Category: Jer’s Toys (Page 2 of 3)

ATV, Motorcycle, 4×4, snowmobile

Labor Day Weekend

September 5, 2013 / admin / 3 Comments

So I am sitting here trying to find a way to make this post a bit fresher and more personal than is my norm. How about a day-by day commentary? OK…let’s give it a try.

Friday: I had taken the day off. Thursday night one of my gold crowns came off. First stop on Friday is the dentist. He was able to work me in between appointments so I didn’t have to wait long, maybe 20 minutes or so. He re-glued the crown back in place. Went shopping after that for groceries and supplies. The ventilator fan in the bathroom had died and I stopped at three different stores looking for a replacement. Didn’t find one, the original is round and all the stores had were square units. Suggestion from Home Depot: Look on-line. Great. Until I can find one the bathroom will get a little steamy when we shower. Not showering is not an option… 🙂

Returned home, had lunch, then packed up the truck and headed up to the lot. Packing can be time consuming as I need to load and strap down the ATV, pack the ramps, load all the “stuff” needed for that trip, hook up the trailer, and make sure I have everything else I normally take such as my camera gear and a full water bottle. Then it’s off to face the holiday traffic. Pam normally has most of the “stuff” organized for me otherwise we probably would not have clean linens or food to eat when we get to Sanderling.

Arrived at lot, opened up trailer, transferred all the “stuff” from the truck into the right places. Trailer is a bit “closed in” but the cool mountain air soon cleared out the stale air. Unloaded the ATV and got the trailer set for the next morning’s work, then dinner and into bed for a night’s rest.

Saturday: I get up, have breakfast, hop on the ATV and hook up the trailer. Drive down to the spot where we had piled up brush to be taken to the burn pit. Load the trailer. Go back up the lot and attempt to get the 2-wheel cart into service. The last time out we had decided to work on cleaning up the higher parts of the lot. No way to get the 5 foot by 12 foot aluminum trailer higher into the lot. Plan of attack: Use the 2-wheel cart to haul stuff down to the trailer. I don’t know what it is with me and keys, but I did not have the key for the padlock I had used to secure the 2-wheel cart. Crap. Loaded more slash by hand into the trailer until I had a respectable load and took it to the burn pit.

Ever had an “it was meant to happen” moment? I had gone back to the RV to get a 2nd bottle of water as the day was beginning to get warm. Coming out of the burn pit I stopped to thank the volunteers who man the gate. One lady asks me if I have any extra water so I hand over the spare bottle. Turns out she had lived near Grand Junction and knew where De Beque was. Who knew? Back to the trailer to start on Plan B.

Plan B: cut a road through the edge of the aspen grove that will be wide enough to handle the ATV pulling the trailer. I got started on this and was working away when Pam arrived. I decided to cut this path for two reasons; first is that I could not get the 2-wheel cart in service, but mainly I decided I didn’t want to have to handle everything twice more, first into the cart than out again and into the trailer. Loading directly into the trailer made much more sense and will be well worth the loss of a few aspen for a road cut. The other advantage is being able to get the trailer closer to both slash and firewood, eliminating trips back and forth that using the 2-wheel cart would have entailed. I hope this new arrangement works out well. If not then there will be another Plan B.

Wilderness Road

We proceeded to cut standing dead wood and small green trees in order to clear our “road through the wilderness.” Attention was paid to clearing dead wood from near the saddle area. I used the ATV to skid the salvageable wood down to the trailer. (See 44 second clip below.) We had a respectable load of wood by the time we were done for the day.

Pam had opted to come to the property on Saturday for a very good reason: Two of Izzy’s kittens were going to be adopted. Pam had been in contact with a lady from Glenwood Springs who was looking for a pair of kittens. The potential adopter had seen photos of the kittens, had viewed the kitten video I posted a few weeks back, and visited De Beque to see the litter. She decided to take the Siamese-looking kitten, Freedom, and the gold/orange kitten, Liberty, as kittens tend to do better when they have a playmate about their own age. Since the adoption is through the Friends Of Rifle Animal Shelter, Pam made arrangements to deliver all 5 kittens to that facility on Saturday morning before heading up to Sanderling with the dogs. The shelter will arrange the adoption after proper vetting has occurred. We are delighted to get these first two adopted and hope the other 3 will quickly share the same fate.

Izzy’s kitten Liberty

Izzy’s kitten Freedom

By the time the road was done on Saturday afternoon and all the firewood retrieved, we were beat. Pam made a nice hot dinner of corned beef and potatoes accompanied by fresh fruit and home-made chocolate chip cookies. Then it was time to relax, talk, plan the next day’s activities, shower, then off to bed.

Sunday: The clouds had started gathering and we knew that by afternoon rain would set in. After a few hours of work on the road -widening it – we knocked off for the morning. Back in The Box, the propane tank had been used up and I switched to the other tank. After a good lunch of eggs and left-over corn beef and potatoes, washed down with hot tea, I drove to Fairplay to get the propane tank refilled. Turns out my tank has not been “re-certified” recently – has to be done every 5 years or so – and no vendor in Fairplay would fill my propane tank. Great. I’ll have to find a place that will do a re-certification before I can get the tank filled. Not going to happen on a Sunday or Labor Day so the tank will come home with me.

