A New Home...A New Beginning

  

Song:  Land of OZ

Artist:  Hilary Stagg

I've been absent from blogging for a while.

I moved temporarily in preparation to make my final move.

I had finally found my dream home...

a modern log cabin (custom built in 2001)...

a mountain chalet...

my serene mountain temple.

It is located high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains...

but it is within a thirty minute beautiful country drive to a major town...

of which has all the amenities of a major city.

It has a Super Walmart...

Hardware Store...

Costco...

various super markets...

and a major emergency Kaiser hospital (my health plan)...

and it is one hour west of the second largest city in Colorado...

Colorado Springs.

Its elevation is just over 9,600 feet (almost 3,000 meters).

I am going through the final process of owning it.

I had put in an offer and it was accepted.

Inspections were completed...

and any deficiencies are being corrected...

and final inspections and clean outs are scheduled by the 

previous owners of the home.

If everything goes well...

I take possession of my temple high in the mountains in just over one month

(Sept. 17th).

I have been busy scheduling movers...

buying insurance...etc.

Starting later next month...

I will be blogging from my place of serenity...

the last home I will ever have...

where I will live out the rest of my days...

and where I will die...

serenely happy.

My elder sister and her husband and I drove approximately 1,100 miles

to tour the home.

For me...

it was love at first sight.

It is me...

everything about it...

from its altitude...

the sturdy and unique design...

the pure aesthetic beauty...

the over 2 acres of land...

the great room with its expansive windows facing the sunrise...

everything.

I put in an offer shortly after arriving back home.

I will be taking many a trike ride just exploring the mountain 

upon which it sits...

and I will then explore the great beauty of Colorado.

The following pictures from the realty site for this home were taken 

with the original owners still living in it.

This beautiful home has three stories and is 3112 sq. ft.

It has three bedrooms with three full bathrooms...

a high quality metal roof installed in 2018 with a 40 year warranty...

a full solar panel array... 

an entertainment room...

a study...

an outdoor heated and jetted spa on the first floor deck... 

and a built in large steam sauna...

and all windows are double-paned.

It is also on public water / power / gas...

and all the power lines are buried.

The roads are plowed...

although I will need to purchase a self propelled snow blower for the driveway.

The whole mountain is filled with pine and aspen trees...

so autumn and winter will be especially spectacular.

 

It is warmed by two gas fireplaces with blowers...

and sub floor radiant heating. 

The first floor has a two car heated garage...

a large family / entertainment room (which I plan to make into a home movie theater)

and a gas fireplace with blower...

a study...

a full bathroom... 

an outdoor heated and jetted spa on the first floor deck... 

a large steam sauna...

and access to the first floor deck. 

The second story...

has the great room with a wall of double-paned windows...

with a gas fireplace with blower...

a kitchen with two pantries...

a full bathroom...

a laundry room with extra freezer...

two bedrooms...

and access to the second floor deck.

The third story loft is the master bedroom...

with a master bath with a jetted large tub and separate walk in shower...

 with a separate toilet room...

and a large walk-in closet...

and an access door to the third floor deck. 

 

 

It has a JennAir gas stove...

which has a downward sucking vent for cooking.

 

 

 

I am so, so very happy.

 

High altitude living has always been my dream. 

I will be sure to capture many photos of my many miles of triking

throughout Colorado...

and my soon to be...

new...

and last ever...

home.

------------------------------------

And...

a few photos of my visit to my future home.

 

 My car is on the upper driveway...

and the realtor's car (red) is on the lower driveway.

 

My elder sister is walking towards me from the lower driveway in this photo.

 

 

The Realtor (blond), my elder sister and I looking at the view from one side of the third floor deck.

 

 We walked down a little ways in front of the home.

As it is all natural forest all around the home...

there is no maintenance...

just all natural beauty.

 

 

Some distant mountain views.

 

I am unsure from where on the property this photo was taken...

as my brother in law had taken all of these particular photos.

The Truckee River Bike Trail With My Guest

 

Song:  Crossing the Sweetwater

Flute:  Jeannine Goeckeritz

Harp:  Tamara Oswald

Just yesterday...

my guest and I rode on the Truckee River Bike Trail.

I towed her as she rode in great comfort in the palanquin.

The head waters of the Truckee River...

which flows straight from Lake Tahoe.

The wheeled palanquin's seat is so richly padded...

has roomy seating, a wide and comfortable foot rest...

as well as dual shock absorbers on the axel to provide a cushy ride.

My guest loved taking many pictures as she rode behind my trike...

and I took pictures as well, as I pedaled.

I love the sun hat.  It has long and light neck sun protectors.

I also have on a sun shirt which wicks away moisture and keeps me cool.

I don't remember what I had seen in the above picture which had caused me to point.

There were many rafters and kayakers on the river.

The river bike trail is serene for the whole of its length.

On this day...

we only went about halfway its entire length...

about 10 miles round trip.

There were relatively few people on the trail.

We stopped here for a short while.

I dipped my hat into the cool water to cool off my head.

I also soaked my shirt before continuing my ride.

Although it wasn't oppressively hot...

I loved the feel of the cool winds on my wet clothes as it evaporated the water.

My guest loved riding on the palanquin.

It is a very stable and comfortable ride.

My mother will love riding in it on this trail next week.

We had reached the halfway point and turned back around.

We are near the car at this point.

We passed this outdoor seated restaurant.

My son and I had eaten at this restaurant many times before 

on our mountain bike rides of this trail.

As I am very light skinned...

and as the altitude is at some 6,200 feet...

and so, the UV rays are quite strong...

I must be careful when I am outside.

I have actually received light sunburns while watching sunsets near home.

That is why I wait until the sun has almost set before setting out to Sunset Court.

My hat and shirt had not only protected my head and neck from the strong UV rays...

they had kept me cool.

The trail head is less than an hour drive away from home.

After my next trip to this trail next week...

I will once again head out onto unpaved mountain trails

to explore more of the Sierra Nevadas.