With outrageous housing costs becoming more and more normalized across the country, the thought of escaping to a forest and building your own shelter is definitely a bit tempting. One man named Charles Bello did just that back in 1968 when he and his wife, Vanna Rae, purchased 240-acres of redwoods in Mendocino County. Today, Bello lives alone in his personal 400-acre off-grid compound, surrounded by the stunning beauty of redwood trees. It looks to be a paradise for nature lovers, and you may just have a chance to experience it for yourself. Bello is on the hunt for a select few self-sustaining, nature-loving people to take over the ranch he started half a century ago. The story of Bello and this compound is certainly amazing and may just inspire you to live among the trees yourself!
52 years ago, Charles Bello and his wife, Vanna Rae, spent their savings and purchased a piece of land in the redwood forest. Both of them devoted their lives to making a home in this gorgeous landscape, along with restoring the land and preserving the forest for years to come.
Today, the 400-acre off-grid compound is known as Bello Ranch. Charles Bello has lived here alone since Vanna Rae passed and their kids moved on to more mainstream life. Now at the age of 87, Bello has started thinking about what to do with this piece of land he's called home for so many years.
He's definitely not interested in selling it, but would instead like to see it passed onto a group of highly motivated and self-sustaining stewards. After dedicating the majority of his life to taking care of this land, it's important to Bello that the work towards preserving the redwoods continues for generations to come.
That's a big reason why Charles and Vanna Rae established the Redwood Forest Institute in 1997. This nonprofit organization focuses on restoring Northern California's redwood forests and educating the public about the importance of preserving existing forests.
The first structure that was built on Charles and Vanna's property was a simple A-frame that still stands to this day. It cost only $2,800 to build it in less than a week in 1968. The couple lived inside of the A-frame for 15 years before building a cabin in the woods, which they then lived in for a decade.
However, Charles' obvious magnum opus is what's known as the Parabolic Glass House. Designed and built in 1991, the structure features a curvilinear wood roof and two curved walls of windows. It's a stunning structure. Once inside, you truly feel surrounded by the forest.
The 400-acre property is the definition of paradise. These days, Charles is busy searching for successors to continue caring for the property, and he's even working on constructing "glamping" houses to fund the endeavor. Read more about Charles Bello and the Redwood Forest Institute here, and be sure to check out the video below from Kirsten Dirksen for an in-depth look at Bello Ranch in all of its glory.
