Sunday (May 24) we braved the weather and took a trip to SW Colorado, the Durango – Bayfield – Lake Vallecito area, to look at some potential retirement properties. We viewed several properties, eliminated some, fell in love with one that is dramatically over our budget, and experienced a lot of different weather conditions. This post will cover both the weather and the properties, almost two different stories.
To get from our place to Durango we had to cross Red Mountain Pass, one of the higher Colorado roads that gets to near 11,000 feet elevation. We knew we would probably run into bad weather — if not at Red Mountain Pass, then at Coal Bank and Molas Passes (both located between Silverton and Durango). It’s still winter in the high country, aided by all the recent (and ongoing) precipitation.
Approaching Red Mountain Pass, 5-24-15
View from Molas Pass, 5-24-15
Hwy 550 north of Silverton looks like it is still mid-winter on May 24th
We experienced rain, snow, fog, hail, and sun breaks during the trip. Most of the time, though, we were able to drive to (and later view) the properties during sun breaks, or at least in drizzling rain.
The properties were a mixed bag. The few that were affordable needed renovation or repair, much like this cabin:
Cabin in our price range near Lake Vallecito
Storage building comes with cabin
No garage, although there is space to build one. The cabin’s calking needed to be replaced, ramps were not in good shape, and steps needed to be replaced. This would mean a lot of work before the place was “move-in” ready.
Another place looks to have a bit more potential, although also needing work.
Most square footage for the money but a funky layout.
No walkway to the front door
Featuring an attached 2-car garage and a large basement, this place looks like it is a foreclosure and the interior appeared to be stripped of carpeting. Potential, just takes more money to redo the inside. Exterior landscaping would need to control moisture/runoff from the dirt roadway that approaches the property too.
Top of the line, and way out of our price range, was this stream-side cabin with a detached garage:
Stream-side cabin had it together.
Detached garage is part of stream house package
Stream from upscale cabin (Realtor photo)
The stream frontage was great, featuring a nice background sound of water over the rocks. This property had our desirable “big three” – view, water, trees – plus plenty of garage space, a flat lot, in a very tidy (and upscale) community near Vallecito Lake and not too far from Durango (location, location, location), and finally, enough space for all our stuff. Not perfect; stairs inside to upstairs bedrooms could be a problem as we age, but this was the place we liked the best. The clincher – only about $600,000.00 over our budget… 🙁
A daunting 485 miles and 13 hours after we began, we returned home. We experienced lots of weather, scoped out several properties and residential areas, and drove through part of the state we had not really visited for many years. While a bit discouraged that all the properties in our price range either need lots of work or are lacking in some way (no garages, mostly), going forward we now have a better idea of the “lay of the land” in the communities we visited. We will review real estate listings accordingly.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
The two mountain passes providing road access to the southwest corner of Colorado/Durango area are not for the faint of heart. The Red Mountain Pass/Highway 550 approach we drove on this trip features a remarkable scarcity of guard rails, narrow shelf roads, and sheer drops hundreds of feet down. (I couldn’t help but think of my brother Craig while on this route, as he and I share a discomfort with these types of “scenic drives.”)
A summer view of Hwy 550 coming out of Ouray on way to Red Mountain Pass. Note lack of guard rails.
Approaching from the east, however, is Highway 160 – the famous Wolf Creek Pass road (from song and legend). The serpentine switchbacks on Highway 160 have more guard rails, but are equally as stressful to drive. The two routes are not for the casual driver, nor are they well-suited for regular commutes in all weather conditions.
Three levels of roadway on Wolf Creek Pass. (Web photo.)
Happy Trails.
Leave a Reply