Finding cheap land A 2006 road trip for Mariah’s birthday led to a serendipitous discovery: a love for the wilds of northeastern Oregon. Soon after, an ad in the local paper led to the purchase of a distressed, 100- by 150-foot parcel for $47,000.“ Where most people would have seen a steep, partially burned, partially logged slope that didn’t have utilities, we just saw possibilities,” Mariah recalls.