I have been on the road for nearly three weeks so have a lot of ground to cover, including house painting updates and a trip to Colorado and Oregon. There will be quite a few photos this time!
I will begin with house painting update. The back porch steps have been cleaned up and repainted.
We think the porch looks quite good. If you look at the right side of the photo you will notice the blue trim board just above the first red board. This trim will be repeated around the house. The porch serves as an inspiration as to how the entire house will look when we finish painting it.
Also around the house, the hydrangea flowers have now turned a dark red from their initial white showing.
Due to a freeze, many other flowers have died and been cut back. However, the mums seems to have survived OK and add a touch of color around the house.
The “big event” of the last couple weeks was my trip to our Colorado lot and, from there, moving on to the Pacific NW.
In Colorado, I winterized The Box by draining all the holding tanks, packing items that would be damaged by freezing, and getting RV antifreeze in all the water lines. Before doing all that I was able to do some work on The Lot, cutting some wood, stacking some brush, riding my ATV, and getting some paint on the storage shed.
It was “color season” in Colorado and the aspen and other trees were turning colors. Here are a few photos of that portion of my trip.
By the time I arrived in Colorado, the last week in September, the peak of the color season had passed at The Lot. Many trees had already dropped their leaves, although some trees were still green. The weather was gorgeous my entire stay. It was cool some mornings, with one freeze, but mostly clear and bright.
I did get some paint on the storage shed. With not quite enough paint to do the entire building I did the two long sides and used the last of the paint on the front trim.
Other work done at the lot included cutting some wood and stacking some brush.
All was not work, however. I did get in some ATV rides during my visit.
On the way back I took a side trip to Hall Valley.
All too soon it was time to shut down The Box and head out for the next part of my trip, a visit to the Pacific NW.
Daughter Felicity recently moved from the Portland, Oregon area to Tulsa, Oklahoma, but had left behind a number of items in a storage facility in Vancouver, WA. My job was to pick up a U-Haul trailer, empty the storage unit, and transport the goods to Tulsa.
I stayed with my niece Stefanie and her husband Eric who live in Scappoose, Oregon, about 30 minutes away from Felicity’s storage unit. Coming through the Columbia Gorge brought back a lot of memories from the time we lived in Oregon.
This part of the journey was uneventful, just a lot of miles. I had the ATV in the back of the truck and the U-Haul on behind; people must have assumed I was moving!
Traveling to Tulsa was not difficult, although I encountered a lot of road construction along the way. I found Felicity’s (and boyfriend Peter’s) new place in Tulsa without incident. (Tulsa is greener than I expected.) With three of us the unloading the trailer took very little time and we had a long chat before I headed out for NE Iowa.
I departed NE Iowa September 22nd and arrived home on October 9th. Total miles came in at just under 5,600. I was able to be in Colorado for the fall color, visited my niece Stefanie in her new home, met Felicity’s boyfriend Peter for the first time and caught up with Felicity and her life. The shed painting project resulted in the shed being mostly painted (after being in primer since it was built several years ago), and some work was done on The Lot clean up. I worked in a few ATV rides. The truck gave me no problems. Although I arrived home somewhat road-weary, I would have to say it was a successful trip!
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
While Himself vacationed and traveled, the home front was a mixed bag.
Two pets needed emergency runs to the vet – one resulted in a semi-feral cat (Sunny Sunset) being euthanized due to a cancerous growth, the other was a dog paw sting/allergic reaction issue (Auburn Jo). A cold spell knocked out a bunch of plants, they needed to be cut back as a result. Leaves needed to be raked off the lawn (how else to find the dog poop?) and piled into the trailer. Iris plants were transplanted from the property, as well as newly-purchased iris bulbs to join them in their new location. So, yard work.
The catio painting project took more time and required more detail painting than I had originally thought. The cold weather reduced the amount of time I could paint outside; several days were in the high 40-degree range and windy, not ideal for paint to stick.
Elmo (the Elma stray cat) is now about 6-7 months old, a holy terror in the house. He climbs, he destroys, he jumps the dogs. He broke the curtain rod over the bay window in the parlor bedroom (Tarzan time). He is driving me nuts. At this rate, I’m not sure holiday decorations make any sense at all on the main level.
And now, we have an industrious mole tunneling it’s merry way from west to east, around the house foundation and through my flower beds.
Who needs a vacation?
Happy Trails.