October 16-17, 2004: Cathie's Cabin, Colorado

One of many trip reports under the SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie Grow.
Email me at ajs@frii.com.
Last update: March 29, 2024
(Previous trip report: 2004_0808-15_LakePowell.htm)

Adapted from email I sent:

From:  Alan Silverstein <ajs@frii.com>
Date:  18 Oct 2004 10:54:21 -0600
Subject:  another weekend at the cabin

For your amusement, here's a short retelling of my weekend cabin trip with my wife Cathie Grow to her mountain cabin... [On Michigan Hill near Jefferson in South Park, Colorado.] We spent 26 hours up there, and it's amazing again how much we got done, and how much there was to do.

[As of October 2023, I've logged 199 trips to the cabin with Cathie since spring 199, plus 22 alone, and two cases where she visited without me; a total of 345 nights! So this trip report is just one random example of our many visits to her three acres near the top of Michigan Hill. Back while working, we often drove up there and back for just one weekend night at a time; since retiring in 2013, usually two nights, occasionally three. Still "off the grid", meaning we bring up all of our food and water each time.]

We decided not to rush, so we didn't even leave home until 1 pm Saturday. With food and shopping stops, we didn't reach the cabin until after 6 pm -- with sunset at 6:20 or so. We drove my truck so we could haul up a round-table base and four chairs, and bring back down seven bales of insulation we accidentally bought too narrow.

It was a gorgeous fall weekend. There was a high wind warning for the mountains, but it was only gusty at times. The leaves were all gone at 10,000', but there was still plenty of pretty foliage in Denver and on the way up US 285. It got below freezing overnight, but we were warm enough with the woodstove. Mid-Sunday it was 70 in the cabin with the stove fire dying down and the doors closed, and probably 60 outside. It was cold and windy enough Saturday night that I didn't bother with an outside fire.

Between the two of us we did all of the following!

• Rearranged the woodpile to separate the pine and aspen (having realized that when stocking the fire for the night, pine is much preferred).

• Mitigated many woodstove smoke leakage problems -- installed a metal baffle, painted it black, and sealed all around with chimney sealant. And I possibly destroyed a cordless drill with metal filings -- it's arcing, glowing, and smelling now, must open it up and see if it's salvageable. (Nope, it wasn't.) Also while trying to fix it, I broke an already dysfunctional metal slider for a stove door vent.

• Disassembled the old picnic table that came with the cabin, and assembled and installed a round table. (Later we reassembled the picnic table, and we still use it, but now we carry it onto the porch upon arriving, and back into the living room before leaving!)

• Liquid Nailed screws tighter on four chair seats for the round table. (Not so easy as it sounds...)

• Constructed and installed metal and wood shelving (3' x 16", five shelves) in the back room.

• Installed two pre-hung doors in doorways inside the cabin, and put door handles in them.

• Finished caulking the exterior, mostly under the eaves, and touched up 4-year-old trim paint where it was needed.

• Caulked edges of white countertops, and also kitchen floor tiles at cabinets, along with installing baseboards. Glued the island cabinet in place with Liquid Nails.

• Extended a subtle trail at least 100' further, all the way down to the distant northwest corner of the property. With Cathie's OK, I'm starting to clear and mark (with lengths of old aspen trees) footpaths through the woods around her three acres. There are sections of natural deadfall (mostly aspen trees) that are hard to get through.

• Shared Irish creme and chocolate on the futon sofa in front of the woodstove, now with very little smoke in the cabin.

• Saw a big elk on the back acre of her lot, and heard owls screeching -- no, not elk bugling like I first thought.

• Took a 40 minute walk at sunset through the woods and around the French Pass Circle loop. Indescribably quiet and beautiful, with a view at one point 40 miles away to distant hills.

• Just before leaving, coated some tile a second time with incredibly smelly grout sealer.

• (Forgot to mention in the email: Expanded polyvinyl hose for sink siphon start.)

Our cabin construction projects are really coming along! This time we didn't intend to work so hard or stay so long, but it was very fun and productive. We didn't leave until 7:50 pm, and drove nearly straight home at 10:20 pm. We are putting finishing touches on many projects. Major remaining chores for the next year or so include...

• Cut down and rehang (easier system) two of the three window shutters that we close when we leave. [Now five windows with shutters! Including bathroom and bedroom.]

• Stain a lot of cabinets and doors.

• Insulate and drywall.

(Next trip report: 2005_0701_BellTowerWindow.htm)