It's been our dream, we want a log cabin in the woods...where do we start? PART TWO.

FINDING YOUR LAND

About 4 months after hiring Becky, she called, asking when I could come to Montana. Two weeks later I was driving across the pan handle of Idaho across the old Bonners Ferry and into Montana on the new Highway 2 .I was on my way to meet Becky and look at some land. Being excited to be in the mountains again, I forgot the time change and was an hour late. With an embarrassed smile and a shake of the hands we were off.

When Andi, my wife and I sat down to establish for ourselves what we were looking for, we wrote down a list of the things we needed in the purchase of our land. This was the catalyst in taking the first step. For us, our priorities were a minimum 10 acres, lots of trees, access by maintained county road, lots of trees, a stream if possible and minimal neighbors were the bulk of our list. Oh, did is say “lots of trees”. We wanted to be within 30 minutes from a hospital and other services and yes of course we had a budget.

Becky and I drove 20 miles west of Kalispell, and turning a few miles up an old county road we meet a developer who was subdividing a 400 acre tract into 20, 40 and 60 acre lots adjoining a small 10 acre lake. The road only had the first cut with a dozer and the travel was rough. The topo map and subdivision map however told the story. I loved the lot layouts and the land, a part of an old homestead ranch like the one I grew up on. This was the only piece of land ever sold from this ranch and none of the adjoining property around had been developed for 100 years. The only tenants aside from the family at the ranch were the Angus cattle that seemed to be everywhere, some deer and a few wild turkeys that seemed to own the place. A quick note: if you need to review engineered maps when looking at property to understand what you get, bring a professional that can interpret for you. In my case I am a builder and understood what was presented.

At this point its time to remember that we did have a plan and although most of the items we had on our list are present, we needed to look at the land to see if we could find a desirable building site for our new log home. Its hard not to get caught up in the moment and forget what the ultimate goal is. For us to find some land we could develop for our selves, our dream log home and have space for horses and room for a little log guest cottage was all we wanted.
The lot we ultimately chose was 20 acres bordered by the stream coming from the lake and Flanked by a spring on the other end of the acreage, that flows year round. In the middle of the property there is a small rise (about and acre) coming off the road. The rise is facing south west with a view of the mountains. Tamarack forest and aspens lined the stream to west. The space was perfect. We had trees, open pasture, a nice building site and water.

I traveled back to California with photos for my wife and an offer to review. A few weeks later, Andi and I flew up to Glacier Airport and renting a car drove to the site. The minute we arrived on the land, Andi confirmed my feelings and said it feels like home. In our case the subdivision included, new county approved roads, power to each site, certified perk for septic and phone. The land also included and easement of 8 acres that connected to the small lake that was designated for private community use. This 20 acres was our ideal scene, truly the beginning of our dream.

We purchased our land and began the process to design our dream log home. Now, more planning, more priorities, more lists and new dreams.