Frequengtly asked questions about Rancho Costa Nada: 

The Dirt Cheap Desert Homestead.

www.loompanics.com

Is there a shower?

You're on the wrong trail, if you’re looking for reasons not to do this.  A shower isn't a problem. I use the same method of showering seen on cruising sailboats:  A hand-pump four-gallon garden sprayer that I leave in the sun for a couple of hours.  With a shower nozzle attached it produces about five minutes of warm drizzle.  The real deal breaker for most people is not the lack of plumbing, but the lack of refrigeration and ice.  Not a problem for me because I use foods that don't need a refrigerator.  As for beer and wine, I have an evaporative cooler that keeps liquids about 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the ambient air.  That would be pub temperature, if we were in London.

What about the potty?

An outhouse doesn't have to stink.  Mine is pleasant,

sweet, and commands a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.  The principles of a sweet outhouse are simple.  A screened vault and ventilation pipes.  It's not anything like the pit toilet at the public campground.

Do you ever get laid?

I enjoy a pretty normal and regular sex life.  But it’s like the water.  You have to go to town for it.  I have a girlfriend in town that has a job 

and her own apartment.  What she doesn’t have is any interest in visiting the Rancho. Like a lot of other middle-aged independent women, she doesn't need a guy 

around all week.  She's glad to see me on Saturday,

glad to see me go back on Sunday.  When I'm in town Saturday night, we have dinner, take in a movie, yadda yadda.  For many years, I was married, a condition that included the benefit of hearing my wife's helpful advice every day. I prefer the present

arrangement.  Another thing.  While my girlfriend is

willing to accept some baldness in her consort, she doesn't want him with the beer gut and love handles.  Living on the Rancho during the week, with plenty of leisure to get in the daily stroll, and no opportunity to send out for pizza, I find it's easy to maintain my college weight.

Don't you get bored?

Yes, after about a week or so.  When I get bored, I'm

out of there.  I go traveling someplace.  I'm also gone in the summer, when the temps hit 120. 

And if there's a big windstorm, which brings lots of dust, I head for the beach in Baja for awhile.  Pete's Resort, near San Felipe, $5 a night.  Mainly, I stay out at the Rancho about half the month, on and off.  The other half I travel.

How can you afford to travel if you don't work?

I'm frugal.  I don't pay rent or mortgage.  No utility bill.  And when I'm out at the Rancho I'm not blowing cash on city blandishments.  When I travel I camp out a lot.  The money I earn from a seasonal summer job provides the walking around money I need for the rest of the year.

Do you have guns?

Yes.  The truth is, you get paranoid living alone in

the desert, although the chances of anything weird happening are very small.  I have a pump shotgun, a .303 Enfield, a .22 target rifle, a .38 pistol and a .22 pistol.  I use them to demolish beer bottles.  The broken glass helps to solidify dirt walls.

How much did the Rancho cost?

I bought the 10 acres at a county auction for $325. 

The house cost about $200 for materials.  Sand bags and salvaged lumber. The furnishings come from garage sales.

Do you have electricity?

I'm my own utility.  I have deep cycle marine

batteries in my car that I charge while I'm driving.  I plug the car into my hogan.  I have plenty of juice for fans, a VCR, a pump for the fountain, stereo, computer, and lights.

Are you advocating this kind of life?

No.  I don't think many people would want to do this. 

The point of the book is, you could.  It's simple. It's cheap. There's no hardship.  You don't need skill or money.  It's an option.  Say things went south, you lost your job and were broke.  Maybe you'd rather not move back with the parents, or take charity, or go on welfare.  This would be another choice, maybe a temporary one, while you reorganize. In my own case, I don’t want to find another regular corporate job because I don’t want to take the program anymore.  I'm willing to swap some modern amenities and conveniences to have more leisure.  I'm willing to give up a refrigerator to get my life back.