Finally! All those childhood hours spent playing Oregon Trail are going to pay off! Well, sort of. At this (really) little house on the prairie in Wyoming, the harsh realities of pioneer life have been replaced with 21st-century conveniences such as high-speed Internet, off-grid solar power, indoor plumbing, and — as its address implies — easy access to the smooth cruising of a major highway, better traversed by automobile than covered wagon.
Does that mean life here can’t get a little rough-and-tumble? No way. After all, this $310,000, 332-square-foot log cabin sits on 9 untamed acres in the Cowboy State — a sparsely populated state where the Great Plains intersect the Rocky Mountains, where rodeo is a way of life, and whose representative mammal is the bison.
Put it this way: If you’re not yet whistling “Home on the Range,” you soon will be.
Custom-built in 2007, the one-bedroom log cabin is located in Cora, a tiny town (if you can call it that) in western Wyoming. It’s a remote location, for sure, but the cabin is less than an hour’s drive from the relative hustle and bustle of Pinedale, a tourist-friendly ranch town to the south that, for many, serves as the gateway to northwest Wyoming’s main attractions: the Green and New Fork rivers, the 3.4 million-acre Bridger-Teton National Forest, the glacial Fremont Lake, and, of course, the Rocky Mountains. The Cora cabin boasts proximity to all of the above, plus the added perks of privacy and seclusion.
Framed by blue skies and the Rocky Mountains’ Wind River Range, which spans 100 miles and is crested by the Continental Divide, 9 acres of native wildflowers and prairie grass surround the tiny home for sale. It’s a postcard-worthy, meditative view that would certainly cure a bout of high blood pressure, but peace and serenity aren’t the only draw here. With the vast expanse of Bridger-Teton National Forest (home to Yellowstone National Park) just to its north, this pint-sized cabin is tailor-made for adrenaline-fueled outdoor pursuits: think mountain climbing, canoeing, fishing, and galloping into the sunset on horseback.
Crisscrossing wooden planks and exposed log beams, the vaulted ceilings add a little extra headroom in the kitchen-slash-common room, which — surprise, surprise — sports a full suite of appliances, as well as the luxuries of running water and eco-friendly heat and electricity. (There doesn’t appear to be a dishwasher, but homesteading isn’t without its sacrifices.) Over in one corner of the space sits a wood-burning stove, a cozy spot for curling up with a good book or catching up on emails.
This single-level, frontier-style log cabin may be humble, but check out that mountain view. The kitchen’s picture window supplies breathtaking scenery to go along with mugs of morning coffee and dinners featuring today’s catch. Those wishing to dine alfresco can take their plate through the screened front door and onto the eave-sheltered deck. That is, if they don’t mind having a steer skull as a dining companion.
Situated just off the kitchen, the cabin’s only bedroom is sized just right for sleeping — and not much else. But really, this is the kind of place where days begin before dawn and end when recreation-weary muscles declare it’s time to turn in. Translation: Shut-eye comes easy here, particularly when coaxed by a view of the starry night sky and the sound of, well, nothing at all.