Colorado Colors 2023

Did you miss me? I recently returned from my fall trip to The Lot in Colorado. I have some video and several “fall color” photos to share this time around, plus a few “incident tales” to relate. Let’s get started!

I arrived at The Lot in the very late hours of a Tuesday. Wednesday was set-up day as I went to get water from the local hand pump (40 gallons) and drove to Fairplay to get groceries. The weather was sunny and mild.

Thursday and Friday were ATV days. Thursday saw me riding some new trails near Lake George. Part of this area is along the South Platte River.

Unfortunately, this trip was cut a bit short as I picked up a screw in one tire and had to find a repair shop before heading home.

Friday found me near Buena Vista, west of Fairplay, riding a number of trails. Some of these are width-restricted, with fenced openings which do not allow larger vehicles such as Jeeps and other 4×4 vehicles onto the trail.

Very colorful ground cover and some still-blooming flowers highlighted this area.

It was during this trip that I saw my first big animals, a group of juvenile mountain sheep. With their horns just beginning to grow, this group was taking it easy along a trail.

The video below is very shaky as I did not have time to set up the tripod and was shooting at almost full zoom. I hope you can still enjoy the images. Run time is 1:21.

Saturday and Sunday were work days at The Lot. (I really did not want to be on the roads and trails contending with weekend “leaf-peepers.”) I cut a few dead trees and started a new brush pile.

I had run into another problem in that my [recently-purchased used] portable generator turned out to be not powerful enough to run the pump I use to empty The Box’s holding tanks. Luckily, I was able to place the waste water tank lower on the driveway and let gravity empty the holding tanks through an extension of the drain hose. However, that left the problem of loading the waste water tank into the back of the truck. I was able to load the tank using my ATV ramps and the winch on the ATV.

The Elkhorn Ranches Owners Association maintains a waste water dump station a few miles from The Lot, and I have used it many times over the years to dispose of waste water.

The weather began to turn colder and some rain moved in, so for a few days I stayed pretty close to The Box. A few mornings saw frost on the truck and ATV, and one morning I had a few flakes of snow in the air. Surrounding mountain tops displayed a new coat of fresh white snow. The furnace ran frequently enough this trip to alert me to the need to replace the batteries for The Box’s heating system. That will be in the plans for next year.

One of my last ATV rides was near Black Mountain, west and a bit north of Fairplay. I had ridden this trail before and knew it would have some gorgeous fall color views and scenery. The trail did not disappoint!

While heading back to the truck I saw a bull moose. He was some distance away and I was not able to get videos of him, but did get a couple still (not sharp) shots.

On my final Saturday I closed down The Box and drove over the Divide to my old stomping grounds of Rifle, to attend an appreciation dinner (as a retired employee, I had been invited). Put on by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office (my previous employer), this is an annual event. I enjoyed the evening, and the rib-eye steak, then stayed with a friend in Rifle that night. Sunday I headed back to NE Iowa, a trip of 1,015 miles which took 16.5 hours of drive time.

I am going to close with a few random fall color photos from around The Lot and along trails I rode.

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

Pam’s Penny

Since Himself was away (and out of the way), I had set myself painting tasks during his absence, like touching up the exterior steps. G-a-a-h-h! The Universe had other ideas. First the temps were close to 90 degrees, then the wind blew oak leaves into/onto freshly-painted areas, then it rained, and finally there was a gnat re-hatch (making painting miserable). Finally, just before Himself arrived back in NE Iowa, I was able to accomplish some of the painting I’d planned.

Mostly, my “vacation” was care of kittens, cats, and dogs. Heart House currently resembles a combination of animal nursery and doggie old age home. All the animals establish their own routines and I, as “concierge,” adapt to them.

The RAV also started leaking fluid while I was here solo. Anyone who knows me knows car maintenance/repair is NOT in my wheelhouse. I basically just stopped driving, relying on the local “Elma Locker” store for grocery items as needed. Turns out the thermostat gasket needed replacement. We will begin looking for a different used car shortly – it’s time.

Happy Trails.