The paperwork has been signed. A “dream” realized.
Yesterday, September 14, we closed on our lot, 179 Sanderling Court. Closing was set for 12:00 noon and we were done by about 1:00 pm. There was a bit of drama the day before, though. The title company handled the closing, and part of the process included a transfer of funds from our savings account into their account. Since both accounts were within the Wells Fargo banking system we did not have to do a wire transfer, which saved us a few bucks, but the title company had trouble finding the money. I finally scanned the bank receipt and e-mailed it to the closer assigned to this transaction, and at about 4:50 pm I received a call informing me they had found the funds. Our down payment had come in as a “memo transfer” and the title company had been looking for a wire transfer. Oh well, they did find it and we were good to close.
After the closing Pam and I ate a quick Subway lunch and headed out to the lot. We wanted to get started laying out a driveway path and to begin some clean-up of dead trees and wood. 2 hours of steady work just about did us in for the day. We are not used to working at that elevation, and (due to our desk jobs) we are not in the best physical condition to begin with. Still, we enjoyed working on our lot, have a better idea of where the drive will go, and we ended the visit by hiking up to Pam’s Pavilion Point.
The two of us on Pam’s Pavilion Point
We love the views from up there. The Fall aspen color change is further along than last week but peak looks to be a week or so away yet.
Tomorrow we head over with the chain saw with the intent of removing some of the larger trees in the driveway path.
Green flags indicate driveway path
Flags in foreground indicate where the right edge of the driveway will be. Look to the left side, near fence, and you will see the flags that indicate the left side of the drive. Trees in the path proved to be a challenge for a bow saw so are now candidates for the chain saw. Pam’s clipboard, the white item in the foreground, is holding a plat map of the lot.
We are excited to be owners after 2 years of looking for mountain land to call our own. Now the reality kicks in: Getting there, lot clean-up, planning improvements. It will be hard work but very rewarding.
We did call the local porta-potty place. Jeez…$110.00 a month for bi-weekly clean out, $120.00 a month for weekly clean out, and in winter, an additional $6.10 per clean-out for the anti-freeze solution they use. (It has to be biodegradable.) Plus a $40.00 set-up fee. Pam is looking at an Incinolet…
Our clean-up and trips will be the subject of a few more posts over the next few weeks. There is already fresh snow on the higher peaks, so it may not be long before we get snow on the ground up there, but we do hope it holds off for several weeks yet.
Pam and I went to Boreas Pass this past Saturday, September 8th. We make this trip at least once a year. Lorraine’s ashes (Pam’s mother) were dispersed at the top of Boreas Pass per Lorraine’s wishes more than 20 years ago.
It was a gorgeous day. Bright, temperate, and just a light breeze blowing made this one of the best days we have had at the top of the pass. The fall colors are beginning to show more strongly with about 20 – 30 percent of the aspen turning color, and Boreas Pass is a good place to go leaf-peeping.
Boreas Pass Road, Fall 2012
There were not a lot of changes at the restored section house and cabin at the top of the pass. Normally we see more flowers blooming, but this visit is later in the year than usual for us and not much was in bloom. The night time temps are probably below freezing already.
Boreas Pass Roadhouse, Fall 2012
After stopping a while, walking the dogs, and taking in the scenery while Pam “spoke” to her mom, we headed down the Como side of the pass en route to visiting the lot at 179 Sanderling Court.
We close on the lot this coming Friday. We wanted to see if the aspen on the lot had begun to turn colors – just a slight tinge so far – and do some more walking around. Pam had never been to the higher parts of the lot and I wanted to show her a potential building site she had not seen before.
We both agreed this alternate building spot on the east (left) side of the lot is better than the initial place I had identified. The first spot is on the west (right) side of the lot in the aspen. It is a little flatter but with more limited views. A drive would have had to be cut through the aspen grove, not a real appealing plan to Pam as she would like to keep the grove intact. The alternate spot is higher up the slope on the eastern part of the lot, has very good views, and is in a “saddle” area with both pine and aspen present. The area is fairly flat; some excavation would have to be done to site a building, but not a great deal.
Then there is “Pam’s Pavilion Point,” an outcropping of rock a couple of minutes walk from the saddle. Excellent views, accessible without having to hike to the back of the lot, and big enough to use as the base for a small gazebo, Pavilion Point is a definite reason to pick this area for a cabin.
