![\"Approaching](\"http:\/\/www.appleattic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/30594.jpg\")
<\/a>Approaching Red Mountain Pass, 5-24-15<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>View from Molas Pass, 5-24-15<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Hwy 550 north of Silverton looks like it is still mid-winter on\u00a0 May 24th<\/p><\/div>\n
We experienced\u00a0rain, 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\u00a0\u00a0drizzling rain.<\/p>\n
The properties were a mixed bag. The few that were affordable needed renovation or repair, much like this cabin:<\/p>\n
<\/a>Cabin in our price range near Lake Vallecito<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Storage building comes with cabin<\/p><\/div>\n
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\u00a0needed to be replaced. This would mean a lot of work before the place was “move-in” ready.<\/p>\n
Another place looks to have a bit more potential, although also needing work.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Most square footage for the money but a funky layout.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>No walkway to the front door<\/p><\/div>\n
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. \u00a0Potential, just takes more money to redo the inside. \u00a0Exterior landscaping would need to control moisture\/runoff from the dirt roadway that approaches the property too.<\/p>\n
Top of the line, and way out of our price range, was this stream-side cabin with a detached garage:<\/p>\n
<\/a>Stream-side cabin had it together.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Detached garage is part of stream house package<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Stream from upscale cabin (Realtor photo)<\/p><\/div>\n
The stream frontage was great, featuring a nice background sound of\u00a0water\u00a0over the rocks. This property had our desirable\u00a0“big three” – view, water, trees – plus plenty of\u00a0garage 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\u2026 \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n
A daunting\u00a0485 miles and 13 hours after we began, we returned home. We experienced lots of weather, scoped out\u00a0several properties and residential areas, and drove through part of the state we had\u00a0not really visited for many years. While\u00a0a bit discouraged\u00a0that all the\u00a0properties in our price range either need lots of work or are lacking in some way (no garages, mostly),\u00a0going forward we now have a better idea of the “lay of the land” in\u00a0the communities\u00a0we visited. \u00a0We will review real estate listings\u00a0accordingly.<\/p>\n
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!<\/p>\n
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:<\/p>\n
The two mountain passes providing road access\u00a0to 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. \u00a0(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.”)<\/p>\n