Welcome to Our Colorado Rocky Mountain Heaven

Hello, we are the Caretakers for a mountain community in the beautiful Rocky Mountains west of Denver, Colorado. We live on site and perform maintenance and regular security for the facilities as well as assisting members with their individual cabins. My wife, Iris, and I dearly love this beautiful spot and hope to share its pristine beauty for many years to come. The purpose of this blog spot is to share with you a little of the Rocky Mountain experience that we get to enjoy everyday. Please come back often; I love photography and plan to add photos regularly.


The community that was established over 100 years ago. It consists of over 300 acres of beautiful forested country in the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado. There are twenty plus unique cabins that have been minimally updated over the years to maintain the rustic historical feel. Most cabins have been passed down through the family generations and each new owner must be approved by the membership. The cabins are greatly enjoyed by family and friends during the beautiful Colorado summers and many brave the snow and colder temperatures to spend as much time at their cabin as they possibly can during the winter months. The small pond on the property is the sight of many leisurely hours of canoeing and fishing during the summer and rousing games of hockey in the winter when industrious members plow the snow off the ice.

The oldest cabin was built in 1900 ( I'm told that construction was started in 1898 ) It is still one of the most often used cabins and is still owned by a member of the original family. The rest of the cabins were added over the years up into the mid 1950's.


I will be adding photos regularly with stories and information as they happen.

 

Trip to our home in Ecuador 2012

Well, Spring is here in Colorado...at least today. I'm quite certain we'll get at least one more snow storm. We returned from our yearly jaunt to Ecuador the end of February. The weather was a little cooler this year with a little more rain, however it didn't snow like Colorado or get down below zero. Nights were still around 50 degrees and the days averaged 65 to 70.

Iris and a Neighbor
Ecuadorean animals are never stubborn...
Ecuador's economy seems to be doing darn good. There is construction going on everywhere...roads, houses, apartment and business buildings. We are always amazed at the little indigenous folks who live in stick and mud houses with dirt floors who all have cell phones. We were very pleased...well, Mike was, to find Ecuador's version of Home Depot ( Mega Hierro) in our favorite small town of Paute. It's really not anywhere near the same as Home Depot but much better than the traditional Ecuadorean hardware stores.

Our beautiful home survived just fine during our 10 month absence. Few repairs were needed even though there are always those little tweaks needed any time a house is left sit empty that long anywhere in the world. We repainted most of the floors this trip just to have something to occupy a day or two. As always we read several books while relaxing on the front porch enjoying our view of the Andes Mountains.

Patrice and Rose, yes that's a wheelbarrow full of cherries
We had visitors this year. A new friend, Rose from Oregon and her daughter, Patrice came and spent a week with us in January. We really enjoyed showing them the City of Cuenca with its' historic buildings and many shopping opportunities as well as taking them to our favorite little city of Paute. We also took them to the small town of Banos just north of Cuenca to the Hosteria Duran, an awesome natural hot water spa. We so love sharing our little piece of heaven and our adopted country with others. Then in February we had friends from Evergreen, Colorado, come and spend a couple of days. We really enjoyed their company and got to spend "Carnival" with them in Paute. What a grand celebration it was. Tom and Suzanne have been living in Cuenca since October and feel that Ecuador is where they are going to retire.

Iris, Tom and Suzanne
Love those Panama Hats





Speaking of Carnival, some of you may know that cuy (guinea pig) is a special delicacy in Ecuador and it is always prepared on holidays and special occasions. Well after having our home in Ecuador for going on 7 years, Mike finally decided to give it a try this year...no, he didn't care for it. It was tough, not really much meat and good roasted chicken is much better. Iris agreed with his assessment. We happened to be sitting next to a wonderful Ecuadorean family who were more than willing to receive the cuy as a Carnival gift. They couldn't quite comprehend how those goofy Gringos could not just love such a special delicacy. The mother broke off one of the crisp cuy feet and began munching it as soon as she got it on her plate.

Yum!!...NOT!
Not long before we left we met another lady from Canada who recently retired to Ecuador. She bought a beautiful hacienda on a large piece of property down the canyon from us towards the city of Azogues. What a wonderful person she is. We shared lunch with her a couple of times and she took us into Azogues in her nice new little SUV for shopping. She also got us lined out with a business that can provide our house with wireless Internet so we look forward to getting connected next winter.

Elenore's Hacienda
Of course we spent a few days with our good Ecuadorean friends, the Morocho family. We even left our rather antique laptop with the two Morocho sisters who just started University this year. Computers are so expensive in Ecuador and they will really enjoy and utilize it to its' fullest. We also met some new neighbors who recently bought a house just around the corner from our house who are professional people from Cuenca. We went to lunch with them and spent one Sunday riding with them to the town of Chordaleg...we've never seen so many jewelry stores in one little town. Chordeleg is famous for its' gold and silver jewelry as well as a plethora of other Ecuadorean crafts. We bought our good friend, Larry, a very nice Ecuadorean made hammock while we were there.




