 "Photo: Kerry Lentz")
Mother Nature just got a couple of new roommates.
In the eyes of two Texas Tech students, Blake Smith and Matt Thomas, apartments and dorm rooms are for suckers.
The pair opted to spend their final semester at Tech living off the beaten path in an alternative to urban abodes: a couple of tents, a dog house and a blue tarp.
For the past three weeks, the two students have been living with a dog in a field just outside of town in West Lubbock, where the three established a unique substitute to four walls and a roof.
They have no electricity or running water, but the setup seemed sufficient at keeping this week's rain at bay.
"We just wanted to do something different," said Thomas, a senior communication studies and philosophy major from Plano. "I wish we could say we were doing this for some sort of cause, but that wouldn't be true. I wish we could say we wanted to reduce our footprint, but that's not it."
Smith, a senior general studies major from Dallas, said their dwelling's net cost so far was $175, which was the price of a blue tarp that covers the encampment.
Amused by Smith's and Thomas' plans, a supportive friend donated a $750 wilderness tent in which the two sleep.
"It's like an outdoor dorm room," Smith said as he unzipped the tent, revealing two cots, a rug and a few plastic dressers, "but with less throw up."
During the tour, Ruger, Thomas' German Shepherd, went into the front yard and back as he pleased, eventually settling down in his igloo-shaped doghouse next to the tent.
The land on which they live is owned by a local anesthesiologist, Danny Hunter, who Smith said was skeptical at first, but after three visits from the students in as many days, eventually gave them the go-ahead to homestead.
"We went up to his door and said, 'We have a strange request,'" Smith said about their first attempt to persuade a man they had never met to let them set up camp on his land.
Smith and Thomas said they chose the location for its trees, which they said are necessary for blocking West Texas' wind, which Thomas said can get "out of control."
Hunter said he found the students' motives suspect, but eventually warmed up to the idea.
"You always wonder about people this day in age," he said, "but you also want to help out other people in any way you can. I thought it was strange, but I liked what they were trying to do."
The two students said they promised to paint a fence on Hunter's property as payment.
Thomas and Smith said they shower at the Robert H. Ewalt Recreation Center while they are on-campus, which is most of any given day.
"He showers more than I do," Thomas said, pointing to Smith. "He has a girlfriend."
When they have to pee, they said it is no sweat.
"We're lucky we're guys," Thomas said. "We take care of business while we're at school," he continued, referring to nature's second type of call.
"It hasn't been an issue yet," Smith said.
An unexpected side effect of living simply, he said, is the discipline of getting schoolwork done before they return home at night, which is usually between 10 and 11 p.m.
"It's nice to come home and be a bum," Thomas said. "We spend a lot of time reading or with journals. At my old house, we had stadium seating and a big-screen TV. It's nice to not come home and lay down on the couch and watch TV."
They wash their clothes at friends' houses, Thomas said, and eat on campus, which they pay for with a dining plan.
Both Smith and Thomas swore they did not choose to live in the tent to make a statement. They simply wanted to do something different.
As they spoke, the dog ran disappeared into the brush across the dirt road that runs in front of their tent.
"Roog," Thomas shouted through cupped hands as he jumped up from the lawn chair.
Smith and Thomas said they plan to use the money they save this semester to attend seminary school next year.
They also mentioned a job offer in Minnesota, where they hope to lead dogsled expeditions.
Until then, the friends said they plan to remain on Hunter's land, as long as he will allow them.
They said they are not worried about the cold temperatures this winter. They have zero-degree sleeping bags and will get a propane heater if necessary.
"Anytime you're outdoors, it makes the conversation better," Thomas said. "It almost makes it better. Even just being able to sit and think without all of the distractions you'll find indoors. It's just nice being out here.
"People think it's really crazy, but I really don't think it is. We just don't need a lot. It's actually pretty nice not to need a lot."
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