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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 13:36:07 GMT -5
The wife and I were out in Dove Creek about 2 years ago. We were looking at an old cabin that was on twenty acres that she loved and I wasn’t opposed to at all. Very cheap, lime $45,000. It sat high on a hill north of the town at about 8,000 feet. After a lot of due diligence we decided to stand down. It had been a hunter’s cabin, needed a septic system and a cistern, plus some serious insulation. If it had t built on cap rock I would have bought it. The issue was the unknown costs for the digging, etc.. The place was very rustic, even the bathing house was in a separate building, and extremely unique with a stone floor. The rock on that lot wax everywhere, so varied and beautiful. There was an old stage coach road that ran right through it no more than 50 feet from the cabin. No longer a public road. We were out sitting on the natural stone patio one evening when a couple vehicles went by. We must have made an impression on the locals, because right as we backed out the real estate agent said someone else had made an offer. Dove Creek can hit 105 degrees in summer at times, but we would have been about 2,700 feet higher, so 90 would have probably been like the apex up there… I've driven from Monticello, UT to Cortez, CO so I guess I've been thru Dove Creek...must've blinked and missed it. BTW...if you're ever in Monticello there's a pretty cool little restaurant there...it's part of a B&B that's been converted from an old mill. It's one of the very few in the area that serves alcohol...gotta have a beer with my burger. Monticello is definitely the hub out that way. Dove Creek is really tiny, but it seemed to be in the verge of a growth spurt. There was a huge movement toward growing hemp out there. One of the biggest farms out there had just gotten a contract to grow it. I was asked if I wanted to be involved since I had prior greenhouse shipping experience, but I knew I wasn’t up for 90-100 hour weeks anymore, so I passed. You’re right though. You drove through. There’s not much choice. It’s the town or the dirt roads out there. I went out of our motel room at about 9:00 at night. The place was so quiet that I could have just laid down in the middle of the road if I wanted to. Nothing moving at all… |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 13:40:40 GMT -5
I've driven from Monticello, UT to Cortez, CO so I guess I've been thru Dove Creek...must've blinked and missed it. BTW...if you're ever in Monticello there's a pretty cool little restaurant there...it's part of a B&B that's been converted from an old mill. It's one of the very few in the area that serves alcohol...gotta have a beer with my burger. Monticello is definitely the hub out that way. Dove Creek is really tiny, but it seemed to be in the verge of a growth spurt. There was a huge movement toward growing hemp out there. One of the biggest farms out there had just gotten a contract to grow it. I was asked if I wanted to be involved since I had prior greenhouse shipping experience, but I knew I wasn’t up for 90-100 hour weeks anymore, so I passed. You’re right though. You drove through. There’s not much choice. It’s the town or the dirt roads out there. I went out of our motel room at about 9:00 at night. The place was so quiet that I could have just laid down in the middle of the road if I wanted to. Nothing moving at all… Were you considering buying the cabin as your full-time residence, or just a getaway? |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 13:49:47 GMT -5
Monticello is definitely the hub out that way. Dove Creek is really tiny, but it seemed to be in the verge of a growth spurt. There was a huge movement toward growing hemp out there. One of the biggest farms out there had just gotten a contract to grow it. I was asked if I wanted to be involved since I had prior greenhouse shipping experience, but I knew I wasn’t up for 90-100 hour weeks anymore, so I passed. You’re right though. You drove through. There’s not much choice. It’s the town or the dirt roads out there. I went out of our motel room at about 9:00 at night. The place was so quiet that I could have just laid down in the middle of the road if I wanted to. Nothing moving at all… Were you considering buying the cabin as your full-time residence, or just a getaway? Full time residence. It would have been crazy, but I had to drag my wife out of there. She loved that place. I had to have a sit down with her and explain the realities of hauling water and being off grid, etc.. I’d imagine someone bought it and kept it as what it had always been, a hunting cabin. That’s what it should be. The bath house was the most interesting thing. It was a DYI with an interesting grouping of repurposed pieces. Weird, but beautiful in its own way. High trashion. *Hauling water: Source was the town fire department, “only about 25 minutes away, but up and down those hills in winter? Brutal! Not a good way to spend my senior years… 🤓 |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 13:57:45 GMT -5
Were you considering buying the cabin as your full-time residence, or just a getaway? Full time residence. It would have been crazy, but I had to drag my wife out of there. She loved that place. I had to have a sit down with her and explain the realities of hauling water and being off grid, etc.. I’d imagine someone bought it and kept it as what it had always been, a hunting cabin. That’s what it should be. The bath house was the most interesting thing. It was a DYI with an interesting grouping of repurposed pieces. Weird, but beautiful in its own way. High trashion. *Hauling water: Source was the town fire department, “only about 25 minutes away, but up and down those hills in winter? Brutal! Not a good way to spend my senior years… 🤓 Years ago, during my "get back to nature" period, I seriously considered buying a lot in the South Park area and building a home there. Even looked at some property. The wife talked me out of it...probably for the best. My brother had similar dreams and moved to rural Montana. Rented a place where he had to haul water back to the house. A learning experience for him...soon moved to a residential neighborhood outside of Great Falls. |
