Snow

So, the southern Denver area got about 28" of snow just before Halloween. We were able to measure 22" in the table in Pam's backyard. Of course, Pam had to bury me in the snow.

Then I took a bunch of trashcans full of snow and stacked it up to build something. But at this point I still wasn't sure where it was going. I got about 12 cans into it and went in for dinner and didn't come back for 2 days.

Just after playing in the snow I went out to verify the snow depth...barefoot! I think this was the 22".
Then I had to go skiing, of course. Here I ducked the rope as usual for the better snow. This was at Loveland.

I was up there with Jay.

Then I came back to work more on my statue. This was Halloween afternoon and I figured with the warming weather and the holiday that night, I might as well turn my mound of snow into a Pumpkin. I think I put in a total of 4 hours.
Makin' Bacon!
Then I put candles in it for the evening.
Then, of course, we had to add gas. This was largely due to Jeff's prompting. But I think it only took one nudge and I was all over it. I did manage to burn some of the hair off my hand in the process, but nothing major. It was as fun as it looks.

Then after all the gas, probably about a gallon or so, it looked a little long in the face.

And by mid afternoon the next day the neighbor kids were putting it to its grave.

Then about a week later most of the snow was gone in town so Jeff and I headed up to do some riding. We quickly found that it wasn't as warm at the trails as it was in town.

Jeff, stuck and pushing it backward.Finally, making it thru.

Some parts of the trail were fine, no snow. Lots of mud and water. Some parts had 12" of snow still on them. Here my bike could stand up on it own.

And, as to be expected of someone on a 4-wheeler, no matter how cold it is out, they will still play in the mud holes.

Stepping off the trail, I found it up to my knees.

We did find some dry rocks to play on.

Walking speed...in 2nd gear!

Paint

Here are the before and after shots of the house I painted. It took way too long to do this job, next time I would probably let the pros do it, they are much faster. Also note, it takes at least 2 coats and maybe more to change the dark trim to white.

Before.
After.

Barn

Spent a several days over the last two weeks working on a 13' x 36' loafing shed for my sister, Theresa, in Cheyenne. She is hoping to get some horses next spring for the family.

The barn will go just to the right of the Skid-Steer.

All the materials needed to build the barn and an 8' x 8' chicken coop.

All the holes dug and string layed out to tell me where the posts go. The holes are all 18" wide and 4' deep. Done with an auger on the Cat.

Posts all set and braced.

All the 2x4s and such set and ready for the metal.
Almost done, still needs some trim over the exposed wood on top.

Barn with her house in the back ground.
I also had to put up about 150' of fence. Here is the 9" auger. It truly makes life easy.

In all, the fence was under 5 hours to set and the barn was about 60 hours. Pretty much all by myself. I had about 4 hours of help from Theresa and 2 hours from Mike and a few hit and miss from the kids.

Finally...

Edit...as of 11PM Wednesday night, 17 inches and still falling. I took a tape measure out in the yard to check it. It has been real fun driving around in the truck.


We are finally getting some good snow here. There was at least 10" by lunch time and much more now. Over a foot at my house and it is suppose to keep snowing til thursday evening. Then 50 degrees on Sunday to take it all away.


White hat for my Truck.

Bed is full up to my 2x10 rails.

60 mph ice crystals on my hubs.

Dougie Fresh...

That's who's on page 57 of my new Bike mag!

Ohh, and I saw this on one of my excursions a while ago.

Where did September go?!

Well, it has been quite a while. I guess I can sum up September as another good month of getting around. I spent 15 of 30 days gone on the road. 10 of which were on a rode trip out to Oregon with Pam to visit her brother. I had 15 days on the bike, only one day moto, 2 days hiking, and 3 days of work. Here are just a few pics to sum it up.

Sold the Honda.
Sold the trailer.

House I am currently working on painting the exterior of.

Hanging Lake in Glenwood Springs. Pretty cool hike just off of I-70. These falls come down into a pond in the middle of a huge canyon. You can see fish all over.

Walking out on a down tree on the lake.

Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

Free ride stunts and trails at Black Rock in Oregon. Pretty fun stuff, but most of it was too big for my XC bike.

Sweet step up.

Tree too big to bunny hop on Mary's Peak outside Corvallis, OR. We also road in Bend, OR. We only had one evening there, but it was a fun trail that was cut short by sunset. But I didn't get any good pictures there.

Fat tree's. Skinny kids.

Pam wins the race at the Pacific Coast.

Pam's nephew, Josiah, showing off his new tricks while wearing blackberries on his face.

Bishop's Castle outside Colorado City. Hand build by one man over the past 40 years. It is quite the place to see. The sweetest part is that here I think he put safety third. Definitely no codes that he has to follow here.

BBQ!!

Steve, Melissa, and Banana in Fruita, CO.

Joe's Ridge.

High above Steve's loop. That loop you see below on the cliff line was a lot of fun. Good trials all over here.

Rainbow Trail in Grand Junction. There is lots of slick rock on this trail. I took a good tumble head of heals down a good steep rock face that I was trying to traverse. My bike came tumbling behind and ended up on my head. I wish I had a picture of that one.

That is a pretty good summary of my September. October may be a little slower with the cooler weather moving in. Plus, I have a few jobs to work on. Finish the paining, build a barn and chicken coop, kitchen remodel, and pour a back patio. I keep you posted.