![\"Installing](\"http:\/\/www.appleattic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/30003.jpg\")
<\/a>Installing the gate<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Original 8×12 run incorporated into new run<\/p><\/div>\n
We finished the gate and added a sun shade over the 8 x 12 run before we finished; photos next time. Pam is pleased with the result and it sure makes it nicer for the dogs to be out of the RV for long stretches.<\/p>\n
We are still having a few problems with the RV; mice are still getting in somewhere and the batteries are not charging as they should\u2026may need to replace them.<\/p>\n
Last weekend the nighttime temps dropped close to 40 and we had to fire up the furnace. In 2013\u00a0we winterized The Box by mid-September as nighttime temperatures were consistently dropping below freezing, so we have about 6 weeks of summer left. This year we will bring The Box home and take care of a number of small repairs, including checking out the electrical system.<\/p>\n
A couple of other things to note: We saw our first deer on the property. A nice-looking doe came up the driveway. We happened to be eating dinner\u00a0at the time and were able to watch her as she took her time checking out the dog run and finally wandering off.<\/p>\n
Several hummingbirds have found the feeder. We like watching their antics.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0has been a wet summer. The burn pit closed due to flooding! We have a big load of stuff on the aluminum trailer to take to the pit as soon as we get word it is open. That kind of messed up our clean-up schedule so we will have to move to Plan B, just stacking stuff up ready to go on short notice.<\/p>\n
So the clean-up continues but the major projects of the year (driveway extension, storage shed, and dog run) are completed. A few more loads of firewood for our friend Kathy Hall remain to be brought home and cut up, but that task can be done on day trips so will continue into late September and possibly October. We are very satisfied with the improvements\u00a0we did this summer!<\/p>\n
On to the second part of this post: My latest ATV trip.<\/p>\n
I have not been out riding much\u00a0this year, but took a few hours off last Sunday to visit the Swan River area (near Breckenridge) on my way home from the lot. My goal was to make the loop I had been unable to complete on my last outing.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0plan was to go up the Middle Fork of the Swan River, cut across a ridge on an established trail, then down the North Fork of the Swan and back to the truck. I had been on both drainages before so some of the scenery was familiar \u00a0but the connecting ridge would be new territory.<\/p>\n
Although the day was overcast, and occasional drops of rain fell, it was a very nice 16 mile trip. (3 hours to complete.) Wild flowers, including Colorado Blue Columbine, were blooming in profusion, and streams were running pretty full making for some nice photos.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Colorado Blue Columbine<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Middle Fork, Swan River<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>ATV (The Griz) on Middle Fork trail<\/p><\/div>\n
I was fortunate in that I saw several mountain goats this time, a few with young with them:<\/p>\n