AMIDON (AP) - The quiet and open prairie is exactly what brought Travis Allard and Anne Upson to this small town.

Although Allard is originally from Mohall, his ventures to the southwestern corner of the state had been limited until now.

The couple met while living among the ski towns of Colorado. Allard was a lumberjack, while Upson, a Phoenix native, was a baker at a ski resort.

The couple now owns the Amidon campground area and hope to restore it.

Allard bought the campgrounds a year ago and has been working on it ever since.

"We came here to make log cabins out of the burned lumber near here and the land was reasonably priced," Upson said.

Most of the lumber comes from an area about 10 miles west of the Burning Coal Vein where a fire happened about three years ago, Allard said.

The Amidon campgrounds came with two outdated buildings and nine camp sites for RV parking area.

"The person before us had the place for a few years, but moved out of town," Upson said. "Before him, people told us that a woman owned it a lot longer."

Allard and Upson live in a home next to the camp site and have built one cabin.

"We have some inside work to finish with this cabin and we want to build another cabin to have an adjoining deck next to it," Allard said. "We are trying to get this place up to the 21st century."

The campground needs lots of love, he said.

"We wanted to keep the campgrounds and camping units here for people," Allard said. "We're also going to build a public shower house and bathroom with laundry facilities and public restrooms."

There are plenty of travelers passing through who are looking for restrooms and other facilities, he said.

"Once we get hooked up to the pipeline for water, I can start building the shower house," Allard said. "The biggest challenge is money. I worked on oil rigs to help with getting funds."

"We saved money, received a few small loans and paid off most credit cards we've used so far," Upson said.

One thing that would have made things easier for Allard and Upson was if the area had been clear of buildings and they could have started from scratch.

"We will have to tear down our house," Allard said. "None of the plumbing or electrical work is up to date. It is livable, but rough. It's just old."

Allard and Upson think the work is worth it. The community's feedback has been positive.

"The community loves what we're doing," Allard said. "People are always stopping by and seeing what we're up to. What I like most about being here is the freedom and peacefulness."

People loan the couple tools and are helpful, Upson said.

"There's still plenty of labor after cutting the trees down," Allard said. "You have to mill them, peel the bark off, treat them for mold, stain and chink them and so on. It's just a process."

It took three months to build the first cabin, which has mostly inside work remaining. The couple would like to see the cabin and campgrounds area done by this hunting season.