Pavilion Point
The saddle area is down by the larger pine tree in the right-center of the photo. Kicker is the drive way, which would have to go up a fairly steep incline before it got to the top of a mostly level ridge. From the top it would be an easy build back to the saddle area. I am going to meet with the driveway contractor whom we have contacted earlier and see what options we have in driveway construction. If this detail can be worked out, and our rough plan indicates it is do-able, the saddle area would be the spot where we would put our cabin.
We finished our day trip by driving into Fairplay and finding the bank building where the closing will take place, then home. It was just about a 12-hour on-the-road day, and we were tired when we got home, but it was a good trip. We are looking forward to the closing this Friday so we can finally say “It’s ours!”
Pam on Pavilion Point
I did not take many photos this trip so do not have a gallery link. I did add a couple new photos to the Boreas Pass collection, first published after our visit last year. Later I will start a Sanderling Court gallery and will be adding to it as we start working the lot.
Before I get into this latest post I have a comment about photos. In the past I have sometime put galleries at the end of my posts. The drawback to this practice is these photos tend to get lost the older the post is.
I have modified my Galleries page to include more photos, broken down into collections by topic or by event, such as my ATV outings. I will still include photos in my posts, but will also include a link to a gallery that will have more photos of that trip or event. It will be easier for anyone, myself included, to revisit photos I took months or weeks before without having to wander through old blog posts.
My latest outing was taken this past Sunday, September 2nd. I was again in the Ouray area, this time traveling the Engineer Pass Road.
I had picked up some used luggage for The Griz, and so had extra space to store a raincoat, gloves, guide book, Canon camera, and a gas can as well as my cooler. Here I am at the start of the route which begins south of Ouray off Hwy 550:
Start of the Engineer Pass Road
About 3 miles up the road is this waterfall. (This photo is our current desktop.)
Engineer Pass waterfall
The other elements of a good trip, evidence of old mining activity and alpine flowers, are both represented in these next 2 photos:
Boilers at the San Juan Chief Mill near Mineral Point
Yellow asters (?) were bright spots along the trail
The day began clear, but – as usual – a chance of afternoon showers was in the forecast. I headed up the trail, stopping for photos of old mines, the waterfall, grazing domestic sheep, and just enjoying the mountain scenes. Fall colors are beginning to appear, a bit earlier than average but I was getting up to well over 12,000 feet in elevation, and the trees turn earlier at the higher elevations.
At the top: Engineer Pass
Pam asked me a question: Why do you enjoy these outings so much? In truth, it is a question difficult to answer.
I have always liked history and mechanical devices. (Just look at my toys!) Both are combined in the mining history of Colorado. The mid-1800s into the early 1900s was a dynamic time for the west, including Colorado, with road building, mining, towns forming, railroads being built. The ingenuity, hard work, and sometimes just plain luck these early pioneers exhibited makes me stop and think about how we got to where we are today.
Then again, maybe it’s just sitting with my back against an old wall, looking at the mountains across a wide valley, munching an apple, and enjoying the warm sunlight on my face.
My Dad loved the mountains, and one of my earliest memories is of a framed photo of Mt. Shasta, California. (I was born in the town of Mt. Shasta that sits in the mountain’s shadow.) This photo hung in every house we lived in, and is one of the few items I would like to get from my parent’s estate. Mt. Shasta is a snow-covered peak in northern California. Was mountain living imprinted on me when I was born? Pam is more comfortable near water. Perhaps it is not a coincidence; she was born near a river and grew up along the Mississippi.
In any event, I enjoy these outings a great deal, and hope to have many more of them.
Here is a link to my Engineer Mountain gallery. I hope you take a look at it. 31 photos in all.
There are a couple of things to catch up on, but none really big enough for a dedicated post. I’m lumping in a bunch of stuff this time: medical, tractor, land hunt, and around the house.
Medical:
I saw the doctor yesterday and he says the nose is healing OK. I have to keep it greased with Vaseline or similar to help keep the joint between the skin graft and the rest of the nose pliable and not crusty. My next check-up is October 1st.
Tractor:
The 8N can now roll around again, thanks to a new ($374.00) rear tire.
