Autumn Arrives

Last weekend we went up to The Lot for a rare (!) non-work day. The plan was to enjoy the fall colors, do some packing in preparation of towing the RV trailer home next week, and take a trip to view some properties Pam had seen on-line. The weekend was a success in all aspects.

During the trip up on Saturday morning it rained until we hit Vail, where the rain turned to snow flurries. The trees were flocked white and enough snow had fallen to begin accumulating on the forest floor. The fall colors, though dimmed by the weather, were still great to see.

We arrived at The Box under cloudy skies but no precipitation was falling. After letting the dogs run and having lunch, we left to view the potential properties, 8 of them in all. The best of the lot was a place in the Silverheels subdivision near Fairplay. (Address: 242 Silverheels Road, Fairplay, Colorado.) The property borders a lake, rare in this part of the country. Actually there is a set-back from the lake so the lot does not go all the way to the water but for all practical purposes – other than building – it is lake front property. We tried calling our local realtor contact in the Fairplay area (from purchasing the Sanderling property four years ago) to see if we could view the inside, but could not arrange to do this on such short notice.

The house itself is small and there is no garage, but the lot is five mostly-wooded acres (narrow – runs between the road and the lake) which still gives some room for expansion. With only one small bedroom down and a spiral staircase to get upstairs it is not the best layout for us, but water views compensate for a great deal of other drawbacks. The key here would be to see if the price goes low enough to be able to keep some funds for adding on to the house and to build a garage. The place is listed at $250,000.00 and has only been on the market a few days so Pam will be watching for price reductions if it does not sell quickly.

Silverheels house

Living room view through a window

Dry Lake from Silverheels lot

The other places were either properties that were steep, had junk on them or junky neighbors, or were in very poor repair. A few were forclosures and would have required major work to get into liveable condition. The asking prices reflected this as the lowest priced property had a starting bid price of $131,000.00. (You bid on a forclosure and your offer may or may not be accepted.) Still, we looked at new possibilities and enjoyed the outing.

We returned to The Box around sunset and had dinner. I made sure the furnace was working as the temps were going to get down to the freezing level. (The dog’s outside water dish had a layer of ice on it the next morning.) After dinner and talking about the various properties we had seen, we called it a day and went to bed.

Sunday A.M. was cold but the furnace worked OK with no real problems. I built a campfire while Pam took the dogs for their morning run. Then it was time for a leisurely breakfast and hot tea. We got out and walked the lot including Birdhouse Ridge and the grassy Nook areas we had cleaned out this year. The ability to walk our woods in the fall colors without tripping over dead logs was a good reward for all the hard work we had done. The day was perfect fall weather: sunny, bright, warming into the mid-60s with a light occasional breeze.

Colors on a fall day

We also started planning our strategy for next year–what areas we want to clean and how to access them. I will have to build a trail near the far side edge of the property to access the rest of the aspen grove; the proposed path will require minimal removal of live trees and get us access to a part of the lot that has a high concentration of both standing and down dead aspen trees. Cleaning out the area will probably take more than one summer but will finish an area we began cleaning back in 2013.

I am going to look around for a medium-size brush chipper, one with a capacity that can handle wood 6 inches around. Some of these pop up on the market in the $1,000.00 – $1,500.00 dollar range and I am going to try to sell my snowmobile to raise the money to pay for it. I am just getting frustrated with the Saturday-only burn pit schedule at Sanderling and the fact that it takes over an hour each load to drive to the pit, unload the trailer, then drive back to the lot. When you add in the time it takes to load the trailer this really limits how much junk wood I can get rid of any given week. If I can chip the slash on-site and use the chips for mulch or creating hiking paths it would not only speed the clean-up but also return some of the wood to the lot. Stay tuned to see how the search for a chipper turns out.

On the way home we traveled over Boreas Pass, as we try to do at least once every year. (Pam’s mother’s ashes are scattered at the top of the pass near an old boarding house and cabin.) Due to the bad Saturday weather the previous day and the excellent Sunday weather that day, the pass was very busy with people out leaf-peeping. Can’t blame them as this route features some gorgeous fall color vistas, but a couple places were downright crowded and had miniature traffic jams made worse by drivers not experienced in driving narrow back-country roads. Several drivers were so afraid of driving near the edge of a shelf road they were not able to move over, or place their vehicles so cars going the opposite direction could pass. It would be better to drive Boreas Pass during the week, but if you have no choice then you just have to put up with it.

Between Fairplay and Como this hayfield caught my eye and I had to try this “artsy” shot of the bales:

Fresh baled hay

The return home trip, under bright autumnal blue skies, featured some stunning color views particularly on the west side of Vail Pass near the Gerald Ford Golf Course. Even though the colors portend the coming of winter, this is one of the best times to be living in Colorado.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Is it possible to feel at home with acreage, but not necessarily the house on the acreage? I kinda feel that way about the Silverheels property we saw last weekend.  The house is too small with a bad flow, work needed there.  No garage for Fields and his outside storage needs.  Quite the winding driveway down to the house location as well.  But that lovely aspen and evergreen lot that leads out to the lake is quite special.

A new retirement home location I will be examining into the winter is the Woodland Park area.  Woodland Park, a mountain town outside of Colorado Springs, is charming in a cowboy kind of way and we have always remarked on this.  Woodland Park hosts the regional hospital and most of the service providers in that neck of the woods.  Traveling there from De Beque and back in one day to do drive-bys – difficult. With The Box coming home from the high country (snow predicted next week at 9,000 feet), our “base” for exploring that part of Colorado will not be available. A challenge.

Happy Trails.