I realize this is a big endeavor, especially for one person on a tight budget. I have been getting a lot of questions as to why and how. I’ll collect the questions and answer them here.
Why?
No reason in particular. I lived in Seattle for 20 years and like the Pacific Northwest. Not so much Seattle. I traveled around the country for a 3 years looking at places to settle in but didn’t really fins anything that I liked. I ended up back here and found this place. Hopefully, it will be a good investment as Seattle grows too.
How much property do you have?
It is just shy of 23 mostly wooded acres. An acre is 40,000 Sq Ft. For a visual, An acre is a little bigger than an American football field.
Do you have any utilities?
There are no Utilities coming to my property. No electricity, Water or cable. I will be working to resolve those as time goes on.
No Internet?
I use my phone for internet service. It is mostly 1 or 2 bars of 4g service. I can stream music if I am at the top of the property. Anywhere else is pretty sparse. Watching videos is similar but it takes a while to build up the buffer. Before the Covid shutdowns, When I needed the high speeds, I come into Pioneer Coffee Roasters, Safeway or the library. There is a new coffee shop/Tesla charging lounge that is pretty good. There is a wireless broadband provider that services the area but I am just out of range.
What do you do for electric Power?
I have an gasoline generator and 600w of solar panels. Lots of sun over here. I also charge a lot of my stuff at the aforementioned locations in town while I am on the internet.
Water?
I am considering a well but the cost is prohibitive and not guaranteed to strike a water source. In the meantime, I buy water at the Safeway and fill up jugs at an interstate rest stop near here. Water hauling is an option but a hassle.
Where do you go to the bathroom
I built an outhouse with a pit toilet, a sink with a 5 gallon jug of water and a shower basin. I use a 2 gallon pump sprayer filled with warm water for the showers
What do you eat?
I have set up an outdoor kitchen using the camping supplies I have accumulated over the years. I have also been collecting Camp food cookbooks for a while. The kitchen isn’t ideal yet but I am not going hungry. The RV trailer has a full kitchen but because of the limited water supply, I don’t use it other than to boil water for tea. Breakfast is usually a fried egg sandwich and coffee. I usually skip lunch and have various versions of pasta for dinner.
What about keeping food refrigerated?
I bought a cooler sized a DC powered refrigerator that does a really good job. The trailer has a propane powered refrigerator that is nearly full sized. It is pretty efficient. Not using any other propane in the trailer, I get about a month off a standard BBQ grill sized 20lb container.
Are there animals on the property?
I have see more tracks than animals but have seen a bear, a mountain lion, Deer and wild turkeys. There is an on-going battle with mice, chipmunks and squirrels. I have set up a couple trail cameras but so far I don’t really find them too reliable. There is a herd of elk in the area but I haven’t seen them on my property yet.
Do you have a gun?
A gentleman never tells
Where are you sleeping?
I moved out of the old dilapidated trailer on the property that I fixed up. Too many mice scampering about. I bought the slight used trailer that I am sleeping in. It is at the top of the property so has nice views across the valley.
What’s The Plan?
This first year, I worked on getting the old trailer livable and an outhouse built and a shed that could possibly sleep a couple of people. The second season, I got the well dug and a cover built over the trailer. The long sunny days really bake the trailer and I wanted to delay the weather caulking. To pump the water, the county is requiring that I have a residence so I have started the process to get a cabin permit an something built. It will be small but comfortable.