My husband and I found our Shangri-La in eastern Washington.  The homestead sits on 76-acres of rolling meadowlands with a creek, aspen grove, pine forests and plenty of room to breathe.  A friend suggested we call the homestead Timbuktu because it’s in a remote area – although only ten miles from town. We make the big move next week!

Honestly, I’m excited and scared at the same time! It’s a big shift from suburban life to country life.  But while hubby fell in love with the land and shop, I fell in love with the house. It’s a  45-year-old custom build with a wrap around deck that overlooks the land and a mountain range in the distance.

View of the house from the meadow
View of the house from the hill behind the garage/shop.
My husband’s new “man cave”

After 30 plus years of living in the suburbs and commuting to the city for work, we’re finally going to have room to spread our wings!

View of our homestead from google earth. The large white building is the shop/garage. The house is nestled in the trees.
The hay barn
Another outbuilding. I don’t even know what this is. The Troll barn?? LOL

One of the great amenities of the area are all the lakes.  The largest is seven miles long, stocked with all kinds of fish and only a few miles from the homestead.

You can see the large lake stretching across the landscape in this google image. Our homestead is just a few miles from the lake (marked with the red arrow).

We’ve spent the last 15 years vacationing in the area. My husband enjoys fishing and hunting and we both love hiking and spending time in nature.

What was once a railroad trestle through town and across the lake, is now part of a “rails to trail” system. The nature trail begins in town and crosses the lake over the trestle and continues 20 miles to the Canadian border.  We plan to dust off our hiking boots and explore!

Our new hometown.

There are no stoplights in our new hometown! But it has all the amenities we need, a community hospital, library, restaurants, drug store, grocery store and even an artist co-op! The town is also the county seat so the courthouse and government buildings are all located within a few blocks.

We feel so blessed to retire early and hope to spend many years enjoying the country life.  We plan to be active in our new community and find a way to serve and give back.  I’ll also be looking for a writer/poetry group in town and if there isn’t one I may just start one!

We’re starting the next chapter of our lives and are excited for the adventures ahead! Don’t ever let anyone tell you dreams don’t come true!! We’re living our dream in Timbuktu!

Next post  – a tour of the inside of the house. It has some surprises and a secret room! The artist in me is all aflutter with possibilities! Until then …

♥Happy trails♥

34 thoughts on “We found Shangri-La in Timbuktu”

  7. Wow, Sue. That is an impressive pad for one artsy, poetic, writer-type lady. Congratulations to you and Scott, who is probably looking forward to this more than you are. Be sure to post the number for the reservations clerk (kidding). Yay for retirement. Y’all earned it.

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  8. We went camping there a few years ago. There Bekah caught her first fish. We loved the town. There’s something special about it, and now more so since you’ll be there! But here at the writing group we’ll miss you my friend! Please keep in touch and let us know that you’re expressing your many artistic skills! Congratulations, and loves and hugs!!!

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  10. Wow, Sue, it looks fantastic. If I could show you the area where we live you would be amazed how similar it looks. We also live in a timber frame house near some beautiful lakes. I should do a post on it like you did. It is not quite a remote as you but it’s very much a village. I hope you have many happy years there. xxx

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  14. What a beautiful spot. I can only imagine how long it might have taken you and your husband to find this idyllic local, but good job you two! I love the space. How freeing from the rigors of city life. No traffic to keep you from getting where you need to go here I’ll bet. Small town living is serene. You actually meet people who will smile at you when you smile at them. They may even want to know your name. If there is a train, I hope you get to hear it choo choo in the distance. Great sound! Great feeling! And if you see it while hiking, cool visual. Sensory all around. Highest and best!!!

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  16. Pingback: Inside Timbuktu – Country House Tour | An Artist's Path

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