Counting down.......

Time is fleeting and we're down to just a few days  before we head east and back into the heat and humidity.   Of course, the weather here is picture perfect and it is hard to leave this beautiful fall.       But, the selling season is beginning in earnest in TV and we hope it is the buying season for someone as well.  

 Meanwhile, around here, the dust has been flying.    We opted to have the stone on the fireplace continued up to the top....the mantle was too high and there were some other modifications needed.    Lloyd, the talented mason, spent 5 days on that very high scaffolding.   He was an interesting sort, a Montrose native who is not what he appears.    He is well educated and very smart and very talented.....but his truck, covered in camouflage and his slow drawl, laid-back persona and wayward hair were an interesting picture.     I learned all about elk hunting with a bow as that was his goal once the fireplace was finished.    He also talked about the massive homes and stone work that he has done in Telluride and in the surrounding ranches.      We are very pleased with the final product but

 the amount of fine stone dust that permeated every surface was staggering.   We covered what we could and closed doors but it took 2 days of wet dusting and mopping repeatedly to get rid of it.

We're still waiting for painters (note sample colors on the wall) but that may happen while we're gone.  The current color is a grey with lavender tones in certain light.  

 Just a bit of color ..... my neighbors coleus in her entry which are quite massive and beautiful.

Altho it is not peak aspen color, we needed a mountain fix.... we headed up Last Dollar Road....the back way to Telluride.

There are many aspen stands along this road and when the sun shines thru the gold shimmering leaves, it is a goal of photographers to try and capture the color.   

 

 If you take the paved road to Telluride, you follow that canyon in the foreground.  Altho very pretty, we prefer the high road.

We'll talk soon, either on the road or from the tropics.

Change is in the air......

My two favorite guys.    

 We've totally moved in to the new digs.   It's spacious and comfortable but needs a few tweaks.   The front door needs painting, the fireplace is getting a facelift, the grey lavender wall color will be replaced with a warm beige ..... and the list goes on.  

Mike and Jenna drove over and helped tremendously.    This house was wired for a state of the art sound, TV, electronic system, circa 2008.    The equipment even has it's own little room.    The previous owner loved toys and we think he invested A LOT in this extremely complex system, requiring frequent house calls by the company.     The wife said she couldn't figure it out and had to rely on him to turn on the TV or change a channel....they left 5 TV's attached to walls.     Since it is all Microsoft equip, our first born and talented Microsoft employee spent many hours with his able assistant attempting to understand and make the system operable.    They succeeded and the learning curve is becoming less daunting.   I suspect that in today's world, all those X Boxes and cables would be replaced with one computer.  

 Friends of Mike and Jenna's were in the area so we all met up for some time in the hills.    Here, we are airing-down the tires before heading out.    This makes a big difference in the comfort level....from a jarring jangling ride to a bouncy rolling climb.    

Up above Red Mountain and down the other side  to have lunch in Silverton.  

The aspen are changing rapidly  and full color will be showing up before we leave.     We'll get out once more time to capture the wonder of it all.  

Plans, as of today, will be to leave on the !st and head to Florida.    We'll stop in SC for the annual RV maintenance and then hit the ground running to get the house ready FOR SALE.   We'll let the realtors handle it this time.
   
Meanwhile, we're putting on our boots and hats and heading to a barn dance tonight....yee haw !!

August happenings....and a bit of September.......

Since last we talked.............. The Connecticut Crew arrived and I can now look up to Andy.    What a good looking kid with a mop of curly hair.    Mason is all about baseball and wears his Newtown team hat proudly.    They spent a day rafting on the Colorado ( I shopped in Glenwood Springs).

For some reason (probably operator error) I could not get pictures to go here....see them at the bottom.

Mary Beth and Jon hiked the iconic Hanging Lake trail (we did it years ago and might consider the challenge again).

The National Park service offers a scenic trip down Gunnison Canyon ...... in the late 1800's, an attempt was made to build a railroad thru this canyon but it was short lived.

This was the symbol for that railroad.....Note the peak in the distance and the one on the sign...same view.    The rail bed is now submerged but the Ranger talk of history, geology and ecology was interesting.    Some people resist this adventure because of the 232 steps down to the river and back UP.   Of course, Andy and Mason were first down and up!    But the old folks weren't that far behind.  

We've had busy busy weeks since their leaving.      Last week, we took a break from the house stuff and headed over to Mt Princeton Hot Springs Lodge.     We spent 3 days exploring the Collegiate Peaks from on high with 2 other Jeeps.   It was a perfect get-a-way.

After we came back to earth, we closed on the new house.     This is the great room with views of the golf course and the San Juan Mountains.
 

 

This kitchen needs a party!

 

Hanging Lake

 The FSBO on this house was successful with a hopeful closing the end of the month.....altho nothing is for sure until the paperwork is done.  

This is the best time of year.....well, spring and summer aren't bad either.....  fall is in the air and the leaves are turning.   Plan a trip west ( or east )....we have plenty of room !