3.5 Years Off-Grid Alone in the Arizona High Desert

I am comfortably sitting in my camper van this morning, drinking a cup of black coffee as I do every morning. The curtains are open and I can see the sun coming up over the distant mountains.

Before I share more about life out here, I want to let you know:

I put together a free off-grid starter guide that explains how to build water, shelter, and power systems — what to do first, what you’ll need, and common mistakes to avoid as you get started.

👉 Get the free guide here

Right this moment I can say I have everything I need and I don't really want for much but three and a half years ago, when I moved off grid, I parked in this exact spot my first night on my property and I was really rolling the dice.

At the time I only had my camper van, a cheap trailer and a one year supply of canned food. 

By the time I built my shop, I had no money left and I was betting on people being interested enough in what I was doing to support my homestead through my website. And slowly but surely people bought my eBooks, Courses and tuned in to my YouTube channel which all helped me build my modest homestead. 

This is where most people get stuck:

They learn fast, but they don’t yet know how to plan systems that work together (water, shelter, power, food).

If you want a step-by-step starter guide that shows the right order to build systems — and how to avoid costly mistakes — download my free guide here.

👉 Get the free guide

Before long I built small structures to help me live as sustainably as possible. I built a geothermal greenhouse and learned that it can snow pretty hard in the high desert of Arizona. 

I built a root cellar although many told me it would never work here and I began to learn that there would be many nay sayers but more often than not, what I tried, worked. 

An abandoned dog wondered onto my homestead for food and water, I looked for the owner but no one could accurately Identify her and I've had her for years now. I named her Helga and fed her. She's currently sleeping at my feet. 

The first time I saw a tarantula was pretty wild. I thought they would be scarier but they move so slow they're almost cute. 

As more people began to support what I was doing, I was able to build more infrastructure. I built an area for my tea business in my shop and I expanded my rain harvesting system. 

I harvested my own meat, and grew much of my own food. 

I tanned a goat skin to later make moccasins and I made sausage with the meat. 

Over time my homestead became a home. 

I successfully built a pond which filled naturally from monsoons, I cut native grass and bailed my own hay and my homestead became more and more comfortable. 

Final Thought

For people serious about an off-grid life, stories are part of the journey — but so are systems and planning.

I put everything I’ve learned into a free off-grid starter guide with step-by-step help, including water, shelter, power, and the order to build them.

👉 Get the free guide + get step-by-step emails

I created my own tire shop on the homestead, since I'm so far from town. I expanded my rain harvesting system to harvest and store nearly 20,000 gallons of rainwater and I build a water tower to provide gravity powered automatic water to my entire homestead. And my homestead just continues to become more like a home. 

Most recently I've grown enough livestock to keep 400lbs of meat on the homestead. I can usually harvest enough vegetables or a salad every day and I added a round pen and stable for a couple beautiful horses that I will do my best to train so they can pull a wagon, work around the homestead and be good transportation. 

Gambling on my homestead success has been the best decision of my life and sharing it with you all has been both challenging and rewarding and I'm grateful for every one of you. 

 I’ve lived out here for years and built all this from scratch — not theory, but real experience.

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