SHARON'S
HOMESTEAD PAGE

This is really two photos, hence color difference. From left to right: chicken coop to far rear, storage shed on far side of garden, pump house on this side of garden, Airstream trailer, small cabin, large cabin in progress.

Here is the story of our homestead -in progress-, and here are some good photos, though they WILL take some time to load.

Waaaaaaaaay back in 1972, I decided I really wanted to own some land. Being only 17 and not employed at the time, it did not look too good for me. When I was 20, I had gained a bit (TINY bit) more wisdom, and decided to go in the Air Force for four years, to get my land and a Harley-Davidson. I engaged a realtor, who kept showing me these "in town", yuppie type places. I kept trying to explain to him that I wanted acreage, lots of it, way WAY out of town. It took a while, but on a late Saturday night, he called, all excited, and stated "I have found the perfect land!!". I kinda did not believe him, but he was paying gas to go the next day, so I went to look at it.

Well, finally, it was what I wanted. 25 acres, on a big river, with six acres of bottom land and the other 19 acres in 60 to 100 foot pine/fir trees. It was away from a very small town, and not too near the next "big" town.

After the financial haggling and signing my life and children away, I was the proud owner of land. I did not even go back for a couple years, then spent some time camping there, and just ignored it essentially. I left the area in another year or so, and was back only 3 times after that. But it was always there, my ace in the hole.

In 1994, just before Joe and I got together, I thought of selling it, mainly to try to buy land in a more southern location. I have become a desert rat and was looking more in New Mexico or Arizona. But Joe and I went up and looked at the land while on a business trip, and he talked me into keeping it and building our homestead there. We talked long about what we wanted and how we wanted to live, and more important:

What it would take to DO the deed!!!

Work, work, work and more work, and then, throw in that nasty word, MONEY!!!

We had been aquiring rental property in the town we were working in. We both had high tech, high pay, high BS jobs with the government. We had four Harleys, one child and more "stuff" than three people should ever be allowed to accumulate! So, we started making plans, making floor plans, looking at investments, trying to sell the child, NO, really, looking at what we needed to do to make the move without any debts.

We decided that Joe would quit his job on 1 January 1998, and start to get things ready for us to go up and start the homestead dream about 1 April 1998. Well, God has greater plans, and he got laid off from the job in October of 1997. He had time to take care of getting rentals all ship-shape, AND got unemployment too!

We were committed to the April 1 date, so we did infact move Joe up the end of March. We hit a nasty snowstorm in northern Wyoming, and had to spend a day there, then travel on snow banked roads thru Montana. We lost a wheel on the small trailer coming into Spokane, and limped the rest of the way on three wheels. We lost the windows in the Airstream on the second morning of the trip. We fought 50mph headwinds all day the first day, and 50-70mph the second day. We got just past Clovis, NM when a semi went by and the vaccuum pulled the front windows out of the trailer! The rest of the trip, except for the snowstorm, was pretty uneventful.

Once we got to the homestead, I had to turn around and head home to Texas to go back to work and pick up daughter and keep life on the "other front" going. We had put the house we were living in, up for sale in November of 1997. It took until July of 1998 to sell, so I still had gardens to take care of and school work to deal with, and rentals to take care of. We got that house sold, and moved back into a house we had owned and lived in before that one. It was a terrible rental, so that was ok. But it needs some work too, so that is what I am doing now, while Joe builds the homestead up. One of the two rentals left is under contract right now, and the other is for sale. Joe's second Harley sold just before closing the house, and mine second one is for sale right now.

Since April, Joe has gotten an awful lot done!! He put a well in, with a two inch drivepoint. He hit water at about 15 feet, but went to 21 feet. A small pump and tank kept him in water for the trailer during the rainy season, but not at any great rate. The power company put in a pole and Joe put in the main box and breakers, and power for the homestead appeared. The garden went in quickly, after the back breaking work of hauling the rocks out of the area. I went to work in Alaska in late May, and was able to spend a week at the homestead the first of June on my way back. The garden was almost decimated by a hail storm while I was there, but through some replanting and buying established transplants, he has been eating out of the garden almost all summer now. While I was there, we planted seven nut trees. Joe had already planted five apple trees of different types. We have to put screen collars on all the trees to keep the rodents out during the winter.

Joe had the foundation for the cabin, a 16 x 16 footer, going while I was there. After I left, he began the serious work of putting the cabin itself up. As the photos will show, he has done an amazing amount of work, in a very short time, with no help except the roof sheathing. He finished the roof quickly, and when I came up in Dec 98, I started working on it too. I did the sheetrock upstairs, painted and put in carpet. We are storing soap up there right now. We hope to pour the footing for the poles for the walls for bath and sun room this week.

The main well was dug near the end of July, just below the garden, toward the river. They hit water at about 30 some odd feet, but went to 50 something since that is the minimum charge. The water is cold, clear and very abundant!! Joe got a submersible pump and a large tank and says there is definately lots of good water for the homestead now. The permits and perc tests for the septic system went thru and we have good water and septic in now.

In August of 98, I took Tia and a load of "stuff" -refrigerator, stove, freezer, whirlpool tub, beds and boxes of things- up and spent about a week. It was a good "vacation".

I had reservations to fly up for Christmas, and the house in TX sold while I was gone. We flew back, loaded up on 4 January, and took a 24 ft Uhaul and 12 ft trailer behind it... north. We took the long route west to California, and then up 5 to Oregon and into Washington. We had decent weather till about 100 miles from home, then it got a bit snowy. We made it tho, and unloaded into storage sheds.

It is now September, and we have the chicken coop done, the storage shed done, the cabin almost.... done, and the garden in and producing produce. We are happy and healthy. We are blessed to be here.

Check out the photos if you are interested in what it looks like, words don't give much of an idea.

These wonderful graphics are from:

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This page was last updated on - 09/1/99.
Copyright © - 11/24/96 - ruckomatic.