Alex at Tiny House Talk came across this great video of folks living happily in caves in Idaho. The caves were the initial creation of Dugout Dick, a local prospector, discovered that the caves were much more comfortable to live in than any surface built structure. I suspect it also shortened his commute.
Dick didn’t live there alone. Eventually he found that other folks liked the idea of living simply in his caves so he offered to rent them space for very little money, like $300 a year.
This past week Dugout Dick passed away after a very long, and apparently very happy life. The film is part of a larger project called YERT which is definitely worth some time investigation. Great find Alex!
So cool. It’s great there’s video of Dugout Dick. I’m from Idaho and he’s a big legend around here. I caught them saying “This is a taste of the future” a the beginning of the video and it seems like it could be.
Thank you for posting this! I had never heard about Dugout Dick and the caves before.
Pretty, cool. I’d like to see that Ice Cave!
I live In Saskatchewan Canada…just north of the Gardner Dam… well there is a ‘dug out’ house by a deserted town called Dunblane…not a rock formation sort of a hole in the ground by a large coulee … it is similar… If you are even a bit nervous in confined spaces… not the place for you…( or me lol)
Watching the video of Dugout Dick and seeing
the passion with which he lived and built reminded
me of one of my all-time favorite movies,
The World’s Fastest Indian. It’s the true story
of Burt Munro’s (Anthony Hopkins) experiences in
an effort to set a world’s land-speed record with
his old Indian Scout motorcycle. If you have never
seen the movie, YOU SHOULD! It’s truly inspirational. I love these types of people.
Thanks for posting this. I grew up in the town right next to Elk Bend. I remember visiting Dick a few times. My friends and I actually stayed in the same cave that your guy stayed in for this video, I remember it well. And Dick loved to play his harmonica and sing for visitors, so it’s a wonderful way to end this video! I hope you visited the nearby hot springs while there!
I am interested, if possible, into moving into one of his caves. Is there a way I can and who dO I contact now that he is dead about that?
Any info, please contact me at [email protected]