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Living in a remote area " The country life"

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
It was suggested that I expand on my statement that I posted about how "I was ready to leave Calif. and return to my little town in the remote section of Idaho after being back in Calif 12 hours ". Here goes .....

As many of you know I purchased a old (really old Ranch) in Elk City, Idaho 4 years ago .It was at one time over 25000 acres. It is much smaller now as it was cut up over the last 100 years . I been working on it every chance I get . It will be are main living location someday after my Father passes .

It is a small village of about 200 -300 people .But I have only seen about 100 in 3 years of being here .We have a saloon,postoffice,VFW hall,school,2 cafe's ,grocery store, motel and 2 gas station's . Thats it .

Surrounded by 3 wilderness areas ,there is one road in and one road out . Seeing Mountain Goats is almost certain if you know where to look as you come up the River Road . I have a resident Elk Herd on the Ranch that have become quite friendly and adjusted to seeing us working on the old place . To have 40 -75 Elk in the front meadow is a common site . White Tail Deer are everywhere .
A mother Moose with her calf is not uncommon to see in Town and all the nieghbors stop and pick to any children walking to or from grade school for their own safety .

There are a couple Snow Cats parked in town to groom trails as needed .

No one locks doors here .Someone may stop by and need something .The last "breakin" we had , the intruders cooked a meal of Elk Steaks and all the fixins and did the dishes before leaving . Nothing else was missing .

The main mode of transport is a ATV and both of mine are licensed for the road . You can be ran over by a horse in town and seeing one tied at the local saloon or Post office is a everyday thing .

Grabbing a bite to eat at the local cafe can be fun if a outside vistor stops by . When they walk in and see 3 or 4 local people carrying side arms they get real quiet for awhile . Every AtV/pickup has a rifle rack and Camo is the color of choice .

A conversation on politics can last a few minutes but one on Wolves can last for days . Wolves die of lead poison whenever possible . There is no good reason to have them here .

All the stores and homes have a sign in the window that says "This bussiness/Family supported by the Logging industry" and also my personal favorite " NO EARTHFIRSTERS ALLOWED IN HERE !

If you start a project be prepared to have about half the nieghors and town folk show up to help . Everyone jumps in to help where they can .

I am 54 years old and just celebrated my last birthday there . The locals baked me a cake and showed up at the house to celebrate it . I've lived in Calif 50 years and never had that happen !

I just got my new barn pad cut and graded before returning to Calif . My nieghbor brought over his Cat Crawler and spent 8 hours digging out the hillside . The Cost ? 10 gallons of deisel !!! Try that in California !

If you travel downriver to the big town for anything , you always stop by the local cafe before leaving to make sure and check to if anyone needs anything picked up before coming back .

I arrived back to California at 9:00 PM on Thursday . By Friday I had been flipped off for driving too slow, my next door nieghbor had not known I was gone for 6 weeks nor cared and nobody said "Happy Birthday" .
Yes 12 hours here is more than enough for me !
 

Big Dog

Large Member
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sounds wonderful!

Next time I go to my brothers in Pasco, WA I'd love to pay a visit!
I breezed through that area last time we went on a motorcycle trip (7000 miles) coming back towards Sturgis.

Gotta be like heaven................ :thumb:
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
I tried looking up Elk City a while ago. It is about as far from civilization you can get in Idaho.

Nice place Al, you are very lucky. If I could get my wife to move out that far, I'd be there in a second.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
My wife wants a condo in Chicago!

We live just a few miles past the edge of suburbia and life here is very quiet. But compared to what BigAl wrote, our small towns are probably bigger than BigAl's small towns and our quiet life is very hectic compared to rural Idaho.

When we moved out here, we figured that the suburbs would eventually reach out to where we live. The suburbs are still a few miles to our north, we are still surrounded by farms, but there is no question that property is being developed all around us. I see the end of our quiet life coming to an end within the next 10 years.

I think at some point, we will have to move "farther away" from big city. I have to admit that I envy what BigAl gets to escape to when he goes up to Idaho.
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Hey ! I would be insulted if you did'nt stop by !!! We are very laid back up here .
The official " Shoot the damn Ground Squirrels contest" is in full swing right now . We have thousands of them . They raise hell on our pastures and losing a prize bull , cow or your favorite horse to a broken leg is not fun and very expensive . The locals use everything from 22's to 458's to practice their shooting skills .The black powder boys are easy to identify . They have no eyebrows left !!!
By hunting season for Deer and Elk, most locals are very well sighted in with their favorite rifle . Steel Head season is just finishing up and Spring Bear is in full swing now . If I was a bear hunter it would take about 2 days to fill my tag .Brown ,Black or Blonde are avalible here . Take your pick .
The Steel Head just scare me !!! They are huge ! Last time I came up river there were about 5 - 8 fisherman tied into those big brutes as I drove by . I think the fish were winning ...

So ..... Hurry up and get here !!!!!!! The fun is just startin !
 
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