“I worked for a couple years ‘til I got lucky on a 160 acre State of Alaska homestead parcel and took up residence there on the Gerstle River in interior Alaska, 47 miles by road from Delta Junction. I cleared the 25%, built a cabin and lived there two years and proved up, while raising my son. Been living on the ranch since about ’97 (starting out in a wall tent, again). Got tired of being cold, and built my own straw bale yurt in ’98. It’s now ’05. I’m still living in it and working on a bigger one complete with plumbing, etc.
