Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
NARRATOR: Alaska.
It's been called the last frontier --
a place where only the most adventurous come
to live on the edge in a vast, unspoiled wilderness.
***: Whoo! This is what I'm talking about right here!
This is awesome!
NARRATOR: So you think you want to live in Alaska...
Oh, my, goodness.
...where your nearest neighbor
might be waking from hibernation...
MAN: Wow!
...where the real amenities are outside...
And on the right here, you have your second bathroom.
WOMAN: With a million-dollar view.
...and the views change 'round the clock...
and where every day is an adventure.
MAN: Fish on!
The only thing you can expect is the unexpected
if you plan on "Living Alaska."
Lookit here -- Alaska!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Everything about Alaska is extreme.
The mountains --
they go straight up, they go straight down.
The rivers -- they don't have to have a nice, gentle flow.
They run.
The weather's extreme.
NARRATOR: The largest, but least populated state,
Alaska is home to 100 different mammals.
There is truly nothing like hunting in Alaska.
It remains one of the two
ultimate hunting destinations in the world.
Ah. Chill out.
No.
NARRATOR: Shelly and Dave Waite
have spent a lot of time in Alaska
and understand its inherently wild nature.
They've been cooped up in a car.
[ Dog barking ]
But due to a family crisis, this couple found themselves
living about as far away from Alaska as you can get.
We moved to Florida because my dad had some health problems.
He had cancer. He is now in remission.
They decided to move
the 4,500 miles to their dream destination,
this time for good.
She wants to go in.
You've been in Florida too long.
Everything in Florida crawls, slithers, stings, or bites.
[ Chuckles ]
I'd much rather live up here
and deal with wolves and bears and wolverines.
Yeah.
[ Dog barks ]
I think our year in Florida
gave us perspective about how incredible Alaska is,
and we're never leaving again.
Alaska is special to Dave and Shelly
because it's where their life together began.
He proposed to me in the Kenai River.
We were fishing and I asked for eggs.
I reached into the bag
and grabbed the ring and put it on a hook.
Much better than salmon eggs.
It's a good thing she didn't throw it out in the water.
[ Chuckles ] He caught me.
The couple can't wait to embrace the Alaskan outdoor lifestyle.
I'm big into the outdoors --
snow machining, hunting, fishing.
There's so many opportunities up here
to do what you want to do, and you're not all penned in
like I think you are in the lower 48.
Although they enjoy the same outdoor activities,
they couldn't be more different
when it comes to the type of house they're looking for.
I want a home near museums
and entertainment and restaurants.
I want the city.
And I want a recreational property
where I can go out in the woods and act like an idiot.
Hmm.
Located 130 miles North of Anchorage,
the town is a jumping-off point
for those climbers who are tackling Denali,
also know as Mount McKinley.
Oh, my gosh. That's huge.
Those are awesome.
HENRIK: Talkeetna Roadhouse is where all the climbers come.
They're from every part of the world.
You will hear 10 different languages
spoken at the same time in the same bar.
NARRATOR: Although a small town, Talkeetna is a lively hub
that hosts a large artist community.
We have a lot of talented people here --
artist and musicians.
It's a very social little two blocks of main street.
Live music in the KTNA listening area at the Fairview Inn.
Tonight, Ukulele Russ and Dr. Jones.
Because Talkeetna is a destination,
it can be pretty expensive.
Oh, my gosh.
These are good.
NARRATOR: Real-estate agent
and 20-year Talkeetna resident Jason Trout
is helping Dave and Shelly find their home.
You know, Talkeetna's actually a great place
to live year round.
Plenty of hunting during the winter.
You can shoot your dinner from your front porch
if we find you the right place.
Hang the bear up on the wall.
Gun rack over the fireplace.
[ Both laugh ]
What kind of cabin house are you looking for?
Price range, what?
Between $100,000 and $200,000,
but try to keep it on the lower end.
Right. Indoor plumbing.
That's important to me.
No outhouses.
It's got to have road access.
Year round?
Year round.
What about acreage?
At least five acres.
Is that enough to get you started?
That'll get me started.
Okay then.
I have my work cut out for me it sounds like.
NARRATOR: First stop, a house on wolf creek
just four miles South of downtown Talkeetna.
It's not that bad.
It's back here a bit.
Yeah, it's not too far.
We're coming up on it right here.
Oh, wow, look at that. That's wide open.
SHELLY: Oh, that's nice.
Aw, man.
Detached garage, shop.
This house is awesome. Look at that.
So this is a three-bedroom, 1½ bath.
The house is just under 1,800 square feet.
And the property is just under five acres.
I like it from here.
All right.
Ugh.
