$99,999

We almost drove past it. Eagle Bald Trail climbs so far above Burnsville that the GPS gives up, then we found tracts 29 and 30 of Ogle Meadows. We stepped out at 5,350 feet into air that felt like September in August. The lot averages about a 25% grade, and right beside the road the ground lays back into a gentle bench. We walked onto it, turned west-northwest, and watched ridge after blue ridge run out to the sky. Oak and hickory filled the south and west lines; the rest was open meadow. My homework was straightforward. A boundary survey located the 60-foot platted right of way. A soil scientist confirmed the well-drained Wayah-Burton loam near the homesite would take an engineered septic system. The covenants asked for what we wanted anyway: one single-family home, at least 1,200 square feet, approved plans, and nothing over the ridge law's 40-foot cap. Of course there’s no flood zone up here and no landslides mapped on the tract. The house sits on the flattest pad on the land, about 56 feet off the road, so the driveway is short and the porch faces the sunset. Power was a short run on French Broad EMC's easement, and Starlink kept us working while we got the co-op to install fiber. Summers here need a blanket at night. Winters mean a stocked pantry and a road the HOA keeps open. Every evening the sun drops right in front of the porch. We found it by accident. Staying was not an accident at all.