We Bought Land

When I consider things that have physical, objective value, I can’t really come up with much. I mean, people will always maintain that Gold is the standard of objective value, or some precious metal. Look, I’ve read Ayn Rand and she never considered Bitcoin. I don’t know much about precious metals or digital currency. What I do know is, I have zero affinity for either of those things.

To me, owning land has always had a mystical appeal. It’s purely subjective – I realize – but possessing a resource that you can spot on a topographical map, deep brown muddy soil under foot, evergreen trees filling your nostrils with piny scent, and fourteen thousand foot snow capped mountains contrasting blue sky in the distance, that feels objectively valuable, to me at least. I want a piece of that. And somehow, by Providence, and a resourceful wife, I do.

You see, way back in August, my wife spotted a piece of land in Southern Colorado that looked too good to be true. I mean, price-to-acreage-wise. For the typical cost of a modern SUV, we could own 40 acres of land in Durango. 40 acres is a lot of dirt, Juniper trees and mountain views. We contacted the real estate agent and met up with him at the appointed GPS coordinates in late August. The land was beautiful and only 20 minutes from town. Remote, but not too remote.

After months of waiting and various administrative hoop jumping, we finally received a land deed in the mail last December. It was ours. Because life is complicated, we didn’t actually visit our land until last week, 2+ months after we bought it. When we arrived, we discovered way more snow than expected, which killed my plans of marking every corner using GPS waypoints and creating a primitive driveway. Two feet of snow and deep mud is difficult to walk through so I’ll have to do that in the spring.

This land is rugged. It’s filled with Juniper trees, washes and hills. There’s no way to get a vehicle on it yet. I brought a chain saw, an axe, a very capable Land Rover and had no chance of creating that driveway with all the snow and mud. Molly and I have a lot to learn. Things like easements, culverts and well witching. It’s going to be quite the experience, but hey, that’s why it’s fun. The kids are ready to just up and move there.

So, in addition to off roading, camping and photography, come back for more of our land ownership adventures. Subscribe below.