By the time I returned to the RV Pam had pretty well completed getting stuff ready to return home. We took a walk up to Pavilion Point, let the dogs out for a last run before their 4-hour trip, and managed to get everything loaded into the car. Pam started for home with the dogs just as the raindrops were beginning to fall.

It rained sheets, accompanied by thunder and lightning. I stayed inside. Rain kept up for about half an hour then stopped. I began filling the fresh water tank to replace the water we had used during the last two visits. Over to the community hand pump to get water. I filled the tank then made another trip to fill my empty water jugs. Sixteen extra gallons are now sitting at the rear of the RV ready to use the next time we visit. As I was doing this the rain began again, but no thunder and lightning this time, just a nice moderate rain that kept up for a few hours.

Realizing my work day was over I made myself a hot dinner (tuna and cheese on toast) and had a cranberry-orange muffin for desert. After doing dishes and getting cleaned up I called it a night.

Monday: I slept in until 7:30! Nice. Then it was breakfast and begin packing the truck and shutting down the RV. I loaded the ATV, found a place to carry the propane tank, and hooked up the aluminum trailer. Plan for the day was to get in an ATV ride before getting home. Was not going to happen.

I am in the truck heading for Breckenridge when the phone rings. It’s Pam. “The Honda won’t start, it’s dead in the driveway.” ATV trip goes away and I head straight for home. Arrive in De Beque in early afternoon. Battery in the Honda is dead and won’t take a charge. Off to Grand Junction and Walmart for a new battery. Since I am making the trip anyway I might as well do some other shopping. Get home, unload everything, put new battery in the car. Honda fires right up with the new battery installed. I fry up some hamburgers for dinner then check my e-mail. Nothing major except a note from my sister Kitt who has some computer questions. I answer as best I can then shower and head for bed. I am very tired.

And that was my Labor Day weekend.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

All I can say is, thank goodness I drove straight through from Sanderling to De Beque without stopping, or that dead Honda battery could easily have halted my return trip. Not fun, with three dogs in tow.

Izzy is still with us, waiting for her milk to dry up before she can be spayed and returned to our garage colony. Ebony, the petite black preggo who’s been showing up at the garage feeder, has now come into the house for the duration of her pregnancy. Foster litter #24 is in the hopper.

Happy trails.

Middle Fork, Swan River — ATV Trip

August 22, 2013 / admin / 3 Comments

This past Sunday I was able to spend a couple hours riding the Middle Fork of the Swan River. (The last time I was in this area I rode the Georgia Pass [South Fork] and North Fork of the Swan River ATV trails.) This ride, plus updates on the lot and Izzy’s kittens, are the subject of today’s post.

I’ll begin with a few lot updates. Pam and I have been clearing dead wood and cutting up firewood. Pam was stung/bitten twice during our last outing as it appears that, with fall coming, some of the more aggressive insects are building nests low to the ground and under some of the dead wood we are planning to remove. We have to take a bit more care now and have armed ourselves with hornet and wasp killer in spray cans. We’ve made the decison to work higher ground on the theory that the bugs prefer the wetter areas of the lot and the higher, drier parts will have fewer nests. As such we will begin working the saddle area and upper parts of the lot.

This plan has some issues as there is not a good pathway to get the aluminum trailer into the saddle. Plan B…cut a small trail large enough for the 2-wheel dump cart to use and ferry the wood down to the driveway where we can load it into the trailer.

Our last load of wood was the largest single load we have brought home so far. Two evenings of labor and we had the logs cut into firewood, delivery scheduled for this upcoming weekend. A long Labor Day holiday will allow us to get more brush taken to the burn pit and stage more firewood to bring home. Temps have dropped into the upper 40 degree range already in the high country, a reminder cold comes to the higher elevations early in the fall, and at least one ski area reported a snowfall already. (Snow only lasted a day or so.) We need to get our wood out without wasting much time.

Load of logs from lot became firewood

Firewood ready to load and deliver

I bought a new chain saw to help the work go faster. My old (30+ years) Craftsman has problems and parts are not available to do the repairs, so Pam let me buy a new Jonsered 2245 saw. It has proven to be a nice upgrade.

I was at Sanderling this past weekend (solo visit) and put the new solar charger in place. I hope this fixes the problems with the solar panels not keeping the battery charged but we’ll take the generator with us on the next trip as backup. On my solo visit I hauled the trailer over to the dump site, emptied the grey and blackwater holding tanks, and topped off the fresh water tank. We should be good to go for a long Labor Day weekend visit.

Subject 2: Izzy’s kittens.

Izzy’s 5 kittens are at the “really cute” stage, exploring their world, wrestling with each other, and developing distinct personalities. All are very friendly with people and will attack shoe laces and pants cuffs if given a chance. We will try to get individual photos soon but here is a short (2:46) video clip of some play time:

After finishing the “trailer chores” on Saturday, Sunday I took an ATV ride up the Middle Fork of the Swan River. The last time I was in this area (Georgia Pass) I had ridden the North Fork of the Swan River and had enjoyed the outing a great deal. I had seen moose, mountain goats, and some great scenery.

