Dreams Do Come True

We've had a most incredible life since we got married.  May of this year will mark our memorable 9 year flight of change and excitement together.  After marrying my dreamboat, dreams started coming true!  Six months after we married, we got our first home together.  After our second baby was two days old, our house was sold and I moved out to our 39 acres of raw land with all three children in tow.  Miracle Worker had already placed the fifth-wheel a couple months prior.

It was a dream come true!  Land of my very own!  Space!  Nature!  Peace!  A more natural way of life!  Another dream come true was the building of our little house, all 750 square feet of it.  We called it phase one.

Dreams have a way of evolving.  We needed to sell and move on.  But where to?  Then this care-taking for a neighbor came up as an offer.  They needed to sell too, but the market wasn't cooperating.  So until they can sell, they asked us if we would live in their home, take care of the house, barn, land, and be here to watch over their investment.  We accepted and here we are.  Amazing all by itself!

The point of this summary is to say that good things happen if you simply start by dreaming.  Not all dreams come true, but I've noticed how others either take their place or are much better than the original dream-seed.  Dreams don't die, they grow.  They become reality!

So much of what we have has been a direct result of Miracle Worker's barter savvy.  For example, we got two of our vehicles on trades.  We got llamas as payment for a job a man wanted to make good on, but couldn't pay money.  That may or may not have been one of the best deals, since we still had to feed them!  But, my garden is better for it anyway.  MW has obtained several different types of equipment because of his trading skills.  It all adds up.  Some skills, tenacious will, and a whole heck of a lot of dreaming!

At this point on our journey, we know not where we will end up.  But this leads me to my story I wanted to tell!  It's about a new dream-seed.  I can't get it out of my mind.  It's a long shot.  But what hasn't been a long shot in this roller-coaster ride we've been on?

If this dream comes true, it will be a down-right miracle.  As I mentioned on my last post, we had to go way outside of town to our rancher friend's place to pick up his heavy equipment trailer.  Now, my hubby knows me very well.  As we drive along, he preempted me by saying, "Just remember, we can't afford it."  "What?" I asked.  "You'll see."  We finally hit this road you see above.  This road crosses BLM and State Lands.  It's on the way to his ranch headquarters, which is what you call a house in ranching terms.  At this point I'm loving the terrain.  It's beautiful.  But wait, there's more...

Look at those mountains!  No one around for MILES!  That's what you get when you're surrounded by State and BLM.  Be still my beating heart...because things are just getting better...

This is right next to the headquarters, and I'm starting to hold my breath a lot... I can't stop taking pictures...

This little trail leads to the headquarters.

And this is my first glimpse of the house.  Look at those mountains!  Nestled all nice and snug at their feet!

Wait!  Another house there next to the first?  Turns out that second one is a little over a hundred years old, like so many other original ranch homes in Arizona.  Built better than most modern homes too!!!

This little piece of paradise is situated on about 300 acres of deeded land.  It's separated into two pieces.  This one is supposedly on 160 acres of the 300.  Not only that, but the deeded parcels are surrounded by 58 sections of State and BLM.  Each section is 640 acres each.  So, this paradise just got heavenly because it's surrounded by roughly 37,120 acres of untouchable land!!!

Excuse me a moment while I start crying...

Okay, here's the thing.  I can't stop imagining what we can do with this place!  All our dreams would find full realization here.  It embodies my almost mythical view of the desert southwest and it's personality.  This place is magical.  It's pure art to my eyes.  It's music to my heart.  This is a full-bodied dream like no other.

We could grow all of our vegetable gardens, orchards, trees, flowers, and care for our animals, and still not touch the natural beauty of the place.

This place looks like it is from another time, because here, time practically stands still.  The springs still seep and run out of the rocks.  It is a place to live closer to the land, untouched by urban sprawl.

It's located in a part of Arizona that actually leads to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, at the southwest portion of the canyon.  To help us make a living we could tap into the tourist traffic that skims by the area.  We want to give folks a chance to experience off-grid solar power (no chance of electricity here otherwise!) in their own little cowboy cabin.  Maybe they can go on horseback to take in the scenery.  Or, they could participate in a real roundup.  Or, go on a nature hike.  Maybe a moonlight hike/ride.  If you've never experienced the moon in an unpolluted night sky... all I gotta say is oh, wow!  There would be gardens and orchards galore to either help out in or simply enjoy.  It would be a place to find and experience the ancient peace of the southwest.

Okay, I'm into this dream deep.  If there was a Dreamer's Anonymous, I'd have to sign myself up!

Like I said, it's a long shot.  It's a dream.  Highly improbable.

It's for sale.  Did I mention that?

We are average folk, living on way less than most people live on.

So, like I said, it's a dream.  Need I say more?

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There are no limits to our dreams!