Gelfling wrote:7) Is it okay to have a cooler in the bunk room? (Or does it need to be in the car?)

If you can fit it comfortably, that is fine with us.

Kay Gelfling wrote: Is it okay to eat and prepare smaller items (such as peanut butter sandwiches) in the bunk room, or do we need to go outside or somewhere else to do that?

If you can do that comfortably, that is fine with us. Though if for some reason, food or the cooler seem to become problematic, we might rescind this approval.

Kay Gelfling wrote:9) Is it okay to have fruit and or veggies sitting around inside the bunk room? Perhaps in a cardboard box or basket? I imagine we will go to the grocery or farmers market every week, but if we leave them in the car i worry they will wilt and bake.

Probably fine. We have had mice, chipmunks, and pack rats in the house because we live in the country. We have mouse traps in many places in the kitchen, library and other places around base camp. We do not have mouse traps in the bunk bedroom. We keep fruit out on the counters and other root veg in bins in the kitchen and have not recently had mouse in the house (probably thanks to the outdoor cat(s)). The other thing we do is we keep our front door or back door closed to keep the critters out (cats included - they are not allowed inside). Though I recently saw a helpful PEP1 participant open the front door wanting to leave it open to air the house a bit. And kids some times leave doors open. So...the fruit should be fine, if we don't have critters coming in the house again.

Kay Gelfling wrote:10) How early is it OK to arrive on June 15th? We plan to arrive the morning of the 15th, in time to attend the tour, which is 9:30am, so we should be outside and ready for touring at 9:15am, (so we should try to arrive early enough to say hello and unpack heat sensitive items before then.)

We're up by 7 a.m. (Paul is often up earlier!) So any time after that is fine.

Kay Gelfling wrote:11) If we bring a hot plate, that has an energy use, same with a plug-in hot water maker: would those be encouraged or discouraged? Would it be better to bring a pot and a camping propane cookstove that we set up ? outside?

I think the hot plate could go on the little wooden table in the bunk bedroom just fine, though if the weather is warm, you would not like the added heat in the tiny room. We do not have A/C.

Kay Gelfling wrote:12) is there anything that you guys need that you would like folks to bring?

Paul would say tools! Can't think of anything at the moment. Thanks for asking!

Kay Gelfling wrote:13) Roughly how cold is it inside the house at night? It seems that it would be best to allow the temperature to be where it is, so we need to pack clothes to try to match the climate. I'm guessing maybe 60s? Or will it be colder? We are not used to cold night temperatures, so we will pack either warmly or *really* *warmly* with mittens and night caps, ha ha.

In the summers it often cools to the 50's at night, even if the day time temp has hit the 90's. Which I love! That's our A/C. We would not heat the house at night, we typically open the windows to cool everything down throughout the common areas, then close up the windows in the morning to keep it cool during the day. We could give you extra blankets and you would not have to open your window at night.

Kay Gelfling wrote:

Lief Bamberg wrote:I love camping and don't mind sleeping in a tent, but I was wondering how much access to electricity there will be?

I don't know anything about availability of cabins, but my understanding is that most of the cabins don't have electricity. However, if you are camped near base camp, i believe they said they might be able to have access to an extension cord for power. (If you arrange it with them and they are OK with it!) Also i think there should be places to charge devices during the day, i think in the workshop, and maybe other places too?

From this thread: https://permies.com/t/62306/permaculture-projects/Parents-kids-pdc#915166

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:"That said, we do have some limited capacity for regular extension cords to plug in at the back of our shop/auditorium and extend out in to our parking lot there. So it's power only, not RV hookups. And we could probably only let two campers plug in at most. And that would be first come, first served."

Lief, your question was blocked behind the dam created by Kay's flood of questions, so I'm so happy she attempted to answer it for you!

Base camp is on grid. So anything happening at base camp has power nearby. The classroom/auditorium, is also our shop, and has electricity. Up our (slightly steep) driveway we have a common area called the library which is some times used by students during non-workshop times and also has power.

Charging you packs during the day should not be a problem at all inside the auditorium or the library.

Our one cabin with power at base camp will be occupied during the PDC and ATC.

As Kay quoted me, there is the possibility to camp behind the auditorium/shop in our sandy parking lot, though you would likely need your own extension cord if you think you might need power at night. We have a trailer parked behind the auditorium for the PEP1 event happening right now that is plugged in to our outdoor outlet at the back. Other attendees moved their vehicles to give the trailer the closest access so the trailer's extension cord could reach that outlet.

For the PDC and ATC, plugging in at the back of the auditorium becomes slightly more challenging because we usually put a dishwashing and coffee/tea station under a canopy out where that trailer is currently parked. The coffee and tea will be taking up some of the outlet space for the morning hours.

Does that help?

Ok, I have one more question. Still trying to work out the details, but for now I’m leaning toward having my mom stay at home with my children rather than bringing them along. This only leaves one unsettled issue - would there be a freezer where I could store my breast milk for the duration of the PDC? I’m assuming that I won’t have time to keep running to town for ice to keep it in a cooler, plus it will go bad after 2 weeks in a cooler, no matter how much ice I put in it.
Sorry to be such a pain.

Lulubelle Davis wrote:Ok, I have one more question. Still trying to work out the details, but for now I’m leaning toward having my mom stay at home with my children rather than bringing them along. This only leaves one unsettled issue - would there be a freezer where I could store my breast milk for the duration of the PDC? I’m assuming that I won’t have time to keep running to town for ice to keep it in a cooler, plus it will go bad after 2 weeks in a cooler, no matter how much ice I put in it.
Sorry to be such a pain.

Hi Lulubelle, you're not being a pain! In general, we tell participants that we do not have room in our fridges or freezers for personal food. We usually do have a bit of room for folks to refreeze their ice things (like "blue ice" or a water filled plastic bottle) for their coolers, so we might be able to give you tiny bit of space (less than a small cooler's worth of space).

WE STILL HAVE TICKETS FOR THE 2019 PDC!!!

Purchase your tickets HERE!

Visit the official PDC page HERE

Jocelyn Campbell wrote:Note that the main web page, https://richsoil.com/pdc.jsp, with the schedule, mentions the tour on the Saturday before the PDC starts. Now, we've added another tour option on the Sunday after.

Tours are:
June 15, Saturday
or
June 30, Sunday

Tours start promptly at 9:30 a.m. and meet behind the shop/auditorium (in Arrakis) to get started. If you are late, you could miss the group. Pack your own lunch for a lunch break (we won't have meals going for the PDC or ATC on these days), and the tour resumes after lunch. Be prepared for uneven and steep ground at times, and being outdoors in Montana weather. We used to do the tour in about three to four hours (cue the Gilligan's Island theme song!), though now it takes about 6 hours, and can even be 8 hours long if there are a lot of questions.

Let's have a pot luck after the tour - 6 p.m. in the auditorium! Dining at Paul's table won't be happening on the tour dates, so let's share a meal together, whether or not you were able to go on the tour.

A reminder to all attendees:  you have all now been invited to a private forum (named 'wheaton labs pdc') where, among many things, Alan has been setting up internet meetings, and has some links to suggested reading before the course. Please take a look!

wheaton labs 2019 PDC is going great!!!

Here photo's:





















Prep for food!


Food time!!!