AZ ranch

[BoFuller]

I have been reading Obed's thread on building his house and it is awesome. I am totally amazed at what I have learned on this forum in the few short weeks I have been on it. I'm going to do a little thread on my own so I can get some of this fantastic advice, and hopefully cut back on some of the mistakes I'm likely to make on my own.
Several months ago we started looking for a place to build a vacation/retirement cabin. A month ago we closed on 40 acres in Northern AZ just south of I-40, near Seligman. I'm 61 and not a contracter (actually an accountant), but I'm going to try and do as much as I can myself. If I finish it in less than 3 years I will be extremely happy.
Here is a picture of the view from one corner of the ranch.

 

[dstig1]

Very nice! I'll look forward to your posts...and many pictures!

 

[BoFuller]

First thing I did was have a septic tank installed (after buying my tractor of course).

 

[BoFuller]

I just read the thread on ranch vs. farm. I really don't care what you want to call it. I grew up on a farm in Ohio, but out here in Arizona it seems that everyone calls them ranches. I just know that I bought it and it's my future home, whether it's a farm, or a ranch, or a 40 acre parcel.

 

[BoFuller]

And we bought a 25 ft trailer to live in when we're up there working. It will probably be a long weekend every other week except for Nov through Feb when it's too cold and snowy. Elevation is from 5800 to 6200 feet. I say every other weekend because it's 220 miles away from Mesa and takes about 4 hours to get there.

 

[BoFuller]

There are no utilities anywhere near this place.
Eventually we will probably drill a well, but we will have a couple water tanks until then - probably about 2500 gallons each.
Septic system is finished.
Trailer is in place.
Eventually we are thinking a 1000 gallon underground propane tank.
Solar panels would be on the agenda also.
I bought a Kubota L3400 and made a drive about a 1/4 mile long. We'll haul a load of gravel every once in awhile to start building up the drive.

 

[mikefromnh]

Sounds like fun!

I would consider putting in your well/power sooner than later. Make life easier while you are working and you going to spend the money eventually.

Nothing worse than working off a noisy generator if you ask me.

 

[Kyle241]

That looks like some pretty land and 40 acres is a nice size. We'll be watching this thread, keep the pics coming! And nice tractor by the way.

 

[smstonypoint]

Beautiful property!!!

Just curious. What is the species of pine shown in your first photo?

Steve

 

[Dallas_Lilly]

Hello and welcome to Northern Arizona. I live in Flagsaff but grew up north of Willams in some of the same type of country where you are at. It is really a nice elevation, not too much snow but not scorching hot in the summer.

Do you know if there is water in that country to drill a well? I know around Williams people have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on drilling wells and never hit water. My family in Williams has hauled water as long as I can remember, kind of a pain but goes with the land.

 

[BoFuller]

Beautiful property!!!

Just curious. What is the species of pine shown in your first photo?

Steve

Pinion pine in the first picture. They don't grow tall and straight like most pine, but more of a bushy type of tree. The other major tree species there is juniper. They are the ones with the twisted trunks. We like them. We were going to leave them completely alone as in the first picture, but a local told us to trim them around the base to keep down the rodent population, so we got to trimming immediately.

 

[BoFuller]

Hello and welcome to Northern Arizona. I live in Flagsaff but grew up north of Willams in some of the same type of country where you are at. It is really a nice elevation, not too much snow but not scorching hot in the summer.

Do you know if there is water in that country to drill a well? I know around Williams people have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on drilling wells and never hit water. My family in Williams has hauled water as long as I can remember, kind of a pain but goes with the land.