This trip was not quite as exciting (no moose) but I did see a few more mountain goats and lots of high country scenery. Afternoon rain cut my trip a bit short; I had no rain gear with me and above tree line elevations (pockets of snow were below me) getting wet means getting cold in a hurry. I headed back down the trail and received only minor showers until after I made it back to the truck and had the ATV loaded. I ran into pockets of hard rain on my way home. I’ll need to add a poncho to my ATV gear.

Here are a few photos of this outing:

Lower end of the Middle Fork of the Swan River

Cabin marks the Swandyke town site

Middle Fork, Swan River

Above timberline where snow often stays all year, about 12,600 feet

Big views from top of trail, looking west

End point for today but trail continues on

Mountain goats frequent the area

Side road #258 leads back to old mine

Highlight of the day was, again, seeing mountain goats up close. Here is a quick video (2:34 running time) featuring 3 mountain goats. Note how one is still shedding its coat while the other two animals look neat and sleek.

Next big outing will be Labor Day weekend at the lot.

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

P.S.

I have created a gallery for my California 2013 motorcycle trip. If you would like to view it the address is:

http://www.appleattic.net/Galleries/CaliRally13.html

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Kittens are their absolute cutest, for me, at 5 weeks of age. This litter just turned six weeks old, and are starting to be little s-h-i-t-s. The Rifle Shelter may be coming to my “rescue” and finding a foster for the current litter until they are old enough to be altered (male kittens must be 2.0 pounds to be neutered, female kittens 2.5 pounds to be spayed). I may need the assistance because it appears I have another preggo mom cat at the garage feeder. Yippee.

Happy trails.

Honda Turns 300K + Seacoast Video

August 12, 2013 / admin / 2 Comments

I have just a couple of quick notes this time. Our 2001 Honda Accord rolled over 300,000 miles this past week.

299,999 miles…

300,000 miles!

We bought the Hond as a used vehicle in 2004 and it had about 62,000 on it at that time. We have put nearly 240,000 on it in the ensuing 9 years without a single mechanical failure. The Honda gets regular maintenance, the key to its longevity, I think. Other than hitting deer twice – one time required body work and a new hood – it has seen steady daily service in all kinds of weather and road conditions. We had always kidded ourselves that if the Honda hit 300K we would get rid of it. Now we will try for 500K…

I have finished a Califoria Rally video that consists mostly of seacoast and wildlife clips. Running time is 9:41, fairly long, and be warned that there is a fair amount of wind noise on some of the clips. Lesson re-learned: always take a tripod and external noise-cancelling microphone, neither of which I did this trip. Still I think the clip is mildly interesting. Take a look and let me know what you think.

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

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I joke we should start to carry the title for the Honda with us. When it breaks down, we can then surrender the vehicle to the local junk yard (where ever it may be) and promptly purchase a replacement car.

Jer’s vacation to California was a “stay-cation” for me. Even though I was working that week, the dogs and I enjoyed our own schedule. It was too brief.

California Motorcycle Rally

August 4, 2013 / admin / 3 Comments

“Six Days On The Road and I’m a gonna make it home tonight…” Dave Dudley, Trucker Classics

Actually it was 8 days on the road this time. I left on July 24 and returned August 1. Destination: Santa Margarita, California (near San Louis Obispo) to meet up with other members of my motorcycle group, the XS11 Owner’s Association. Headquarters for this rally was a KOA located a few miles out of Santa Margarita.

I try to take one longer motorcycle trip every year. (Last year it was to eastern Ohio.) I’ve made the trip to California before as rallies have been held near Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Santa Margarita. I know many of people who attend these rallies and looked forwarded to seeing them again.

This post will be in two parts, as I took over 200 photos and several video clips. Due to wind and lack of a tripod some of the video is unusable and some of the photos are near-duplicates of each other. It’s going to take a while to go through everything and come up with a video montage and gallery. This post will have a few highlight photos; video will come in a later post.

The only thing I will say about the trip out is — it was hot. I stayed in Las Vegas the first night, and from there I rode through Bakersfield where I picked up Highway 58 which ends in Santa Margarita. I went through 160 ounces of Gator-Aid the second day. That is 5 each of the 32 ounce bottles. I travel with a small cooler strapped to the luggage rack. The cooler will hold 2 of the 32 ounce bottles and 8 – 9 pounds of ice. (I get ice every morning before I get on the road.) I generally start the day with 2 more bottles in a saddlebag. When I finish one out of the cooler, another takes its place. That’s the only way to make it across the hot stretches…hydration is everything.

It was a different story along the California coast. After I arrived and set up my camp I headed for Morro Bay…the forecast high was 58! An on-shore breeze coupled with heavy overcast made for cool temps. Felt good to me!

By Friday night another 15 people had arrived, including the rally host. Here is a photo of the gathering:

Friday night at the KOA Photo by Ray Matteis.

Not everyone who arrived planned to join the group ride; some were on other trips and had scheduled a stop-in to say hello and meet other club members.

Saturday morning was the ‘group ride’ and we headed for the coast. We stopped in Cambria for lunch and Ray Matteis took this photo in the restaurant:

Lunch at Cambria. L to R: Ed, Tom, Scott, Me, Tkat, Mike. Photo by Ray Matteis.

Here are a couple of “bike” photos from various stops on the ride:

Bikes at KOA

Stop along the California coast

With the overcast conditions it was hard to get good scenic shots, but I did get some animal photos. Seagulls, elephant seals, sea lions, pelicans, and other wildlife all came under the lens.

