BY: JOHNATHAN MOSS
They rise each day with the sun, rolling out of their bed to a jaw dropping 360-degree view of mountains and rolling meadows. Dabney Tompkins and Alan Colley’s lives changed for the better a few years ago, after the couple stumbled upon a book about fire lookouts by the U.S Forest Service.
“It was a magical moment that the book sort of fell off the shelf to us,” Colley recalls. “We called the ranger district and said why don’t we rent this thing? That was the beginning.”
What began as a weekend getaway, over the years inspired them to build a fire lookout of their own and establish a permanent residence.
“We decided to be totally irresponsible and quit our jobs and move here,” said Tompkins to Zillow.
The urbanites downsized from their 1,100 square foot home in Portland, to a 338 square foot fire lookout, which stands 40 feet tall, has Internet and cellphone service, and even running water.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
The main level room is 334 square feet with a modest kitchen. Up a narrow wooden ladder is a “cupola” which serves as their 64-square-foot “master suite.” Historically the cupola served as the fire lookout.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
The shower is outside on their deck. “My favorite time to take a shower is when we have snow outside and you have to walk barefoot through the snow on the deck,” Tompkins says to Zillow. “Then you turn that hot water on and that yin and yang of hot and cold — and looking out and seeing the meadow — it’s heaven.”
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
Although there is no bathroom in the home, there is an outhouse hidden in the forest only a few steps away.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
And for those late midnight urgencies there is always the backup method, which they call the “pee funnel.”
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
As the sun swells in the sky and fog spreads across the valley, they become humbled by the view. While taking in the sights they spotted the Stouts Creek Fire burning over 26,000 acres in the distance – it reminded them of their new elevated home’s original purpose.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
They now poke fun at their past selves for being nervous they might get bored out in the middle of the forest. Reading, cooking and hiking have become their main forms of entertainment.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
By embracing a simplistic lifestyle, the couple found they could hear their true selves again. “It’s quiet — so quiet it allows me to hear things I wouldn’t hear in the city,” Colley told Zillow. Each day they bask in the beauty of the ever-changing sky, a sight they claim that never gets old.
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
Image via Zillow, © Tom Hanny
Image sources: inhabitat.com, zillow.com