Okay, here we are.
Keep your mind open.
Yeah.
Wow.
How long has this place been empty?
Six months to a year.
Yeah, it's cold.
It looks and it feels it.
I'm assuming the carpet is original.
I don't know if it's original.
It's obviously not brand new.
Okay.
This is a good size, though.
It's a great living room.
So here you have a wood-burning stove.
Is this the only source of heat for this house?
No, there's actually oil heat to this home.
Okay.
Right in here we have the full bathroom
and laundry room.
DAVE: Ew, what the heck is going on here?
I don't know.
JASON: That's the access to the crawl space.
Oh.
Oh, so I'm not gonna find a dead body in here?
No, I wouldn't bother going in there right now.
Yeah.
If there is one down there, we don't want to see it.
No, I don't want to see it.
So here we have the dining area and kitchen.
We have another stove.
SHELLY: And this is the oil one you were talking about.
It is a big kitchen.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, and it's all open to give you that Alaskan feel.
Watch your step. It's a pretty steep staircase.
These are vintage.
Yeah, that's definitely not to today's code.
[ Chuckles ]
This area here is basically --
could be an office or this could be your study.
Right. Right.
Here's your half bath for the upstairs.
Okay.
You would have to go downstairs to shower.
There's one shower in the house?
Okay.
Here's your master bedroom.
Okay.
What is going on over here?
This is a vent to allow the heat
being that we do not have a forced-air heat system here.
So this is allowing the heat to rise.
So we just cut holes in our floor?
Yeah, it's not the way that it should be done.
[ Chuckles ] Not the way I would do it.
This doesn't seem safe at all.
So where's the nearest hospital?
[ Both chuckle ]
Okay, and this is the third bedroom upstairs.
Okay.
Again, we have another heater vent here.
Yep.
Okay.
Yeah.
Legally, a bedroom needs to have a closet...
...and it has to have two ways to exit.
Door and floor.
Ohhh.
And the floor. The floor is the other exit.
Yay!
I'm just gonna tell you that flat-out I will never live here.
I won't come here.
I won't visit here.
It ain't happening.
I don't think I could do this as our main house.
As a recreation property,
I can see fixing it up a little bit,
making it a little more cozy.
No, there's no fixing this.
A match -- a match could fix this.
For some people, it'd probably be all right.
But I think I can do a better job at construction
[ Laughs ]
I'm sorry. Jason, next.
Next house.
Oh, my gosh.
This is what I want.
[ Squeals ]
TRISHA: Good morning.
It's 35 degrees outside the studio.
It definitely takes a sense of adventure to live in Alaska.
I think if you love the idea
that you can be living on the edge of the frontier,
then Alaska's really a good place for you.
Uh-huh.
NARRATOR: Dave and Shelly Waite are just that sort of folk.
Got it.
Ooh, that was a good one.
The couple is moving to Talkeetna, Alaska,
but can't come to terms
on exactly what they're looking for.
He wants to shoot dinner from the front porch.
And I just would like to have it delivered.
I'm not sure how this is gonna work.
Look at that right there.
They're actually constructing a cabin.
They're been searching with real-estate agent
Jason Trout for over a month with absolutely no luck.
This is far enough out I could deal with it.
This house is pretty.
Oh, those are nice.
Is this too far for you yet?
Uh, yeah.
That'd be the property to have right there on the river.
You're not gonna get sick on me, are you?
[ Squeals ]
NARRATOR: Today, Chris is taking them
to see a house in Trapper Creek.
The home is close to a snow-machine trail,
but a 10-minute drive into downtown Talkeetna.
SHELLY: This is right where you like to go snow machining.
DAVE: Yes. Right down there. 10 miles.
Hint, hint.
[ Laughs ]
Ooh, look at that place right there.
Oh, that's pretty. I like that.
Oh, wow.
That's not it, is it?
That's it?
Absolutely.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, wow.
Jason, I think you hit it out of the ballpark.
[ Chuckles ]
Oh, my gosh.
That's the trail right there.
Wow. Look at that.
Beautiful.
That's stunning.
Look at the logs.
You've got two bedrooms and a loft, 2½ bathrooms,
about 1,440 square feet,
and then it's just under three acres.
You have a two-car detached garage.
And then you have your woodshed over here.
DAVE: Let's go inside.
Wow.
Look at this.
Look at those logs.
SHELLY: Oh, my gosh.
That's beautiful.
This is gorgeous. Oh, my gosh.
Look at the door.
Look how thick this is.
Yeah.
I don't even think you could shoot through it.
There's no bears getting through there.
No, they'll just come around and go through the window.
Oh, well, there's that.
So this house is all built with Alaskan wood.
