Chapter 1: A Road Runs Through It

Around '92 we made some tentative plans to move north (from where we lived then, in Ventura County, just north of the California LA basin). We refinanced our home and bought a house outside Portland, which we rented, and then we tried to find jobs there, with no luck. This was good luck in retrospect, but we didn't think so at the time, we just felt frustrated.

In '94 both our jobs were transferred somewhat north to Silicon Valley, and we bought a home in Morgan Hill with a green belt area (woods) behind it, below Henry Coe Park. The Oregon dream began to fade.


The back yard of our Morgan Hill house.

Even before all this, my Dad had moved to the Sierras back in '88, and as we spent more time there, we liked the area and decided we could probably get what we were looking for in California.

Then '98 was our lucky year -- it all came together. I received a bonus, and it was a buyer's market for land. Over a period of about 6 weeks, we looked at land on the weekends with our patient real estate agent Susan Jobson, my Dad, and our puppy Ripley. We visited app. 30 properties across Amador County, which has a western border of oak dotted grasslands and an eastern border in the high sierras. We narrowed our search down to the middle of the county – about 2000' elevation -- above the grasslands but avoiding serious snow.

The 3 finalist properties that we seriously considered and didn't buy, each educated us further:

• One had 5 heavily wooded acres, but it was on a somewhat traveled road and we didn't like what some of the neighbors had done (bulldozed too much). If we bought this one, we'd just barely make it into the forest. We decided to look at more than 5 acres.

• The next one had a stunning 180 degree view of the canyon (8 acres). I'm sure there is a gorgeous home there today. But there were few large trees, the owner had bulldozed manzanitas into a ditch below, the neighboring parcel had driveway access through this parcel, and it wasn't yet connected to the grid. Nope, we needed to look further.

• The third had a level building area with a nice western horizon (8 acres again). It wasn't heavily wooded, yet there was a nice mix of good trees. But the building site backed up to BLM land and while that meant a view of open woods, it also meant close proximity to open woods that others could use for recreation. Not appealing to us.

Finally, towards the end of a long Sunday, we found our place -- 12 acres with an interesting variety of more large trees than I have tried to count:

• Oaks (evergreen & deciduous),
  
• Pines (Ponderosa & Jeffrey, a few Sugar Pine, and, unfortunately a few gray pine),
• Cedars,
  
• Douglas Firs, and
  
• Madrones.
  

Here are two panorama pictures taken in the winter, at the location where our house is today.

This first one is facing east/southeast and is the view we see from kitchen, porch, deck and living room today.


Then this one is facing south/southwest, and is the view we see from living room, deck, and guest bedroom today.


The parcel included a 200 square foot cabin, a well, a septic system, and power. The cabin had a toilet, sink, and shower – we could camp out here in comfort before we built!

Here's a picture of that cabin -- uphill from the panoramic shots and where the house sits today. Notice the steep terrain off to the left.


There were 2 issues with this parcel, which also have advantages:

• The slope is pretty steep in most places. We're on a south facing major ridge, with 2 significant drainage areas (seasonal streams? ravines?) running down to Sutter Creek (the creek, not the town) below us. Definitely it was more expensive to build here, and I've tumbled down some of those hillsides!
  
  But without these slopes we wouldn't have the nice views over the canyon and treetops, and we were able to build our lower floor into the hill (great insulation).
  
  Not that we knew the advantages at the time we purchased – our emotions were caught up in the special feel of this place, we decided we would figure it all out – and we were off.

• The road runs through it – pretty much equally bisecting our 12 acres. We have neighbors who live further up and down the road, and the road goes through all of the parcels. We can't see our neighbors – those ravines and ridges are between us as the road meanders across the hillside.
  
  This road concept was new to us, and it surprises people when I tell them about it, yet there are advantages that suit us and that we've learned about as we live here:
  (a) We had plenty of room to build “above” the road, so the road is now a fire break.
  (b) It provides access to the lower part of the property.
  (c) No one will build below us (across the road) because we own that land, so we are in the midst of the forest.
  (d) It is a gravel road, which I appreciate more and more as I talk to others who live up here. It slows traffic (although a few try to race on it) and it probably keeps others from trying it out. Our traffic is typically neighbors and delivery trucks -- app. 3-4 a day.

So, we bought it! My bonus became our down payment, the seller took back a mortgage, we closed escrow in '98, and we sold our Oregon house in '99 to pay off the mortgage. The property was ours free and clear. We couldn't afford to build yet, but we thought we were ready to go!

The road runs through it, and it is the perfect place for us.

Print Page

Introduction

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the deep green liveliness of forests.

When I was young, my parents made several memorable treks to Sequoia National Park. My mother had been transplanted to the Southern California LA basin from the northeast, and she would soak up the cool glades of trees that she achingly missed in her new life of sunshine. Perhaps it is her love of trees that first created this love of forests in me.

More recently, after she was gone, my Dad sought a place to live where “trees just grow; you don't have to plant them.” He bought a house in a forest, and our Rising Oaks is about 7 miles from where he chose to live.

On the other hand, a straw bale home is something wonderful that happened as we sought energy independence. When we finally found an architect whose desires meshed with ours (Dan Smith), he suggested we tour the Presentation Center, in the Santa Cruz Mountains (near Los Gatos). It is a straw bale building designed by DSA. Both Ron and I were immediately enchanted, and we marched determinedly onward despite any obstacles.

In that first straw bale building I was reminded of the deep walls and cool interiors of the adobe buildings I had visited as a child. Those deep plastered walls and deep inset windows feel magical, peaceful, and solid to me, and create a special sense of home.



This blog is a tale about this journey that had many beginnings, but we'll start with the most relevant in '98 when we purchased 12 acres of steep hillsides and marvelous trees in the Sierra Foothills of California. The trees are an interesting mix of oaks, pines, madrones, douglas firs, and cedars. The acres are on the side of a south facing ridge overlooking the canyon where Sutter Creek flows year round. This blog will include our experiences and mistakes, and details about the process – from land to architect to builder, and the endless decisions. As well I'll intersperse daily events that have happened or are happening as we live here, so it won't all be history but will move forward as we do.



Importantly, the we who live here include 5 others – 2 dogs (Ripley and Connor) and 3 cats (Homer-Kitty, BCOS, and WYSIWYG). They are an important part of our story.

We call our place Rising Oaks in recognition of the glorious trees and particularly the prominent sentinels at the top of the driveway that shade the east side of our house. As I return home up the drive, they rise up into view.



Print Page