Two years ago we began a build above a little town in Idaho called Orofino. Finding this property was not easy but the journey to discover its place in our hearts was worth every obstacle we faced. We then fell in love with the possibilities of purchasing this wonderful property overlooking the Dworshak Dam reservoir.
Our criteria was simple: 1. The property must have its own water supply (a well). 2. The location must be close to a hospital. 3. The location must be close to a firehouse. 4. Location needs to be relatively close to a Costco and Walmart. 5. There must be a sense of seclusion away from people, immersed in nature, quiet and peaceful.
And so after the Pandemic supply chain issues were navigated the home was finished. We then made our way from Henderson Nevada to our new dramatic lifestyle change to begin in June 2022. Technically I was still working at the Aria in Las Vegas as I was on a three month leave of absence. The leave was for medical reasons but really was to determine whether, once we settled in, Orofino was the right place for Nancy and I.
My leave of absence was to expire on September 1st, 2022. We quickly fell in love with the place, the people, and the park like setting. September 1st, 2022 I gave my notice for retirement.
From that point on our new life began. All in, we began the strategy to live here full time. This meant that our beautiful home in Henderson Nevada was going to have to be sold. Managing a property long distance without a property manager but with the headaches that accompany any long distance venture became an excercise in futility.
October of 2022 our home in Henderson went on the market and in March of 2023 it closed. Another chapter (16 years in that home on Pony Ranch Circle) closed and a new story to be written. One of the most beautiful parts of life is living in a story you write and not dictated by others or monetary circumstance.
Yesterday we hiked along a road on our property framed by Birch, Mapple, Pine, Spruce, and Douglas Fir trees with the sound of birds and the quiet solitude of nature around us. We came upon (in the middle of nowhere) a tree fort. This reminded me of the many tree forts we built as kids and so, of course, I climbed and viewed a spectacular view of the reservoir and a herd of Elk grazing below.
Timeless in this moment all persepective became a future fond memory living in natures catalog richly displaying its beauty and serenity . Hiking along the path from our home to the outskirts we experienced so many of nature’s nuances.
It hasn’t been since I was a kid that I really took the time to enjoy a moment in nature like this. I used to sit on the lawn of our home in Fairfax California and watch the bees land on the clover flowers. I remember sitting there for hours enjoying the dance of the honey bees as they flew back to their hive after pollinating the little white blooms.
Even in the darkness of winter this place is magical. Watching the deer, elk, and other creatures graze in the meadow below our home is mesmerizing. Its like living in an aquarium without fish. Viewing all of this from a solarium captivates our senses and enhances our connection with all those living things that pass along our viewing spectrum.
The colorful sunsets in our field of vision project a band of colors, as seen in a rainbow, produced by seperation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction according to wavelenght, distance, and scale. The changing subtlety of this display is in full exhibit every night as the sun sinks and the stars rise upon the canvas of darkness.
Travel seems to be on the horizon for us. However, with each trip we come back to the reality of our situation. We are truly blessed to be in a play that we’ve written acted out on a stage we’ve built in an environment we love.