The Zeiger Homestead*
Haines, Alaska

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*One can no longer legally homestead in the traditional sense of claiming land and "proving it up" until ownership is granted by the government. Homestead is not really the proper term for this property, but hey, look at the pictures! What would you call it?

We live on a homestead south of Haines, Alaska. The property is 10.62 acres of forested land with about 700 feet of waterfront. The compund includes a main 2-story cabin, a 1.5 story boathouse/guesthouse, a workshop/storage shed, chicken coop, greenhouse, smokehouse and root cellar. We have a large garden patch and a dual-source water system. A pair of wind generators and a photovoltaic array we added in late 2007 provide electricity. The land is 7.5 miles out Mud Bay Road, (near Rainbow Glacier Church Camp) and 1.25 miles across Mud Bay, over the hill, and down the cliff to the very edge of Lynn Canal, America's deepest and most spectacular fjord. To get to town, the tides have to be low enough to avoid hiking around the top of Mud Bay. There's no road to the property, and most of us in the neighborhood are opposed to putting one in.

Two wind generators, four solar panels, and Internet via satellite dish. This is 21st Century pioneering!

We bought the property in early 2005 after first seeing it December 2004. We visited it for up to two weeks at a time throughout 2005, and moved to the property permanently mid-August 2006. We sold our former home in Juneau, Alaska, left our jobs, and came to live in Haines year 'round. Once we get satellite connectivity to the Internet, Mark plans to expand his Web development business, but our work is mostly that of gathering and putting up our own food. Our daughter, Aly, is homeschooled.

Here's a view of the property from Lynn Canal.

A closer view from the water.

Our property has a very rocky waterfront. Behind the cabin the property rises steeply. We have some cliffs, and a rocky knoll at the top of the ridge with a spectacular view.

Aly inspects the giant boulders deep in our forest.

The view from the knoll high above the cabin compound.

Southern edge of the property looking back. Buildings barely appearing left to right: boathouse, greenhouse, tip of cabin roof. The "veranda" is just below where the treeline ends at the beach.

Most of our beach is cliff, about 20 feet high on the north edge, somewhat less on the south. These drop down to a shelf that's exposed at about a zero tide or less. The shelf slopes quickly downward, then at a certain point drops off into the 80 fathom depths of Lynn Canal. Below you can see the shelf exposed looking north and looking south, at about a -4.6 low tide, the second lowest tide of 2008.

We live very close to the local wildlife. On land we live close to moose, bear, coyotes, wolves, mink, weasels, mice, and voles. Off the beach we watch whales, often quite close to the beach, sea lions, seals and porpoises. We see and hear loons, murrelets and eagles out on or over the water. Song birds included Swainson's thrushes and Townshend's warblers that hang around our door yard in the summer, hermit thrushes singing in the woods, and woodpeckers along the trail. We also have many varieties of hawks.

See highlights of pre-move visits

See our first Christmas on the Homestead (2005)

We believe we've found the end of the rainbow!