If you notice up in the rafters, the knots.
Oh, man.
Awesome workmanship they put into this.
So how old is this cabin?
JASON: It was built in 2001.
So it's all done shrinking.
It's all settled where it's gonna settle,
shrunk where it's gonna shrink.
So over here, we have your wood fireplace.
This'll heat the entire house.
But also, it's heated with oil.
Okay.
That is cool. This is what I want.
This is what I've been looking for forever.
Good. I'm glad I nailed it.
We just need to make an offer on this one.
Maybe we should look at the rest of it first.
We don't need to look at any more houses?
[ Laughs ] Let's check out the kitchen.
Oh, wow.
New cabinets, countertops.
Use some local wood to do trim underneath,
maybe change the countertop a little bit,
but that's no biggie.
SHELLY: What is this? What is this called?
This is actually how they seal the logs.
They call it chinking it.
Okay, and our Alaska winters are very cold.
You want the bigger logs.
You can actually tell,
you know, the craftsmanship of the person that built it
just by how tight all the joints are.
Yeah.
Okay,let's go check out the loft.
No.
JASON: Yeah, it's not a huge space,
but you can use it for a bedroom, an office,
you know, a crash pad for your snow-machine buddies.
Okay.
Oh, and you got a real good look at the wood there, too.
Yeah, look at the size of that knot.
A big, old knot.
All right.
All right, come into the master bedroom.
Okay. I love this view.
Yep.
This is where the snow machiners
are gonna be riding back and forth in the winter.
Okay.
And I love the steel supports here on the balcony.
That'll support as much snow as Alaska can supply.
And Alaska supplies a lot of snow.
Okay.
Here's the master bathroom.
Go ahead and check that out.
Oh, my gosh. Honey, come look at this.
Look at this bathtub.
I could come out here for this tub.
DAVE: Cool.
Wrap-around deck.
This is beautiful.
Rocking chair, cup of coffee, blanket on the lap,
watching the sun go down or the Northern lights.
It would be epic.
If there's enough snow in the wintertime,
you can just ho-ho!
Yeah, absolutely.
Or at least, out here,
you can just take your snow machines
right out your backyard.
I guarantee I could get a moose off the porch.
Absolutely.
It is pretty. I'll give you that much.
I love this place. It is awesome.
It's not Anchorage.
No, it's not Anchorage.
That and the price.
I mean, I'm not convinced
that this is what I want for my home.
Yeah.
Chicken coop's got a better roof on it than the cabin.
SHELLY: What the hell is that?
All right. I'm out of here. I'm out.
Have you lost your mind?
What?
NARRATOR: Dave and Shelly Waite have been searching for a home
in Talkeetna, Alaska, where the year-round population
is less than 1,000 people.
Huge state, but community-wise, it's really small.
It's really easy just to unplug and unwind here.
NARRATOR: Dave and Shelly have spent the last six weeks
looking for a place to hang their hat,
but with no luck.
Oh, and here's the VFW.
NARRATOR: The couple needs to find a place now,
so they agree to look at a few smaller, recreational properties
to see if that's they're ticket to Alaskan living.
With this change in strategy,
the guys try to open up the playing field.
Jason and I are scheming a little bit.
We found a nice spot off the grid,
and we're gonna see if we maybe can't get her out there,
check that place out.
NARRATOR: They're heading 15 miles South of Talkeetna
to a backwoods cabin.
Are we excited to see this one today?
I don't know. How much further is it?
Not too much further.
Oh, my God.
This is what it's about to live remote in Alaska.
Uh-huh.
God, another hole.
[ Squeals ]
Straight through the next one. We got this.
Oh, my God.
[ Squeals ]
Now, here's the river.
Okay, where do you cross?
There's a bridge right up here.
Where?
What the hell is that?
[ Chuckles ] That's the bridge. It's fine.
No!
All right. I'm out of here. I'm out.
Okay, let me out. Let me out.
Here, we'll get out and look at it real quick.
Have you lost your mind?
What?
No. No. This ain't happening.
I can watch you guys as you drive off to your deaths.
I am not staying out here, David.
I am not -- No.
Aah!
I thought I could actually get you to the cabin.
No. No.
I think that was a little bit pushing it too far.
JASON: Let's go on to the next one.
A little bit closer to town?
It'll be closer to town. There's no bridges involved.
Doesn't require four-wheel drive to get there?
That's my kind of property.
NARRATOR: They're heading to a small cabin,
just a two-minute walk from Talkeetna's main drag.
JASON: And this is the house right here.
Old trapper John's cabin.
Yikers.
That's, uh...
Really, it's not as bad as it looks.