New rear tire on the 8N
After the problems I had with trying to find a good used tire I decided to go new. The tire is on a used rim, as the original was rusted beyond use. I took the tractor for a spin – no brakes yet so utmost care is required – and took some yard and grass clippings down to a spot the town has designated as a dropping point for such items. Brake repair is next, but will have to wait for my next pay check.
Land Hunt:
Paperwork is progressing. There have been some small errors that have needed correcting. For example, the title company put the wrong purchase price on their forms. They had used the seller’s counter offer instead of our final offer. The credit union had double-entered one of our credit accounts, showing us with 2 cards and 2 balances instead of 1. That had to be fixed. Anyway, it looks like we are still “on” to close September 14. We are looking forward to it (let the finance circus be over)!
In the photo below, our lot is to the right of the primitive road break. Way back in the photo (middle-right) there is a pine tree, in front of the mountain, and our drive would go to the right of this tree. Photo was taken last February from the adjoining lot. There is not a lot of snow for that time of the year.
Lot 174 is to the right of this break
Name for the lot:
How does “Serendipity at Sanderling” strike ya?
Around the house:
I was playing with my old Canon digital camera and took a few photos around the outside of the house. One morning it had rained and I decided to take some morning glory blossom shots. Here are a few results:
Front yard and privacy fence
Another front yard photo
Raindrops on morning glory
Morning glory on fence line
We don’t have much planned for the next couple weeks, although I want to get out on another ATV ride in the Ouray area before the snow falls. The next big event should be the land closing, not very photogenic in itself but we will be back on Sanderling taking more “before” photos (and deciding where the porta potty should go…)!
I had a basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, removed from the end of my nose on Thursday the 16th. This turned out to be a bigger deal than I though it would be.
The Doc had to “numb” the nose with a local, then cut out the carcinoma. I waited for about an hour and a half for the lab results. The Doc missed some the first time around, had to cut a little more. Another hour wait and the lab thinks the Doc got all of it this time. The surgical process included cauterizing some capillaries to help reduce the bleeding. Nothing like that smell, believe me.
Now to close the hole left by the surgury.
I have a Burroughs skin graft in place to cover the pit left by the removal of the carcinoma, which was actually a small tumor. Stiches. I dislike getting stitches, even if the area is under a local. 2 layers of stitches. The removal had left a pit about three-eights of an inch in diameter and below the bottom layer of dermis. The Doc took some skin off another part of my nose, put it in the pit where the carcinoma had been, and stitched me up.
In a week I will be back in the Doc’s office and have the dressing removed. He may have to sand down the skin graft edges to make the joint with the surrounding skin more even. Oh Joy! The top layer of the graft will probaly turn black or grey as new capillaries grow from the bottom up and the top layer of skin will most likly be dead before the capillaries get that far. Prognosis is 3 – 4 weeks to heal, then a while longer for the scars to fade.
I realize this is not major surgury or even close. Still, my nose hurts. Its giving me headaches. Sleeping – I sleep on my stomach – stops every time I roll over and hit my nose on the pillow. Taking a shower and trying to keep my nose dry is interesting, but it can be done.
Pam helped by cutting down a large Band-Aid and putting it over the white gauze and tape that decorates the end of my schnoz. The brown color is a little less obtrusive. I went to work with the Band-Aid in place.
Jerry and his taped-up nose
Moral of this tale: Don’t wait, as I did, or the problem just gets bigger and more painful to fix.
This past Sunday I took my ATV (The Griz) to Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is rich in mining history and I have long wanted to explore the Jeep trails in the area. In addition to the photos in the narrative I have included a photo gallery at the end of this post. As usual, clicking on an image will open a larger version.
Jerry and The Griz entering the Yankee Boy Basin
There were three places I wanted to get to on this trip: Yankee Boy Basin, Governor Basin, and Imogene Pass. I had looked at my maps and planned to visit Yankee Boy Basin first then work my way back through Governor Basin and Imogene Pass. This would put me closest to the parking area at the end of my ride.
Note: Gear on The Griz included a grey soft cooler carrying beverages and lunch and a yellow camera case on the rear rack. My tripod (in a green sleeve,) baseball cap, and small carry-all bag are on the front rack. My helmet sits on the seat.
