Month: July 2016

This past Wednesday Pam and I and took time off work to meet with our realtor in Montrose and visit five houses. We had a better-than-average outcome; three of the houses would be quite acceptable but one stood out more than the others.

We began near Montrose, looking at a home on Highway 90. It was a “vintage” home that had a more recent addition but would require a lot of work. Worst part: sagging floor in the enclosed porch indicating foundation problems and a kitchen that would need a remodel before we moved in. (Pam called the kitchen “museum quality.”)

Hwy 90 house kitchen

We decided it would be too much work. Possibly in our younger days we would have taken it on, but not as a retirement project.

Moving on, the next house would be the best of the day although we didn’t know it yet. The house is located on Chu Chu Lane. Larger, more modern, the house is unusual in style and lacks a true garage, but it was appealing all the same.

Chu Chu Lane home is styled as a farm building

Kitchen is neat and clean (compact)

Some storage and covered parking is provided

Biggest drawback is the price as it is listed at $309,900.00. We are watching to see if the price drops in a couple weeks. If so, we may make an offer.

Then it was off to Jig Road for our next viewing. While the house was also neat and clean, as well as newer, the lack of any bedrooms on the main floor ruled it out for us. We just do not care to have to walk up or down to get to the main bedroom.

Jig Road home

I don’t have any photos of the next place, not because it was not nice ( it was) but it was in a subdivision with neighbors all around. Probably not a good spot for dogs and cats. Not really “our thing” any more after living in De Beque, as Pam puts it.

The final house of the day would be our 2nd most liked of the day. In our price range, it’s an older home with an addition, character and charm. And, how could you argue with the good vibes of an address on Church Avenue?

Church Avenue home

Living room addition. Other side features a working fireplace.

Kitchen featured an in-wall oven that Pam is looking for.

With two bedrooms and 1 3/4 baths on the main floor plus two small bedrooms upstairs, this place could be a contender. Drawbacks are no garage (but does have a separate craft building) and the neighborhood is decidedly low-brow. Privacy fence would be a must. Still, there is a charm about some older houses and this one, with formal entrance and arched room dividers, had it. The lot backs up to a very quiet river (can’t really hear it) and the bank is quite steep, rendering this aspect of the lot pretty well unusable.  It would give Pam her “water feature.”

All the houses had attractive and not-so-attractive elements. The Chu Chu Lane house would fit our lifestyle and give us the room (3 acres and separation from neighbors) that we are looking for and enough storage to get by for now. A garage would come later, along with a decorative pond. It’s also the lowest priced house in a very upscale subdivision, so neighbors would presumably not be junk collectors.  We’ll have to keep an eye on the price and, if the listing price falls, we may move ahead with an offer within our means.

ATV note: The long (13:55) version of my Hall Valley ATV trip is now on-line. If interested, go to my ATV Videos page and click on Hall Valley 2016.

Motorcycle note: I have created a gallery of photos taken during last week’s motorcycle rally. You can see it at Colorado 2016.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Finding any property that both Fields and I can agree on is an accomplishment.  Chu Chu Lane met that criteria.  In addition to the higher price and financial implications of making an offer on Chu Chu, can we live with the name of that Lane – Chu Chu? It’s different.

At the specific request of my dog sitter, I’ve taken on another foster kitten litter (#26) and, true to form, one of the four kittens appears to have a life threatening health issue.  Now I remember why I stopped fostering.

Happy Trails.

Each year I try to participate in a motorcycle rally sponsored by a club member. This year the rally took place in Canon City, Colorado, pretty close to home.

Knowing this topic is not of great interest to many people I will keep the narrative short and fill in with photos.

We had around 16 people to begin with, but mechanical failures took out a few riders the first day. The core group was 8 – 12 depending on destination; some people wanted to visit different venues, typical of rallies such as this.

The primary destinations were Bishop’s Castle, a structure built by one guy over the last 50 years or so, and a ride to the top of Pike’s Peak.

We begin with Bishop’s Castle:

Bishop’s Castle

Windows in Castle

Every castle needs a dragon, right?

We had fun walking around, up, and through this place.

With this visit, rides through the countryside, and lunch on the road, Saturday was a pretty full day. Sunday was the Pike’s Peak ride.

Club members at the top of Pike’s Peak. I am at upper right.

Our guys and bikes, top of Pike’s Peak. My red jacket (left) is on my Concours.

I had ridden up on Friday and home on Monday. It was a pretty good weekend!

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

The highlight of the past weekend, for me, was an ATV ride taken on a return trip to Hall Valley, an old mining area in the Breckenridge, Colorado, area. Here is how the weekend went.

I had driven up to The Lot on Friday evening, and spend Saturday taking brush to the burn pit and getting a trailer full of firewood to bring home. Yes, that took most of the day and I was really dragging by nightfall. However, Sunday’s plan was more enjoyable; an ATV ride before I headed home.

