A Winter Day on the Mountain

Spending the winter at 9500 feet altitude makes for interesting days. 

A typical day up here starts off with temps in the single digits but sun and a nice view of the Elk Mountains in the distance.

 

The birds wait for me to put out food for them first thing in the morning. The Ravens seem to prefer sweet grain goat chow over typical bird seed so they get a few scoops of it.

The songbirds and Steller's Jays like the bird seed and spend a lot of time at the feeder.

Then it is time to get a bucket of wood to fill the firewood rack next to the woodstove in the house

New Years day saw the burning of the neighborhood slash pile to celebrate the start of 2021.

That fire can really put out the heat.

It was a nice day to be out

That bonfire burns all through the night and into the next day

We live in bear country so all trash has to be kept in a bear proof enclosure. Ours holds three plastic dumpster style cans.

The lid raises for access to place bags of trash and the door on the front opens to allow trash can removal. So far no bear problems.

When time and snow conditions allow it is time to uncover the snowmobile and take it for a ride

It is fun to take the snowmobile out for a ride to check out the roads and trails in and around the neighborhood.

There is an area in the back country where you think you are in Kansas seeing windmills

I sleep well after a typical day here...

Lake City History Museum

Lake City, Colorado is a small town nestled in the San Jaun Mountains. The folks there have preserved the history of their area in a nice museum located in the heart of the town.

It includes displays about narrow gauge railroading, town architecture, mining, snowmobiling, fire fighting, education, fashion and furniture. They also have good deals on books.

Julie was checking out fashion styles for the period!

Jail cells of strap iron construction

Snowmobiles were made for a while in Lake City

This is how the local doctor made house calls in the winter

Conventional and side saddle 

Blacksmith display

Narrow Gauge caboose

View from the cupola

View down the train from the cupola

Brake pressure gauge. This is how the conductor knew there was enough air pressure to release the brakes

Brake wheel

Wheels supports are made of strap steel and cast bearing assemblies bolted together

Kitchen example of the old west

Checking out the lake outside of town

One of the largest lakes in Colorado formed by a huge slide of earth known as the Slumgullion Slide

Life on the mountain

It is now February of 2017 and we are enjoying our first winter on the mountain. This is a very different experience from living in Kansas. First, we are much closer to wildlife and see examples of deer, elk and birds close up and personal. The deer were right outside our door most days until the snow got so deep it started rubbing their belly's when then waded thru it. After that they disappeared down the mountain and now spend much of their time along the river.

The birds however just continue to increase in numbers at the feeder. There are Ravens, Stellars Jays, Red Headed woodpeckers, Yellow Finches, Grouse and Grey Jays in reasonable numbers. The big numbers come as flocks of Brown-capped Rosy Finches covering the deck and feeders and go thru lots of food per visit. These are several hundred birds at a given time. The sound of the flock arriving makes you think a helicopter landed on  the deck.

The snow is always light and powdery and comes in pretty steady amounts. It starts out pretty deep and then compresses to much tighter concentrations. It seems to stick around and stays white which is different from the dirty snow after a few days we have been used to in Kansas.

The powder aspect of snow means it gets blown around pretty well by the wind so drifting is an issue. It is not bad to plow if you get to it before it gets compressed and hard to push.

 It snows pretty regularly which means you have to plan on where to put the plowed snow all winter long. As the snow gets plowed to the sides of the road, the roadway gets narrower. At some point time must be taken to move the snow further to the the side of the road.

The snow really drifts at the entry to the neighborhood. This sign is about 8 feet tall.

 The critters are all along the roads which takes some care in driving in early morn and late evening

Out for a ride. These are a pretty good way to get around up here.

We keep a path clear around the cottage for snowmobile and tractor

Elk along the river - some bedded down and one standing

View on our walk

View across the valley at the Elk Mountains

Snowmobile tracks

Elk in the horse pastures down by the river

Fresh snow

Heading out to cross country ski

Elk along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River

Lift chairs on Monarch Pass

Underneath all of the snow is the gift shop on Monarch Pass

The flock enjoying food on the deck