The day dawned bright and sunny but with a chance of afternoon showers. I unloaded The Griz and started up the road to Yankee Boy Basin. Due to mining activity that continues in this area, mostly for gold and silver, the lower part of the road is in good condition and can be traveled by passenger cars. It quickly becomes a shelf road, though, narrow and with little room to pass. Here is The Griz at a popular photo spot:
The Griz at a wide spot in the road to Yankee Boy Basin.
Not much further up the road you come to The Overhang where the road passes below a large rock outcrop.
Road goes under “The Overhang.”
Very shortly you start seeing remains of the large mines and ore milling operations that operated in the area. Most date from the 1870s into the early 1900s. Here and there a few bits and pieces of buildings and equipment remain. Much of this is on private land and cannot be approached for a closer view. Take a look at the photo gallery to see some of these remains.
I will say that wildflowers in the area were blooming in some profusion. I don’t know the names of these flowers near the Torpedo Eclipse Mill but they sure looked great!
Summer flowers near the Torpedo Eclipse Mill.
I worked my way up the valley and eventually arrived at the top of Yankee Boy Basin. From here a couple hiking trails take off including one that goes to the top of Mt. Sneffels, one of Colorado’s “fourteeners.” (Fourteeners are peaks that are over 14,000 feet in elevaton.)
End of the road, Yankee Boy Basin.
Objective #1 for the day met, I backtracked down to the turn off to Governor Basin. Similar to Yankee Boy Basin, the Governor Basin area was rich in gold and silver deposits.
Governor Basin route sign. It was getting overcast by now.
Old mine tailings dot the area. One mine had a modern bucket loader and compressor parked near the mine entrance and the entrance road was blocked by a locked gate, all indications the mine is currently being worked. The guide book I was using listed this mine, the Mountain Top Mine, as being open to visit but obviously things have changed in the last 2 years since publication. Not unusual given the rise in the price of gold. A couple other mines showed similar activity. Many of the claims in the area are privately held and periodically worked.
Wild flowers in this area, which is above timberline, were great. Although the sky was getting dark the flowers were still vibrant. Here is one of the meadow areas I passed.
Wild flowers carpeted the meadows in Governor Basin
With objective #2 met I headed back toward the turn-off for Imogene Pass. On the way down it started to rain lightly. By the time I made it to the turn for Imogene Pass it was raining moderately hard.
The road – more like a trail – to Imogene Pass was the roughest trail of the day. Later I found out why: The better road goes through a mining property and is often gated. The “alternate” road basically follows a power line easement. I came back on the better road as, on this weekend, the gates were open.
I stopped and put on my windbreaker in an attempt, mostly sucessful, to stay dry and continued up the trail. I counted on the rain stopping a bit later as that is the pattern of mountain storms, and eventually the rain did stop and the sun returned although filtered by a few remaining clouds.
I have to get back here again. There are numerous waterfalls along this route and I did not get to take them all in. (The route to Yankee Boy Basin also had waterfalls; you can see photos of them in the gallery.)
I made it to the top of the pass, looked around, and headed back down. It was getting late in the afternoon and I wanted to look over some mine ruins I had passed on the way up and find a place to eat a late lunch.
The Griz at Top of Imogene Pass
Although I was now drying out and had enjoyed myself a great deal, it was time to head back to the car and pack up up for the trip home. On the way back to the parking lot my phone buzzed indicating I was back in cell phone coverage. I had a call from Pam: Our land offer had been accepted! That was a great delight to hear.
I got back to the parking lot, loaded The Griz, and headed out for the 2.5 hour trip back to DeBeque. I was very tired when I arrived home even though I had only ridden about 40 miles total. With all my photo stops and lunch this back woods trip worked out to an average speed of 5 miles per hour. Much of the trip was done in low-range 4-wheel drive giving me about 15 miles-per-gallon fuel economy.
I really enjoyed this outing. The afternoon rain made for less than ideal photo opportunities and I would like to get back to shoot some better photos. There are other routes in the area to ride as well. I could spend several days here and not get to all the trails shown on the back country maps.
