since all of Los Angeles has been leveled, I imagine there would be a lot of open space there. There is an argument that their current location is defensible, but yeah, so would any new place they could find.

 

A very good point. If you watch the sneak peek for 3x12 on AMC, Jake and Alicia talk exactly about this something about other survivalist camps they can go to I think? Subtitles were disabled so I can't tell.

 

The show? I agree.

 

I would have left the ranch a while ago. I would have stayed until I could scout out a better place to go and then take my people and leave.

 

Last nights episode mentioned more than once about giving the water, from the dam, back to the people. I have a suspicion that someone is going to blow the dam and lots of people will die. Maybe in the finale

 

The deal Madison made was for 10K gallons a month which might be a longer term solution if it can stand.

Obviously there is a huge herd of walkers on the way. That might bind the Nation to the ranchers in defense of their common home.

If I were them, I'd be heading northeast to the Great Basin near the Green River. I'd build a camp on top of a butte which could be easily defensible They'd have to lug water up the butte from the Green River, but that area is/was so sparsely populated as to be almost devoid of walkers.

 

Right. I think it was actually 10K per WEEK, but yes, this is a longer term solution, if the damn can hold. I think Madison is putting her apples in Daniel's basket, crossing her fingers he can manage that. And if you think about it, there are some advantages to getting your water remotely each week instead of living on top of it, because it makes your camp less desirable to would-be attackers who might be roaming the landscape searching for exactly that: a camp with its own source of water, that they can take over. Some ruffians that pass by may be less likely to kick you off and take over. The big thing they will be looking for is water, in this climate.

Another advantage to staying is that everyone knows the area well. They know where to hunt, where to find the edible plants, the places to set up your army in case of a fight, the places to go for various types of supplies and other caches, etc. In addition, all the ranchers consider this their home, that they've worked years and decades to build, and are thus more likely to fight harder to keep it standing, than if they were to travel to some new place they might not be as invested in.

 

Phew. This gets me off the hook of watching that Flintstone Kids show you keep nagging me about.

 

I don't nag, I heavily suggest!

 

I heavily suggest you ketchup!

 

they have trucks going in and out of there all the time, according to Daniel. Seeing a truck leaving north wouldn't be the issue. Just holding the dam in general would be the issue, and Madison decided to trust in Daniel.

Of course they would know the difference. If they lived in that area, which they likely did if they were now plundering it, they would know what to look for to assess the water supply. And if they found out it was shipped in weekly be another community, they would have no reason to think that they could attack and take over the ranch and assume that would be okay with the water supplier, lol, since the water supplier was apparently on good terms with the original ranch people.

False. While its true that some of the families came later, It was stated in dialogue that many of the families came to the ranch long before the fall of civilization. It was advertised as a place to go to get off the grid. It was their homes long before that, and some of them even lived there long enough to be part of killing Walker's father, uncle, and grandfather, long ago.

 

Nah, it *wouldn't*, she was just making excuses because the situation at the damn in general is rocky and she didn't want a new wildcard in the mix. If the truck going north was really such a big single issue, she wouldn't have almost immediately changed her mind and not only agreed to it, but even agreed to send it weekly.

That's because they didn't look, the majority of people stay inside the fence. Of course people can assess the water situation. Walker understood when Madison took him to look at it. A water survey gives you more exact figures, but just looking at it told the bigger story.

You're really stretching here. Some people lived there longer, some came later. Not all after the apocalypse, as you claimed.The point remains its something they've built together over a long time, even the ones who only lived their part time, so something they would fight harder for. And whether they show the Mexican plot on the show doesn't invalidate the decision regarding the ranch. There are pluses and minuses to both, is the point.

 

You're really grasping now. There's some solid structures there, and its not only the building of it, but the constant maintaining of it . It takes a lot of work to maintain a ranch over years and decades. You dont' build it and then sunbathe all day lol. They've put years and decades of work into building and maintaining its self suffiency, and would thus be more inclined to defend it.

you're slipping here too. Of course someone who knows the area and these water supplies can make an assessment about it. Not only that, the ranches would tell them there situation and low and behold.........ta da.......there'd be a huge water truck parked right there on the property showing the ruffians that it was true they were using outside water lol.

 

Wells are checked by regularly checking to see if the well maintains the same amount of water. Kind of like a dip stick.
My grandma had one in the backyard, and I watched my uncle check it once. The "dip stick" was a rope with a weight on the end. My uncle noticed that the water didn't reach the green tape. Meaning the well was going dry.
Someone came out and dug a new one and my grandparents finally got plumbing added to the house.

 

Exactly. It would take them no time to assess the general water situation.