Month: September 2018

I have much to cover in this post from my 3-day weekend trip to The Lot, September 22, 23, and 24.

In my last post I’d mentioned I would be doing some maintenance chores on The Box; replacing damaged vent covers was one of these tasks. I did get all 3 covers replaced. The new lids are substantially thicker than the original units. This is a mixed blessing; they should stand up to weather (including hail) better than the originals but they do not let in as much light.

Another maintenance chore was to make sure the bottom-of-the-trailer sheets, which look sort of like cardboard but are made out of heavier plastic, were in good shape and would not allow rodents to enter the trailer over the winter. Basically I added fender washers (larger than standard) under the heads of the screws that hold these sheets in place. This prevents the sheets from sagging and opening gaps where mice could enter.

Although I was not planning this last item — emptying the holding tanks — I really had no choice as the kitchen grey water tank was full and the sink would not drain. I got out the ‘honey wagon’ gear and emptied both grey water tanks and the black water tank.

Given that my fresh water level was low I also had to make a ‘water run’ to get some water for showers and cleaning. I didn’t pump a full load, just enough (around 15 gallons) to get through the weekend’s demand for showers and general cleaning up. (We use bottled water for drinking and most cooking.)

Then it was on to other tasks.

Last time out I had trouble with the chipper; it would not start due to carburetor flooding. I had brought along my tools and a few spare parts, hoping I could repair the carb on-site and finish chipping some piles of brush.

I removed the carb, repaired the float holder (a screw had come loose, causing the flooding) and reinstalled the carb on the chipper. The engine started right up and I was back in business.

I chipped no fewer than 6 piles of brush, one Saturday evening and the others Sunday morning. While I was one tired guy, I am very pleased to get the Aspen Grove brush chipped. (Spreading the chips will be the main task for the next visit.) Photos below document the before-and-after appearance of this area.

Before chipping

After chipping

The activity resulted in a large pile of chips to be spread on a future trip:

Chip pile along the path

From last week: chips spread on path up to Grassy Ridge:

Chips spread on walking path

Here is an over-all shot of part of the area that was cleaned this year:

Cleaned Aspen Grove

Here is a “work in progress” shot of the same area taken earlier this year:

Brush and log piles in the Aspen Grove

Skipping ahead a bit: Monday morning I loaded the truck with another load of ‘burn pit’ wood and prepared the chipper to tow it home. I had to wait out a couple of rain showers while doing this but the moisture is welcome.

Chipper heading home from The Lot

After all the work was done I planned to treat myself to an ATV ride in the general area of Sanderling, either at Hall Valley or Webster Pass. Both are in the same neighborhood on the east (Denver) side of Kenosha Pass, which is itself several miles east of Como. I have ridden this area before and knew the Webster Pass route generally had good fall color views. I loaded the ATV in the back of the truck and left The Lot.

Traffic was fierce on Highway 285 heading to Kenosha Pass. In fact, it was stop and go traffic many miles away from my turn off. Since it was already afternoon (and I didn’t think I had the time or patience to wait in traffic) I changed plans. I turned around and headed to Fairplay, then turned north to Mosquito Pass. Mosquito Pass is another area I have ridden before, but at least there was no traffic.

This ride was disappointing as it appears the Mosquito Pass mining area is under new ownership. Routes to the historic buildings and mine sites of North London Mill and South London Mill are now blocked off. Without these routes there is not a lot of reason to ride there. I’m glad I was able to visit these sites in the past and get some photos, although my visit to the South London Mill took place on a rainy and dreary day; I had hoped to get a better set of photos this time around.

I did see something I rarely see in the high country on this trip, though. Pussy willows!

Pussy willows in the mountains – a rare sight

At the top of the pass is this marker:

Father Dyer memorial stone on Mosquito Pass

Heading home after my ride I found traffic on Highway 285, which I needed to take to get back to Elkhorn Ranch Road and The Lot, had gotten worse! Traffic was backed up to the east foot of Red Hill Pass, several miles from Elkhorn Ranch Road, and traffic was virtually at a standstill. Accident, leaf-peepers, campers…I still don’t know the reason why the traffic was so heavy but I was determined not to stay in it.

So…I made a U-turn and headed back to Fairplay, then took Highway 9 south to Highway 24, turned east on 24 to intersect with the lower end of Elkhorn Ranch Road, then north up to The Lot. At least I made it back in reasonable time.

Now this tale gets even stranger. Just after I had parked on the Sanderling driveway and unloaded the ATV, I received a visit from a Sheriff’s Deputy. He was asking questions about Greg, our new neighbor, who has not been sighted for several weeks (although his tent is still in place.)

