“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” – Warren Buffett
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Cabin Day 16—Last Days #2
I'm writing this about 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, so lots can still change, but here is the plan:
It is sunny today with predicted temperatures in the 50s. So far, only a breeze. So, we should see lots of melting with little additional drifting. I took a stick and measured snow depths on the road out of here (as far as a neighbor who got out yesterday afternoon). There are two drifts of 12" or so, too much for me to get through without chains. (That's right, I did not bring the chains. I stood there in the garage and looked at them and said to myself "You won't be needing those this time of the year".)
A neighbor got out yesterday. It took them 4 hours and driving over lots of land where there are no roads, just following the path of least snow. They are coming back in today, and he will come to our place with his chained-up jeep. That will cut us a trail that will allow us to get out. By then, snow will not be the biggest issue on the rest of the roads, mud likely will be. We've heard from another neighbor (a couple of miles away) that people (hunters) are now traversing the previously closed county road to the state line.
This means we could leave today, late afternoon, and those of you who voted for a Sunday get away (#1 on the poll) would be right. But, that makes little sense. We'd be on the road 4 days instead of 3 days. We'd need 3 hotel rooms instead of 2, and we'd have to find hotels that take pets along the way since we would be "off schedule" and unable to stay where we normally would. We'd get into NJ mid-day on Wednesday and I'd get to go to work on Thursday.
If we wait and leave tomorrow (Monday morning and #2 on the poll), then we can stick to our normal schedule including hotels, lunch spots, rest areas, etc. And, I'll still be at work on Thursday. So, that is the plan.
Will keep you informed.
Last night was burritos for dinner and a fun movie.
3:15 p.m. update: We drove the truck out as far as Bucky Beaver Dam where the road got very iffy. We were able to plow through the drifts that far and we drove through the bad ones several times to break them down. The sun has been out all day with warm temps and no winds. So, a lot of melting has occurred. We hear that the county road north of Wapiti is still very iffy. And, mud is now becoming as much an issue as the snow was yesterday. So, a neighbor will drive out in front of us to help us if we get stuck anywhere. May not take the county roads but interior roads instead since some of them have been plowed by association members on the other side of Sand Creek.
We are now packing and getting everything ready to put in the truck early tomorrow. The plan is to get up at 5:30, load the truck, close the cabin, and be ready to leave by 6:30. We'll take showers but no coffee or breakfast. Instead, we'll go by MacDonalds on our way through Laramie.
We'll drive out via Brubaker road (I assume, but we need to hear the road reports from neighbors first), dump recycle at the West Laramie Fly Shop car wash, dump trash in a dumpster of an association member who has given us permission, get gas at the West Laramie Fly Shop, grab breakfast at MacD's, then immediately onto I-80 headed east.
So, this is probably the last you'll hear from me on this trip.
Hope you enjoyed the vacation with us!
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 10/06/2013 at 10:10 AM
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Saturday, October 05, 2013
Cabin Day 15—Last Days #1
Good news and bad news:
Good: we have food for a few days, lots of wood for the stove, gasoline for the generator and Internet access is back up, plenty of dog treats and a couple of jugs of wine.
Bad: we need them.
We had planned to leave the cabin on Friday, which would have been day 14. Friday, Saturday and Sunday would be travel days and I'd be back at work on Monday.
Then came the warnings about travel through Nebraska and Iowa on Friday, with warnings of severe storms and tornados, and we decided to stay an extra day. Yes, there was a few inches of snow predicted for us, but we'd had that last week and it caused no problem. And, heavy amounts of snow this time of year are unusual. Normally, we'd be running around (or driving around taking in the aspens' change of color) in shorts and t-shirts. September is my favorite month up here.
During the day on Thursday, the snow predictions got more and more dire. Instead of inches, they started talking about feet of snow. By then, it was too late to try to pack everything, close the cabin down for winter (turn off appliances, put up shutters, drain water, anti-freeze in lines, etc.), so we decided to stick it out. How bad can it be in early October? Besides, we do have close neighbors who can help. And, we have food for a few more days.
The snow, as reported in previous posts came to about 12". It came straight down with little wind (at our place), and was beautiful. Lynne has some nice photos on her site.
The driveway going out toward the main road:
Today (Saturday), we heard that our neighbors were going to go to Laramie and they wondered if we wanted to join their caravan out. Many people traveling together is good in case someone gets stuck. We agreed and started packing up the truck and prepping the cabin. They were going to take two trucks and check the roads this morning. (They have visitors from St. Louis that also delayed their departure for home by one day because of the weather predictions for travel on Friday.)
I just heard back from them and we are officially snowed-in. I'm not sure of the details, but once you get to the county road, leaving Sand Creek Park, the road is closed. Down there, the wind is blowing like crazy (luckily, we are somewhat sheltered where we are). The drifts are too high to get through and digging makes no sense because the wind fills any tracks with snow as fast as one can dig them. There are a few trucks (it is hunting season) stuck along the way. And, even the roads in Albany County in Wyoming (the route for us to get to Laramie) are closed. They will be cleared when the wind calms so that clearing them makes sense--they will stay cleared at least for a little while.
The Meadow, west of the cabin:
The good news is that the sun is out. I've cleared the snow off the PV panels, we have food for 3 or 4 days, and we have neighbors "in the same boat" just over the hill. And, they, as full-timers up here, are better prepared with chains for their vehicles, shovels, etc.
