Colorado 2010 - Part 2

Now our cabin is about as remote as you can get in the Lower 48. It is at 11,000 feet, no electricity and running water comes form a stream. Paradise. It has a mountain view on three sides and no matter what window you look out of, there is not another sign of human life out there. The closest grocery store is 36 miles away and the nearest cell phone signal is 8 miles away, on a good day. Now I understand this is not for everyone, but it is for us Aicheles’.

Now if I am going to keep on bragging, Clint, Doug and the Blomquist crew did the most incredible job building the place. It is more beautiful than I could ever imagine. All the logs came from the surrounding forest. Clint cut them down and peeled them all himself (with some help of course). Clint and I got to plan everything out. It is also important to remember that every bit of supplies has to be carried up a 2 mile, precarious, four wheel drive road (if you can even call it a road).

Here are some pictures of the cabin. We have a lot of work to do. It is a lifelong project.

This is the view from the upstairs loft (master bedroom). It is a shot of the continental divide.

Sawyer is sitting on the future home of the outhouse. I will get a toilet inside, but Clint has warned me it is for nighttime use only.

Clint is pointing to the back side of the mountain that our cabin is on.

Colorado 2010 - Part 1

At the end of June we packed up our gear and household necessities and headed to Colorado for ten days. We decided to travel light this year.

This year was our first year to stay at “our” cabin. We arrived to the cabin with 2 inches of sawdust covering everything. This place was still 100% a construction site. We immediately got to work to get it livable. With the help of our friend Ty, Clint got a lot of trash loaded up and taken to the dump.

My first requirement of Clint was that every princess needs a throne. This is what I got.

Next year I should have a flusher though. Hallelujah!

Sawyer and Clint wasted no time getting running water to the cabin. Our water will come from a fresh water mountain spring. We just had a hose outside for the week we were there, but when it first started spraying, it was a site for sore eyes.

I spent most of my week sweeping up sawdust . I did a lot of dishes and dirty clothes the old fashion way. I don’t know how women do it without their “handmaidens” (dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer).

Clint worked really hard and got all the plumbing done. Next summer we hope to be able to install the sinks, bathtub and toilet.

The Aichele family motto is to work hard so you can play hard. We had a lot of fun too with family, friends, and enjoying the outdoors. Sawyer was pretty simple. His favorite thing to do was to throw rocks.

Clint took me on a date to Crested Butte for my birthday. We returned from our little adventure with more birthday celebrations. Sawyer also loved the fireworks show that Clint put on for Fourth of July. We had a big mountain party.

We did get in one pretty good hike. It is one of my favorites and it takes through wild flowers to a beautiful, isolated mountain lake. It was pretty tough on this pregnant lady though.

Our week of “roughing it” wasn’t too tough though because we were able to use Clint’s parents cabin as much as possible. Sawyer played in the dirt so much is was a life saver to be able to give him a bath.

We had a great week and the sad part is we don’t get to spend more time up there. Unfortunately we will have to wait until next year.