With no outings for several weeks, I decided to take a road trip yesterday (Saturday). I wanted to go to The Lot and check on the shed and snow levels plus look at a home (a foreclosure) Pam had seen listed on-line. (Pam stayed home with the animals, plus accomplished the grocery shopping.)

The four-hour trip did not begin well; snow was in the air and the chain law (chains or all-wheel drive required) was in effect over Vail Pass. The west side of the pass was not bad; the east side had more falling snow.

East side of Vail Pass on 2-4-17

I really didn’t know what weather to expect once I arrived in the South Park area, but the weather cleared up and the afternoon turned out well. More on that below.

The lot itself was in typical shape for this time of year. Snow had melted off the south-facing side of Birdhouse Ridge and I was able to walk up to the shed without difficulty, other than the effort of walking in heavy clothes at an elevation of 9,500 feet! There appeared to be about a foot of snow in the non-sunny areas, and deer trails wandered through the property.

The Lot on 2-4-2017

There wasn’t much time to spend here as I had made arrangements with a realtor to view a couple of For Sale properties. The main interest was the foreclosed home on 35 acres. On-line photos showed a large house in need of some repair but priced where we might consider it. As we have seen in the past, however, an on-site visit will turn up issues not addressed in the listing.

Such was the case with the home at 188 Boyero Lane. The house has an attractive living room that features a stacked-stone fireplace, vaulted ceiling, and mountain views:

Boyero Lane living room

However, I found in general the place had been poorly maintained and extensive repairs were needed. Most windows needed replacement, the solar electric system was  missing pieces (no commercial electric at this location) and the kitchen would have been a total gut job. Priced near the top of our price range at $269K, it would take another $75K to repair and upgrade the place; this definitely puts Boyero Lane out of consideration for us.

Here is a picture of the Boyero Lane kitchen:

Boyero kitchen

The list of needed repairs would be too long to include here, but one other factor was at play: the driveway. More of a track, here is a shot of the inadequate driveway as it takes off from Boyero Road. I am inside the realtor’s 4-wheel drive truck:

Driveway up to Boyero home

All in all this was a disappointing visit; the place just needs too much work for us to even consider making an offer. We are all for finding a bargain, but this wasn’t it.

The realtor did show me two more homes in the same general area. They were our style but each had quite a few steps to negotiate. Both had garage / basement levels but with [sometimes steep] stairs to access the upper-level living areas. Once in the main living areas, the homes were light and bright, such as this living room and kitchen in a house on Oxbow Lane:

Oxbow Lane living room

Oxbow Lane kitchen

If the homes had been ranch style, without the flights of steps from the lower to the upper levels, they would be contenders. As it is, these houses show well but aren’t really what we’re looking for. The search continues.

I was also going to try to get inside the Silverheels house; we walked around the five acres last fall. (Silverheels is the Fairplay property that borders a lake.) The drive had not been plowed and the realtor and I didn’t feel like challenging the elements to get to the house  — even with his 4-wheel drive. One would think, if a property is for sale over the winter, the Seller might consider keeping access open for showings. But apparently not. If the property is still on the market later this spring we may take another try at scheduling a visit.

Silverheels driveway entrance

It was a full day, with visits to a total of 4 properties plus The Lot. I arrived home about 13 hours after I’d left. I did enjoy getting out and about and it’s always a pleasure to be on The Lot at Sanderling.

Today will be quieter; washing the car and watching the Super Bowl game later this afternoon are pretty much my agenda.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

As it turned out, I’m kinda glad I didn’t load up the dogs and accompany Fields on this particular day into the high country.

Happy Trails.