At mid-morning we pulled into the long 2 mile winding path that leads into the camp. The ground was frozen with some areas exposed to the sun already slick and muddy. Nothing my jeep, "True-Blue", can't handle. Jeeps are made for this and I modified mine to handle just about anything. I don't know why, but my heart was beating faster as we came down the hill closer to camp. Butterflies. Anticipation? I never know what to expect when I arrive and often imagine there will be tresspassers or junk there. Maybe it's just because I'm at the end of the trail, I'm not used to owning such a large area of land, or I'm just someone who likes seclusion when I'm in the forest.
What dad and I noticed on arriving to the clearing is that John, my neighbor/builder/saw-mill owner/local politician, had cut a trail with his Caterpillar and taken out a number of pine down on the southeast edge, near the river. Not a clearing by any means, but just thinned out a bit and not visible from the top. That path will make a great jeep trail down to my future fishing spot!
Another thing I had noticed on driving through the woods was that they were filled with people and acitivity that morning. A small cabin, also built by my neighbor John, was now occupied. A white pickup was off to the left a mile further in. I figured it was one of John's friends. Unexpectedly, I passed the saleman who sold me my land. He was with some people and said a quick hello. Clearly showing the last two remaining lots. Up on my land were three vehicles. A Caterpillar, a logging truck, and a red pickup. Dad and I were discussing who it might be when we spotted a pair walking out of the woods. Up came my broker's boss with a man looking at lot number 3 and 4, the only two still available. Turned out to be a good opportunity to get an update on my contract and the names of my neighbors up on 8/9, and lot 10.
OK, so my own offer for the lots being shown had been refused. The owner had such an easy time selling to me that he had gotten confident and reluctant to negotiate. I had paid just under $4K per acre of riverfront for the first two pieces. The second two, of similar quality, ran me $5K. Now he wanted at least $6K per acre! Damnation! The remaining lots are the runts of the litter with brackish water, deep ravines, and not as much usable land. Still, I thought, if I could get at least the lot adjacent to mine, I'd own all the path frontage and effectively block any cabins from being put anywhere near mine. Owning the land on both sides of the road would be nice too, since I could just post the road with the camp name on it. "Private Camp: No Access", it might read.
It wasn't long before John showed up and, after putting away my rifle, we got down to business. He talked at length about the types of wood he would use, how many trees he would take, the exact orientation of the cabin, and timetable. As we had never set an exact price, I pressed him a bit.
"When can we get started, John?"
"I started already when I took some of your lumber to my mill. It's already being cut"
"When will you need a payment?"
"I'd like to get things in order first. Don't worry I'll send you a bill and if you don't like it, I always have some nice lumber"
"You did that other cabin for $39 a square foot and said mine might be less because it's bigger"
"Yah, the bigger you build, the lower the per foot. Also you're using your own timber"
"So say like, um, $37 or so?"
"Something like that, and remember you're using your own lumber"
"So $37 is doable?"
"I work up some numbers next week and get them to you, but yah, it's all good".
So that turned out to be a what I refer to as a "definite maybe". At least it was out there. We put stakes down and measured the dimensions of the cabin. At John's recommendation, we moved the site up 40 feet to more even ground. This turned out to be a great move as now the concrete footings wouldn't need to be so high on the downhill end, and I could see more river from this higher perch.
John left to fry his venison steaks back at his own camp. He had taken a nice 10 pointer and showed me the photo. Maybe one day I'll take a deer too. For now I'm just getting comfortable with the rifle and shotgun, and speaking of guns.. It was around this time that my broker's boss showed up again and, as I mentioned, led two carloads of people into the lots on the eastern side. What an excellent time to fire a few rounds!
I grabbed my dad who manned the camera, put a few rounds in the shotgun and blasted a treestump, a log, and finally a "No Hunting" sign I had posted. Could it have been jealousy that made me smile when I thought of the broker and city folks jumping and swearing at the sudden shots? They may not have been close by, but when the shots ring out, they sound like they're right there. Very unnerving, but hey, this is hunting season, and it is my land. Maybe those remaining lots will be sold and maybe they'll build a big cabin in direct view of mine, but hell, I'm not doing the broker any favors when my own offer is still out there.
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| My trusty jeep, Tru-Blu |
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| Great time to fire a few rounds! |
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