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We had an “overnighter” at the lot this past weekend. Pam and I went up with the truck on the evening of Friday the 19th. Plan was, as has become normal for us, take a load of slash to the burn pit, check on the plantings, and get more firewood home. (We had cut and delivered the July 6th load the previous weekend.) Nothing new or particularly noteworthy in that plan.

But…we also wanted to stop and see a house for sale in Como, listed at $35,000. We thought it might be a candidate to move up to the lot if it were solid enough, and might provide storage in the short term. Pam had checked on-line and found that Como has a pretty extensive cemetery that dates back to the 1800s and we wanted to visit it as well. These side trips were planned for Saturday as we were heading home.

The house proved to be a disappointment as far as either storage or potentially moving it. Two additions, poorly done, and a rubble foundation led us to believe the house would not stand another move. (It had been moved once from a mine site to its current site.) If one had a lot of money and the willingness to take on a project the house could be made cute, but it has no water – hand dug well no longer produces – and no septic system, only a holding tank, so is only marginally habitable as it sits and would have  drawbacks even if remodeled.

House for sale in Como – 27 Park Street

The  cemetery, however, was a bit different. Managed now by Park County, it is pretty much left in a natural state with very little maintenance but not really deserted. We saw one headstone from 2011 so there have been some more recent burials. Most  headstones date from 1he 1880s or so and quite a few commemorate infant deaths.

Como cemetery gate

We asked a local lady, who was out walking, for directions.  We had passed the unmarked road on previous trips – I guess locals don’t want a lot people visiting the cemetery. We found the spot with no problems once we knew where to look.

There is something very peaceful about the place. It is not regimented and is heavily treed, mostly aspen but some pine, and a bit disorganized. Still it has an appeal to us and may be the spot we pick for our final resting place. I have to check with the County to see how one qualifies to be buried here.

Grave sites are scattered beneath the aspen.

This one site, with the headstone indicating it was a child’s grave, caught Pam’s eye as there are blooming columbine flowers in it, the only columbine we saw this trip.

Child’s grave with blooming columbine.

We were glad we stopped here and saw the place. So were the dogs; since the place  was fenced Pam let two of the dogs, Bru and Jo, run free for a time. It is a nice spot and would not be a bad place to spend eternity.

Not much else from this trip. In addition to the lot clean-up I did get the output from the solar panel charger routed directly to the batteries and will see if the batteries charge while we are gone. If not the next step will be to replace the charger unit.

A couple notes regarding  my July 7th Georgia Pass trip.

My return was delayed by a Jeep with a flat tire. The driver has stopped in the middle of a tight spot in the trail, effectively closing the tail to traffic. These people were not ready to be out 4-wheeling; they could not figure out how to use the factory jack, having never changed a tire on this vehicle. One lady who, like me, was waiting to get past the Jeep called them the “biggest idiots” she had ever seen on a trail.

I walked down to give them a hand figuring this would be the fastest way to re-open the trail. I jacked up the Jeep and the driver was able to put on the spare. His wife / girlfriend and he thanked me profusely for the help. I was just glad to be able to get moving again.

People unprepared for back-road travel are a real problem out here. Most of these areas do not have cell phone coverage, which surprises a lot of city folks, and they are unprepared for any event. No extra water, clothing, sun screen, or appropriate footwear (the wife / girlfriend was wearing flip-flops.) I don’t have much respect for these people; they put themselves and others at risk by not preparing themselves or their equipment for off-road trips.

This next bit is for Hank and Ellie who are familiar with the area around Jefferson Lake. (Jeferson Lake is in the same area as Georgia Pass.) This lake, like Crater Lake in Oregon, is an old volcano caldera that has filled with water. I was going to visit the lake but it is now a “special management area” and there is a $6.00 per day fee to enter. Annual pass is $45.00 and is good only at this site, it is not a state park. Since I was mainly interested in Georgia Pass I passed on driving  in to see the lake this time. Maybe some time in the future I will visit as I am told it is a very nice spot.

I have created an on-line photo gallery for the Georgia Pass trip. It includes the same video as in my last post along with  additional photos I took along the way. The link is http://www.appleattic.net/Galleries/georgia.html. The gallery can also be reached through the Galleries tab on our AppleAttic home page,  http://www.appleattic.net. Be aware this gallery, like my other galleries, requires a free download of Adobe Flash Player to view. The download is available from http://www.adobe.com

Sinbad the kitten is now an outside cat. He was “failing to thrive” in the house, had stopped eating, and was generally misearable. Pam put him outside and he immediatly began to eat, play with other cats, and generally improve. He has had his first set of shots and will go in for a neuter operation next month, but we won’t try to adopt him out as a house cat. He can be picked up and petted so is not completely reverted to being wild.  He had a great time playing on the trailer when it had the firewood logs in it. Sinbad and another kitten – who is definitely wild – played pounce, hide-and-seek, and other kitten games on the trailer for days before we cut the wood. I was almost sad to take away their playground.

