BLUE RIDGE PARADISE

The same month we purchased Ellie, we also bought a piece of land in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Stuart, Virginia. Our plan for this property is to make it a 100% self-sustaining powerhouse. So far we’ve built a 60 X 20 ft deck to place our large military tent on, battery and corded power tools powered by our portable solar generator, layed down gravel bag by bag, and are about a quarter of the way complete!

Located in the heart of Patrick County, we scored almost 6 acres (5.76) of land for under $11k.  Granted, we had to find someone to clear an acre for us to build on, someone to build the well, and someone to put some concrete down (because we got stuck one too many times trying to park Ellie). So far, we’ve added:

  • 60 x 25 ft. deck (built by hand, with friends, and solar-powered tools)
  • Solar Lighted Walkway (see the fixtures)
  • Compost Box – for organic humanure (from our bus toilet/food scraps)
  • Deck stairs (steep but sturdy using recycled deck wood)
  • Concrete Slab (HUGE thanks to Concrete Company)
  • Wellwater (powered by our bus generator – thanks Raymond Brown Well Co.)
  • Gravel Driveway (bag-by-bag thanks to Lowes)
  • Glow Rocks (to light up our paths at night)