DAVE: That looks pretty rough.
JASON: This is an Alaskan cabin.
I don't know, Jason.
You think this thing is safe?
Oh, yeah. This is solid logs.
Built in 1902.
It's no bedrooms. It's just one open area.
800 square feet.
Just under an acre of land.
Oh, my God. This is so cute. Come on.
Wow. This is rustic...
This is rustic Alaska.
Yeah.
This is what the trappers put up and lived in
while they were trapping or gold mining.
This cabin actually used to be two different cabins,
Oh, really?
Yep. They moved them, put them together.
It's cool. I like it.
What about plumbing?
Full-on plumbing. It's got a bathroom with a door.
They got a chicken coop,
and they do have an outhouse that you can send him to.
Oh, good. You have a bathroom for you.
I have a bathroom for me.
Let's go see the kitchen.
Yeah.
I mean, you really don't need much more.
I mean, it's just an Alaskan recreational property.
Come in out of the cold.
Go snow machining all day.
Eat a hot meal.
Whoo. That's what I'm talking about.
We're good to go.
It's just a small bathroom, but check it out.
Oh, cute. I like the claw-foot bathtub.
This is all I need.
I don't really need anything else.
Well, this is a pretty good piece of land then.
Yeah, just under an acre.
JASON: So here's your roof.
You got a few metal shingles missing.
Those shingles look like they're the old five-gallon tins
that they cut the top off and rolled them out
and just made them into shingles.
Looks like they had a lot of them.
SHELLY: [ Chuckles ]
So you got your outhouse over here.
Northern most outpost.
Since this is my room, I'll take a look at it first.
Check it out.
You can have that. It's all yours, baby.
It's got an old vanity, a calendar up there.
That actually -- a little electric heater in there,
that would be cozy.
Oh, that's a great idea.
There's your chickens.
Yay.
Want to go check out the chickens?
Yes, I do want to go check out my chickens.
Okay.
I'm counting my chickens before they're bought.
The chicken coop's got a better roof on it
than the cabin does.
I was thinking the same thing, actually.
So maybe we could have whoever built the chicken coop
come help us fix the cabin.
It is a piece of history.
Yeah.
It's like restoring an old car.
Yeah, it's cool until you start paying the bills.
And then you're like, "What did I get myself into?"
You know what I mean?
Yeah, I know. I know.
NARRATOR: Talkeetna's mayor
has been in office for the last 16 years.
Is the mayor Stubbs the Cat, Morty the Moose, or Bob Johnson?
NARRATOR: The current mayor of Talkeetna
is Stubbs the Cat.
DAVE: Come on, baby.
NARRATOR: Shelly and Dave are desperately looking
for a place to live in Talkeetna, Alaska --
a quaint little town near Denali National Park.
This living in Alaska is awesome, isn't it?
They've been searching for nearly two months
and have narrowed the options down
to three very different homes.
Holy cow.
SHELLY: I know. I'm freezing.
Winter is upon us, and we need to make a decision.
We've got to consider the price.
So what about the fixer-upper?
Oh, you mean the take a match to it?
The taker-downer. Okay, well --
No.
I think we should just go ahead
and take that one off the table.
Two.
The downtown cabin.
Yeah, and Trapper Creek cabin.
I could be in the mountains in 20 minutes.
There's plenty of room.
Yeah.
However, the price on that one
was a little bit more than I think I'm willing to spend.
Okay.
So let's buy a cheaper house in Anchorage
and we can still afford that one.
[ Laughs ]
The downtown cabin in Talkeetna.
The Talkeetna cabin is awesome.
A big concern for me is how old that cabin is.
We might be inheriting a whole bunch of problems
that we'll have to fix later.
However, the property value of that place...
Never gonna go down.
...never gonna go down.
Yeah.
Do you know what you want? I think I know.
Oh, I know which one you want.
[ Laughs ] Well, I know which one you want.
Hey, Jason.
Good morning, guys. How are you?
Good.
It's good coffee. You ought to grab a cup.
I will in just a second.
Did you decide on a property?
Yeah.
Yeah, we did.
Great. What did you decide on?
Downtown Talkeetna.
Downtown Talkeetna.
DAVE: Yeah, I think it's gonna be
a good financial investment later.
JASON: It's gonna be a great investment.
Got an awesome deal on it.
The couple wanted $115,000 for it.
I made them a $100,000 offer,
and they actually agreed to it,
so I'm real excited to get that place.
SHELLY: It's exactly what I was looking for.
It's got the charm, it's got the log-cabin appeal.
It is the ideal Alaska-family cabin.
SHELLY: Yeah, I'm ready.
Nothing better than hunting in Alaska.