Spreading Gravel

Today was the day to spread gravel on the driveways surrounding the cottage. The driveways encircle the house mostly to support easy movement of vehicles around the place, but they are also recommended by the forest service as a fire break should the worst happen.

We rented a Kioti CK35 4WD tractor with a loader on the front and a box blade on the back to assist with moving and spreading gravel. We ended up with four loads of gravel and just about got all of them spread in one day.

The gravel truck driver did a great job of dropping the gravel in confined spaces and the Kioti was the right size for moving it around and leveling.

Julie used the ATV and a homemade pallet spreader to do the final leveling.

While we have the tractor we are doing some other chores such as moving firewood and rocks for the retaining walls.

Dumping  gravel in tight spots

Moving Firewood

Julie leveling gravel

Great day to be working

About ready to call it a day

Octopus?

We stopped in for lunch at the brewery in Ouray and found this bit of graffiti on the backside of the restroom door. Somebody has a good imagination...

Drunk Octopus or coat hook? You decide...

What a Rainbow!

I went outside after a brief rain shower and found this rainbow. I can't remember the last time I saw a full arch rainbow in such brilliant color.

A full arch rainbow

Didn't have time to look for the pot of gold at either end...

Packer Mania

Lake City is a bit infamous for the part of it's history involving Alferd Packer. Decades ago Mr. Packer ventured into the Colorado winter wilderness and survived only by consuming his travelling companions.

The spot where this took place is on the outskirts of Lake City. Quite a bit of lore exists due to this bit of history. This includes naming a sports bar/saloon after Mr. Packer. This is made all the more interesting as this is the local watering hole for watching football, including the Green Bay Packers.

We heard their Reuben sandwich was first class so we went to try it out. We were not disappointed - it was very good.

Packer Saloon - home of a great Reuben sandwich

You've got to love a place that has an image of Alferd Packer in a football jersey throwing a skull as its sign.

Steep Climb

We were looking at a detailed map showing Jeep trails and found one going to a radio tower above Lake City, Colorado. The day was nice so we thought we'd explore this and see what we found.

Turns out to be a good trail with lots of switchbacks but is really steep in places. I wouldn't advise taking this much later in the season as there is already snow and ice in spots near the top on the north side of the trail.

The views were well worth the trip.

Map with Jeep Trail to radio tower

View up near the tower

Julie overlooking the Slumgullion slide

One of the wetter parts of the trail

Overlooking the San Juan's

 We capped the day by trout fishing in Lake San Cristobal. No luck but a great place to watch the sun set.

Then and Now

We enjoy following the old railroad rights of way and figuring out where the tracks and structures would have been located in years past.

We are currently researching where the RR lines were located in Ouray, Colorado. Ouray was the end of the branch line and required the engines be turned for the return trip.

We acquired copies of the Sanborn insurance maps showing where the railroad was located and have been comparing historic photos's to today's features.  The pictures below give an indication of where the turntable was located.

Turntable in Ouray, Colorado

Former location of turntable in Ouray

We continue to compare 'then and now'.

The Landfill

It is hard to imagine a more desolate landscape than the one surrounding the Montrose County landfill. It suggests a moonscape of sorts with little vegetation of any sort.

The folks that run the facility are great to deal with and really watch out for your safety while you are on their facilities. This includes issuing bright green vests for you to wear while outside your vehicle unloading.

We are cleaning up our construction site and taking materials by the trailer load to dispose of.

Ouray Colorado

We think one of the prettiest places in Colorado is the town of Ouray. It is nestled in a bowl formed by the surrounding mountains.

One of my coworkers told me about the Perimeter trail which takes you  on a hike around the town on the hills and cliffs surrounding the community. (Thanks Barb!) We added that to the bucket list of things we wanted to do before cold weather hit. Yesterday was the day we took on the trail.

It starts across from the visitors center and makes its way above the town. The start makes it look to be a deceptively easy climb - Ha!

Julie and Dieter at the start of the Perimeter Trail

The folks who maintain the trail have done a nice job of adding steps in the really steep spots but it is a bit of an effort nevertheless.

Dieter leading the way

It starts at an elevation of 7700 feet and peaks at 8500 feet and provides great views of the town and surrounding peaks.

Nice time of day for a hike

Typical trail section

Julie enjoying the day 

The views are fabulous.

Cutting Firewood

We have a wood burning stove as one way to heat our home. It is very efficient and burns a readily available fuel, firewood we cut on our property. This offers several benefits. The most obvious is a source of fuel for heating our home, but also is a means to clear dead trees from the property and reduce fire danger.

