Congratulations. Sounds like it will be a busy retirement but peaceful at the same time.

Peaceful is right.
When I walked part of the property last month it was so quiet my ears hurt..... which is exactly what we are looking for.

I've been playing around on GoogleEarth to get a good lay of the property and think I've found where I want to put the barn. There is a knoll (not grassy) between the street and a fairly large clearing that then slopes southward. by placing the barn on that south slope it will be mostly blocked from view from the street, and will allow a curving driveway to have trees block the view more.
I only hope we can actually pay for this dream.

Don't worry about the money. I am sure you have done your numbers.
Peacefullness, serenity, privacy are important to us. We love people but also love our privacy.
Wife said she wanted a place she could go to our dock in a micro bikini, a beer in one hand a joint in the other if she so wanted to without neighbors gawking at her. (has not happened yet)
We found that place. Our slice of heaven so to speak.

A few things that have come to mind during the first year of my retirement.
Can I keep maintaining this property I own or can I hire others to do it.
Is the property the correct property for my wife if I pass earlier than I want.
I have stairs so is there a place to install an elevator, either stair or shaft elevator as we age and cannot run up and down like we do.
From the house to the dock is 75 stairs. As I age can I still walk these. (I just pushed a road down to the dock so I can drive my UTV now)
During winter and we lose power if a tree comes down can we still cook etc. ( currently arranging quotes to install a full house generator)
How far are the doctors, dentist, supermarket and especially hospital.

The kids want me to build this on the property.

I like the idea.

Sweet.
Build one of these too.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r29R1tJRRw&feature=emb_logo[/video]

Had a HOA meeting Wednesday so got to meet all the neighbors. Think it's gonna be really good up there.
We're slowly figuring out what we need to do to move ahead on developing the property, which right now seems like an overwhelming and overly expensive proposition, especially with the explosion in building prices but also that Kalispell has had a huge influx of outsiders buying in (yep I've quoted Jimmy Buffett more than once about Pale invaders and tan crusaders and promising the locals we don't want to change anything about the community) It'll be like eating an elephant and we have a long time to go before we need to actually build. Just laying the ground work and nibbling around the edges.
No rental cars available in town so we needed to drive the 600 miles, pulling up to the property about 9PM Tues, when it was still light. Just enjoyed the peace and quiet at the edge of the property and placed our address plaque so any trades that need to visit know where to start. Leaving for the hotel about 10PM I couldn't resist driving through the brush to where we think we're gonna place the barn. It was still light so no problem I thought, since we had driven out the path when we were last there.
The weeds and grasses have grown since then, and as the sun was setting the visibility of my terrain was not quite good enough.


Tree stump vs Exhaust system, which do you think is gonna win that contest?
Had to drive around town for 36 hours, out to meet the neighbors, for a meeting and tour of the property with the Architect and a 600 mile drive home with a very leaky exhaust system. Funny how other drivers will stay out of your way when you're a real bubba since no shops in town had time to replace the Cats.
Rockauto to the rescue soon.
However. Justy vs exhaust system? Justy 7 nuts, exhaust system 1 nut. Round one goes to the Exhaust system. one of the studs into the exhaust manifold bent in the stump contest, so the nut ended up stripping the treads as I was attempting to remove it. Haven't figured out how to remove that yet, but I think the drivers side exhaust manifold is gonna end up coming off.
Good thing I've got spare cars as I've got some trips to go on between now and when the Cats get here. It is just confirming my need to get lifts in the barn, cause rolling around on the garage floor is getting tougher as I'm getting older.

Moving ahead with prepping the ground for the Barndo.
Excavator was working cutting in the driveway this week.
Coming off the road.

Into the clearing where the Barndo will sit.

Still working the Barndominium plans and we'll have a surveyor there in about a month to give the Architect a map so he can layout the compound.
Thinking this would be a nice spot for an RV pad so we can accept visitors. It'll be close to the Barndo so we can have a 220 outlet for electrical needs




The excavator is a mid 20s guy who is building his business and is going to be a joy to work with. Great work ethic and willing to work with our timeline for a long term relationship. Told him to feel free to work future improvements to the property in 1 to 3 day increments beyond what we've contracted to fill in his schedule as he desires to help pad his growing business.

Looks good. When do you expect to break ground on your megabarn?

We're doing site prep work for now, but don't anticipate any actual structure going up until the spring of 2023.
Kalispell has had a huge influx of us pale invaders and tan crusaders and builders are going gangbusters. Being the working stiff I am, the budget will only allow a slow slog to improvements, with me doing additional prep as my schedule allows.
Taking the long view and just looking forward to the peace and quiet we get while envisioning a future compound.

Kalispell is in my territory. Perhaps our paths will cross.

Our neighbors and close friends have a house they built on an old family plot (teardown) about 10 years ago. The house was in the local home tour.
They stay in Montana 6 months and 6 months in SoCal. Their property is on Cherry Point (not sure of the name) but there is a fairly large cherry plantation that raises the best cherries I have ever tasted.
Yes, it is tempting to think about a condo near their place, but it will take some consideration before we even get passed square 1.

That'd be great.
While we won't have "improved" RV spots til at least 2023, any of you long term members visiting Glacier who want an off the grid spot to overnight PM me and I'll let you know where to go and how to get there.

We've been going up for about 2.5 days a month this summer, but having to drive the 600 or so miles since rental cars weren't available at first, then became stupid high priced. now the the tourist season is over cars are available and flights are empty enough for the Space available lottery to be worthwhile playing.

Welcome aboard Bella
Thinking autocorrect got you, or I'm confused by terminology.
Are you saying to run a Compressed air line to where I'll be brewing to keep lines clean, or is there a complete different language used in brewing than I'm used to? Within the garage portion of the Barndo we will have compressed air lines, so running a spur to the brewing/bottling zone would be easy enough.
Just gonna be home brewing and the estimates for the building are coming in WAY over what I had thought, so going whole hog, commercial sized brew area is not in the budget.
The current plan (subject to budget changes) is to excavate a cellar area for storage and aging. Being in the pines at 3000MSL and near the Canadian border I figure that should keep the cellar temp near 60 degrees.

Looks like Bella got the boot!!! . . . but . . . keep us posted on your progress with the mega-mansion garage

I wish I had the space to do something like what you are planning. I'd have it filled with projects in no time.

Justification I hear you on escalating building prices. We were looking to get a quote on having a lean to added to our barn. Almost fell over when we got the quote. We might be rethinking our plan.