Although the area is remote it is popular for Jeep tour operators and off-road folks. I saw dozens of Jeeps, ATVs, UTVs (those are the side-by-side rigs that look like overgrown golf carts) mountain bikers, both pedal type and motorized variety, and hikers. Lots of help around in case of a breakdown or other problems. The roads were better than I expected except for Imogene Pass. High country trails, flowers, waterfalls, mining history…my kind of trip. It was a good day!
Normally I carry just my little point-and-shoot Panasonic camera. This time I carried an older Canon digital camera equipped with a mild zoom lens as well. It has been a while since I dealt with F-stops and shutter speeds, but I want to have more creative control over my photos and the Canon seems a good way to get there. There are photos from both cameras in the gallery. Although the Canon EOS 10d is rated at only 6.3 megapixels, low by today’s standards, for web photo use it should be OK.
We made an offer. The seller made a counter offer. We made a counter offer. The seller agreed to to our offer, but made a change in the contract to split part of the closing costs. We didn’t know how much this was until today (Monday) and it turns out our half would not exceed $90.00. For this we needed a new contract? Given the new information we signed the dotted line. Closing is tentatively set for September 14, depending on how fast the bank can process our loan application.
What a relief! Now our planning can start “for real.”
Speaking of loan applications…
It has been a while since we went through the process, but it doesn’t seem to us that a loan app should be so involved. Much of the application is boiler plate as we are only buying land, but still we need pay stubs, tax returns, lists of assets (short!) and list of liabilities. We had been pre-approved but the bank (actually a credit union) could not “officially” process the paperwork until we had a signed contract. All this stuff is available through a credit report so I guess it is just a matter of the bank seeing how honest we are in filling out the forms.
Now we submit our paperwork and wait. I am off today but will take everything in tomorrow to make copies before I mail off the originals.
No answer to our offer yet. Seller has until 5:00 PM tomorrow (Sunday) to respond. In the mean time I did speak to a contractor about putting in a drive way.
Holy smoke!
$1,800.00 per day for equipment plus materials (culverts) that may be needed. 2 day minimum. Soooo we are looking right around 4 grand to just be able to drive onto the lot! (Not including the County’s drive way permit fee, of course.) This would not get us back to a home site or include any retaining walls or materials to build them.
High end, for all the goodies including decorative retaining walls, $12 – $15K depending on where we would identify a building site.
I am in the wrong business.
Here is a plat map of the property. Look at lot 174 which is the lot we want. This type is known as a ‘flag lot’ because the entrance to the lot looks like the pole of a flag.
Our proposed lot is number 174. Click on this image to bring up a larger version.
The drive would come off the road and make a left turn to get into the lot proper. It is this ‘pole’ entrance that makes the driveway so long. Distance from the road to the corner where the lot opens up is about 190 feet. The “52.16” is the width of the access alley, which is part of the lot and not an easement. Park County requires a 15 foot wide drive at a minimum so there would be a buffer zone between this lot and lots to the left and right.
The $4K I mentioned earlier would just get us the first 200 feet or so, from the road up to the first corner marker – the “pole” section of the lot. Depending on where we would site a house or shed the drive would have to be extended. I might be able to handle an extension with rental gear. A skid-steer loader (Bobcat) goes for about $265.00 per day. I have only 1 previous experience running a Bobcat but I think I could handle it.
The problem is that the entrance has to cut through a couple small ridges and be lowered to the height of the road, requiring an excavation of around 6 feet below surface level. I am not sure I could do it with rental gear. I may take a long probing rod along the next time and see if I can determine if the ridges are decomposed granite with some rocks in them or if there is a ridge of underlying rock. If I find the first condition I may try punching in the drive myself. If the second, then hiring a contractor would be the only way to go.
All of this is moot, of course, if the buyer rejects our offer. We will know tomorrow.
After 2 more trips in July to view properties, we have found the lot for us. We had been to this lot twice before and, after walking more of it on our 3rd visit, decided to make an offer.
The lot is on Sanderling Court, and if that rings a bell, you may remember we first visited Sanderling and posted a couple pictures in late spring. Snow was still on the ground. (Remember snow? Frozen white stuff that falls from the sky?)
Here are what we consider the pros and cons.
Pros:
In our price range.
Access is from a county maintained road, plowed in winter.
Lots of aspen and some pine.
Lower part is fairly level and has a good building spot.
