A Trip and a Visitor

There are two main topics to comment on this time around. The first was my trip to Colorado to winterize The Box and take in fall colors. The second was the visit from Pam’s childhood friend Julie Nickles.

I am going to start with Julie’s visit. Pam’s friend from childhood, Julie now lives in Florida. She came to Iowa to attend Luther College’s homecoming festivities and connect with us and a few other friends.

As of this moment, Julie is in Decorah (Luther College) staying with another friend. I will pick her up tomorrow and bring her back to Heart House where she stayed on her first night.

Many have been the lively conversations with Julie; the cats are beginning to venture out to see what the new human is like. Vienna and KitKat are the most reclusive, but the other cats are coming around pretty well. The dogs, Bru and Grayce, seemed to absorb the visitor without much fuss.

We ventured out to a local greenhouse, Zimmerman’s, to pick up a few mums and small pumpkins. Here is a photo of that outing:

(Photo by one of the greenhouse staff.)

Julie returns to Heart House for a time before she flies back to Florida. There will be stories about her visit to Luther College that we would like to hear!

The other main dialog concerns my recent trip to The Lot to take in Colorado’s fall colors and winterize The Box. There were some great moments and a few issues along the way.

I was lucky this year; the aspen colors were at their peak. Last year I was a bit late, but this time around I really hit the mark. I have quite a few photos taken during my stay, a few in this post, but I have created a Fall Gallery with more for those who might wish to overdose on mountain colors.

Here are a few “color” photos.

I took a trip over Boreas Pass and stopped at the top. Pam’s mother’s ashes are spread around the restored cabin here and I try to make the visit every year. Here is what the structures look like this visit.

One evening, on a drive home, there was a gorgeous red sunset so I had to stop and get a few photos.

The trip was not without a few issues. The truck had a brake problem; a spring that helps retract a brake pad had broken and was jamming a front caliper intermittently. I was able to remove the broken part and drive back to Iowa without problem. A replacement pad kit has been ordered and will be here in a few days.

The real disappointment for me involved the chipper. I had hoped to get it running and chip the brush I had cut during my last outing. Alas, this goal was not to be reached.

I was able to get the chipper running, but as soon as I began chipping, one of the hydraulic hoses sprung a leak and I had to quit. The nearest store with parts was in Buena Vista, around 40 miles away.

I drove over to the Tractor Supply store, who had a suitable hose, but I also needed two swivel fittings and the store had only one. As a result, the chipper is sitting, waiting for me to repair it on my next trip. The brush remains piled along the driveway.

During my last trip (earlier, this summer) I had a leak in The Box’s roof. This trip I found the source, located around the refrigerator vent. There was a low spot where water and leaves accumulated. I was able to clean the area and coat it with a rubberized spray material. It did not rain while I was there but I am pretty sure the leak is now fixed. However, I did cover the spot with an old tarp before I left for added protection.

As a side note, the refrigerator, which I had repaired on my last outing, worked perfectly.

Nights are getting near freezing in the high country, with frost present several mornings. Since the RV’s furnace takes a lot of battery power to run, I used my little generator to keep the batteries fully charged so I did not run out of power overnight. I was very satisfied on how well this worked and I was able to stay comfortably warm the entire trip.

Evening campfires helped add to the ambience of the visit.

I enjoyed my outing and time spent in the high country. Hopefully the next trip will see the chipper back in action and more lot cleanup can be accomplished. Until then, there is yard work (leaf season has started) here in Iowa and a few more house projects to finish before the first snows arrive.

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

Pam’s Penny

In a house the age of this one — considering the number of pets housed within — a person can clean and clean for a week without noticeable effect. And so it was while Himself was in Colorado. At least random tufts of cat hair and skittish bits of litter were disposed of…

Rock on.

Today’s Humor: