How-E DEBUT!

WHO IS READY TO MEET How-E??

How-E (House on wheels)-Experiment

We are proud to announce that we are going to be owners of Lot 4 on November 21st; ten beautiful acres in Flagstaff, Arizona!

Alpine Ranches will be the place we create our off-grid adventure!

Now before you go judging How-E remember he is a:

We were able to purchase him from a junk yard here...but that doesn't mean he is JUNK!

His owner was a very nice mechanic whom actually bought two identical ones and was willing to let this strong running beast go for the price of SCRAP METAL.

We bought How-E for $1500 cold hard cash he definitely needs some TLC which will fill this blog over the next two weeks while we prep to leave Casey's moms and head to our lot. Of course renovations will continue on long after but the main things bathroom, wood flooring, tiles for bathroom and under wood stove, wood stove insulation etc. 

OKAY I CAN'T DRAG THIS BLOG OUT ANY LONGER FEAST YOUR EYES ON How-E!

From middle

From front

Lots to clean tomorrow!

GOT TITLE!

DRIVING HOME!

Pulling up for renovations!

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING PART OF OUR JOURNEY AND SUPPORTING OUR FAMILY IN THIS ADVENTURE TO LIVE A MORE SUSTAINABLE, DEBT FREE, MINIMALIST, FAMILY ORIENTATED LIFE!

The Thompsons

 

The waiting game..but pics until then!

We just got back from another trip to Flagstaff; the drive is starting to take its toll 6.5 hours plus gas, food, nursing stops it makes for quite the long drive. We are lucky enough to be able to stay in a nice hotel and enjoy that part of our adventures and also some good food! The highlight RIBS yum from a great place right across the street from Drury Inn.

Casey is officially going to Flagstaff starting the end of January for his doctorate and we are attempting to purchase some land we should hear more on that today! We DID put a offer in on 10 acres in Alpine Ranches after viewing four lots there.

Lots 1 & 2: Very good views of the San Francisco Peaks but the land was really bad; tumbleweed prickers everywhere! The whole lot would have needed some tilling and regrowth of some short of "grass". 

Lot 3: We loved the view and the fact that it was up on a plateau but you had to drive through a wash and some very rough untreaded road which we found problematic when winter comes and also trying to get building supplies and RV out there.

Lot 4: 

"THE ONE"

 Was on the other side of the main road then down a fairly well maintained dirt road about two miles. The views of the peaks weren't up to my liking as soon as we pulled up but then as we walked the lot the further in the better the views! The soil was significantly better then the first three lots with almost no rocks, no tumbleweed prickers and actually had HUGE Juniper trees and long "grass". This is the one we put a offer in on Thursday afternoon and the deadline for them to accept is in a few hours. Crossing fingers! We will have a ten day closing of November 21st if they accept. In addition, the water haul place is about three miles down the road along with a huge junk yard and saw mill which will both come in quite handy. They also have a wonderful FULLY off-grid school for kindergarden to 5th grade which is about the same distance. 

Contact on land

MLS for land

Casey doing walk about for property

View from the "front"

View looking North

Little man exploring land!

View looking North from middle of property
LOOK AT THOSE SAN FRAN PEAKS

Another of the Peaks

Ready to be a country boy!!

We are trying to find a trailer here in New Mexico so we can take the next twoish weeks renovating since it will be much easier while not living in it. There aren't as many options around here but we are defiantly hunting for the one! We still need to finalize the plan for solar, fridge and wood stove; I have really been loving the idea of an outdoor kitchen with my old 1937 stove plus Casey's grill.

idea

idea

idea

Oh and this last trip was quite expensive besides just the down payment and earnest money for land but my old laptop finally took a poo:( which we knew was coming but it is unfortunate and with school starting again soon for me and then for Casey we needed something reliable so here is the first blog typed from the new Mac and no I am not really a fan...YET such a windows HP lover!

Hubs getting everything set up

But that of course wasn't the only unexpected expense; we had arrived in Flagstaff on Wednesday and noticed the coolant was leaking while after three days of that we went to Auto Zone to get more and as soon as we poured it in it just came right out the bottom so off to the shop the Jeep Jeep went... new water pump was needed.. JOY.

Lastly, for your enjoyment lots of driving camera pics! Getting more excited by the day to call this place home and start our new adventure.

Do you see those horrid teeth that are causing so much sadness???

Driving to property

Making life choices!

PLAN B

 We are underway with making some life choices over the last 48 hours; we have officially decided we are going to embrace life in a small (250-350sq ft) RV/camper while we plan our barn house in more details. We have been scouring Craigslist for living quarters and defiantly have some prospects all in which will need some renovations and from what I gather a good white paint job can make a huge difference! We plan to take out the normal bed/table area and replace it with a space saving fold down desk, a king bed in the back, and a L shape couch in front and of course Jack's toddler bed! This has brought me to my next research fridges and solar panels (stay tuned for more on that) In addition, we believe that tomorrow will finalize some of the land details; as of right now we plan to buy in an off grid community known as "Alpine Ranches" the lots are 10 acres-40 acres. Alpine Ranches backs the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff and will be a great place to set our roots. We will defiantly need to fence part of the property fairly quickly for the dogs because we all know I may go insane with them both in such a small space. Chickens and gardens are close to follow! As we get more planned we will be sure to share here on the blog...

STAY TUNED! 

Rough sketch of Rv/camper plan!

 

 

Alpine Ranches

Alpine Ranches

Pics Part One

I have a ton of pictures from phone that are in the google drive check them out

CLICK HERE 

Here are some from the camera and the first leg of our trip!

Last dinner with these two lovely friends

Amazing planner ^^^they got me!

All packed up!

 

The Verdict Is In

Many of you heard the news yesterday...

We did NOT get the second loan meaning we had to let go of the Texas home and lose close to $1500; we were sad for the outcome but relieved that the journey is over and we can begin fully working on PLAN B we were in Flagstaff Arizona when we heard the news and decided to get a large storage unit for our trailer and belongings; Casey and I had recently decided if the verdict was no then we would be calling this our new home. 

The blog will be filled with many planning & construction updates over the next few weeks. We are currently camped out in Casey's moms house trying to nail down the details of land, structure, building codes, electric, sewer, water and plenty more! You name it and it is probably on the list! 

It is funny how things work out how they are meant to; Casey accepted his admissions at Flagstaff and we will be heading back in the next month or two before school starts.

When we entered Flagstaff as our first destination of the trip I made a status on Facebook stating
 "I swear I've never seen a sky so beautiful..my heart is filled with joy.."
I was sitting in the back of the jeep thinking how my heart has been in Arizona since Casey first took me back in 2012. The red rocks, the hiking, all four seasons but not a winter like Wisconsin. I was amazed by the stars and the moon; the only light you could see for miles...no light pollution from the city. But most noticeable of all the crisp, clean, fresh chilly air.

Here are a few sneak peeks of what we are thinking for our PLAN B home!

CLICK HERE