We finally have an address!

Yesterday we drove to Emmett, the county seat for Gem County, to pick up our building permit. We were issued an address, which I am installing on our gatepost. Now the construction phase can begin in earnest. You may notice that the top of the post is painted orange. This is to designate that the property behind the fence is private land and is posted for no hunting or trespassing. Archery deer season opened today, and various deer, elk, and mountain lion seasons will run well into November. I will also have signs posted as soon as I can get them back from the printer. The law requires that signs be posted or fenceposts be painted every 660 feet. In reality, it is necessary to post every 200 - 300 feet or so to achieve the desired visibility. With 3 1/4 miles of perimeter, plus both sides of a 3/4 mile road, we'll be busy for a while getting it done.
The weather is beginning to cool, and working outside is becoming a lot more pleasant.

Carrying coals to Newcastle...

These are sandstone blocks from the foundation of a 100 year old Victorian house in Boise. Susan thought they might be nice for landscaping accents. Our area of Gem County is full of rocks, but no sandstone. Hey - no problem! We can just load them on the trailer and haul them up to Ola. Only three tons. Piece of cake!
I'm encouraging Susan to drop the word "just" from her vocabulary. Oh, well. I have learned to trust Susan's judgement when it comes to design and aesthetic matters.
Things are progressing nicely. Much to our surprise, Gem County has graded Timber Flat Road, and is in the process of laying gravel the entire 1.4 miles to our gate. This means we will actually be able to access the property when it gets wet and snowy.
The driveway is being improved, the pad for the shop has been leveled, and we have gone over our plans with our builder. It looks like we will be able to have the house built before the first snow flies after all.

From dusk to dawn...

As one day ends and another begins, we get a taste of what our new life will be like. A cool mountain breeze blows through our little trailer, and we sleep like logs. Yesterday we met with a steel building manufacturer and ordered our shop building. We should have the plans in a couple of weeks so we can begin placing the concrete footings and pouring the slab. We also met with the Gem County health inspector to conduct soil percolation tests for the septic systems. There will be one for the house, and another for the shop. I topped the day off with a little target practice - another benefit of country living.
Today began with a 35 mile trip to Emmett, ID to pick up our septic system permits, and apply for our building permits for the shop and the house. Upon our return, we met with the surveyor and our neighbor to the south to mark our mutual property line. Later in the day we met with the representative from Idaho Power to establish the route for the power lines from our neighbor's property to the shop and the house. It was a full day, and we felt it was a productive one.

Before and After...

Here's what vision, determination, and a lot of hard work will do. Susan provided the ideas and a whole lot of the hard work. I took care of some of the big stuff. The result - one neat-o little camper.

Our not-so-new camper trailer...

I have to give Susan credit... she saw a silk purse where I saw a sow's ear. This is our $200 1954 West Coast trailer by Westfield Mfg. of Los Angeles, CA. I said no way, and she bought it anyway. Well, after about three weeks of constant work, the interior is completely refurbished and decorated. It's great! It's perfect for staying overnight at the ranch, so we don't have to make that 120 mile round trip every day. I must admit, I really enjoyed working on it, and thanks to Susan's decorating talent it's really quite comfortable.
Now, where did I put that polishing compound?

Doing some serious mowing...

It sure is nice to have the right tools for the job! The new Bush Hog is already earning its keep. So far I have cleared the driveway from Timber Flat Road all the way up to the homesite, a distance of 4400 feet. I have also cleared the site for the shop, the house, and an area down by the creek. The homesite at the top of the hill is visible in the lower photo . The shop site is just visible at the base of the hill. The actual dirt work is scheduled to begin next week.

Load 'em up!

The backhoe for the tractor finally arrived. Here the tractor is being loaded onto my trailer for the trip to Ola. Note that the Bush Hog has already been loaded onto the front of the trailer. When I get it to Ola in the morning, I'll remove the backhoe and attach the Bush Hog. I've got some serious grass cutting to do.

Finally!

After four months of some of the most frustrating dealings I have ever encountered, the property closed today. Because of the delays, we have probably missed our window of opportunity to get the house built before the winter weather closes the road. I am hopeful that I can at least get a shop built before the road becomes impassible.
We now can contact the well driller, electric company, telephone company, excavator, and road builder to get things going. I have a feeling it's going to be a very busy summer and fall!