So, we're making new friends all the time and enjoying our visits to Ecuador more all the time.
We can hardly wait until our next trip south.

Winter trip to Casa Tranquila in Ecuador

Ok, I realize it's been well over a month since we returned from Ecuador and I'm just now putting together a new post. What can I say other than I'm getting older all the time. We went down by ourselves this year. No friends were able to go. We were there January and most of February and we understand that we missed the "cold" Colorado weather...you've got to hate that.


Grandma and Grandpa with their Grandchildren cups in Ecuador

Casa Tranquila was a wonderful site for our eyes. They've had plenty of rain this year in fact we got to see some while we were there. We had one storm where I know a good three inches of rain fell in a little over two hours... that even beats the storms we saw in Oregon. Overall though, the weather was awesome and everything was so green. Our caretaker plowed and planted our field in February. This year they actually hired a tractor, yes, they have tractors there, really nice tractors. Then they plowed a couple times with the cows to smooth it out. They normally plow with the cows for about three years and then bring in a real tractor to till the soil deep.


Any project needs supervisors

No supervisors here...

The locals still plant corn, beans and squash as a rule. The corn grows fast giving the beans something to climb on and the squash nestle underneath where they are protected. We also understand that those three crops compliment each other as far as what they take and provide to the soil. This is how they've done it for hundreds of years. I guess it works. The corn they plant however is that large kernel white corn used to make hominy...it's tough, chewy and not the easiest thing to digest. The Ecuadoreans love it and eat it with virtually every meal. Mote' it's called. When we actually retire and move there we'll get them to plant part of the field in "choclo", sweet yellow corn. They don't like it as well but we certainly do.

This was a good tomato year; we were buying beautiful red medium size tomatoes, ten for 50 cents. Mike was eating them like apples. He was sure disappointed to get back here and look at the so-called tomatoes that are in the local grocery stores. Even the ones that look like tomatoes don't taste anything like tomatoes. Of course we ate lots of avocados, carrots, potatoes, bananas, peas ( a one pound bag of fresh shelled sweet peas had gone up in price this year to $1.) and of course lots of limes. The tilapia and huge shrimp ($3.50 a pound) were again some of our favorites...we had shrimp a couple times a week whether we wanted to or not. We did notice that because of the world economy food prices had raised in Ecuador. Still about 80% less than the US though. It's amazing that the only food item that actually costs as much or more than in the US is chicken. And chicken is one of their main food items.

Ecuador seems to be doing well economically though. There is prolific construction going on, not only in the cities but also out in the countrysides. There is still a lot of poverty, mostly out in the country but the kids are still going to school and everyone can eat because they can grow their own produce, raise their own livestock, sell their commodities at the local markets and trade with their neighbors for what they don't have. Overall, they are a very happy people...the smiles are wonderful. We met a new friend from Germany. He's a 20 year old teaching English and computer skills out in a small village school near us to satisfy his civil service requirement in Germany. He lives with a local family in San Cristobal. We really enjoyed visiting with him regularly on the bus into Paute. Yes, he spoke excellent English. We also met a couple from England, Anne and Stewart who came up and stayed a couple of days at Casa Tranquila. We took them to Paute just to show them that there's a great difference between Cuenca, the city and Paute, the town. They went on the Vilcabamba after they left us. They plan to retire in Ecuador, just haven't decide exactly where.


Ann and Stewart from England

Our friends, the Morochos, Patricio, Odalia and family took us on a day trip to Cajas, a sacred sanctuary where an apparition of Mother Mary was seen. It's right outside of the Cajas National Park just west of Cuenca. On the way back we stopped at a trout farm where Patricio's friend worked. All the trout runs were just cut into the ground through the sod...concrete is expensive you know. It was a little strange but seems to work just fine. The Ecuadorianos have been dilgently working to bring back the local trout population in their numerous rivers. We stopped for a lunch of "chancho", pig roasted over charcoal; of course potatoes, fried bananas, mote' and rice are always included with meals. The potatoes were small potatoes boiled, coated with a spice and cheese mixture then deep fried. No, no calories included. There were seven of us who all ate until we couldn't eat anymore and the total bill, including sodas, was exactly $20. That's really quite expensive considering a normal plate of the day lunch is $1.50. It was a celebration though so we could justify the extra cost.

Yes, Mike is sitting down and Patricio is standing up.


Chicken and Cuy (Guinea pig) were also available...no, they weren't done, darn it.


Iris had some serious dental work while we were down south. When she was young, dentists loved to use mercury for fillings. She had 16 mercury fillings removed and replaced with porcelain for $15 per tooth...just slightly less than it would cost here. Just that saving nearly paid for our trip.

Leaving was seriuosly bitter sweet. We were excited to get back to our beautiful Colorado paradise but it was really hard to leave our dear friends, the Morochos. Tears were shed on both sides. You just don't find many "real" friends nowadays. They are the real thing.



