We’ve dreamt of owning a piece of property for years. Tiny homes and off-grid living have always appealed to us far more than living in a conventional house. Our trajectory in life over the last decade kept affirming that idea and this past summer was when we were finally ready to start seriously shopping for property.
After a few months, we’d left our footprints on a few dozen properties around Colorado but nothing had really struck us. Except for one 5 acre parcel we found ourselves coming back to a handful of times. Feeling somewhat indifferent about it, we decided to make a low-ball offer. This particular property had been on the market for over a year…another offer was accepted an hour before ours was submitted. With that, it was obviously not meant to be.
Not long after, Mark began researching an entirely different region of Colorado, one we’d always been interested in but didn’t know about extensively. After gathering a half dozen or so properties to check out, we hitched up and relocated to some BLM land on the Western Slope so that we could begin our search in earnest. The first 4 or 5 were immediately out. I should mention, we loved looking at every single property that we did. What we were seeking became more clear by ruling out what we didn’t want.
Mark was most enthusiastic and most drawn to the property he had saved for last. This particular property was mapped incorrectly on the real estate listing but after a whole rigmarole of cross-referencing a similar listing and digging in to topographic maps and the like, he had a feeling this one might be something special. He was dead-on. It was everything he thought it would be. As for me, it didn’t feel real.
We were looking for privacy, views, lots of space from neighbors, some trees but not entirely treed, a stable internet connection, and more. And after four months of serious shopping, I was beginning to think what we were looking for didn’t exist within our price range. By widening our search, reevaluating our budget, being patient, and digging in to a listing that at face value looked like nothing, we’d found it. 35 acres of Colorado that we could call ours.
Had this property not been so poorly marketed, it surely would not have been available. But it was, and we knew it was special. We made an offer and three weeks later closed escrow.
We could officially call ourselves Coloradans again. And the very best part…we were now property owners and were still entirely debt-free.
Mark scoping out one of our extensive property lines. 
The day before we closed escrow, I was still in shock. 
Mark cutting in our driveway. 
We got lucky in that very few branches needed to be cut back to get to where we would park. 
Our fresh cut driveway. 
Sharing this wonderland with friends is the best part. 
We experienced an Arctic blast during our short stay that included 8″ of snow and lows dipping down in to single digits. 
Because our driveway isn’t yet stabilized with rock, we parked the car out on the road to avoid tearing it up. 
And then hiked our groceries back in that night. 
While we were staying warm in our trailer, Mark turned our kitchen in to a bakery, cranking out fresh loaves of sourdough bread, sourdough pancakes and more. 
A week of sub-zero temps left us pretty excited to get the trailer opened back up, even if it was barely 50 degrees out. 
Exploring the property then hanging out to watch the sunset was how we spent most afternoons. 
We were basically a couple of giddy little kids for the entirety of our stay.
2020, with all its uncertainty, left us feeling a little bit vulnerable on the road, with no roots. We weren’t interested in being tied down to a house, but having a little something that is ours where we can slow down, and hit the reset button on our travels, feels amazing and like everything we’ve ever wanted.
