Super Bowl and House Hunting

Well.

The Broncos, underdogs in the pre-game talk shows, pulled it out with a defense the Panthers could not stop. The Denver defense scored the first touchdown on a fumble recovered in Carolina’s end zone, sacked Cam Newton 6 times, and set up the final Bronco touchdown by forcing and recovering another fumble near the Carolina goal line late in the 4th quarter. The Denver offense, under Peyton Manning, managed a meager 194 total yards, a couple field goals, and one 4-yard touchdown.

Broncos celebrate Super Bowl 50 win (Denver Post photo)

It remains to be seen if Manning will retire after this season. For now, football is over and we will move on to other things. It was a good season and I’m glad the Broncos were able to take home the Lombardi Trophy.

Last Saturday Pam put together a list of 10 properties to look at, and of-f-f-f we went. A couple listings turned out to be off-pavement (boo!) so we dropped those from consideration. We stopped and walked around only two of the remaining listings.  One place was newer and, as a ranch-style house, had fewer steps to navigate which is a factor we are considering in a retirement house. It was on acreage, but there were no trees around the place to provide shade and the house would have been sun-bleached in the hot high country summers. Both of us would rather have a place with some shady, mature trees around.

House on G61 road – no trees (Realtor photo)

The second house had trees and a shed (no garage), but was a tri-level with steps everywhere, including into a sunken living room and laundry room. While attractive in some ways, the number of steps, which would have to see daily use, would be too much for a couple of old people. We are not ruling out homes with steps or stairs, but the main living locations — including kitchen, laundry + at least one bedroom — will need to be on a single level. Basements and 2nd stories, which would see occasional use, would be fine, even desirable. The search continues.

House on 5500 road – lots of steps (Realtor photo)

We did find another of those history quirks that abound out here. We went by a place called The Pea Green Store. Researching (later, at home), we found there used to be a small crossroads town named Pea Green in this location, back in the 1880s. The name came from the color the community painted the original local school. Current maps show the place as Pea Green Corner. The school still stands and is now a private residence. From the historical account it sounds like the town was little more than a watering hole for local ranchers and cattlemen, and a fairly raucus one at that.

We enjoyed getting out; the day was sunny and temps were above freezing for the first time in many days. While we didn’t find “the one,” we had an interesting time looking at places and driving through areas we have not previously visited. The hunt will continue, and may expand to building lots as well as houses. While we really don’t want to build a retirement residence, a few lots have come on the market that have trees and one listing claims to include a pond, something Pam would really like. We may include a few lots in our drive by next weekend.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

My game plan for the next field trip will be criss-crossing the area around Pea Green Corner, casing the local roads and getting a feel for house prices in that location. Many of you would not be surprised to know this area has a definite Midwest farm country feel.  Even to the point of old car collections out in the open – Fields didn’t mention there is a quite extensive old car “junk yard” in that area I’m sure he has his eye on.

Happy trails.