There are more dead trees than we can burn in several winters so we share the wood with our friends Gary and Rochelle. Today was the day they came up to cut wood.

Heading into the wood lot

It was a great day to be outside. A few remains of snow from the recent snow shower remained, but the sun was out and the temperature in the fifties.

Gary and Rochelle

We used an ATV and small trailer to move the firewood from the forest to Gary's trailer. This helped the job go fast.

John and Gary

Loading Gary's trailer

Afterwards we enjoyed ham and bean soup and some good bread to celebrate the completion of the task.

Heading out 

A great fall day to be in the woods.

Weather Watching

We are located above 9.000 feet of altitude looking out over the West Elk mountains. At this height you get a really good view of the weather. We trimmed trees so we have a direct view out the back door to watch the weather patterns go by.

Two examples of the weather from the same view are below. The first is the typical view with the trees in color and the West Elks in the distance. The second is the first snow storm of the season blowing thru.

Typical view off the back deck

Same view minus blue sky, sun and pretty tree leaves

Internet Service

Living in the middle of the mountains has many advantages, but easy to obtain internet service is not one of them. We have researched a variety of ways to stay connected and have selected Verizon’s data service as our way to go.

The signal at the house is very weak so we have been researching antennas and amplifiers. The 3G store (www.3Gstore.com) is full of information related to checking antenna strength using RSSI readings from our air card.

This involves checking readings at a variety of locations both inside and outside the house to determine signal strength and direction to the cell tower. It also involves meeting many of the neighbors who stop to ask if everything is OK while you are stopped by the side of the road taking readings to find the best signal.

I’ve taken all of the readings they suggest and got with the techs at the3G store and determined what we need to get internet service at the house. Turns out the answer is different depending upon whether you wish to just get data or if you also wish to receive a signal that supports voice calls. The latter is more expensive.

We ended up with a Wilson 4G antenna and amplifier. The antenna is a flat panel that can mount on the inside of the window glass, but if you have windows with an E-glass treatment (we do) then you need to mount outdoors as the coating on the glass reduces the signal.

We put ours on a corner of the deck with facing the strongest signal and all works as intended. We can now take calls inside the house and surf the net.

Life is grand!

Royal Gorge

There is a well-known suspension bridge over the Royal Gorge of Colorado. A forest fire ran through the area and embers from the fire burnt down 48 of the 52 buildings surrounding the approaches to the bridge. In addition 100 planks of the bridge were charred, but little damage to the structure itself.

Access to the bridge has been restricted to those rebuilding the area until recently. We stopped by to see how the rebuilding is going and are pleased to report the visitor’s center opened on Labor Day and folks can once again cross the bridge.

Portions of the planks from the bridge have been incorporated into the design of the visitor’s center to maintain a bit of history into the architecture. Much work remains but the progress has been outstanding.

There is a narrow gauge railroad engine on display that shows signs of how close the flames came to it.

Into The Night

One of the nice things about long drives that go into the night is the lighting you get to see along the way. Buildings that you just drive by in daylight come alive at night with good lighting and beckon you to stop and take a picture. The Light and Power Company in La Junta, Colorado is one such building.

Sometimes travel timing works out to give a nice surprise - we drove into La Junta, Colorado just in time to see the Amtrak Southwest Chief depart for points east. The stainless steel finish of the cars reflects light nicely.

Ready to Go!

It took a while but we finally got everything packed and ready for travel.

Put the vehicles on battery trickle chargers to keep the batteries up while gone. We've found these little chargers keep the batteries at a full state of charge and prevent the batteries from sulfating and going bad while not being used. The riding lawn mower has one of these chargers attached all winter and we have yet to buy a battery in the spring for the unit. Search Amazon.com for 'battery trickle chargers' if you want to know more...

Battery Tender Junior

The snowmobile is going out this trip. Folks on the mountain tell me I need to have one if we are to get around in the winter. We picked up a Polaris two cylinder Indy Trail sled as they are supposed to be very reliable and simple to maintain - so far so good as it has been easy to service and parts are easily found. Spend several days cleaning and painting various bits and pieces to get it looking nice. Once on the mountain I get to re-jet the carbs for the thinner air.

Trailer loaded for trip

The trailer has that 'Grapes of Wrath' look partially due to our hauling out trash containers. We are responsible for our own trash hauling so we did quite a bit of research as to what type of container works best - part of the issue is making sure whatever we use is bear resistant. These two units will fit side by side in our storage shed and should be safe from critters. This all sounds good on paper - we'll see how it works in real life .

Big trash containers on trailer