Seagull, Morro Bay

Elephant Seal males can weight up to 1,500 pounds

Sea lions north of Ragged Point

Pelican in flight

When the overcast occasionally lifted I could get a couple of scenic shots:

Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) along the California coast

Wind surfer, California coast

After a weekend of riding, talking, and eating with club members, it was time to start for home. I had decided to return through Yosemite National Park and, if possible, spend at least one night there.

I came in through the southern entrance which is north of Fresno. Riding through the park is a great experience, but I also needed a place to stay for the night. One of the campgrounds had a few tent spaces left so I claimed a spot, registered, set up camp, then took off for Glacier Point. This scenic viewpoint is very popular with tourists and is a great place to see some of the park’s major features.

Half-Dome (Center) with Vernal and Nevada Falls to the right

The next morning I was able to drive across the park and make it to Ely, Nevada where I spent my last night on the road. I arrived home a bit after 5:00 PM on the 31st. It was quite the trip!

A few statistics:

2,920 miles total. 77.4 gallons of gas. Highest price for fuel: Lee Vinning, California: $4.90 per gallon of regular. Average price for fuel was $4.11 per gallon.

I did have a few problems with my trailer. I broke 2 fender braces at different points in the trip. These did not stop me but I had to rig up temporary fixes to continue. I had 1 flat tire, $10.00 to fix, in Barstow, California, and had to replace a part of the hitch when getting ready to leave Santa Margarita. That repair set me back about 2 hours, time which came out of my Yosemite stay. Still, nothing major, just irritating.

My next post will have – hopefully – some video clips taken during the trip and a link to a gallery that will have more photos for those who are interested.

Pam says I cannot close without including some video of Izzy’s kittens. At 4-5 weeks, they are starting to move around and are quite entertaining! (Running time is 1:54.)

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

4th of July Weekend – Long Post – Bonus Video

July 10, 2013 / admin / 3 Comments

Well.

There is much to cover in this post which details our long 4th of July weekend at the lot. Going through my notes and photos the topics break down into 3 main areas: work on the lot (of course!), a visit from our friends Tom and Patti Hamilton, and my ATV trip (Georgia Pass) on July 7. That is a lot of ground to cover so this is going to be a very long post!

Both of us had taken Friday, July 5th, off to make a long weekend out of the 4th of July holiday. The initial plan for the 4 days looked like this:

Jerry to take the truck and trailer to lot early morning on July 4, open the RV, start working on various tasks. Pam to drive up the morning of July 5th bringing the dogs, more food, and other sundry items. Our guests, Patti and Tom Hamilton, arrive around 12:00 noon on the 5th for spaghetti lunch and visit. Afternoon spent visiting. Pam to return home the next afternoon, the 6th, after she and I work on various projects. Sunday the 7th I get to ride my ATV on local trails.

Things don’t always work according to plan. I screwed up and forgot my RV keys so when I arrived on the lot on July 4th I had no way to get into the RV. I called Pam and she suggested she come up that night (the 4th) instead of the next morning. With that arrangement made, I turned to doing other chores.

High on my list was tracing the wiring from the RV’s solar panels. I discovered why they are not charging the batteries: The output of the panels is feeding into the refrigerator! This makes no sense to me as the refrig is 120 volt (house current) or LP (propane) powered, not powered by the voltage put out by the panels. I did not have my electrical tools along this trip but will re-route the solar panel charger output directly to the batteries on our next visit. The panels do appear to be working OK. Perhaps the people who installed the panels thought the refrig would run on 12 volts? There are a few of them that will, but ours is not one of them.

Pam had wanted to move our dog run out of the back yard and up to the lot. Pam thought the dogs would prefer to be in the run instead of being on zip lines strung between two trees while we were working on the lot. Since we put in the privacy fence in De Beque, which separates the front and back yards, the dog run had seen little use. You should have seen us getting the run out of the back yard and over the fence! This involved muscle power and a bit of assistance from one of our neighbors. We managed to get the run loaded on our utility trailer, along with 5 cut-in-half railroad ties, for the trip to the lot. Here is a shot of the loaded trailer:

Dog run, railroad ties, and ATV ready for 4th of July weekend.

A long drive on the interstate and over two mountain passes later, I unloaded the dog run at the Sanderling lot, scouted a place in the aspen grove to set it, and towed (dragged?) it with the ATV into the general area. The final placement involved dragging the run – by hand – to its final destination. Pam later made final adjustments (digging one side into the ground a bit) and added a few logs to the perimiter to discourage digging. We even put up the shade cover on top. Blondie, Bru, and Jo were not wild about this arrangement but were OK as long as they could see Pam working in the grove.

Dogs relax in covered dog run.

I unloaded the trailer, placed the cut railroad ties in place, then hooked the now-empty trailer to the ATV and took it into the aspen grove. I proceeded to load the trailer with wood destined for the burn pit. During the process I salvaged a few more small trees to cut into firewood on the theory that if it was good enough for firewood it might as well be used as such, thus cutting down on the amount of wood that needed to be hauled away.

Shortly after finishing this day-full of tasks, Pam arrived with the keys, dogs, and a couple of freshly-baked pies. We opened up the RV, had dinner, and made plans for the next morning.

