MAINLAND - CABIN/ GRAND LAKE

THE CABIN AT GRAND LAKE, COLORADO

TWO WEEKS

AUG 2013

            We are two miles from the tiny mountain town of Grand Lake.  Being off the grid sounds like fun, it is fun.  No electricity (we have kerosene lamps and coleman lanterns for evening, headlamps for dark corners or outside, and a solar charger for our phones). There is no running water; we do have a pump at the well for drinking water and household chores and an outhouse “up the hill.” There is a wood stove for heat and some cooking and a propane fridge and stove on the front porch.  This year we have added a propane outdoor grill.

 In our work duds, stopped to look at something with binocs

hikers took our picture, we took theirs

It is so hot I'm wearing my dad's old straw cowboy hat

 Early morning from the outhouse

red pump at center catching the early sun

 The great old wood stove

stoking up the fire to cook some eggs

View from the front porch cooking area

We spent half a day recovering the top with fancy new naugahide! 

 The new back porch BBQ

Gil cooking trout

The trout was really good!

  

Not new conditions, my grandfather built the cabin in 1938 on private land inside the Rocky Mountain National Park.  I’ve been coming up here all my life and Gil since his first trip in 1982.  Four years ago we came up to help clear 40 trees that had died from a pine beetle due to several years drought.  That was emergency work to keep trees from falling on the building.  One that had hit the roof had already been taken down by nephews; trthey had repaired the roof by the time we got there.  This year there were still trees to come down, others to trim, cut and stack, slash piles everywhere (the trimmed branches removed to make logs), plus general maintenance on the cabin itself.  We had our work cut out for us. 

Hand tools only 
Hack sawing the angle iron

Angle iron in place, starting to seal the stairs and landing

     Nephew Chris came up to help bringing tools and his massive truck.

 Chris's work truck on left and our spiffy F150

 New outhouse roof

Roof complete

note shower enclosure behind - a bag of warm water with a nozzle and shower al fresco!

 One of many log piles

Gil and Chris with dueling chain-saws

            Our cabin is the trailhead for a footpath through the entire national park, from Grand Lake to Estes Park with many side trails to other sites.  Parking is now pushed back closer to town so many hikers are surprised to see the cabin and cars inside the park.  Most people we’ve met this year are from out of state or Europe.  The first major site and destination for most is Cascade Falls, two miles beyond us.

 Trail begins

 The first spring (dry at the moment) creates a wet path,

A team of Americorps volunteers along with the park service are working on a remedy

 Above the river

 The river below the trail, almost at the point where the trail meets the water

           

Goldenrod along the way

Sitting on a rock looking down at the "cascades"

I've been coming here since I could walk (my toes above)

Looking up the falls

Gnarly log at a calm edge along the river

everyone has a story

A 20' drop 

Fascinated by the falling water . . .

 We ate wild raspberries all the way back to the cabin,

leaving plenty for bears and birds

Tracks:

Of moose and men

            One of the most promising things we have seen is all the new growth of pine among the dead and downed trees.  It is inspiring and also lets us know that measuring the world around us in terms of human years is a little foolish.

The emerging new forest among the downed trees 

90% of the lodgepole pines succumbed to the beetle following several years' drought

A foot high blue spruce 

Note little spruce lit up next to the trail

            In the 1920s this area was platted as a subdivision called Summerland and we now have the only building from the original plot plan.  Everything else reverted to the park in the 50s and 60s.   Now Summerland is just a park campground and has moved ¼ mile from where it used to be to just past the cabin.

Even in dry weather this grassy area can be wet and in the spring it is marsh

the boardwalk is about 18" above the ground

 Gil at the new Summerland camp area

this is where we used to watch for elk in the evening (not down this low yet this year)

Mountain bluebells everywhere

            We drive into Grand Lake for various supplies and to go to the laundromat.  Gone are the days when grandma washed the sheets in a washtub and hung them out to dry.  In my purge of cupboards and closets I threw out 2 boxes of starch and a giant home-made ironing board among other things like worn out heavy wool quilts that predated the down comforters I brought up. Mostly I go in to town to use a desk and plug at the library for my computer (like right now).

Grand Lake's Juniper Library

            The library is excellent and in addition to books and a nice selection of magazines, has lounge chairs in front of a fireplace, 6 computers for public use, and 4 desks equipped with plugs for using your own laptop. 

The Community House adjacent to the library and park

The village of Grand Lake across the park

Grand Lake or Spirit Lake

Mt. Craig is the dome at left - we always called it Old Baldy 

 Some funny controversy over where the headwaters are - everyone claims them

Outside of town it says the North Fork of the Colorado River

 Grand Lake from the Grand Lake Lodge up the mountain we are on

The passageways in the distance connect Grand Lake to Shadow Mountain Reservoir

Another view from the Lodge, rooftops are the town below

            Occasionally we go out for dinner.  Continuing the celebration of our 30^th anniversary we went to Grand Lake Lodge.  We were happy it was open as it had been closed for several years when the tree loss was so severe.

The waiter said the light wasn't good but the emotions were

Visitors

            Jackie and her partner David came up for a quick visit and we had a nice walk and good chats. She is Chris' mother.

 Aunty Sharon and niece Jackie at the swing

 Gil and David got some guy stuff done while we hiked and chatted 

Fun to reminisce, we saw at least a dozen large animal bed-down sites near here

Other visitors included chipmunks, jays, deer, moose, fox and others

 Chipmunk hands are incredible

melon and kale popular

The Least Chipmunk, about half the size of the other ones, these guys always waits their turn

Fox through the window screen

He is eating pistachios!

Rocky Mountain Marmot 

fattening up for winter months of hibernation

 A little bat had been hiding/sleeping behind the shutter on the cabin

Very pushy - Stellar's Jay 
I love the white eyebrows!

Like the marmot, this little black squirrel is eating natural food, the nuts from the pine cone

MULE DEER

            Mulies have always been plentiful around the cabin.  These shots were different days, different times.  There were six the first time we saw them:  two does with three fawns and a yearling.  Later we saw either doe with her fawn/s and the yearling was sometimes with them, sometimes alone.

Through the kitchen screen door 

doe with her fawn

Two does and 3 fawns 

note one on far left is starting to shed his/her spots for darker winter coat

Follow Mom?

The yearling 

 Hello!

See You! 

He/she snuck around this huge rock and peeked over the top to see if I was still there

On the trail

MOOSE

            The moose were introduced in the late 70s.  They have adapted well to this more southern arena than they were natural to (Montana-Wyoming). 

 One female moose and three males napping in the tall grass 

between Summerland camp site and the trail

Males still have the velvet on their horns - no fighting yet

 Young boy got up to have a snack on the willows

 The female was doing the same, sampling one willow after another

We saw her frequently over the next couple weeks

 One misty monring we saw her from the front porch

Another misty morning

            We were at the cabin two weeks before our next adventure was to start.  We were leaving Rocky Mountain National Park to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park.  We had more mountains and critters to see before returning to the cabin.