Just Say No to the Taper Worm...

The taper is going as well as can be expected. I've been busy with work and other things so it's a welcome distraction from feeling like I need to bounce off the ceiling.

We took a trip up to the cabin this weekend to clear stuff out. We've decided to sell it, we aren't using it enough. We took the girls, they got a chance to hang out at their cabin hopefully before it sells. It's one of those "taper projects".

Iris knows where she is, as soon as we get over Kenosha Pass, she always goes crazy. We think it's the smell of cows, but it could be the scenery. This time there were no cows, probably too early for them to be grazing out there since the snow is not completely gone. As soon as we dropped down into South Park, she started getting excited.

On the way back the girls had to ride with all the junk we brought back from the cabin.

I was greeted by this nice piece of mail when I got home. One of those nice things about turning 50. Thanks for the pleasant reminder. Talk about the ultimate taper worm! I will have this done sometime this year, but I'm putting it off until AFTER the race.

Anniversary Weekend

For our anniversary, we decided to go to the cabin for a long weekend. The weather has not been great lately, it's been wet and cold most of the spring, and the weekends have been rainy since March. Last year we didn't go up to the cabin much at all, I was busy training for Badwater and Dennis was busy with work. This year we want to spend a lot more time up there.

We found the Schaeffer cabin 5 years ago, when we were still living in Arizona. It has a interesting history as an old miners' cabin, originally built in 1932 and was located 3 miles up the creek from where it is now, in the townsite of Como. It was moved in 1954 and sits on two lots in town. From the front door it looks out over South Park, and on the north side of the cabin, the mountains between Como and Breckenridge including almost-14er Mt. Silverheels.

As soon as we opened the front door, the girls ran in and Iris found her favorite toy, the pink "WAHOO!" ball. The girls chased each other around the yard and through the field iris that line the front walkway. We've never been there before at the peak of the iris blooming.









No night in the mountains is complete without a thunderstorm, and it also happened to be a full moon.











The next morning, I took Iris up to the bristlecone forest on the slopes of Silverheels. Isabelle stayed at the cabin with her dad, she hurt her paw last week and was still taking it easy. By Sunday she was hiking and walking normally.










After our hike I walked around town, taking pictures, since it's been a while. One of the more interesting houses in town is the old brothel.






Como, the main street with the post office and mercantile. The Como Depot, now a restaurant and B & B, can be seen in the background.


More scenes in town.














A thunderstorm was building Saturday afternoon. All day Dennis was working on the logs and clearing some of the bushes that grow up around the cabin. He also primed the trim on the cabin so we can paint it this summer.

Looking north from the cabin, the historic marker is on the northeast corner of the logs.

Taking a break with dad.

The girls are always looking for ways to keep busy. So many things to sniff.

Iris kept a close eye on the grill.



The little red building next to the cemetery.

The old buildings in Como up the hill from the cabin.

More old houses.











It's always hard to leave. But we'll be back soon.

Where have I been?

If anyone wants to know why I have not answered my emails, it's because I've been here.





With these.








Watching this.






More details later...