The next day, Friday, was a busy day. The big morning project was to get the gate built. I unpacked the portable generator and grabbed the tools I had brought along for this purpose. Rather than bore everyone with the details I’ll just include this photo of the finished project:

Gate is finished. White stuff on ground is small hail from a recent storm.

Note the wheels mounted to the bottom of both gates. These will provide support for the gates when they are closed, taking some of the weight off the posts. Given the relatively shallow holes the posts are cemented into, every bit of support will help!

Our friends of 25 + years, Tom and Patti Hamilton, had moved to Colorado last year (from the State of Washington) and Pam had invited them to see the RV and lot on this day, July 5th. After a delay, caused by a wrong turn, Patti and Tom arrived OK. We settled in for a spaghetti lunch (and pie for desert) and a few hours of conversation. (And, of course, a walk through the aspen grove and up to Pam’s Pavilion Point!)

Patti and Tom Hamilton relaxing in the RV.

Patti and Tom live on the edge of Colorado’s Black Forest and were within about 2 miles of the massive fire that devastated the area just a few weeks ago. We had time to catch up on this event, our kids, work, a few social issues, and general conversation. Before we knew it several hours had passed. Patti and Tom headed home late in the day. We had enjoyed their visit and promised to visit them later this year.

Shortly after Patti and Tom started their drive home, clouds began to roll in and deliver some much-needed moisture to the Sanderling area. The rain pretty much ended the day’s activities, but Pam and I enjoyed just sitting together and looking out the window at the storm. Later the storm broke long enough for us to get out for a walk and to take a few “stormy sunset” photos. After that it was time for a good night’s sleep.

“Stormy Sunset”

Saturday we awoke to a rain-fresh morning. Agenda items for the day included more lot clean-up and firewood collection. I took the first load of scrap wood to the burn pit, unloaded it, headed back for a 2nd load and took that over to the pit. On the way back I received a call from Cindy, our neighbor (who feeds animals at the De Beque house while we’re gone), informing us the a pregnant mom cat Pam had trapped out of our garage (Isadora, nickname Izzy) was having her kittens. (Izzy had a total of 5 kittens.)

Izzy’s 5 kittens show a range of colors and markings.

Pam had planned to return home this day anyway because of the impending birth of kittens (it was why she drove the second vehicle in the first place), but we wanted to finish several chores before she left. One of these chores including loading the utility trailer with logs to be cut into firewood for Kathy Hall. (You might remember from previous posts that Kathy operates a cat rescue operation and uses wood to heat her rescue building in the winter.) Most of this wood had been collected earlier, but I did cut some standing dead aspen to make a full load. Other chores included finding a place for the spare set of RV keys to be left on the lot, removing the sun cover from the dog run, and getting stuff ready to go back with Pam.

Pam is ready to load firewood.

Then it was washing up, loading and sorting, and getting the dogs ready for the trip home. It had been a very busy few days that saw us getting much work done on the lot and having a very nice chat with Patti and Tom, our first mountain visitors.

After Pam left I took 2 trips over to the hand pump to replenish our fresh water supply. As on the previous day, late afternoon rain developed which put a halt to any other outside work, but it was pleasant to have a late dinner and listen to the rain drumming on the roof of the RV. We have no TV or radio in the RV, but I did have my Walkman and listened to music while the rain was falling. Later, after the rain let up, I went for a walk, then called it a day.

That about wraps up the first two topics; work on the lot and the visit with Patti and Tom. The next day, Sunday the 7th, was my day to ride the ATV.

My book of ATV trails showed a major trail going over Georgia Pass. This pass is one valley east of Boreas Pass and is another route into Breckenridge. It was never a railroad line, just a wagon road that served mines in the Breckenridge area, and is now a forest service road. Several side trips take off from the main road, making this a good area to spend some time on an ATV. The added benefit is this area is close to the lot, maybe 20 – 25 miles away, quite handy.

It was a great ride. I saw a couple bull moose and some mountain goats. I rode through areas that had been mined in the past but have since begun to revert back to a more natural state. I rode through heavily wooded areas (the aroma of warm pine was in the air) and past marshy meadow areas that must have held huge beaver ponds at some time past. I spent some hours above timberline enjoying hugh vistas of mountain tops. One disappointment: The maps I had were not up-to-date and a loop trail I had planned to take was now closed to motor vehicle travel, forcing me to take dead-end side trails instead. On the other hand, one of these trails led me to the the mountain goats, so I guess things worked out overall.

Here is a gallery of photos from this Georgia Pass trip.

Top of Georgia Pass. Mt Guyot is in the background.

Road passes through an old mining district.

Two bull moose spotted in a marshy meadow.

Summit views from Mt. Wise.

And, possibly the highlight of the day, these mountain goats:

Mountain goats #1.

Mountain goats #2.

Mountain goats #3,

I carried the camcorder with me this time. Here is a compilation of video clips I took during the course of my ride: (Running time is 8 minutes and 13 seconds.)

