Back on May 21st I took a solo trip out to Nordegg to take a closer look at the lots that were offered for sale by Clearwater County, in the north subdivision. This little known area has been undergoing development for a number of years. Most of the northern part of the subdivision consists of year round residences. More recently the County has offered up some recreational lots in the southern part of the subdivision. These lots vary in size from about 1.0 to 1.5 acres. There are strict rules in place about building on these properties within three years of purchase. There are design guidelines in place that limit the size of the cottages to be constructed on these properties, and there are design requirements mostly related to forest fire suppression. At this point we were seriously considering the purchase of one of these properties. This area is less than three hours drive from Edmonton, and is situated right in the front ranges of the Rockies. There are all sorts of really interesting locations within a short distance of this area including great fishing and hiking opportunities, not to mention the photographic possibilities. We have spent a lot of time camping in the immediate area in recent years and this is what has drawn us to the possibility of owning a property of our own. Our previous trip out to the area narrowed down our preference as to which lots we were most interested in. On this trip I decided that the property located at 1252 Tamarack Trail was the most desirable. This was the largest and most expensive of the recreational cottage lots in the subdivision. I wandered around this property for a while and spooked a white tail deer as I first wandered back into the forest. Even at this early point in the season there were wildflowers, and a potentially great view towards the mountains in the southwest.
On my way back home I pondered the possibilities... To break up the drive I stopped at a beaver pond along the David Thompson Highway west of Rocky Mountain House. I have noticed this pond many times in the past, as by mid summer it is covered with a carpet of pond lilies. Even at this early point in the season it was seeing the emergence of the lily pads. I parked on the side of the highway and wandered around the pond for a while with my big view camera. I took a few digital snapshots and then put that camera away, to more seriously explore the subject on film.
A few days after returning home, and after Margarit and I had discussed and considered things for a while, we decided to make an offer to purchase this property. In the past the County has been pretty firm about the asking price for these lots. In consideration of the fact that no lots had sold for over a year, and that economic conditions had depressed real estate prices, we decided to make an offer to the County through their realtor. We offered about 12% less than their asking price, and kept our fingers crossed. It was a cash offer, with no conditions attached and an almost immediate possession date. This had to go to a County council meeting for approval. I fully expected them to reject our offer, which would have forced us to reconsider our options and perhaps lower our expectations, and force us to consider one of the slightly smaller lots. Much to my surprise the offer was accepted. We turned everything over to our lawyer, and by the end of June we were the proud owners of a patch of forest. The lot is 130 Feet wide and over 500 Feet deep and faces almost due south. It is fully forested and slopes gently to the back. Eventually we will have neighbors in fairly close proximity on either side. The developed lots behind us our are out of sight as they are over the hill and some distance away. We headed out to the area immediately after taking possession at the end of June, and spent the Canada Day long weekend. There was just enough room for us to spot our trailer on the approach driveway to the lot. We really enjoyed the weekend and made a trail into the center of the property and set up a fire pit. Margarit's best friend and her family have a lot a short distance down the road, and it was through them that we found out about this subdivision in the first place. Shelley and her daughter Amy were out with us for the long weekend and we enjoyed their company as we got familiar with our property. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet of our own private space despite the fact that it was the busiest weekend of the summer. We went for a half day trail ride at a nearby riding stable, the girls went swimming at nearby Fish Lake a couple of times, and we gradually became familiar with our new property.
At the end of the long weekend we met with a local contractor, and hired him to clear a driveway and construct a parking pad for us. He is also routing in a power line so that when we eventually end up building a cottage, the utility supply will be in place. Scott from Shunda Creek Contracting e-mailed a couple of pictures to me a couple of days after the long weekend. These show the clearing work that has already taken place in advance of this construction work. The next time we head down to Nordegg we will not have to park our trailer on the approach driveway. Rather we will be able to back into the center of our property and set up camp in a much more private location.. Over the coming months we will design the cottage that we want to construct, apply for development permits and by next spring we hope to have a contractor in place to build our dream. Very exciting times indeed...!!
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