The Beginning of the Dream...

Steve and I have been married for 25 years in August 2015.  All that time Steve had been talking about this property in Hollis, Alaska that his Dad (Charlie) had won in a land lottery in the 1980s.  At some point Charlie, Steve and his 3 brothers began to go to the property and cut down trees, cut lumber and cedar shakes and built the cabin below.  Fast forward to 2006 and Steve keeps talking about leaving Florida and going back to Alaska and building a home on this property.  I had never even been to Prince of Wales Island so I had no clue what he was talking about.  So we planned a trip up there.  The only time we could get away was during the holiday season so off we went!

You can't drive to Prince of Wales Island.  It is only accessible by ferry (3 hours) or float plane (15 minutes) from Ketchikan where Steve and his family grew up.  The first time we went the weather had been horrible and being winter it was stormy.  Thankfully the day we took the ferry it was calmer because I tend to get seasick...  It was quite an experience for this city/suburban girl!  So this is the beginning...

Steve and I are Christians and we believe that Jesus has put it on our hearts to build on this land.  We don't know why, but we are trying to be obedient.  Since I'd never been there I told Steve "When I get on the property I will know if it's the right thing for us to do or not."  And I DID know!  I too fell in love with this beautiful piece of land of almost 3 acres in a community that currently has 125 residents!  Since that time we've known that somehow, some way, someday we'd be fulfilling that dream...

There is now a gravel road and electricity to the property!  That was all Steve needed to know to start really believing in his dream!

My very first view of the infamous cabin that Steve, his Dad and brothers built.  Unfortunately a couple of trees had come down near it and partially on it.  But it looked like it was still waterproof!

The Alaskan jungle in winter...  Isn't it beautiful???!!!

My first view of the small cove/inlet that the property sits on.  In another post I'll share the current views.

This is the sign you see when you come out of the ferry terminal parking lot.  Our property is less than a mile from here.

A Hollis traffic jam!  And look at that VIEW!  Grocery store in Klawock is only about 20 minutes away.

While we were driving around Craig (where we stayed on this visit) we saw this eagle sitting on a rock near the road.  I made Steve stop so I could take pictures and the eagle posed for me!  They do NOT sound like the sound you usually hear on the TV but rather have a beautiful sing-song call that I absolutely love and always miss when I don't hear it...

And so the dream began that day...  Unfortunately many things happened since then and it took us all this time to even begin to realize that the dream would finally come true.  We thank God for the opportunity to share our adventures with you, our readers, as we progress with building our dream in the Alaskan Jungle!

Please leave us a comment and tell us what you think!  Oh and I'm pretty new at designing blogs so bear with me while I play around with titles, etc.  LOL!  Blessings, Ginni