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

Pam’s two cents worth:

I did suggest we leave a duplicate set of keys on the Sanderling lot back in June, but Jer felt this would not be necessary. Sigh. It’s not entirely satisfying to be right when you’re the one who has to make the four hour drive [on three hours notice] to deliver the keys, however. Still, it’s not every guy who would tote a dog pen that far and over such obstacles (interstate and mountain passes) for dogs he’s not entirely crazy about anyway. I guess I’ll cut him some slack about forgetting the keys.

Izzy’s litter is foster litter #23 (since 2004)

Sanderling Lot Update and “Stuff”

May 12, 2013 / admin / 1 Comment

Well.

A bunch of stuff, all small, seems to have happened this past week. It was the first week were we didn’t have below-freezing temperatures at night. However, South Park received 16 inches of snow in the last 2 days. It looks like our tree planting – 30 Douglas Fir starts – will have to wait a while longer.

30 Doug Fir waiting to be planted

I got the truck into the garage! I had to use a prop to hold the door open, and the radio antenna bent just a bit when I backed in but, due to it’s built-in flexing, straightened right out.. Man, that truck is big. There is little room either in front of or behind to walk, but the Ford is now inside and we can get the Honda in and out with no problems.

F-150 in garage!

I have been in contact with the Elkhorn Ranch Owner’s Association Treasurer, Mr. David Drake, and we are working out details on getting a key to the dump station. Turns out the station is not that far away which will be convenient. When we pull the trailer over to empty the holding tanks we will be able to replenish fresh water, eliminating the need to haul water from De Beque. That will be a help.

Now the question becomes one of timing; when will we be able to pull the trailer up to the lot? We still have a couple things that need to be done before that can happen.

A brake controller was purchased through eBay and installed this weekend. The trailer has electrically-controlled brakes, but you need a controller in the towing vehicle to apply the power proportionally to the braking need. Pam spent a few hours cleaning the trailer’s bathroom – not a fun afternoon – and put paper liners in the bathroom drawers. Still to be done: test the water systems, get the other propane tank filled, (One was filled this weekend) and add whatever food and clothing items we plan to keep in the trailer. Not all that much, really, but until the South Park snow melts we don’t have to hurry.

Our lilacs and iris are blooming. Daffodils and tulips are just about done. I’ve mowed the lawn a couple of times. Spring is here.

Lilacs in bloom.

Going through some of my old video footage, hoping to find something of interest, I came across this clip of our cat Soot playing with a grocery bag:

We helped our newest neighbors remove a couple dead trees from around their house. Their lot looks better and we were able to get some firewood for The Street Cat Coalition run by our friend Kathy Hall. She’ll use the wood next winter to heat her shelter building. I used the truck to haul the smaller branches to the town’s burn pile so it has already come in handy.

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

Toys, mostly…

March 10, 2013 / admin / 4 Comments

Spring is getting closer, although we had snow (mixed with rain) yesterday. Forecast is to hit low 60’s by the end of the week. A robin family has decided to stay, and geese are on the move along the Colorado River. I have decided it’s time to look toward Spring and get some work done on a few of my toys.

I put a new front tire on the motorcycle. To do this I had to pull the front brakes, and inspection revealed the brake pads need replacement. I now need to check the rear pads and see if they need to be replaced as well. Other than that, plus the regular oil / filter change and general cleaning, I should be good to go. I’ll order the pads shortly and add the replacement to my “to do” list.

“The Griz” (ATV) has received a winch mount. I had picked up a cheap 12-volt winch a couple years ago that I used to load stuff in the trailer, and plan to put it on the ATV. Not that I expect to be stuck a lot, but I think we’ll be using it on the Sanderling lot to move logs, rocks, and perform other utility work. I’ll have a few photos of this after I get the work done. Installation is another item on my “to do” list.

Not really a toy,* but we have added a dump cart to our inventory. It can be pulled by either the 8N tractor or the ATV. Getting this cart now was Pam’s suggestion; I had been checking out various carts for the last year or so. We had received a 10 percent off coupon and decided to apply it to the cart purchase. Saved $30.00. The intended use is on the lot for moving rocks, wood, dirt, and landscape material.

Manual for our new dump cart.

Here is a shot of the cart loaded up at Tractor Supply Company and ready for the trip home:

Bringing home the dump cart

I am sure I’ll have photos of the cart in use before very long.

We’re planning a trip to Boise, Idaho in late April. Daughter Felicity is singing at a Sweet Adeline convention in Boise and we plan to meet her there. Pam has made our hotel reservations at a dog-friendly Motel 6 as we will take all 3 on the trip. We may visit the Snake River area while Felicity is occupied with her convention responsibilities, so the trip will be dual-purpose — family and scenery.

The days are getting a bit warmer, some grass is turning green, and our tulips are starting to poke up. Spring must be near. I have not packed up the snowmobile yet, though, as Grand Mesa just received another 8 – 16 inches of fresh snow yesterday. I hope to get in another ride or two before the season ends. Last Saturday I took a back-woods trip along a marked but little-used trail. Happened to meet up with a couple of guys I know out of Grand Junction, so was not riding alone in the back country. Riding solo I would have stayed on well-traveled groomed trails.

Back-country travel is fun. One gets into territory seldom visited and the snow conditions are great. You have seen those pictures of a skier coming down a hill with only his tracks doing “S” turns in new powder? You can do something similar on a snowmobile… 🙂

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

Pam’s two cents worth:

* Really, the new dump cart is not another Jerry toy?

