"Was that a bear?"

and other exciting moments while primitive camping at Idyllwild Woods

Entrepreneurs Gone Wild
March 21, 2022

It was the oldest trick in the non-camping-spouse-persuasion book. (There is so such a book.)

“How about we go tent camping for the first time in 20 years… BUT I create the World’s Most Comfortable Camping Bed EVER so we’re comfy?”

He fell for it.

So, after stuffing all the comforts of home - including said bed - into the back of my 2004 Honda Accord, Henry, off we went.

Our brave couple-friends, the Winks, came along. We never get enough time hanging out together, so the idea of spending a couple of nights away with nothing pressing to get in the way of just chilling sounded great.

We did all the things you’ve got to do when you make camp…

… built a fire pit with some big heavy stones that hubby lugged over to the site

… gathered firewood (4x more than we thought we’d need)

… wrestled with the tent (which claims to be able to sleep 6, hmm)

… identified a few nice private spots for nature’s inevitable calls

… set up the french press (because we’re not monsters!)

After a nice dinner, we sat around the campfire and told stories.

Since we hadn’t had a chance to walk all over the property yet, I described what we’d see while exploring the next day.

And, huge mistake… I mentioned THE MELON.

See, back last November, I took hubby to visit the property. You know how most couples have a deal where they can spend up to $X without discussing it, but over that amount requires a conversation?

This was definitely that kind of purchase.

A first look at the property where we’ll build Idyllwild Woods

So, I was really excited as I watched ole Spook (I’ll explain his name someday) fall in love with these 35 acres.

He saw the RV pasture and announced it was a good 3-par with a dogleg, so he’d grab a 5-wood and choke up.

Then, he saw the main pasture and creek and immediately decided to bring a crawfish trap for some etouffee.

And when we climbed the drive that weaves between the two wooded slopes and up to where we’ll build the event venue… he spotted it.

A melon.

A big, heavy melon that had claw marks on it!

“BEAR!” My brain said. (more likely… a raccoon, but whatever)

But once the idea of a melon-juggling bear pops into your mind, it’s there.

OK, not that bear. But it’s cute.

Anyhow…

It was a cold and windy night. But we were still comfy because we put a couple of those hand-warmer thingies into our very comfy bed and bundled up.

But every single time the wind pounded on the tent, my brain went:

IT’S A BEAR.

I later found out I was not alone in that.

OK, no bear. But the next day, we met a couple of neighbors. Nobody’d been doing anything on the property for a decade or so, so they were curious when they saw us camping there.

That’s when we learned:

The funny sound we kept hearing throughout the night? Donkeys. Two of them. (Farmers often use them to guard livestock.)
The turkey feathers we found? There’s a flock of dozens of big wild turkeys that stops by periodically.
The creek? Every decade or so, it floods about halfway up on the pastures. (No biggie - we’re not building near the water.)
The old wildlife preserve next door? It’s got 200 acres and some prior owner kept coyotes.
There’s a fishing hole on our property where one guy caught a 10-pound bass.
And there are wild pigs. Sometimes. Big ones. And sometimes they get in the creek.

One of these neighbors wanted to talk to me about rolling the hay. (Note: definitely NOT what it sounds like) The property is green-belted and both pastures currently grow hay. Gary harvests and rolls it to sell in exchange for bush hogging the paths at the top of the property. He also builds roads for a living, and grew up across the street. We’ll be getting a quote for the road.

A few more semi-shocking discoveries…

First, those of us who were up for leg day went exploring. Just past the site of The Melon at the top of the ridge, we discovered a whole ‘nuther potential build side. And another. And ANOTHER. So that side of the ridge will house the venue as well as the corporate lodge.

Next, we found BONES. Horse bones. Also, I have so many questions. Starting with, “How do you lose a whole freaking horse?” And ending with, “Does this horse pelvis mask make my butt look big?” (Also, why on earth did I think this was a good idea????)

And finally, after climbing the other side of the ridge where we’ll build a house for us someday, we found several more potential build sites, the perfect spot for a zipline, and a somewhat gentle draw that makes a nice shortcut back to the bottom.

All in all, good hiking whether you like to sweat buckets or barely breathe harder than you would during a nice stroll.

Oooh, and this one revelation may make it possible for us to start hosting MUCH sooner

On our last morning there before heading home, I decided to note where each of the 18 cabins we want to build will go. Starting at the far end of the pasture, I paced 25 strides between each of the 10 that’ll go along the tree line. For each cabin, we’ll decide which view is the best and most private and orient it that way. I could almost see them there!

Them, being prefab homes (look at Boxabl and other prefab tiny home builders) - VERY cool. But also massive waiting lists (Boxabl has 70K people waiting!) and freaky expensive. Like, more than the last full-sized house I bought. And with all the supply chain blah blah blah, months and months before any hope of delivery. Oh, and gas prices are a challenge, and these things would ship from Canada or California for the most part. Yikes.