Views from upper lot are great, from house site very good, from end of driveway where it joins the county road the views are spectacular.
Lot is in a saddle between two ridges, seems protected from wind.
Quite a varity of wild grasses and flowers. No cactus! (Seriously, some lots had cactus.)
No looking over a neighbor’s roof.
High enough to be significantly cooler in summer than at the house in DeBeque.
Cons:
No driveway into lot. I have contacted a local excavating company and am waiting on a driveway installation estimate.
Entrace to lot would go down a slope, making winter access something of a concern.
Back of the lot is s-t-e-e-p.
No cell phone coverage. (This may be a Pro, depending on how you feel about getting away from technology for a while.)
Currently open range so we would have to build some type of fence to keep roving cattle off the property.
It is a bit further out from civilization than we would like. Closest gas station or convenience store is about 20 – 25 miles away in either Fairplay (west) or Jefferson (east.) Fire station is 6 miles away (EMTs!).
No mail delivery. Must get a P.O. Box in either Fairplay, Como, or Jefferson. Como, closest, is about 15 miles away.
Access road is gravel.
Here are a few photos of Filing #4, Lot # 174 (address is 179 Sanderling) :
Driveway would go through here.
Driveway would go through here and pass to the left of the For Sale sign.
There are plenty of aspen to remove. The dead trees would become firewood. We would thin the living trees to allow for better growth for the rest.
Driveway would have to be cut into the hill at left, slope down, then curve right into the flatter part of the lot.
Slope into lot is fairly steep.
This rock outcropping is at the back of the lot. I’ve named it Squirrel Rock due to it’s shape. The realtor and I walked the lot’s perimiter and found all the corner stakes so I know this rock is part of the 7 acres that make up the listing.
Rock outcropping at the back of the lot.
Views from Squirrel Rock:
View #1 from the back of the lot.
View #2 from high point of the lot.
View from the cul-de-sac where driveway would meet the county road. (Taken last spring with a telephoto setting.) I am standing where the driveway would meet the road.
Pam on cul-de-sac near proposed driveway.
The view from the bottom of the lot is not bad, either.
View from the bottom edge of the lot.
Over the last 2 years we have looked at hundreds of lots. Some were flat, some steep, some pleasant, some over our price range, some we wouldn’t buy at any price. Some had houses, some had buildings, some with no views, some with spectacular views. This one is the best all-round lot we’ve found.
How do we feel? We are convinced this is a good lot for us, and are looking foward to owning it. We have already planned out where the driveway would go, where a house would sit, where my shop would be, and have visions of the lot with the trees thinned and the dead wood removed. Lots of work, yes, but very satisfying work. I can see us on the lot, smelling the warm pine, looking out over South Park to the distant mountain range, and sipping a beer between jobs. 🙂
Pam’s brother Larry had an interesting suggestion: Mount a camera on Squirrel Rock and pipe the view into the internet. Call it Pam’s Cam. Have access to those views any time we want without the steep uphill climb. Good idea!
There are plenty of details to plan out with an empty lot, including how to get power, telephone service, garbage pick-up, and just carving out a place to park a car. Off-grid may be an option for power. It remains to be seen if Pam and I are up for all the challenges developing this property will bring.
The next post should be, I hope, announcing that our offer has been accepted and a closing date set.
We are excited. Finally we can move forward in our plan to acquire recreational land, a goal we set 2 years ago and are now almost there!
(Click on the photos to bring up larger images.)
Our 3 dogs taking it easy one afternoon.
Tired Blondie
Poor Blondie. So tired she can hardly wag her tail.
Road Kill Bru
I cannot imagine this position being comfortable, but Bru rests like this fairly often. She likes the open window. (What, you thought I would mention her legs?)
Jo and her toys
Jo likes to have a toy (or two, or three) around her when she takes a nap. Since Blondie and Bru had taken over the sofa, Jo is forced to rest on our couch.
All photos were taken by Jerry or Pam unless noted. Click on photos to bring up a larger version in a new window. Close that window to return to the post.
Clicking on the enlarged photos will zoom in on the cursor location. (Most browsers.) This gives you the opportunity to see additional detail that might not be apparent in the smaller photo.
I hope you enjoy reading this blog and looking at these momentos!
~ Jerry