Elinor, remember to give Pat our phone number “just in case.”

Miscellaneous musings

March 3, 2013 / admin / 2 Comments

This is one of those weeks that has no particular event to report or theme that holds it together. We do have a couple of items to cover, though, so will get into a list of miscellaneous happenings that have occured since my last post.

Tractor update:

I changed the transmission and gear oil in the tractor. What a mess! The transmission, rear axle, and hydraulic lift share a common source of oil. I knew the stuff in there had been contaminated over the years and needed to be changed. When I drained it – draining required removing 4 different drain plugs – the stuff that came out didn’t look much like gear oil. It was yellowish in color and had an unpleasant odor. (Some people think any gear oil has an unpleasant odor. They would be wrong.) 🙂 When moisture gets into oil it reacts with the oil’s phosphor and turns the oil a shade of yellow. Microbes start degrading the oil, giving it a particular odor.

Old oil – looks bad, smells worse

The oil capacity is rated at about 5 gallons; only 2 gallons drained out. This seems to be another example of little or no maintenance done over the years on this poor old 8N.

While the oil was draining I pulled the PTO (power take off) shaft out of the back of the tractor and replaced it’s oil seal. The old seal had been leaking as evidenced by the buildup of greasy dirt around the end of the shaft. Since the oil needed to be drained to accomplish this repair it was an opportune time to get this work done. One more task done, one that (I hope) will result in fewer oil leaks on my parking pad.

I put new gaskets on the drain plugs and reinstalled them, then put in the new gear oil. After starting the tractor I worked the lift a few times, up and down, and all seems to be OK. I suspect I will replace the oil again in a few months after I work the tractor for a while. Any old stuff left in the nooks and crannies will get mixed up with the fresh oil and should be drained out in the next change. The oil costs about $50.00 plus a few bucks for the gaskets, not a huge investment to make sure the hydraulic lift and gears get the lubrication they need. Getting the gear oil changed is another task to be marked off the list of needed repairs and maintenance.

Fresh oil comes in 2-gallon jugs

Next task: Reinstall the air cleaner system. The tractor has been sucking in unfiltered air for some years, I suspect! The air cleaner, which is known as an oil-bath filter, was sitting in Mom’s garage when I brought the tractor to Colorado so I have the parts, but there is a junction at the hood that appears to be damaged and will need work.

Sanderling driveway update: No movement. The contractor wrote that 2 more storms and a strong wind had come through this past week and dumped even more snow on the lot. He will keep us posted.

The cats were jealous that I posted dog photos in my last post and wanted equal time. Here is a recent cat photo:

London (left) and Antonio

I had my motorcycle out for the first ride of the season before the last snow fall. Not much of a ride – 26 miles – but it was nice to get up on 2 wheels again. I checked my log and found I had ridden 8,420 miles last year. This included a long trip to Ohio, not in the works for this year, but I do hope to make it to California. A CA rally is tentatively scheduled for mid-July.

We had the rear struts replaced on the Subaru. $614.00. Not fun, but has to be done as we expect to be pulling the trailer to and from the Sanderling lot more this year than we did last year. Next up is purchasing a new set of tires. We are still running on the factory original rubber after more than 85,000 miles, and it is about time for a new set.

Days are getting longer and most of the recent snow has melted. Forecast is to hit 50 degrees this weekend, close to our normal of 48, and we are ready for it.

Pam bought a roller caddy to help haul her briefcase + purse + lunch bag + misc. to and from work. Because she works at home 2 days a week, Pam brings home a lot of material. Rather than trying to carry all of this stuff in her hands, sister Becky suggested Pam investigate wheels. Pam decided to try this L. L. Bean roller caddy.

Pam’s caddy rolls nicely

Caddy has many storage pockets.

We’ll see if this arrangement prevents Pam from taking another header into the ice, as she did on Valentines Day…or will she just skewer herself with the roller caddy next time?

I must be getting old. I will soon apply to start getting funds from my Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund retirement account. It won’t be a lot – $600.00 per month before taxes – but it will come in every month for as long as I live. Just got the application packet in the mail…oh my. Much reading to do before I submit the paperwork. Pam, as my “designated survivor,” would continue to get these funds should I “go” first. Plan is to put these funds in a (457) Roth IRA available to me as part of my current benefits package. Roth plans require after-tax contributions but no taxes are paid on the funds, or their earnings, when you start withdrawing them (mandatory requirement) at the age of 70 and a half. We hope the account will earn big (tax-free) bucks in the next 10 years, but we have to get everything set up and that will take a couple months. (The Wisconsin Employee Trust Fund folks sent me the large envelope with “RET” stamped on the front, gives me some hope I may actually “RET.”)

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

A quiet week

December 15, 2012 / admin / 6 Comments

It has been a quiet week, but busy for all of that. Pam is working on Christmas cards (“mine” are finished and sent). Some are custom cards, built from card stock and modified with the addition of photos, inserts, and other artwork. Some are purchased cards that need inserts and newsletters. Here is a photo of Pam working on cards at our dining room table:

Pam working on Christmas cards

I help by printing photo, inserts, and trimming the photos to fit the cards. Pam does most of the work, including addressing all the envelopes. She comes up with the designs and other artwork, a creative talent I lack. Other than that, and some snow earler this week, it’s been pretty much life as usual with work and the pets. We did break out the Christmas songs and it is nice to listen to them once again. Some cards have arrived and we enjoy opening and reading them. While not of much general interest, I did some work on the tractor: changing the oil. Should be simple, right? It was not.

