Making plans

When we started this journey we said we’d give it a year to decide if we like this lifestyle. Neither of us had ever slept in anything other than a popup or tent so weren’t quite sure if this space would suit us. It does. We’ve made tentative plans for our next couple of years to see a bunch of national parks and see more of the country, but at the moment those plans are on hold as we decide how to overwinter.

In the process of our search over the last month, we looked on Zillow for 5-20 acres around Terlingua and Alpine Texas. Then we attempted to figure out which ones were in the middle of a big field (not our jam) and which ones had interesting scenery and felt a bit more secluded. We mapped several potential sites and took quite a few trips out to attempt to visit these properties. The first trip gave us more idea about the areas we liked but we didn’t quite find what we were looking for. We continued searching. After one trip ended up being a pretty wild off-roading adventure with us racing the sun to get back to a paved area before dark, we connected with a real estate agent who took us to a few properties, including one with an incredible view that we love.

We’ve started the process of purchasing five acres of unimproved land with no electricity, sewer, water, etc. It does have road access but no roads through it (which we would need to create so we don’t drive over all the cacti!). It’s about 7 miles down a dirt road from the paved highway and that road is well maintained, relatively flat and doesn’t have much bentonite (which is an issue in the area – it soaks up the water and makes the roads soft and difficult). It does cross a small stream which currently has about an inch of flowing water but in the monsoon season would become impossible. Luckily we don’t plan to be here during the rainy season (or the hot season when it’s regularly 118F). On the land itself we plan to add a water catchment system to collect rainwater, a septic system, and other such improvements to make this land a place we can live for the 3-4 months when the rest of the country is snowy and frozen.

Don’t worry, as soon as we finalize this purchase we will post more details and photos!

2 thoughts on “Making plans

  1. Judi

    That’s so exciting! And you found it so quick! Are there neighbors? I guess 5 acres is big enough that you’d never be too close to anyone. If there’s a stream in the vicinity hopefully there’s water. Do you know how deep you’d have to go to get to water? The pictures Lauren sent look beautiful. And secluded. With interesting terrain. Lots of work ahead but fun to build your homestead. Very happy for you.

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  2. Terry

    Looks like Alpine, TX has more to offer being 2000 ft higher than Terlingua and a low crime rate, an art community and listed as one of the best places to live. Looking forward to pictures from all angles!

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