Around 1998 we started looking around, trying to decide where we should retire. We looked at Oregon--Bend, Joseph, Milton Freewater, John Day country. Too expensive, too liberal, or too isolated. We looked at northwestern Washington. Too isolated. We looked at Don's old stomping ground (Pomeroy, Dayton) in southeastern Washington. We poked around Idaho too, and briefly considered New Mexico.
We searched properties on the internet. One day in 2001, we came across a unique-looking property in Heron, Montana. It was the middle of the winter, but we needed a weekend getaway, so we packed up the dogs and headed for Heron (northwestern Montana) to see this place.
It was a monstrosity, a real "white elephant." The kind of house every real estate agent dreads listing. But....the agent, Brad Swanson from Realty Northwest, advised us to go a bit farther EAST to Thompson Falls. His agency was actually headquartered there, and he thought we might find some properties to our liking in that part of the county instead.
We went there the next day, a Sunday, and were greeted at Realty Northwest by Dave Oliver, with whom we immediately developed a lasting relationship! NO ONE could have been more inviting, persuasive, and positive about that part of the country than Dave. He spent several hours with us and loaded us up with listing sheets and literature before we had to head back to Yakima.
That was the first of many "looking" trips over the next couple years. We spent several 10-hour days with Dave as our tour guide. We enjoyed his company, had several significant common interests, and marveled at his knowledge of the area and who owned what.
In the fall of 2003, we saw a new listing on the Realty Northwest website. It was for 41 acres, undeveloped. Within three days of it being posted on the internet, Don and I were there to look at it with Dave Oliver. It was a mix of trees (pines, firs, larch) and open field. It was flat, had been partially logged long ago, and was at the end of a county road. The property was sort of pie-shaped, bordered by a steep, treed, undeveloped hillside on one side, the railroad tracks and Clark Fork River on another side, and a private access road on the third side. PRIVACY!! And basically no visible neighbors. It offered complete "buffering," plus a mountain view to die for. We could even SHOOT 200 YARDS (or more) on our own property, with the steep hill as a backstop.
We made an offer on the place the next day. It was accepted, and within a few weeks it was ours.
We searched properties on the internet. One day in 2001, we came across a unique-looking property in Heron, Montana. It was the middle of the winter, but we needed a weekend getaway, so we packed up the dogs and headed for Heron (northwestern Montana) to see this place.
It was a monstrosity, a real "white elephant." The kind of house every real estate agent dreads listing. But....the agent, Brad Swanson from Realty Northwest, advised us to go a bit farther EAST to Thompson Falls. His agency was actually headquartered there, and he thought we might find some properties to our liking in that part of the county instead.
We went there the next day, a Sunday, and were greeted at Realty Northwest by Dave Oliver, with whom we immediately developed a lasting relationship! NO ONE could have been more inviting, persuasive, and positive about that part of the country than Dave. He spent several hours with us and loaded us up with listing sheets and literature before we had to head back to Yakima.
That was the first of many "looking" trips over the next couple years. We spent several 10-hour days with Dave as our tour guide. We enjoyed his company, had several significant common interests, and marveled at his knowledge of the area and who owned what.
In the fall of 2003, we saw a new listing on the Realty Northwest website. It was for 41 acres, undeveloped. Within three days of it being posted on the internet, Don and I were there to look at it with Dave Oliver. It was a mix of trees (pines, firs, larch) and open field. It was flat, had been partially logged long ago, and was at the end of a county road. The property was sort of pie-shaped, bordered by a steep, treed, undeveloped hillside on one side, the railroad tracks and Clark Fork River on another side, and a private access road on the third side. PRIVACY!! And basically no visible neighbors. It offered complete "buffering," plus a mountain view to die for. We could even SHOOT 200 YARDS (or more) on our own property, with the steep hill as a backstop.
We made an offer on the place the next day. It was accepted, and within a few weeks it was ours.