The trip back was interesting to say the least. We already had a five hour layover in Miami that was stetched into a seven and a half hour layover. Instead of arriving back in Denver at 10:20 PM, we arrived at 1:30 AM. Needless to say, the shuttle we had arranged for had stopped running hours before. We were able to get a taxi to our friends Larry and Sharon's and they still consented to let us spend the night...what was left of it by the time we got to bed.

So, our trip of 2011 was a wonderful success. We had a great time and were glad to return to Colorado after the really cold weather had passed. We are glad to be home and able to visit our wonderful friends here.

The 2010 Summer Season is winding down



Well, it's been a really fast summer. I've always heard that the older you get, the faster time moves...well, I must be getting really OLD!!! We've been pretty busy this year. I've done several projects for members ranging from beefing up and sealing decks to refinishing floors to repairing / rebuilding OLD windows to trimming trees and even helping the chef build a new deck...after we deconstructed one down in Denver for the materials. I've repaired several picnic tables and built one brand new one. Thankfully I've been able to keep the plumbing projects to a minimum; yeah, I don't really like plumbing very much.

Of course we've had our typical wildlife visits and the Chef and his daughters have been spoiling the Timber Tigers (Chipmunks) terribly. They even have their own picnic table and bench.




Don't move Abbey...


Mike and Chef Jeff have been doing lots of woodworking projects from walking sticks and candle holders to lamps, napkin holders and business card holders. Mike has to visit neighbor, Ted occassionally just to see his latest wood creations. One thing about it, we have a nearly limitless supply of unique wood to utilize in the creation process.



Our season ends in the next couple of weeks, then it will be closing down the Lodge and Chef's Cabin, draining and blowing out water systems, putting away the summer grounds equipment and getting the "winter" equipment prepped and ready just in case it snows sometime in the next few months. And of course the firewood supply has to be added to if we want to enjoy those beautiful winter nights in front of a roaring fire. We are excited to do some geocaching this fall and maybe explore a few areas of Colorado we've never visited. This is such an amazing and beautiful state.

Iris and I are looking forward to a trip south to Ecuador again this year. We have a few people interested in coming down to visit this year while we're there and even a couple who may be interested in sharing that little piece of paradise with us on a more permanent basis. We have already been collecting gifts to take down to our Ecuadorean friends. Really nice good quality clothes from the local thrift store are always appreciated and the dollar stores provide great treasures for the young kids. Mike picked up an electric weed whacker to serve as our lawn mower down there. We have a very small area we maintain as a yard so it should work just fine. Our caretakers tether their cows and sheep on the bulk of the property who keep it groomed like a park. Now he's thinking..."little electric chainsaw???" We do have over 9 acres of pine and eucalyptus trees with a fireplace in the house and a cheap bow saw really begins to seem like work after the first 45 seconds or so. So, we'll see what happens.

You all take care and we'll do our best to add updates just a little more often...now that things may be slowing down a bit.

Hey, We're Back From Ecuador!!

We're back in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. Our trip way down south was absolutely wonderful. The weather was amazing as always...about 65 to 75 during the day and about 50 at night. Central Ecuador has been having quite a drought for the last year or so and things were a little drier than normal however we started getting a little rain while we were there and everything started greening up very well. Our caretaker had planted corn that was barely up when we arrived; it was about two feet tall when we left.

Our friends that went with us had a great time. It was their very first trip to South America and going as we did, not as tourists, was a real experience. We lived among our local indigenous neighbors, rode the local busses as our transportation and shopped in the local outdoor markets. We were fortunate enough to attend a local neighborhood fiesta (everyone had a great time watching the "Gringos" dance) as well as Carnival in Paute and Paute's 150th Anniversary celebration a couple of weeks later. Our friend, Larry was determined to try the Ecuadorian delicacy, Cuy (guinea pig) while we were there but never got it done. He tried a lot of other weird things though. He's much more adventurous than me.

We had great times with our Ecuadorian friends; we were invited out to several wonderful meals at various homes. We wanted to make a trip to Machu Pichu, Peru while we were there, however while there was a drought in Ecuador there was non-stop rain in parts of Peru and there were a couple thousand tourists stranded trying to get to or from Machu Pichu. That will just have to be an adventure for another year. We did go to the site of Inga Pirca though which is fairly close to our home. It's an Inca historical site that is quite famous.

We also got our medical and dental needs taken care of while there so it wasn't total vacation. The quality of the care and the prices are absolutely amazing when compared to the same in the US. The small town of Paute has a brand new clinic where we met a wonderful young dentist who speaks great English. She was thrilled to be able to practice her English as well as do a little dental work. By the way, Ecuadorian dentists don't use Novocain. They just do what they need to do without pain. What a concept, huh?

Anyway, we are thrilled to be back at our little piece of heaven in the Colorado Rockies after spending seven weeks at our little piece of heaven in the Andes Mountains. Please enjoy the little slide show that I put together below.



Our Local Wildlife

This is a slideshow of some of the wildlife in the neighborhood that Mike gets pictures of. We will update this slideshow as we get new pics of new animals.