Back in 2016, Art and I, with my brother Mark, spent ten days hiking Glacier National Park. The last two nights we spent in a cabin in Polebridge just outside the northwest entrance to the park. The cabin was primitive, with no electricity, a fireplace for heat, a hand pump for water, and a pit outhouse. Art loved that experience of living near nature, listening to birds and running water, splitting logs, carrying firewood, making do. He recalls it as his favorite part of the trip. It led us to start thinking about how to spend more time in that area, perhaps buy some land, start a business, maybe a corporate retreat or a way station for backpackers.
We went back in 2021, this time engaging a realtor to tour a property for sale. Nothing came of that, but the idea persisted. Montana was certainly pristine but can be frigid in winter, probably an ill-advised choice for year-round living. On later road trips I kept my eyes open, considering places in New Mexico and Texas, Wyoming and Idaho. The Pacific Northwest grew more attractive. Art enjoyed his first winter in Oregon, taking brief trips and day hikes to waterfalls and forests. He drove to the north Cascades and British Columbia, finding much there to recommend, but returned more than once to the Olympic Peninsula and Port Angeles. And so we thought this was a possibility worth pursuing, with a moderate climate, relatively undeveloped, and the Olympic National Park close by.
We rented a house in Port Angeles, a base from which to conduct our search for a wilderness property. We will build our sanctuary.
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