Glacier Lily Gulch
and
Resolute Draw, Montana
and
Resolute Draw, Montana
Resolute Draw
An Open Letter to American Military Personnel and Veterans
Since listing Glacier Lily Gulch for sale I have received many letters from American soldiers and veterans that resound with a similar theme: each respondent has expressed a desire not to settle for life in America as so many of today's "Americans" now define it, but to seek, in the words of one USMC Iraqi War veteran, ". . . solitude and peace in a place not surrounded by others, to live a self-sufficient and self-sustaining life." Most of these men are not positioned to purchase a turnkey operation, but I believe they could indeed create a self-sufficient life given the chance, and through their letters I have come to realize there is a commonality between their aspirations and what Glacier Lily Gulch offers. While I would be pleased for any capable person choosing to build a life here, I am inspired by the idea of independent-minded American patriots carving out their own niche their own way with my achievement as their jumping-off point.
There are five natural building sites in Resolute Draw: it takes very little imagination to see this beautiful forested hillside graced with cabins or small homes. The terraced terrain is easy to access from bottom to top with a simple earthen road; topography and vegetation suggest groundwater accessible to a light drilling rig, although a community gravity-feed tank could just as well be installed at the crest of the property and refilled from the water source on the developed parcel. There is sufficient timber to build at least three small log cabins or two medium-size cabins, and plenty of stone for foundation work.
The Fort Harrison VA Regional Office and Medical Center is less than an hour away.
Perhaps the new owner of Glacier Lily Gulch would make homestead residency in Resolute Draw available to a trusted friend or group of friends in exchange for caretaker services, or by lease, or both. Perhaps some of you reading this letter will share the idea with others who can see themselves "proving up" the old-school way in a self-built cabin on a south-facing mountain slope in the Montana Rockies. Perhaps you will even spread the word that you are someone who can help build an independent community on the frontier of America's rebirth . . . in the hope that someone with the wherewithal and desire to make it possible will hear you.
In the meantime, for those of you not content with fantasies of independence but who lack as yet the means to invest in secluded property (and who refuse to settle for American suburbia while scrimping for "someday"), I encourage you to research a secluded-lifestyle caretaker opportunity via the links that follow this letter. I have read The Caretaker Gazette (www.caretaker.org) for many years: publisher Gary Dunn presents a window to a world of which few people are aware. Do your homework, be prepared, do not procrastinate. Life is a terminal event, and brief. Make it the best it can be.
Keep your promises.
Sincerely,
Michael Russell
P.S. I have compiled an extensive library of literature pertaining to the skills necessary to live successfully in the backcountry, and I could write several volumes more about subjects so far insufficiently or incompletely explored. There are nine books, however, that have through the years made their way to my top shelf. With the caveat that not everything they propose is appropriate and correct, I recommend these books and offer links to them below.
Building the Alaska Log Home (Walker)
From the Ground Up (Cole and Wing)
The Humanure Handbook (Jenkins)
A Minnesota Doctor's Home Remedies for Common and Uncommon Ailments (Eichenlaub)
Create an Oasis with Greywater (Ludwig)
Weathering the Wilderness (Reifsnyder)
The Survival Retreat (Benson)
Survival with Style (Angier)
Mountain Operations FM 90-6
And when you are ready for 600 pages of light reading: The Creature from Jekyll Island (Griffin)
A Minnesota Doctor's Home Remedies for Common and Uncommon Ailments (Eichenlaub)
Create an Oasis with Greywater (Ludwig)
Weathering the Wilderness (Reifsnyder)
The Survival Retreat (Benson)
Survival with Style (Angier)
Mountain Operations FM 90-6
And when you are ready for 600 pages of light reading: The Creature from Jekyll Island (Griffin)
Resolute Draw Cabin Sites and Perspectives