Dave and Susie live on Pole Mountain about a thousand feet in elevation above Basin.
The house they built themselves from mostly found and salvage materials is about 1500 square feet with views looking south across a mind-blowing part of the Boulder Batholith, The architectural design is functional, yet roomy. It is not huge, but, it is not humble, either.
Their Bosch refrigerator runs on propane, solar cells power a set of batteries that manage their electrical needs (including a welder), Leah and Micah's diapers were washed in rainwater collected in a cistern that also waters the garden. Goats supply milk and meat. The orchard provides fruit. They recently added a chest freezer.
They just spent half of October and half of November at a permaculture conference in California and insist that what they learned changed their lives.
ip posts this knowing that they read this blog. Sarina called it a propaganda site over Thanksgiving. I did not disagree.
With some luck, Dave and Susie will contribute more. Just click the comments button at the bottom of this post, guys.
This article on smart growth appears at the blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
I'd like to know more about this business, or maybe get hold of these folks. I have a small (2-acre) lot a few miles east of Cody that I bought a couple of years ago, with the idea of someday building a "carbon-neutral" home on it. It's a sunny and windy place with a decent view.
ReplyDeleteMy publisher, McGraw-Hill, has expressed interest in a book from me about the whole thing (technical and practical aspects) -- if and only if I carry out the project, of course. The project would have to be affordable, both for my sake and for the sake of anyone who might read and heed the book.
Basin is right on the way to my little "bug-out prospect" by one route. Beautiful drive down those mountains, indeed. I've grown rather fond of the Bighorn Basin since I first ventured out there in '07 or '08. Trouble is, I've grown fond of my own modest little house here in Lead, too, and maybe a little too comfortable ...
Oooops! I thought you meant Basin, Wyoming! Now I know that there's a Basin, Montana, too.
ReplyDeleteI should know that the Higher Powers are trying to tell me something when every link I click on, every bloody post I try to put up, meets with some sort of error message.
It is a BIN (Bad Internet Night). Not the first, doubtless not the last. Virtual miscommunication at its finest.
Hi, Stan. Thanks for coming by. Here are two local sustainable building resources:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.radiantengineering.com/
http://refugebuilding.com/
Hi Stan,
ReplyDeleteYour project sounds very exciting. We are in the middle of so many projects here and spending the winter reading and learning all we can. Maybe we could answer some of your questions and steer you to helpful books and websites. Thanks for your interest in our lifestyle.
"Off the grid in Basin"
Yay! Welcome HartPersons!
ReplyDeleteI'll try to get some photos up.
Dear Hartmans:
ReplyDeleteSometime this winter I hope to make a trip out to Cody to look around some more. Maybe even get up towards Helena. That looks like an interesting area, as well.
Black Hills power just installed a "smart meter" on my house. Looks like it is reading about 10 percent higher than the old mechanical meter did, but maybe it's my overactive imagination (rather than kilovolt-ampere-hours versus kilowatt-hours). Along with their recent rate increase, BHP is providing me with ongoing incentive to think about a more sustainable living trajectory.
The main problem for me right now is money, and in particular, uncertainty about the economy going forward. If people stop buying my books, I'll end up back in a tiny apartment in some big city, like the ones I spent most of the '80s and '90s in. I'd probably have to opt for a place like Austin, Texas in that case, where plenty of technical temporary jobs exist, or so they say.
I labor under no illusions about the sales potential of a book about, say, building a passive-and-active solar home from the ground up. I've toiled at this writing business long enough so that the dollar signs, like scales, have long since fallen from my eyes and disappeared into the dust of fond illusions. But it would help pay for some of the costs long-term.
Please feel free to visit my Web site (just click on my name here) to learn about the sort of critter I am ... I, like you, am quite busy this winter with existing projects for McGraw-Hill, along with daily swimming, reading (lots of stuff by Osho, the Dalai Lama, Kahlil Gibran, etc.), and snow removal of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ySydk4R77po#!
ReplyDelete