Many years ago, I expressed interest in a plot of our family land back home in Apsey Brook, Newfoundland. There was a spot that always felt a bit special to me, marked by a massive granite erratic (as seen on this post) surrounded by some aspen trees. For want of a better name, I always called it Big Rock.
At the time, Uncle Hay, Dad, and I walked the boundary and settled on a plot sitting between two old utility poles. I was much younger then, full of plans, but nothing ever came of it. Life got in the way, as it often does, and at some point, the road took me to Nova Scotia.
But as the years creep up, the lure of city life starts to wear thin. The traffic gets heavier, the public services shrink, and my patience for it all gets smaller. Lately, the thought of that quiet spot back home has been on my mind more and more.
I finally reached out to my cousin, Barbara, who holds the old family land grant, to ask about the plot. I was glad to receive their blessing to look into reviving the plan.
Doing this from away is no easy thing, mind you, but I am lucky to have some great friends and cousins like Eric, Bernie, and Barry back in Snook’s Harbour. They are happy to help out in small ways—sending pictures, checking the site, or clearing out some alders and brush when the time comes. Bernie even did a drone flight over the it, check it out!
The first real step is underway. I have a ticket in with Bell to fix a few lines that have become detached from the poles. For the second step, I have left messages and emails for surveyors in Clarenville, though truth be told, none of them have replied yet.
If all goes well, I would love to get a driveway put in this fall. That would let us roll in a small, used popup trailer or something similar next summer to use as a base camp.
There are plenty of thoughts and ideas floating around. Maybe if I win the lottery, they’ll happen a bit faster. I’ve even thought about starting a YouTube channel to document the whole process and review off-grid solutions like solar panels and wind setups.
Anyway, there is a lot to do, so stay tuned.
Do you know any reliable surveyors in the Clarenville area, or have any advice for starting a camp on raw land? I’d love to hear your thoughts—leave a comment below!