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Post by Max on Jan 8, 2024 14:05:30 GMT -5
Years ago, during my "get back to nature" period, I seriously considered buying a lot in the South Park area and building a home there. Even looked at some property. The wife talked me out of it...probably for the best. I have to ask..Was there..."Ample parking, day or night, and people spouting, Howdy, neighbor!"?   |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 14:12:06 GMT -5
Years ago, during my "get back to nature" period, I seriously considered buying a lot in the South Park area and building a home there. Even looked at some property. The wife talked me out of it...probably for the best. I have to ask..Was there..."Ample parking, day or night, and people spouting, Howdy, neighbor!"? Funny...those guys modeled the fictitious town of "South Park" after the towns of Conifer/Evergreen, which are mountain communities west of Denver. There is however a very large area south of Fairplay known as South Park. But it's not a town. |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 14:23:09 GMT -5
Full time residence. It would have been crazy, but I had to drag my wife out of there. She loved that place. I had to have a sit down with her and explain the realities of hauling water and being off grid, etc.. I’d imagine someone bought it and kept it as what it had always been, a hunting cabin. That’s what it should be. The bath house was the most interesting thing. It was a DYI with an interesting grouping of repurposed pieces. Weird, but beautiful in its own way. High trashion. *Hauling water: Source was the town fire department, “only about 25 minutes away, but up and down those hills in winter? Brutal! Not a good way to spend my senior years… 🤓 Years ago, during my "get back to nature" period, I seriously considered buying a lot in the South Park area and building a home there. Even looked at some property. The wife talked me out of it...probably for the best. My brother had similar dreams and moved to rural Montana. Rented a place where he had to haul water back to the house. A learning experience for him...soon moved to a residential neighborhood outside of Great Falls. It was definitely a Billy Joel, “Sold the house. closed the shop, bought a ticket to the west coast” sort of moment for us at the time. We were on a quest to get out of Pueblo West that in all took about three years and finally wound up here in Mosca. South Park is gorgeous. I looked in that area, too. Everywhere except the plains, and up north where I knew my money wouldn’t buy anything more than an RV slab… |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 14:25:27 GMT -5
Years ago, during my "get back to nature" period, I seriously considered buying a lot in the South Park area and building a home there. Even looked at some property. The wife talked me out of it...probably for the best. I have to ask..Was there..."Ample parking, day or night, and people spouting, Howdy, neighbor!"? More bison there than anywhere else I know of in Colorado… |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 14:31:54 GMT -5
It was definitely a Billy Joel, “Sold the house. closed the shop, bought a ticket to the west coast” sort of moment for us at the time. We were on a quest to get out of Pueblo West that in all took about three years and finally wound up here in Mosca. South Park is gorgeous. I looked in that area, too. Everywhere except the plains, and up north where I knew my money wouldn’t buy anything more than an RV slab… Yep...I can envision a massive herd of bison rumbling thru there. I used to camp & fish in the Montgomery Reservoir area outside of Fairplay. Well stocked...always got my limit in a very short time. |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 14:40:59 GMT -5
It was definitely a Billy Joel, “Sold the house. closed the shop, bought a ticket to the west coast” sort of moment for us at the time. We were on a quest to get out of Pueblo West that in all took about three years and finally wound up here in Mosca. South Park is gorgeous. I looked in that area, too. Everywhere except the plains, and up north where I knew my money wouldn’t buy anything more than an RV slab… Yep...I can envision a massive herd of bison rumbling thru there. I used to camp & fish in the Montgomery Reservoir area outside of Fairplay. Well stocked...always got my limit in a very short time. I was a Senior Account Manager for AmeriGas. I had five offices in Colorado to cover. One was Fairplay. They had a brilliant female manager there and they fired her. She worked like a dog for them. They always left that office under-equipped. She lives south of there on Route 9, right across from A decent sized bison ranch. Has had them get out and appear in her front yard. The largest herd I know of is at the intersection of Route 9 and 285. Sometimes you can see 100 or do right out by the road. The north of that on 9 there’s a fellow I stopped and talked to one day that keeps three white bison up near his house. He said he has 50 all told. Loves it when people stop to look at his whites… |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 15:44:14 GMT -5