Here are some more photos:
The solar panels, before I cleaned them off:
The beginnings of what we call the wine fridge. The snow will eventually become a vertical wall outside this door, into which we shove bottles of white wine:
The truck is ready to go! (Well, mostly. Still need to clear the windshield.)
Looking north:
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 10/05/2013 at 09:49 AM
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Thursday, October 03, 2013
Cabin Day 13, 2013 - Prep for Home
First of all, be sure to catch up on our short "day trip" to Bull Mountain on Lynne's Blog where she has some nice photos.
Well, it is day 13 and time to start the preparations to return home. It has been a great two weeks.
We had a cool (35°) and windless night, so slept pretty well. Nice sunrise this morning. Weather prediction is for some rain later today, possibly turning to snow overnight. So, I will take advantage of the morning to do some preparations: clean the cabin, final "chores" around here, load as much in the truck as possible (not things that can freeze, I guess).
It is now noon and our "prep for home" has turned into "prep for snow". The weather forecast for Friday for our route home is not good. The weather service is using terms like a "significant weather event" and "severe storm and tornado threat" for our typical route along I80 through Nebraska and Iowa. It is way to late to try to finish packing up, close down the cabin, and leave today to get ahead of the storm. So, we've decided to delay our departure till Saturday.
However, they have also changed the local weather forecast from a few inches of snow to as much as a few feet! So, starting tonight, we will get snow here at the cabin and that will determine what happens over the next few days. If the storms tracks north, we won't get much snow and will be able to get out just fine. If the storm tracks south through northern Colorado, then we will get dumped on. A foot to foot-and-a-half of snow along with 40 to 50 mph winds will force us to be creative with our departure. Still going to shoot for Saturday morning. Will keep you informed via comments to this post.
We've got enough food for four days before we reach into our (meager) emergency stock. We've brought a lot of wood in and have about a cord on the sheltered front porch. The PV system has a good charge on it and the generator is full of gas. Not much more we can do to prepare at this point.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 10/03/2013 at 06:59 AM
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Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Cabin Day 12, 2013
An early start today. I was awake at a little after 5:00 and got up to visit the bathroom. It was cold in the cabin, so I kicked the thermostat up from 64° to 65°. I had laid a fire in the wood stove last night, but did not want to start that yet as I'd need to feed it wood and would not get back to sleep. Well, sleep was not to come anyway.
The heater has three cycles when it comes on. There is a pre-start/purge cycle where it blows air through the system to purge any propane. Second, it lights the propane burner (whoosh) and begins to heat the air. Third, the fan comes on to blow air through ductwork and heat the house. The first phase started, but the second never came. We laid in bed waiting and after 5 minutes or so, I knew something was wrong.
The fix was easy. I had replaced batteries in the thermostat yesterday, as I do each year, and apparently did not do a good job of getting the cover back on the thermostat. So, it was not making good/proper connections. When I reseated it, I heard "whoosh". However, by now I was wide awake.
So, I started both the furnace and the wood stove, turned on the coffee, and we started our day. It was still pitch black outside.
Breakfast was a hash of potatoes, onions and bacon topped with an over-easy egg. The cabin still smells great.
A walk to the bottom with the girls was next.
I am running the generator for a while this morning because it is a bit cloudy and predicted to be cloudy over the next few days. I let it run during showers (to cover any electricity needed by the water pump) and for Lynne to dry her hair. I hate the noisy thing, but it is necessary without the wind turbine running.
I added distilled water to the batteries yesterday and kicked off an equalization charge. However, I doubt they will actually equalize (overcharge them) until after we leave and there is no electrical demand.
We are hearing about a weather front passing through on the radio. We are to get a few inches of snow. But, the midwest is threatened with thunderstorms, high winds and possible tornados on Friday, so we need to watch that carefully before deciding to drive through that part of the country.
This morning a guy came by from a logging company in Laramie to give us an estimate on cleaning up the cut area west of the cabin. Nice guy. Knew what to do. Gave us a reasonable estimate, so we agreed to have his company do the work next year when we are here.
The rest of the day was filled with chores, games on the iPad, dog walks (walked to the property for sale adjacent to us). Grilled steaks and baked potatoes for dinner with a nice salad. Watched Survivor on TV, and now we are bushed again! Cabin time. Read about it on Lynne's blog.
Going to do some reading, make coffee, lay a fire for the morning and "hit the sack".
G'night.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 10/02/2013 at 08:49 AM
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Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Cabin Day 11, 2013
Not a whole lot for you today.
Here is a photo of last night's sunset over Bull Mountain. We drove to the top of the hill east of the cabin to get this shot.
Today, we left the cabin around 11:00 a.m. to take a day trip over Sand Creek Pass, up the Laramie River Valley some to Bull Mountain Road and then up to the top of Bull Mountain. Usually, the aspens on that drive are spectactular this time of year. But, this year, there is little color and I think (maybe due to the freezing temperatures and small snow we had?) they are just going to fall from the trees without contributing much color. Still, it is a beautiful drive and now we are home around 2 hours later. Bella hates riding in the truck, but we made her go.
Maybe more later.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 10/01/2013 at 01:33 PM
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