The Price of Rock

I miss the mountains. I really miss being in the backwoods of Josephine county where in forty months of building I never saw a county official. Except the Sheriff. And he only stopped for coffee once, ignored my pot plants, and left on the best of terms. At least I thought so, though he never did come back. The Sacramento Valley is a whole different environment. Especially on a property without trees or a hill to hide behind. Depressing to think that my every decision will have to be approved by an inspector of some sort . I speculate on how they'd react if I was to put an outhouse on New Bradland. Inspectors have a hard time understanding those of us willing to live in alternative fashions; ie Moving a Sea-land container onto property and calling it home. Isn't America wonderful? Where else can a guy move into an area of millionaires, carve a road, bring in a box and a motorhome and homestead the place. I wish it was that easy. Having a road scraped is 70 bucks an hour. Rock is still being negotiated. Drillers want 10+ thousand for a well. What is so expensive about a damn hole in the ground? Septic contractors want 8k for a shitter, 10k more if it has to be an engineered shitter. Another hole in the ground as far as I'm concerned. When I get the money those people will have to be contracted, but until then, I may try some shovel work myself. You Know, some things are necessary in life, like water and potty. I'm not too keen on digging a well, that's a long way down for shovel work, but a potty hole isn't. Anyway this whole damn land development thing is already depressing me. When I bought the place here I was thinking five years to develop it. Now I'm thinking ten. Or maybe a quick profit. New Bradland is for sale for ......Sixty thousand dollars...USD. Isn't life wonderful? Isn't everything for sale?

Bradland

After a month of looking for property in the Sacramento area I began to think I couldn't afford what I want; acreage with privacy, and close to the city. In the city, in the bad neighborhoods, a quarter acre lot is still 25,000 dollars, and prices go up from there. Acreage outside the city can be 50,000+ an acre. 

Property I can afford is too far away; in the mountains with no power, bad roads, etc. Always a drawback. Elbow room is not a cheap commodity in the city. I want three flat acres of farmland within twenty five miles of the state capital, with power, on a paved road, with water... and no neighbors. I don't want a ranchette in a neighborhood of ranchettes. I want to be the only house within miles. I want a view. I want water. I want cattle. I want privacy and to be able to see the stars... I want a small, inexpensive parcel among big ranches just outside the city.

I found one. Cheap- only fifteen thousand dollars an acre. Flat. On the water (almost). With power, no neighbors, cattle, a paved road, less than twenty five miles from the city limits. The parcel is also bordered on two sides by the Sacramento Valley Conservacy, 

a tree hugging organization dedicated to equestrian trails and mountainbiking. Their property is locked up in a 99 year trust. Elbow room until next century. And the tree huggers won't bother me, there isn't a tree on my property! Yet.

One acre is bottom land, separated from Laguna creek by about 100 hundred yards of flood plain where you would never be able to build, but excellent farmland. The other two are up on the bluff where flooding shouldn't be a problem. Ione rd.( pronounced I OWN) at Laguna creek. Ione rd. at Laguna Creek. I do. Sloughhouse, Ca 95683 It's Sacramento county, 6/10ths of a mile from the Amador county line, so SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District) will string a power line for FREE. I think good wine country, huh? I'm sending pictures to save a thousand words. The next adventure... It's on.