Vacation Home Project

Bella Vista, California

as of November 2006...

The Goal

 I have searched far and wide for a place in the West that will become a vacation destination.  My goal was to find a place with a mild, warm and sunny climate, affordable golf, reasonable cost to buy or build, wide variety of recreation in the local area, and hopefully a few acres or more, and minimal impact from the likes of home-owners associations.  A place that feels remote but isn't.  The vacation house would be used primarily for short escapes from the long winter season in New York.  Here is a partial list of the towns I looked into with at least a short visit: 

Arizona -- Prescott, Tucson, Payson, Phoenix, Sierra Vista, Pine, Show Low, Bisbee.  (some very nice possibilities)

New Mexico -- Silver City (not as exciting as the books and magazines make it out to be)

Colorado -- Canon City, Salida, Ouray  (in general, these were too cold for me)

Idaho -- Area near Haley and Boise.  (beautiful and very outdoor oriented but probably too cold for me)

Oregon -- Bend and Ashland (nice but, again, a little too cold)

California -- Grass Valley/Nevada City, Mariposa, Murphys, Yreka, the coast, virtually everywhere in the lower-elevation Gold Country,    Redding, Weed, and of course, Bishop.  (many nice areas most of which have gotten a little pricey and crowded in recent years)

North Carolina and Virginia got some looks but my desire to regain a presence in the West was an overriding factor.

 

Decision Time

March 2005

After looking around for a couple of years the two areas of most interest continued to be Arizona and California.  And after much more looking I was leaning strongly towards California because of my past history with the state.  I had been watching the Redding area for years, as the price of land and homes continued to rise, when I finally was shown a piece of land fifteen miles from Redding, east of Bella Vista, that had everything I was looking for:  five acres, great views, surrounded by a lot of vacant land, 1500 ft elevation.  A Starbucks 20 minutes away helps with the addiction.

At first it looked like a pile of brush but after walking the land it started to interest me.  Then we began to discover the views through the bushes and trees.

 

 

 

 

Snowfall is minimal, perhaps 6 inches per year.  It does, however rain a lot, about 37 inches on average, same as my part of NY, but with 80% of this precip from November to February.  Virtually 100% of the precipitation is October to April.  Spring and fall are beautiful and the summer is hot and dry and frequently over 100 degrees.  There are good views of Lassen Peak, 35 miles to the southeast and other views yet to be discovered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures below show Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park (left photo), visible from the proposed building site, and the Yolla Bolly Range (right) across the town of Redding to the southwest, which is visible from the dirt road that leads to the home site.  The Lake Shasta Jones Valley Marina is about 15 miles away.  These pictures were taken in February, prior to purchase. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2005

After negotiating for a pre-purchase drilling of a well I closed on the property in April 2005.  I hooked up with Steve, a well-known well driller in the area.  Prior to contracting with him for a well I had a dowser work his magic with a willow stick.  I'm not a real believer in this "science" but I figured I would jinx myself if I didn't do it.  Steve drilled on the spot selected by the dowser and at 240 feet he struck a good flow of water.  He took the hole down to 300 feet for a buffer.  It produces about 10 GPM (very good for the area) and extensive testing indicates the water is soft and generally very good but with a little iron, enough perhaps to require a filter if the aquifer doesn't flush out satisfactorily. 

This was the first time I had visited the property since purchasing it and, fortunately, I did not have buyer's remorse.  In fact, I was more excited than ever (a good sign).  I walked the property but the brush made it difficult to get a good feel for the land.  From the very top of the ridge, which happens to be the best building site, a mobile home is visible in the distance on the next ridge.  But this is what you deal with when you try to avoid covenants and restrictions.

 

The well is shown in the left photo and the small road turnaround is on the right.