It was definitely a Billy Joel, “Sold the house. closed the shop, bought a ticket to the west coast” sort of moment for us at the time. We were on a quest to get out of Pueblo West that in all took about three years and finally wound up here in Mosca. We actually did that...in reverse. As soon as we became empty nesters we sold our Colorado house and bought a really run-down "fixer upper" in The Adirondacks on 3+ beautiful wooded acres. Had spent 7 years remodeling the place when the owner of the adjoining property came by and offered a very attractive cash price to buy it. By that time the winters had become more than I was capable of handling, and we really missed the kids/g-kids in CO...so we took the deal, and moved back to CO. We had thought about keeping it as a summer place, but a second home that far away can bring another set of problems. But I do miss it...in the Summer & Fall. |
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Post by azbob643 on Jan 8, 2024 15:55:33 GMT -5
I was a Senior Account Manager for AmeriGas. I had five offices in Colorado to cover. One was Fairplay. They had a brilliant female manager there and they fired her. She worked like a dog for them. They always left that office under-equipped. She lives south of there on Route 9, right across from A decent sized bison ranch. Has had them get out and appear in her front yard. The largest herd I know of is at the intersection of Route 9 and 285. Sometimes you can see 100 or do right out by the road. The north of that on 9 there’s a fellow I stopped and talked to one day that keeps three white bison up near his house. He said he has 50 all told. Loves it when people stop to look at his whites… I had a customer in California you may be familiar with...Petrolane. HQ was in Long Beach. I think the company was sold long ago. We're on a quest to visit as many National Parks as we can, while we still can. The closest I ever got to a bison was at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. A small herd surrounded the car...actually rubbing against it. Very intimidating. |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 16:27:41 GMT -5
I was a Senior Account Manager for AmeriGas. I had five offices in Colorado to cover. One was Fairplay. They had a brilliant female manager there and they fired her. She worked like a dog for them. They always left that office under-equipped. She lives south of there on Route 9, right across from A decent sized bison ranch. Has had them get out and appear in her front yard. The largest herd I know of is at the intersection of Route 9 and 285. Sometimes you can see 100 or do right out by the road. The north of that on 9 there’s a fellow I stopped and talked to one day that keeps three white bison up near his house. He said he has 50 all told. Loves it when people stop to look at his whites… I had a customer in California you may be familiar with...Petrolane. HQ was in Long Beach. I think the company was sold long ago. We're on a quest to visit as many National Parks as we can, while we still can. The closest I ever got to a bison was at Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota. A small herd surrounded the car...actually rubbing against it. Very We went to bison preserve in Montana. Their wax only one place deemed safe enough to exit the vehicle. I decided to park anx stretch my legs. I walked maybe seventy yards and took a left turn and saw two bighorn sheep. Went back a got the wife and showed her where they were, a safe distance away. We walked back down to the car just as mama bear anc her three almost fully grown cubs were crossing the road about 50 feet from our car. With the babies nearly grown shd paid no attention to us and all three just continued on their way. The apparently not very smart women in another car swung her door open, jumped out and started snapping pictures from 10 feet away. She’s lucky those cubs weren’t younger. But I’m sure she still enjoys those photos. We had no encounters that close with the bison, though they did walk among us 20-50 feet away. I’ve seen pickup trucks they’ve rolled and mailed before. They’re nothing to play with… |
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Post by rizzuto on Jan 8, 2024 18:45:36 GMT -5
Were you considering buying the cabin as your full-time residence, or just a getaway? Full time residence. It would have been crazy, but I had to drag my wife out of there. She loved that place. I had to have a sit down with her and explain the realities of hauling water and being off grid, etc.. I’d imagine someone bought it and kept it as what it had always been, a hunting cabin. That’s what it should be. The bath house was the most interesting thing. It was a DYI with an interesting grouping of repurposed pieces. Weird, but beautiful in its own way. High trashion. *Hauling water: Source was the town fire department, “only about 25 minutes away, but up and down those hills in winter? Brutal! Not a good way to spend my senior years… 🤓 Golden years, gold, wah-wah-wah |
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Post by inger on Jan 8, 2024 20:24:10 GMT -5
Full time residence. It would have been crazy, but I had to drag my wife out of there. She loved that place. I had to have a sit down with her and explain the realities of hauling water and being off grid, etc.. I’d imagine someone bought it and kept it as what it had always been, a hunting cabin. That’s what it should be. The bath house was the most interesting thing. It was a DYI with an interesting grouping of repurposed pieces. Weird, but beautiful in its own way. High trashion. *Hauling water: Source was the town fire department, “only about 25 minutes away, but up and down those hills in winter? Brutal! Not a good way to spend my senior years… 🤓 Golden years, gold, wah-wah-wah Yah-yah-yah to the wah-wah-wah… |
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