We were searching for a place and we had three (3) major desires that were must haves.
1. It had to have a view. You’re in the mountains, you want to see mountains. Unblocked long range views.
2. It had to be close to town and shopping. Our house is less than 15 minutes to major shopping areas. We didn’t want our guests to spend vacation time on a 45-minute (one-way) ride to the grocery store or town.
3. The roads had to be paved. There are some beautiful places that are hard to get to due to bad, hard to navigate, roads. We wanted paved roads and not rocky, muddy, ruts. Any 2 wheel drive vehicle can get to our place on a smooth paved road.
We found this hidden gem and it was in some major need of TLC. BUT it hit the check boxes of our wishes. A jaw-dropping view. A quick 10-12 minutes to shopping (and just a few more minutes to town). Plus, a paved road all the way to the house.
So, we started working. We have poured a ton of sweat equity and hired local help to bring it up to shape. New furniture, new beds, new kitchen, new roof, new ceilings in rooms, new decking, new deck posts, paint and more paint. Air conditioning (there was none) and heating. We hauled a utility trailer full of dark, tired (and heavy) drapes and faded/yellowed window coverings to the dump. Stripped off walls of old wall paper. More trips to the dump with trailers full of more old stuff.
The once hidden gem now shines like the diamond it was meant to be. And boy-oh-boy, that Million Dollar view.