Star of show won't even be able to watch debut

Cody Oliver is the star of a reality show episode of "Switched," and while the show is scheduled to air on Oct. 7, it may be some time before Oliver gets to see his silver screen debut.

That's because he doesn't have a television set at HiLine Lake, where his family lives and runs a wilderness camp.

"They sent me a videotape of the episode, so I'll probably watch it the next time I'm around a TV," Oliver, 16, said Tuesday.

And when will that be?

Maybe sometime this winter, but probably not until next summer when we come to Anchorage," Oliver explained. "That's our once-a-year family trip. We go to Kenai and dipnet and stay in Anchorage and watch movies, eat pizza and ice cream. Stuff like that."

Oliver and his family don't have to wait until next summer to read about the story. They'll only have to wait until Christmas -- when they do a mail run to Anchorage.

The Olivers moved to HiLine Lake five years ago from Virginia. After spending a year building HiLine Lake Wilderness Camp, they opened for business.

They offer a wide range of outdoor adventures, from hiking and rock climbing to fishing the Talachulitna River and day activities like tree climbing and canoeing. The camp is about 60 air miles west of Wasilla, and the family has grown accustomed to living without many of the amenities others take for granted. They have a fixed cell phone and run on solar power.

"It's a pretty unusual lifestyle compared to living in the city," Oliver said.