(www.newyorker.com)
https://archive.org/details/edg-ng-1961/edg%20NG%201971-01%2...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L._Shirk_Ranch
Today, with a modern vehicle, it is 1.5 hours from the nearest 'town' and 2 from the county seat, which has 2000 people.
I can't imagine how remote that must have been in 1900. What the seasons must have looked like going by, and how far the rest of the world must have felt.
I couldn't imagine traveling that area by foot or horse. Eastern Oregon is a fascinating and beautiful place. I wrote a bit about it on my blog.
https://object.computer/2026/07/15/summer-slows-and-trips-do...
does not work for me. However I can see that there is plenty of food (perhaps too much) at the end of the world.
- my wife
- au pair
- 3 kids (all under 5)
- dog
I thought that was plenty of human interaction (I'm somewhat extroverted) until we had a friend come over and chat with us outside on the porch.
I couldn't believe how, for lack of a better word, "refreshing" it felt. It was an excellent reminder that we are largely social creatures who also need some variety in the social circles we interact with.
Living out here means dealing with real problems because there is no infrastructure. You need to know how to survive if that solar panels break and you need 2 weeks to get a new ones. What happens if the food delivery couldn't make it for one extra week because the one guy who flies that out is sick. Can you handle illness without medicine or a doctor for a few days. etc..
The people shown in this article live very differently then the starlink solar van campers who work in tech and glamp out in the Sierra Nevda on Saturday night.
You can "isolate" in less isolated places.
Also what's the point if the activity you're describing is linking through other people anyway (just over internet).
Anyway, isolation and solitude seem lovely until you get appendicitis.
We all have unique biomes in our gut, and they're tailored to us. If you lose it, eg something kills all your gut bacteria, you will be very sick. The only cure is to have a transplant from a relative. Literally fecal matter is taken from a donar, pureed, and shoved up your wahzoo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_microbiota_transplant
My point? Your and my gut bacteria may need meat, and it could be why some cannot do the vegan thing. If your gut bacteria isn't happy, you aren't. And you can't just swap that out.
You can probably just put some poop in a gelcap... (this is not medical advice!)
It's precisely why they seek a close relative.
Adding some additional gut bacteria doesn't replace everything you have. Otherwise, you'd get sick from eating a salad someone else prepared, and ingesting some of their bacteria. The peanut thing may be introducing an additional bacterium which perhaps processes peanuts in a better fashion, but without supplanting anything?
So I won't say you're wrong. But without trials I won't say you're right, either.
These men are probably doing this job because it is work they can get.
(/s though from the title did consider for a second that it meant a retail store in some isolated place)
So a post like this is still correct in how it's presented.
Almost no one is actually living out at "the end of the world" in the wilderness with few or no other people around, and it is potentially a topic of interest/curiosity to hear about those who do.