Okay, so I know I wasn't going to say anything about our plans until much later but today I was so inspired by reading an entry in a blog that I follow (http://wannabemusher.blogspot.com/2009/03/dont-piss-off-hippie-critesthey-might.html) that I had to spill the beans...WE ARE MOVING!! Well, not moving right this minute but we are gearing up for making a REALLY big move. Not sure exactly where yet but we've got our eye on land south of the Denali National Park but not farther than around the Willow area. Even Willow might be too close to Anchorage, Talkeetna or Trapper Creek would be perfect.
We have solid ideas on the property, how much land, must have a creek running through (no lakes) and for it to be musher friendly, preferably with no covenants. It also has to be next to a road so we can access it with all our building materials.
We have a clear idea of what we are looking for and we know its out there, just have to head down in about a month for a drive and make our first look. So far a few real estate listings have caught our eye and its really surprising how little 40 acres of raw land can be!
Once we get established we will be offering dog sled ride packages with great mountain views of the 'High One', ski trails, rental cabins on site and a few other goodies to enjoy. James is ready to 'retire' and build our dream home and I am more than ready to relocate and keep working on our business!
I know the dogs will just love the new place. The creek is an element just for them that I cant wait to share. I used to be able to walk them down to a section of the Tanana slough but since it was public property we would sometimes find broken glass, trash, all kinds of terrible things. Still, the water was always the highlight and the babies loved to wade through it.
One of my fondest memories was there, wading out into the water on a hot, hot day... Griffin getting nervous about me being so far away (he was a little pint then) and swimming out to me with his little legs. Iris getting nervous on shore and coming out to us both. Me suddenly stuck in the middle with two kids clawing and holding onto me for dear life. Gosh, I miss those days...
Life will continue on much the same way it has but with a few exciting changes. James will get to fish more often in the summer and in the winter we may get snowed in for weeks at a time. Oh noes! My kind of hardship!! : )
Trips to town will be limited to once a month at best and we will get even better about stock piling our food and necessities. As it is now we only shop for food about once every two months. We are far too efficient to be living so close to a town we hardly ever use, except for emergency ice cream runs!! Will have to get used to that...
That is why my time has been so tied up in fixing our rental so we can buy the perfect parcel this summer if it comes up, if not this summer than the next. We are also saving up for building materials for our cabin and hope to be living out there permanently in 3 to 4 years.
Its nice to be working toward this goal but still hard to miss out on the trails here and there. But when I think about what a paradise our family will be able to enjoy for the rest of our days... gosh, a few weeks in the season is a small price to pay!
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