Izzy’s kittens will finish opening their eyes this week. Up to now they haven’t been moving around much but that will shortly change!

With a trip to California planned next week – motorcycle rally in Santa Margarita – it will be a couple weeks before my next post. I know — the anticipation will be unbearable. 🙂

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

I’ve mentioned Boreas Pass many times in the course of the last 3 years. A favorite trip of ours when we first moved to Colorado, Pam’s mother  visited it with us and asked that her ashes be scattered up on Boreas after she died. This request was honored. We’ve visited Boreas Pass every year since we returned to Colorado in 2003, but we usually approach from the Breckenridge side; we proceed to the top of the pass then return to Breck. Only rarely have we visited the other side of the pass, which terminates in Como.

As noted in my last post, I decided to take a trip over Boreas Pass on my way home from the lot last weekend. Included here are a few photos of the south side of the route.

Since the Boreas Pass route was originally a railroad line, and I have an interest in Colorado rail history, much of what follows may be a bit boring to the casual reader since much of this post deals with this railroad’s history.

The town of Como, located on Colorado Hwy 285, started as a coal mining town. Seventeen miles away, over Boreas Pass, Breckenridge was a booming gold and silver mining town. The railroad was built to connect the two towns. It supplied Breckenridge and mining camps along the way with transport, supplies, people, and equipment. The railroad came out of Denver via Kenosha Pass, giving short and quick (for the day) access to the Denver markets and transportation system. As the mines played out and other roads were built, the line fell into disuse and was abandoned. The rail line over Boreas Pass was converted to auto traffic in 1952. The current Hwy 285 follows, in many cases, the route of the rail line over Kenosha Pass into Denver and is a nice drive in it’s own right.

The Forest Service has started to recognize the historic significance  of this route and has rebuilt the old section house, Baker water tank, and has improved maintenance on the roadway. Today the trip is a popular tourist destination and mountain bikers and hikers frequent the area. The route is not open in the winter but can be driven with a regular car during the summer months. There is a Forest Service campground about a mile off the route that is heavily used.

Anyway, so much for the schpiel. Let’s see the photos!

Town of Como from Boreas Pass road

Reconstructed bit of railroad on Boreas Pass

Line ran along Rocky Point giving fantastic views of Mt. Silverheels

Flowers growing, literally, out of the rocks along the old roadbed

One of several streams crossed on the Boreas Pass route

This trip has long been a favorite of ours, and now that we are in the area more often (we can see the lights of Como at night after a 5 minute walk down Sanderling Court) we’ll be taking this route more than once a year.

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

Pam and I had decided to spend Father’s Day weekend at the lot. Goals for this trip: More lot clean up and set the posts for the gate. All the materials had been hauled over previously so we loaded up the Honda for the trip:

Loaded for the lot

Pam began cleaning the aspen grove by starting a pile of dead wood and trees that she hauled out of the grove. The pile was located where we could get to it with the ATV and trailer when we come up for a longer work session over the 4th of July weekend. Here is a shot of Pam hauling some of the stuff she collected:

Pam cleaning dead wood out of the aspen grove

By Sunday afternoon, when we had to leave to come back home, we had a couple of wood piles started. The first is small stuff to be taken to the burn pit and the other is stuff suitable to be cut into fire wood:

Slash wood to go to the burn pit.

This “salvageable stuff” will be cut into firewood.

By Sunday morning the work was having an impact; here is a shot of the cleaned area:

Cleaned area of aspen grove.

You can actually walk around now without tripping over the dead wood!

While Pam was cleaning I went to work on digging the holes to set the gate posts. We plan to have a gate across the driveway which consits of a right-hand and left-hand gate sections and each requires a post to act as the pivot point.

I knew this was going to be a job as I don’t have a jackhammer to break up the rock that I knew I was going to find. So, armed with a maul and some steel bits and pieces I proceeded to try to dig the first post hole.

What a job — 2 hours into the first post and I called it good enough. The hole was not as deep as I would like but I hope it is deep enough to do the job. With QuickCrete mixed up in a bucket I set the post in place.

The second hole was worse but I eventually ended up with a usable excavation and set that post in place as well. Below is a photo of Pam watching an incoming storm but note the two posts, one on either side of the driveway.

Pam watching incoming storm. Note the two gate posts.

All in all, not a bad bit of work for an “overnighter.” We plan a long 4th of July stay and hope to get the gate up (it’s in 2 sections) and haul the slash pile to the burn pit. After that there will be railroad ties to fasten together along the driveway, then more lot cleaning to be done.

One problem…we ran out of battery power. This meant the weekend was a little more “camping” than we had planned. Heating hot water over the stove, no shower…but we survived. I pulled the batteries and took them home with us. The batteries where checked and recharged at the local NAPA shop and did not have to be replaced; they just are not recharging from the solar panels. Work needed there….

Cats and Dogs:

Sinbad the Kitten is doing well, and apparently loves to be petted and held. He had his shots today but it is still a little early for his neuter operation. We hope to get him adopted into a home.

The dogs do OK at the lot, though most of their time is spent sleeping in the trailer. Definitely not outdoor dogs by choice. Here is a shot of Blondie and Bru in the aspen grove:

Blondie and Bru in the aspen grove

Postscript:

I took the truck over to the lot this last Saturday. I reinstalled our now fully charged batteries, did some work on the electrical system, and pulled the trailer over to the dump station to empty the holding tanks. After that I topped off the fresh water tank. This trip also saw me taking our small generator along and leaving it at the trailer. It will be used to charge the batteries in the event the solar panels don’t do the trick. We wanted everything to be ready for the 4th of July long weekend, and now it is.  Headed home over Boreas Pass, approaching from the Como side.  (Hello Mountain Laurie…) I was amazed at the variety of flowers blooming at this time of year. I really enjoyed taking this route home.

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

We should have our first high country guests on July 5th.  We’ll be “entertaining,” whoo-hoo.

It’s been a quiet week. I am using this lull to catch up on some miscellaneous stuff. Here are a couple of left-over photos that didn’t get used elsewhere. The first shows where Park County is in relation to the rest of the state:

Park County is right in the middle of the state. Map courtesy of Park County.

Park County has the highest average elevation of any of Colorado’s counties, well over 9,000 feet. Our property is located near the top of the left-hand ‘bump’ in the county profile. This is about 100 miles (more or less) outside Denver.

This photo gives a closer look at the county of South Park. Fairplay is just below and to the left of the letter “S” and our place is about 23 miles south-east of  that.

Park County map courtesy of the Park County web site.

Back to the lot itself, our Doug Fir starts are showing signs of stress due to the transplant. The trees along the edge of the driveway, not the slope, are doing OK though. The soil here has more organic material in it and should help  these trees take root.   Pam had made, by hand, about a dozen tree guards to protect these starts from grazing (open range) animals.

Pam’s tree guards protecting young Doug Fir

I’ve mentioned a few of my toys; here is a photo of  few of them on the lot. This was taken over Memorial Day weekend.

Jer’s toys include this ATV, dump cart, and truck

Note the few extra tools in the truck including a chain saw and 2-wheel hand cart.

Our next trip to the lot will probably be over Father’s Day, with another long weekend planned over the 4th of July. Getting the gate posts in and set will be the next big project. I am not looking forward to digging those holes as it will require breaking up a lot of rock to make them deep enough.

I did have a bit of a treat last weekend; my good friend and former college roommate, Jon Bjornson, flew into Denver. He was heading for a job interview in Casper, Wyoming, and we arranged to meet for lunch on Monday the 10th. I went over as far as the Sanderling lot on Sunday the 9th (by motorcycle) and stayed overnight in the RV.  Monday morning I rode into Denver and met with Jon at our agreed-upon lunch spot. We had a good chat (but not as in-depth as Pam would have liked). At any rate, here is a photo of the motorcycle at the lot plus a picture of Jon and me at lunch:

Bike with trailer on our lot.

Jon and myself at lunch in Denver

Jon later reported the interview seemed to go well. Now the wait to see if a job offer materializes.

Pam has trapped a kitten in our garage and named him Sinbad. He’s a cute little tyke but it remains to be seen if he can be domesticated enough to be adopted as a house cat, or if he will become another of the outside cats that use our garage as a base of operations.

Sinbad the Kitten

You can see his ears and nose are still pretty dirty, but his markings are already well-pronounced.  He won’t let Pam touch him yet, he really needs to be cleaned up.

I used to work on these posts on Sunday mornings but that just isn’t working out with our summer activities, so check back in any time during the week and you may see a new post.

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

This will be just  a quick post featuring some photos of our “new” 2005 Ford F150 pick-up truck. I brought it home yesterday (Saturday) and will be getting used to it over the next few weeks. Ford does have an Owner’s Manual on-line which I read and found a few interesting details, such as the rear window is a power window that can be opened to let a whole lot of air flow through the cab.

Pam has not yet named the truck (the trailer is now “The Box”) so I’ll just refer to it as the F150. I’ll start with a walk-around of the outside:

Side view – F150

Front view – F150

Rear quarter-view – F150

rear view – F150

The interior is as pictured in my previous post, but here are a couple additional photos:

Rear seating area – dogs will ride in comfort.

Driver’s side of cab. Very comfortable.

I will have a few things to check out on the truck, such as making sure the spare tire carrier (which cranks up and down) works OK and check all the fluid levels. Now that there are no below-freezing temps in the extended forecast we will be provisioning the trailer and hope to pull it up to the lot before the end of the month.

One problem…the F150 will not fit through the garage door! The truck is too tall. I never expected that. Now we will have to figure out how / where to park it so we don’t have to move it every time we want to take the Honda out of the garage. Always something!

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

Pam’s two cents worth:

Can’t you just picture a cool “other color” on the bottom side panels of the truck and around the wheel wells, with some jazzy graphics dancing across the doors?  If we leave the thing plain white, I’ll never be able to find it in parking lots…I need something distinctive to identify my parked ride.  Such are the problems of aging.