It appears Greg is an alias and not his real name, and the officer found “drug paraphernalia” in his tent. Given that marijuana is legal in Colorado this may not be a crime, but if it involves other drugs then “Greg” could get busted for drug abuse.

I gave the officer what information I had (make, model, color of car, description of Greg and his dogs) and kept the officer’s card. I promised to notify him if I saw Greg again. The officer thanked me and left.

It was a strange afternoon all around.

What lies ahead? This coming weekend I have a wedding reception to attend on Sunday so will not be back to The Lot. I hope to make it back to Sanderling the weekend after next and it will be a busy visit as I will have to bring home the ATV, generator, and chain saw as well as the rest of the food and linens plus drain the holding tanks one last time. RV anti-freeze must be put in all the water lines. There is still much to do to shut down The Box and get it winterized. (Forecast low for Tuesday, September 25th, is 34 degrees up in the high country.) And I hope to get the large pile of chips spread on the path. (This would be optional, depending on how long it takes me to get the other chores done.)

There have been a couple of very busy weekends, with at least one more to go, before the RV is “shut down” for the winter. Two things that are final; no more wood cutting or chipping this year! Our friend Kathy picked up the bulk of the cut firewood on Saturday that was stacked along our driveway here at home. She’ll stop by for the remaining wood this coming Saturday, so that’s the end of the wood. The chipper is home from The Lot and waiting for me to do routine maintenance over the winter, so it will be ready to go next spring.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Lovely, crisp nights and warm days have begun.  One of my favorite times of year.

(Internet graphic.)

Happy Trails.

Pam and I spent a long weekend at The Lot —  September 15, 16, and 17. There was one problem (the chipper, more on that later), but it was a great autumnal weekend.

Fall colors are nearing their peak. The trip to and from The Lot is a drive through some stunning color areas (Vail, Breckenridge, Fairplay among them). A percentage of trees are still green, a few have lost their leaves already, and the colors between ran the gamut from gold (most predominant) to patches of red and orange mixed in. The contrast between the colors, set off by blue skies with a few white clouds, was striking.

Fall colors at The Lot – 2018

The aspen at The Lot were not quite at full peak color but the Aspen Grove was awash with a fall-yellow light that made walking in the cleaned-up areas a real delight. Sunday evening, just before sunset, we hiked up to Pavilion Point and watched the sunset side-lighting the trees. With a light breeze blowing and an almost ideal temperature in the upper-60’s, the weather and view was as good as it gets.

2018 fall colors from Pavilion Point

Then, just after we were back at The Box and with dusk settling in, a young buck walked through the nook, grabbing a few mouthfuls of grass as he went. I was within 20 feet of him, Pam a bit further away. He had two and possibly three points on each antler and seemed quite unconcerned about us watching him. In the evening light and with the fall colors the effect was almost magical. (Wouldn’t you know I had stopped to put the camera back on the table and did not have it on me!)

Work was actually accomplished; Pam and I spread the two piles of chips that had been generated over previous work sessions. We started with the large pile of chips along the path near the chipper and ended with the pile of chips up on Homestead Acre. I lost track of the number of 2-wheel cart loads this took, but it was around 20. The process: I loaded our 2-wheel cart (pulled by the ATV) with chips using a snow shovel, then drove to the part of the footpath where Pam was waiting to spread the chips. Dumped the cart, leaving a large pile of chips, then moved it ahead a few feet to empty the rest of the cart. I returned for the next load while Pam raked the chips, spreading them evenly, and covering the width of the path. This process guaranteed that both of us would get a lot of exercise, but it’s good to know the job is done for the year and the paths look tidy and fresh with their new coating.

Jerry loading chips

Pam unloading and spreading chips

Next job up was to chip the last two piles of brush along the west side of the path. Didn’t happen. The chipper would not start; the engine kept flooding. I took off the top of the carburetor and found a problem with the floats but did not have the tools on hand to fix it. No chipping this day. I was bummed out.

That pretty well ends chipping for the year; I will tow the chipper home and work on it so it’s ready to go next year. I need to check the “blades” or “knives” and get them sharpened over the off-season as well. I did not do this before using the chipper this year, and I really don’t know what condition they’re in. A new set costs about $125.00 but I hope the current knives can be sharpened and re-used. There is a professional sharpening service near my work place and I’ll see if they can sharpen these blades.

So – – on to Plan B. (There is always a Plan B.) Plan B was brush clearing on the east side of the current work path, a non-cleared area. We produced several more piles of brush and added more to the ‘burn pit’ wood pile. By the time we were done the brush piles were fairly large, we had more firewood logs piled up, and that side of the path – up to our property line – was looking much better. I still have some chainsaw work to do to finish gathering the salvageable wood, but a few hours of work will about finish that task. It will be my staring point for next year’s work.

With the chipper out of commission and the chips spread, we left The Lot for the return trip a bit earlier on Monday than planned, but enjoyed the trip home, taking in the fall colors and basking in the beautiful weather.

By the way, the dogs could have cared less about being in the high country. JoJo likes to get out and run (she’s part Greyhound) but the other two (Beagle mixes) are pretty ho-hum about going to The Lot.

Bru (Left) JoJo (Center) and Blondie (Right) nap in The Box

All-in-all, it was a very good weekend!

My next trip to Sanderling, scheduled for this weekend, will include maintenance items. There must have been a hail storm at The Lot this summer, as all three of the RV roof vent covers have holes in them. I have replacements that I need to install which will take a couple of hours. Then I’ll check underneath The Box to make sure there are no places for rodents to enter; this may entail adding washers to some of the screws that hold the cover sheets in place. (Since we plan to leave The Box at The Lot this winter, rodent-proofing is a high priority.)

Pam wants me to start bringing home some of the linens and clothing items that will not over-winter in The Box, so I will take a few empty containers to fill and bring home. While I plan a few more trips before finally closing down for the winter, the end of the work season is not far away; normally we are done by early October but it depends on night time temperatures. Right now overnights are in the low 40 degree range, OK at the moment, but getting closer to freezing.

There is some family news to report; daughter Felicity is in England and attended a Jane Austin Festival in Bath. She sent us a a photo of her posing in the ensemble Pam had prepared and I mailed (Pam sewed the clothing and found the bonnet and shoes in the costume box). Here are a couple photos of the event from Felicity:

Felicity (right) in Regency costume

Men in 1800s costume at the festival

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I’m always somewhat sad to leave Sanderling after my final work weekend in the fall.  It is absolutely lovely up there — particularly spectacular in the Aspen Grove.  We started our clearing process six years ago in the Aspen Grove.  It’s a delight to walk through that area now, moving quite easily, without stepping over downed trees and piles of brush.  We met a goal by paying off the loan on the Sanderling property in late August.  It is now Fields land, debt free.

Tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox. Perhaps I am the first to wish you felicitations of the fall season?

Happy Trails.

I made an overnight stay at The Lot this past weekend, September 8 – 9. There was quite a bit to do for such as short stay and all I set out to do, I am glad to say, was accomplished.

I started by moving the chipper. It had been sitting in the middle of the path and pointing uphill but needed to be backed off the path and positioned so that I could get to it with the ATV  in preparation for the next move.

Chipper in old location on the path

Chipper moved and large pile of chips to be spread on walkways

The move was interesting as I had to use the ATV’s winch, some chain, some wheel blocks, and my manual puller to get this job done.

Basically I had to un-block the wheels and let the chipper roll backwards using the winch line to control the descent. (A wider area in the path, big enough to turn and park the chipper, was behind and downhill of the current location.) Now and then I had to use a wheel block to get the unit to move a bit left or right. Pivoting on one wheel, I used the manual puller and chain to winch the chipper off the path until I could get past it with the ATV and trailer. (Should have taken photos of this process but did not.) Got the job done! Wheels are chocked so the chipper won’t ‘escape’ it’s current location.

Moving the chipper closer to the remaining brush piles is on the agenda for the next trip along with more chipping. I will be able to move the chipper using the ATV since the slope is downhill, no more using the winch. I hope.

Last 2 piles of brush to chip on west side of path

Other jobs finished included loading up the last load of firewood and putting a load of ‘burn pit’ wood in the bed of the truck. The Aspen Grove is really starting to look good; chipping the last brush piles will finish it off.

Current view of west side of path

Previous wood and brush on west side of path

Note the pine stump in the foreground in both above photos, a before-and-after comparison.

Here is a shot of the trailer and ATV on the path after I moved the chipper out of the way. I was loading up some burn pit wood to put in the back of the truck for disposal. Logs stacked to the left of the path (east side) became part of the last load of firewood.

ATV + trailer + firewood+ burn pit wood + chipper + chips all in one photo

Last load of firewood plus junk wood in bed of truck

I did some work on the east side of the path as well. This resulted in more stacks of chipper wood which we may or may not get to on our next trip.

