This past fall my brother in law (Gage) learned about an opportunity to lease a ranch about an hour and ten minutes away from both of our home town (their ranch is opposite direction as ours so now Jodi and I are about 2 hours apart). In about 6 months time they were able to sell their home and re structure Gage's job so that it is more of an 'on call' instead of 'daily'. The ranch they are leasing is off the grid so things like power, water, and other modern day convenience's are a no longer the norm. Gage and Jodi have traded their subdivision life for a touch of pioneer..........traded a traditional nine to five supervisor job for crop growing and animal tending. This is the stuff reality TV is made out of folks- for those that have seen Discovery's 'Alaska Experiment' you will already be a head of the game in understanding what Jod and Gage have embarked on. Last Sunday night was their first night staying as a family up at the ranch- My sis had this to say (on her facebook wall):
'I am hoping to post some pics soon and start a blog but first things first...yes? Water and power we have discovered are gifts, blessings, things that make our days productive. Gage and I have never stopped long enough, except on a 2 week - 2 month mission trip in our teens, to really ponder what life would look like without those 2 wonders.
We got up here about 8pm on Sunday night and set up camp...our travel trailer parked next to our 1 room studio in a barn which consists of a wood stove in one corner, a kitchenette w/out a sink cut in yet (obviously no water) along a long wall, a fridge, our leather sectional and 2 half walls of upper and lower closet built-ins with our table in the middle. I hope to have a picture up soon. We unpacked a bit and hit the sack. Shad slept by himself in the studio and the rest of us in the trailer. We woke up Monday to a beautiful sunny day, made scrambled eggs and sausage in our cast-iron on our wood stove. Then down to the creek to wash the dishes. I used the little rocks and sand on the bottom of the creek to clean the dishes. There is an authentic outhouse here that we use during the day so b/w myself and our 4 potty-trained monkeys I hiked that path more times than I wanted:). The day was spent just unpacking and writing lists of stuff needed in town today. About 8pm last night all power failed...all solared-up battery power, that is. So we navigated to the trailer and the battery on the trailer failed so now no heat! Oh my, it was a frigid night in the trailer. If the floor wasn't cement in the studio we would have found ourselves basking in the heat of the woodstove. But, only Shad enjoyed that:). We left this morning for town about 9 and ran non-stop errands and food shopping. Shad (oldest son) left this afternoon for a Lincoln-Douglas Debate Tournament. He will fly home on Sunday morning.
I write all this for my sake until I can unpack my journal. I so do not want to miss this crazy adventure we are on. We still have no running water and the batteries run low all the time in the evenings we have found. So prayerfully, in the next couple days Gage can get it all figured out.
Each evening I hope to post a little about our day. We are complete novices in off-the-grid living and ranching. We are learning as we go. There are 6 head of cattle and a baby:) up here that came with the ranch and Gage has just bought 2 more that will be delivered on Thursday. He called a vet to come up on Friday to check the herd and give us some "how-to" and "things we should know" lessons. I am headed down to town tomorrow to fill up a 500 gallon water tank. Oh, I forgot to mention that the nearest small town is 45-50 min away. Not that far;). Mail is delivered at the bottom of the canyon...about 5 miles. No phone service but we do have INTERNET::)).
Those of you who took the time to read this Bless You!
Love Jodi'
Congratulations on the new adventure guys- Praying that it is all and more what you dreamed it would be- If not, then Hallelujah for your bravery in trying something new and another Hallelujah that modern conveniences are waiting for you just down the hill- We love you!
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