TIME TO BUY A JEEP AND MOVE TO A MOUNTAIN

The title of this post is a comment I've noticed several times in different news media sites and other types of forums or web discussion places. People will leave it in response to a particularly heinous crime or social crime, which is what I call these mass shootings by those with alleged mental problems. I've even heard random people say it in public.

My wife is convinced that it is indeed time to buy several 4wd vehicles AND move to a mountain. And I am as well. We like where we live now, it's so much better than the big city of Houston where I hail from. 

I've written before about our desire to head slightly north and west of Texas to some place that I, El Fisho, can fish for trout. Someplace cold enough to support year round trout and fish like smallmouth bass would greatly interest me. What we're looking for is one of those "generally doesn't snow too much" type of places. We've got several good candidates, but are always looking for others. We'd like to buy some land now and start building a retirement home.

Of course, there are always exceptions, hence the 4wd and many, many *cough, expensive, cough* other devices designed to help humans deal with extreme cold and snow and such. And there's the added vehicle expenses, clothing expenses, all those things we don't spend money on now in relatively fair weather (if you consider droughts fair) Texas.

I do appreciate the difference between a Wrangler and a Rubicon, and we've owned a Wrangler before for a long time. The new 4 door Wrangler hardtop ride much smoother than the 2 door version we owned, but the 6 cylinder, five speed one we had did have a whole lot of power. 

Although she's a longtime Texan, the wife was born and reared in snow country, and even went to college in Montana, so she's no stranger to extreme cold and snow for months. Add to that extensive travels to Alaska, the Yukon, Calgary and many other frigid areas of the globe and nation and often in the dead of winter and sub-zero temps and she's rendered all sorts of realities to me about life in snow that involve extra work that we don't have to do now.
  We're both really open to places still, and trout are not a controlling factor. We do want to live around waterMany people recommend I check out Arkansas, as land prices there tend to the quite reasonable. One co-worker was looking at a large tract of many acres for something like $74k with a cabin and a live, year round spring feeding a creek passing through the lower part of the property.

Indeed, on a family vacation through Missouri and Arkansas I saw many nice creeks and hundreds of live springs coming forth from roadside rocks in Northwest Arkansas.

Of course, trout are found all over this part of Arkansas, as well as many other species of fish. I just want to do some fishing, preferably heavy on fly fishing but with lazy respites for spinning and even spin/bait casting and bait fishing. I want to do a lot of fishing. I've done a bit of fishing in Arkansas, and the fishing there is indeed as impressive as that in Colorado. I would enjoy doing a lot of fishing in either place.

To me, this sounds like paradise, and I guess Mrs. El Fisho and I should consider northwest Arkansas as well as states like Colorado, southern and western Idaho, eastern and northern California, northern Arizona, Washington and Oregon. The only issue I've ever had with hanging out in Arkansas was the humidity is higher than the western states I mentioned, or at least in some of them.

We have no desire to move to Alaska, although it's a great place still teaming with opportunities for the folks willing to work earnestly and work hard. Wyoming has a lot of jobs for both of us yet that's a serious commitment to a serious winter lifestyle. My wife laughs when I speak of this mythical "place where it snows but not too much".

Over the years, we've considered working internationally in some not bad places but mostly very cold places. That's where the jobs were for us. We've also looked at working in other states over the years, including the northeast in Maine, since that's where I could have taken a job, but we decided to stay. 

Ultimately, as much as I like Texas government, it will be time to leave. Find a place with not too many folks, a nice place, and a place that has water. Water will be very important as we grow older. That's why all my friends that have bought places in recent years have sought out properties that had "live" springs producing year round.

The thought is that with filtration and cisterns and storage tanks that water can be kept for times of extreme drought and also for living off the grid as much as possible and with a much cleaner source of water than most water systems.

But back to the title. Time to buy a jeep and move to a mountain. It's a sentiment shared by many, and it's become a response to this world we live in with all kinds of really shocking news about the world we live in (and I'm not talking Miley Cyrus stories here).

It's a philosophy I can easily agree with on many levels. It's always been somewhat of a dream really, to live in a mountainous area with trout streams and lakes nearby, not because of urban strife but to fish and live in peace and quiet. Be more at one with nature, but within easy striking distance of diverse shopping and excellent medical care.

Of course, a Jeep or Subaru or other 4wd is usually part of the deal in mountainous areas because mountains = snow at times and iffy roads. For sure, at times the isolationism appeals to me, but most places we'd consider have some sort of community either there or nearby.

Some might choose the desert. Some might choose the beach. Some might choose some other type of terrain. Since I've seen this comment on numerous forums, and I don't think by the same person, I'll assume it's some kind of common sentiment. That a lot of folks feel like buying a Jeep and moving to the mountains.

I guess we all have to have some kind of dream.