I had been to Hall Valley (in the same neighborhood are Webster Pass, Red Cone Peak trail, and Radical Hill) last summer on an evening ride that also saw some rainfall. This time I wanted to see the area in good daylight.

The trip is not a long one, just under 12 miles for the round trip, but the scenery and history are both very high in quality. Here are a few photos I took along the way.

Blue Columbine, the state flower, were blooming in profusion

Streams were running full and noisy

Old miner’s cabin now used for camping

Upper end of Hall Valley includes lakes, snow, mountains, and mine tailings

I am working on a long video (almost 14 minutes) but do not have time to finish it before leaving for a motorcycle rally tomorrow. Here is a short excerpt (1:41) from the long video:

When I return I will have a report on the motorcycle rally and the long version of my Hall Valley trip.

In other news, I began using my CPAP machine Monday night; one has to get used to it but Tuesday was better. I have not seen a marked improvement in energy levels yet but it may take a  few more days to start seeing results.

I can feel the air pressure in my nose and throat and Pam says my snoring has been quite reduced in frequency and noise level so the machine must be doing some good. The unit I bought is actually an APAP machine, a bit higher level, with automatic adjustment of the air pressure level it provides. Another feature is “ramp start” which means the pressure starts low and builds once the user has fallen asleep. It still feels awkward but I will get used to it.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

The heat intensity builds on the high desert.  This is one of the worst times of year for me – I do not tolerate excessive heat well. Neither do the pets.

We are scheduled to meet the Montrose realtor next Wednesday to see a few properties.  Two are “grandma” houses, the others are currently above our price point, but interesting.  Not sure there’s a keeper in the bunch.

Happy Trails.

During my “pause” quite a bit has happened. Here is some news and photos taken over the last couple of weeks.

Cats:
Since lawn mowing season is in full swing I keep the lawn mower in the garage. One morning I went out to find Gwyneth, one of our outside cats, had decided to make the catch bag her bed.

Gwyneth sleeping on the lawn mower’s catch bag

Not like the dogs, who have higher standards. Here are Bru, Jo, and Blondie taking a rest on Pam’s bed in the RV trailer we call The Box:

Our three dogs resting in The Box RV trailer

Caring for our pets takes up a lot of time, mostly Pam’s, but they are an integral part of our daily life.

I had received a jury summons and had to show up at the Justice Center as a potential jurist. Quite a number of people were called; I was first to be dismissed, probably because I put my place of employment (Sheriff’s Office) on my form. (This was Pam’s idea.) So, while it killed a morning, it did fulfill my civic obligation to report for jury duty, at least for the next 12 months.

My jury summons

House hunting:

We have been active, doing drive-by visits and checking out areas we are not familiar with. One place -with character – was an old Victorian home. Near a busy road, however, and we found we could not carry on a conversation outside without raising our voices due to road noise; there would be no way to mitigate it. Burros pastured behind the house seemed to exude biting horse flies, not good. Too bad, as the setting would otherwise be very pleasant.

Grandma house – front

Grandma house – side

The search continues.

A recent storm sparked a forest fire fairly close to our commuting route. This was just west of Rifle, Co.

Fire between Rulison and Rife, Co

Rains in the area and a quick response by fire-fighting crews kept the damage to a minimum.

The Lot:

I have been to The Lot three times and Pam has been there twice. Our normal routine of getting piles of slash ready to take to the burn pit and piling up salvageable wood to be cut into firewood has resumed. So far we have worked on Birdhouse Ridge and the upper reaches of The Nook; both are areas we can see from The Box.

Clearing brush and piling logs for firewood is our summer routine at The Lot

Not all is work, however, and we take time to enjoy being in the high country.

Wildflowers drip with recent rain

I’ll have to look up this flower as I do not yet know the name. Flowers, in general, seem to be doing very well this year and the growth on the pine trees is outstanding.

A recent sunset gave us brilliant colors to close out the day.

Late June sunset from The Lot

Even though we have been in Colorado for more than a decade we still take time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

The last bit of news concerns my health; I have a CPAP machine on order to treat my diagnosed sleep apnea. Getting this far has been a trial since I did not want to take the $3,000.00+ in-hospital overnight sleep study. My doctor finally wrote me a prescription for a pump and head gear ( I am going to try a nose pillow) and I put in an order from CPAP.com. The gear should be here within a few days. Biggest problem will be dialing in the pressure I need to set on the machine but I can borrow the clinic’s oximeter and use the overnight results (I can download the readings) to fine-tune the CPAP settings as I go forward. Oh, the joys of getting old.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

We are busy. The weeks fly by.  With so much to do outside, it seems a total waste of time to be at work 8 hours a day.

Happy Trails.