First, I had to use a pipe wrench to remove the oil drain plug. The last time it was installed no gasket was used and it was stuck in place pretty tight. The plug is about 2.5 inches in diameter and has a recess in it. The recess was full of sludge and gunk. I cleaned everything, installed a new gasket, and re-installed the plug after the oil was fully drained.

I took the time to examine all the bolts around the front of the tractor. One, which helps hold the front axle in place, was missing, and several others were loose. I re-tightened the loose bolts and found a replacment for the missing one. Then it was time to replace the oil filter itself.

Old machinery and cars from the ’40s and ’50s used a filter cartridge that fits inside a metal “can” mounted to the engine somwhere. (Modern equipment uses a “spin-on” filter which is self-contained. This approach is both faster and cleaner than using a cartridge.) The can has a drain plug on it so one can drain the oil sitting around the cartridge. I removed the plug and nothing came out. Hmm…. Sparing you the details, what happened was the bottom of the can was so filled with sludge that it covered the drain hole. I had to disconnect the oil lines and take the filter can off the engine to clean it. Man, whas it dirty! Below is a photo of the stuff I was able to remove with a wide screwdriver. The rest came out with cleaning solvent.

Sludge from 8N oil filter can

After a thorough cleaning I remounted the can, re-attached the oil lines, and installed the new filter cartridge. After filling the crankcase with fresh oil I started the tractor, let it run for a few minutes, then re-checked the oil level. It was fine and there were no leaks. The tractor finally has fresh oil and a new filter. I wonder when that happened last?

What should have been a 20 minute job turned into a 90 minute job, and a dirty one at that. Seems like that is always the case when tackling repairs on this poor old 8N. I am suspending any more repair projects until spring or warmer weather. The cold weather and un-heated garage makes for poor working conditions. Still, Pam laughs: I drive the tractor over to the recently-installed recycling center carrying a large garbage bag of recycleables on the drawbar. I empty the bag and drive back. Gives me an excuse for taking the tractor out for a spin. (Prior to having this recycling center we took our recycleables into Glenwood Springs.)

Otherwise not much else is new. Felicity’s singing group has been performing many concerts in the Portland area and she had tickets to see The Nutcracker, so she is really enjoying the holidays. Toby is still (supposedly) looking for work and appears to be a little “lost” this Christmas. We will be sending gifts to both kids and that will be the extent of our Christmas shopping.

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

Christmas decorations and tractor update

December 4, 2012 / admin / 3 Comments

Well.

The 8n is running again. Yes! The new parts came in and even fit. A cleaning of the long-unused carburetor from the parts tractor was necessary, which took a bit of time and a can of carb cleaner. The main jet was plugged and would not let any gasoline mix with air. After cleaning everything, reassembling the carb, and bolting the manifold back onto the tractor using new gaskets, studs, and brass washers and nuts, the tractor started right up. Now that all the exhaust gasses are actually going out the muffler, the tractor sounds pretty good.

As a recap, here is what I have done to the tractor so far:

2 used rear rims, 1 new rear tire, one used front tire and rim, both left and right rear brakes and seals replaced, new exhaust system, new spark plugs, new transmission dipstick, used oil breather cap, replaced the manifold gaskets, replaced the right-side running board, replaced various linkages and levers, replaced the box that holds the battery in place, and generally cleaned up the poor machine.

Ford 8N tractor, right side, showing replacment parts

Note the red and silver replacement parts: brake pedal (to left), running board, exhaust system, battery box (upper center) and original intake/exhaust manifold (right). Both rear brakes, independently controlled, now work.

I have a new oil filter on hand and plan to change the oil shortly. I picked up some new gaskets and will be replacing some of the old ones in an attempt to stop some of the fluid leaks that drip hydraulic oil on my parking space. There are many other projects to tackle, but having a running tractor with brakes and a muffler is certainly a big step forward.

Now onto more interesting topics.

Pam and I finished putting up our Christmas lights and decorations. We expanded this year’s batch by adding our outside tree (cut from our lot) and adding a few more outside lights and decorations. We don’t go overboard, but we do think the place looks OK.

Our outside tree, cut from our lot

Inside decorations are limited to a small (imitation) tree in our bedroom and some decorations hung where the cats can’t get at them — we hope.

Our inside tree

It does not yet feel like Christmas, as we are getting record or near-record high temperatures. Mostly they have been in the upper 50 degree range with some parts of the state hitting mid-60 degree temps. Generally it feels more like late Fall rather than December, at least at the moment.

There is not much else to report on for this week, so I will close.

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

Category: Jer’s Toys (Page 2 of 3)

Labor Day Weekend

Middle Fork, Swan River — ATV Trip

Honda Turns 300K + Seacoast Video

California Motorcycle Rally

4th of July Weekend – Long Post – Bonus Video

Sanderling Lot Update and “Stuff”

Toys, mostly…

Miscellaneous musings

A quiet week

Christmas decorations and tractor update

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