Brush piles on east side of the path

Finishing the east side will be my starting task for next year. There is some firewood to salvage and a few standing dead trees to take down but the final push should not take more than a day or two.

There was more color in the aspen this last trip; next weekend (up on Saturday, home on Monday) will be a good weekend to be in the high country – colors should be getting close to peak intensity. Chipping and spreading chips will be the primary jobs activities but we will take some time just to enjoy the fall colors and cooler temperatures this time of year offers.

Fall colors beginning to appear at The Lot

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

This coming weekend will be my last at Sanderling for the season.  I’m hoping there will be full fall color to enjoy, in addition to hauling and spreading wood chips.

Back in the high desert, I’ve been working on a retirement house mortgage pre-approval process. It will soon be time to register for Social Security.  All paperwork to process my pension, due to begin in November, has been submitted. Time to renew my CO driver’s license too – I may try their on-line process this year.

Felicity plans to attend the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England this weekend.  Her costume made the trip from Colorado to the UK in plenty of time.  We anticipate some interesting photos forthwith.

Happy Trails.

Two weekends ago we spent an overnighter at The Lot and could not help but notice the aspen are beginning to turn into their fall colors. It seems early for that to happen, but then again it always seems to be “too early.”

Fall marks the end of our work season in the high country, as the temperatures drop along with the leaves. Our remaining work days are limited and we won’t be at The Lot every weekend; time to start thinking about wrapping up for the year.

A few things remain to be done to meet my goal of cleaning up the Aspen Grove. We chipped several piles of brush last week but have a few more left; I cut more logs to be brought home to cut into firewood, and there is a large pile of chips to be spread on footpaths and trails. Pam suggested I load the truck with some of the “burn pit” quality wood at Sanderling and bring it home with the firewood and chipper, then drop it here in town at the local “organic materials” site where we take our grass clippings. (There is a spot reserved for trees, limbs, and other larger chunks of wood.) Good idea! I won’t be able to bring home all that has been accumulating but I might manage to get the stuff out of the Aspen Grove. Photos will follow after our next trip.

Closer to home, we stayed put for  the Labor Day weekend — just too much traffic to fight and I needed a weekend at home to relax. This doesn’t mean we weren’t busy; far from it. Pam is putting another coat of waterproof sealer on the front privacy fence and I had several projects (mowing lawn, weed-wacking, maintenance jobs) to attend to.

One of these projects was to install a backup camera in the F-150. The truck is so large that backing up to either of the utility trailers or The Box can get to be a chore so I decided to try the high-tech approach.

The backup camera is located above the rear license plate:

Backup camera mounts above rear license plate

The 4.3 inch monitor is mounted on the dash:

Backup camera monitor on dash

Biggest problem was stringing the wire from the camera to the monitor and connecting the system to power. Per recommendation, the system is powered from the backup light circuit and only comes on when the truck is in reverse. It took me a while to run the wire from the camera into the cab; I finally located a place near the parking brake cable to make the transition from under the truck into the truck. I’ll have to see how well this system works. The camera arm is metal and can be adjusted a bit up or down so I should be able to set it so I can see the trailer’s hitch while I am backing up.

Another job was replacing the tail lights on the utility trailer. I had dropped a log on one and cracked the housing quite badly. The light still worked with it’s cracked  lens but I wanted to get the fix in place before the next trip. A replacement set of LED tail lights was purchased from Amazon and installed. This took longer than it should have as the lights came with no wiring instructions and I had to figure out which wire did what. (3 wires: Ground, turn, tail /running lights.) I did get the replacements in place and wired up; they sure are bright compared to the original lights.

Still another job was done; the water hoses going to the clothes washer were replaced with stainless-steel braided lines. I had noticed the hot water hose was bulging and looked to be ready to fail. I have no idea how old those hoses were but it was obviously time for a new set. As part of the project we labeled the water faucets for future reference. The new hoses are supposed to flow more water as well, leading to faster fill times and shorter wash cycles. I don’t know about that but having the new hoses in place gives us some peace of mind; we won’t have to deal with a burst hose flooding the laundry room!

Pam has been keeping up our corner (location of the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden); morning glories have started blooming there late this summer, and everything looks good.

Corner garden looking good

Here are a couple more morning glory pictures:

Morning glories in 2018

Morning glories on fence line

Next week will be busy with a trip to The Lot and more clean up work.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The best thing about summer ending is the temperatures are coming down to something resembling normal.  The bad part about this time of year is the continuing loss of daylight in the evenings.

Happy Trails.