We have a "shared well" on one of the vacant 40 acre parcels. It is at 5100 feet elevation and is about 450 feet deep. There are a couple other wells at that elevation that are producing also. There is no way to tell for sure if the water table is level in the area or not. If we drilled at 6100 feet, would we have to go down 1450 feet? Who knows, but it would cost about $25,000 to put in a well if it is that deep. Then again it may only require 250 feet. But at this point we can't afford to take that chance, so we will get two or three big tanks and fill them from the shared well. It is about 3 miles away by road (only 1.25 miles as the crow flies).
For the next 3 to 4 years we will only be here part-time as I have not retired yet. Before we move-in full-time we will reconsider the drilling.

 

[BoFuller]

Here's a few more shots. The open area is where we will probably build the cabin.

 

[BoFuller]

Oh yeah, here is my garage. I bought the tractor before we closed on the property and needed something for a garage for the tractor, the quad, and tools, so I bought this 40 ft container and had it hauled up there. Works real well. Instant garage. It holds my 12 ft quad trailer, the quad, and my tractor with FEL and back scraper on. If I pull the trailer out, I can get my tractor and my truck (Tacoma) in there.

 

[hcallaway]

Looks like you are getting ready for a lot of fun and good memories. Look forward to watching what you are doing out there. When I have gone out West, I feel like I am home. Maybe one day!

 

[BoFuller]

Sounds like fun!

I would consider putting in your well/power sooner than later. Make life easier while you are working and you going to spend the money eventually.

Nothing worse than working off a noisy generator if you ask me.

I'm not an expert in solar power (yet) but I understand that you want to have the amount of battery power that you will normally use. If we put a large system in now and only used it sporadically, then it is hard on the batteries. So we will start small with a system that will keep the basics in the trailer running, and use the generator for power tools, building, etc. We have a quiet 1000W that keeps the minimum items purring and a 5000W for when we want to use the microwave or tools. I actually need to buy a 8000W in order to use the shared well.

See other post on the issue of drilling in the near future.

 

[BoFuller]

Looks like you are getting ready for a lot of fun and good memories. Look forward to watching what you are doing out there. When I have gone out West, I feel like I am home. Maybe one day!

Yeah, this is a dream come true. We love the land, the area, and the people. We went to CA to visit grandkids last weekend and this week I'm in Jacksonville, FL for business. I'm having "withdrawals" already
The plan is for a 3 bedroom/2 bath log cabin and then keeping the trailer for a guest house. I'll be on the lookout for about 2 or 3 more quads so the grandkids can have fun when they visit.
Here's one of those junipers that died. It's still too pretty to cut down.

 

[Western]

Really nice place to continue a dream.

Beautiful country there. My oldest son lives in Phoenix, and I have an Aunt and Uncle that live just SE of you, very nice country. The Petrified forest was tops over the Grand Canyon to me. Love finding the Indian paintings and drawings on the rocks in that country too.

Wish you the best

One other thought. I noticed solar was a big thing there, are you considering it? I actually priced it with a company in AZ a few years ago, almost fell over when I got the quote!

 

[BoFuller]

Really nice place to continue a dream.

Beautiful country there. My oldest son lives in Phoenix, and I have an Aunt and Uncle that live just SE of you, very nice country. The Petrified forest was tops over the Grand Canyon to me. Love finding the Indian paintings and drawings on the rocks in that country too.

Wish you the best

One other thought. I noticed solar was a big thing there, are you considering it? I actually priced it with a company in AZ a few years ago, almost fell over when I got the quote!

Thanks! We are going to do solar for sure, but it won't be one of those 20 X 40 ft boards that will run A/C and dryers and all. It will be for the basics, and we will use a generator if and when we need A/C. And I will build my own system, buying parts independently, instead of having something installed.
Refrigerator and dryer will be propane, as will be the stove. A propane water heater will be a backup to solar hot water. Wood-burning stove will be primary source of heat.

 

[BoFuller]

First thing I did was have a septic tank installed (after buying my tractor of course).

As we were putting in the septic system, I couldn't help but think of these pictures. Three years ago we did a mission trip to Tanzania, Africa and here was a typical restroom. I love Africa, but I really love the good old USA! :thumbsup: