Category: General (Page 52 of 61)

Animal Band Mural

What’s this ? The City of Glenwood Springs has, for the last year or so, embarked on a beautification program. Part of the project includes painting scenes on building walls and overpasses. This whimsical work or art is actually on a railroad support which is part of a span over the Roaring Fork River. Most of the panels are more true-to-life, depicting outdoor scenes, horses, and other western-themed icons. This particular panel can only be seen from the walking path along the river, a path I often take on lunch time walks. I like the walks and the mural.

It has been a busy summer, but the first freeze has come and gone and there is more snow on the mountain tops. Fall colors are at their peak. Summer has ended, fall is here, and winter will be here before we know it.

This is, in many ways, my favorite time of the year. The autumn-blue skies with the vivid aspen colors contrasting against deep-green pine backgrounds makes for great views. (The leaf-peepers are out in full force.)  The aspen on our lot are beginning to change colors but are not yet at their peak color; that will probably happen this week. A trip over is planned for this upcomming weekend.

I did make a solo trip to Sanderling over the weekend of September 28 – 29. Three more loads to the burn pit and another load of wood brought home, plus turned the furnace on in the trailer to keep it from freezing up at night. Weekly forcast shows a warming trend – cold came early this year – and we hope to have another month before we have to winterize the RV.  Winterizing will mean pulling the trailer over to the dump station, draining all the holding tanks including the fresh water supply, removing all the food and bathroom items that might freeze, and making sure all the water lines are blown dry. Process will take several hours.

In my previous post I had a video clip of the morning sunrise on a cloudy day. This time, for comparison, I took a clip of a sunrise on a clear day.

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Ebony’s kittens opened their eyes this past week. All black except for a few stray white hairs here and there, they will be harder to adopt – distinctive kittens go more quickly – so Pam has decided to give them extra socializing attention in hopes they will be so adorable their color won’t hold them back.

Speaking of kittens, in addition to Ebony’s four, Pam has two kittens from the shelter, both on meds, in our “cat” room. Another neighbor who fosters kitten had to be gone for the weekend so we had three of her kittens with us. Total of nine kittens in the house for the last few days. Good thing we had stocked up on cat liter. The five older kittens are all very social and like to be held and petted and are pretty attractive cats. Add to this total our seven and Ebony and we had seventeen cats in the house over the weekend. That’s a full house. Mix in the three dogs and you have a menagerie.

Our County animal control officer, Aimee, calls Pam “The Crazy Cat Lady.” This may be true, but Pam hopes, as most rescue and foster care people do, that some day this work won’t be needed. However, as long as people don’t spay/neuter their animals and then dump them when they become inconvenient there will be cats running loose. Four litters this year were from two domesticated cats who were dumped. Pam was able to rescue two of the four litters but just one of the non-rescued litters added four more cats to the outside population. (The mom cats Pam has rescued have been or will be spayed before being released to the outside world again.) Not ideal, but we do what we can to provide food and shelter and medical care to these outside cats.  Pam will try to trap the four kittens over the winter and have the vet spay/neuter them.

If there is an entrance exam to get into Heaven I suspect one question would be “How did you treat your pets?” I believe a number of people would flunk the quiz based on their answer.  At least from De Beque…

I’ll end this post with a few photos from my last ATV trip into the Colorado mountains.

Lake City side of Engineer Pass

Bull Moose along Cuba Gulch

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Wanted to give a shout out to Tabitha’s mother who apparently  reads this blog regularly.  She no doubt wonders why two old folks would buy land at over 9,000 feet elevation.  Or why anyone would have seventeen cats in the house over the weekend.  Then again, being Tabitha’s mom, she might understand about the cats.

Happy trails.

A rare weekend at home let me get a post going that catches up on a few topics. First, a shout out to sister-in-law Becky who just finished a solo 9-day trip to North Carolina. Charlotte, Statesville, and other towns were on her agenda and, due to numerous blog post photos, she was able to share her experiences with the rest of us. Personally, Statesville sounded the best. (“No Sushi, just fish fried as God intended…”)

Another shout out to brother-in-law Craig and his wife Dianne who are in the process of building a cabin near Bloomer, Wisconsin. They bought a 2 acre lot bordering a lake, have cleared a spot, and have begun getting the tests, permits, and other basics leading toward the building of a cabin. Good wishes to them!

Sinbad the Kitten is now Sinbad the (young adult) Cat. He likes to lounge on our deck and – occasionally – be picked up and petted. He is a cute cat, just too bad he did not take to being an inside cat. Here is a recent photo of him:

Sinbad the Cat

The firewood we cut has been delivered to Kathy Hall. She and a friend of hers helped us unload the wood and stack it near her house. Having 4 people working made the job go quicker, a good thing since the truck was half-way out in the road while we unloaded the wood. I figure we have delivered over a cord so far, about 3/4 of it on this load.

Firewood in truck and trailer waiting to be delivered

Another view of loaded trailer

Izzy’s kittens are getting more and more used to dry food and will soon be able to do well without Izzy’s milk. Pam is trying to accelerate the weaning process, as that would mean the kittens could be placed in the Friends of Rifle Animal Shelter, making way for the next prego cat that is currently in our garage, a black mom cat we call Ebony. We used to live in Rifle and drive pass daily on our way to and from work. Pam has worked with Heather, the shelter manager, for many years and I worked for a time with Heather’s husband, Jon, when we first moved into the area. They are good people.

A few “fall colors” are already evident. This is a bit early and portends an early fall/winter. Normally we don’t begin to see color until the first or second week in September. Late September and early October are usually the peak times of the color season, higher elevations turning color first. Last winter set numerous low temperature records and we really hope this winter is on the milder side!

A few weeks ago I replaced the spark plug wires and distributor cap on the Ford 8N tractor. It now runs nice and smooth on all 4 cylinders. (Old distributor cap had a broken terminal that was causing problems.)  However, after taking it around the block, it looks like I need to re-do the rear axle seal on the right side; oil is already leaking out of the brake drum. There is also a gasket on the bottom of the transmission that needs to be replaced as it is leaking. Probably won’t get to that those repairs this year but at least the engine is now in good operating condition. Seal, gasket, and re-install the original air cleaner and that will be all the repairs I plan to do in the short term. More needs to be done but those 3 repairs will basically put the tractor into working condition. Then comes fixing lights, rebuild the steering system, replace rusting rear fenders, and other miscellaneous repairs. It will be awhile until the 8N is done to the level I want.

My thanks to everyone who sent greetings and cards for my birthday and our anniversary, both celebrated during the first half of August. (We are getting old…)

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

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!