Wednesday, August 14, 2019

August Road Trip


The client had two important assignments in Northwest Colorado that they were willing to generously compensate to handle.

Loathing the tourist traffic on I-70 and  the “recreationist” infesting Colorado 14 in the Poudre Canyon, I elected to go through Wyoming to Laramie then via Walden to US 40. Many folks from my maternal side of the family are buried in Walden and I stopped to pay my respect







One property the client wanted inspected is abandoned. It is in an area of second or even third homes. Good luck in selling that!


The trip took me past the Carpenter Ranch east of Hayden, CO. Once had the finest hay meadows in Routt County, the heirs of Ferry Carpenter, a man of many accomplishments, deeded it to the Greenies. As per usual, the Greenies talk to talk but are too lazy to walk the walk.


I was able to carve out an hour to visit the museum in Craig, CO, a subject of an earlier post.

All in all, an interesting trip through country I spent my teens.

Being late in the day, went up to I-80 in Wyoming and back through Cheyenne to I-25 and then home. Added 45 minutes to the trip but no mountain passes, tourist traffic, and less demanding driving.

A road I’ve traveled scores of time, Rabbit Ears Pass can kill you if you insist on being stupid. There is not one foot of flat road on the West side. Coming up Muddy Pass, a nice 3 point buck in velvet strolled across the road. Only deer seen on the trip but did see numerous Pronghorns.

10 comments:

drjim said...

Yeah, the 14 through Poudre Canyon can really get plugged up at times. I've only been on it from Stove Prairie down to Ted's Place, but it's always packed on the weekends.

That's quite a house! The "owner" just walked away from it? Yow...that's a "Kali Thing" to do. I remember when the real estate market tanked back in 2008~09 and people were just mailing the keys back to the mortgage issuer, usually after living there "rent free" for up to two years.

I think the market is correcting here. I've been closely following it since about 2012, and within the last two years prices have started coming down. Few houses sell for the listing price, and some wind up selling for 20%~30% under what they listed at.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

drjim
Routt County is home to a large number of trust funders and silicon valley types who become disenchanted with the reality of rural Colorado. Steamboat has the great restaurants and clubs, the great skiing, but dealing with 30' of annual snowfall, sporadic snowplows, and weeks of minus 20 degree weather tends to thin them out.

The hardy local's expertise in separating the rich from their money may also be a factor.

drjim said...

To which I say "Good for the locals"!

Well Seasoned Fool said...

It comes as a shock to them.

LL said...

City people living out the "Green Acres" scenario have difficulty understanding that if you rise with the sun and work all day until the sun sets, you can just about keep up with the work that needs doing, and the profit for your labors isn't nearly what you made in Silly-Con valley. The hay doesn't water or cut itself and the fences don't mend themselves...and as is mentioned above...there is also winter.

Momma Fargo said...

Aw...home! The green green grasses of Wyoming...in June. LOL. Surprised it so green in August. I think that house has potential, I don't know what you are squawking about. Tell them to poor some money into it, then sell it for a fortune.

LSP said...

What's happening here is people from Dallas buying up ranches as weekend getaways, so land value's surging. Will they stay? Dunno. It does feel somehow damnable though, who wants to see the metrospawl destroy the country?

Whatev. Drive safe.

Old NFO said...

LOL, the 'realities' of country living. The work is never done. Period, end of statement. And they actually have to drive to shop, it's not a five minute drive either! And it's DARK out in the hinterlands at night...

drjim said...

Don't forget the WILD ANIMALS, NFO, and all the knuckledraggers with their GUNS!

Well Seasoned Fool said...

LL
Your youth experiences gave you knowledge of what you were getting into.

Old NFO
All valid.

Momma
Been there, done that and the Tshirt no longer fits. Grew up in that area and my parents made some nice coin on the first wave. Wyoming green when school starts? Doesn't happen that often.

LSP
First sustained economic collapse and they will be gone. Been there, too.

drjim
Flufffy meets coyote. Logger scares the newby. Seen it all.