Month: April 2021

Having been idle, save for moving snow, trekking upon snow, and making snow paths for the dog to navigate the property, it has been still here. Devoid of humans, most animals too settled in for the winter, and quiet was plentiful.

Friday night the Kuehler cabin lit up in full display. Tom and Katy were at the cabin, and Andy soon followed. In one calm evening, with coyotes howling upon the still night, the moon in near full display, the population in the park seemingly doubled.

Saturday we moved the fire truck from the storage area to the Kuehler property so that maintenance can be done – fluids, inspection, testing, and ensuring the truck is ready for any needs. We soon need to find another central location to store it this year as well.

Saturday night was socializing; five men standing around their machines and catching up over the long winter. I am still meeting new folks too, so life is returning to summer normal, it would seem.

Sunday I took the tracks off Moon Bug, perhaps a week or two early, but we shall see. Kevin returned to upper Schierl to check on his new build, and movement of vehicles was visible in the lower end of the park near dusk. Eric is up on Flavin now, so we surely are increasing in population quite steadily.

Many emails, texts, and phone calls this week and last. Lots of folks are curious about the state of the roads, access to their unique parcel, access to the ranch overall. Many are returning, planning to return, and life will shift here again quite soon.

I met a lot of people last year, far more than I would have imagined, and enjoyed them all, but I have grown quite used to how quiet this place is during the winter. No motorized traffic, no foot traffic, barely any wildlife. This place sits still during the winter, and I very much like it.

From the railroad gate, one can drive straight up Merlot to Borman to Kline back to Merlot to Schierl. From Schierl, one can go south to the Geiser cabin, or north to at least Flavin. Nordman is open from the Schierl side and is quite dry and mud free.

I am wandering the ranch now, so if you wish to know about your lot, let me know. I’ll venture your way on my next outing.

There are many out there for which the phrase ‘blood is thicker than water’ makes much sense. One of my closest friends has had a great, normal, adjusted childhood with nothing but fond, loving memories of her family. Overseas and distant, but still tightly bound to her heart.

As an adult child of an alcoholic parent (on one side) and an abusive parent (on the other), my experience was less normal than my friend’s. Normal is something I believe I am still only beginning to understand what it truly means. She is a good woman, a trustworthy friend, and honest with me all the time. It is a joy to experience such honesty and reality with my friend.

Families are our genetic mix, the bowl of soup from which we were spawned, but not necessarily beings we share much in common with, save for said genetics. I have had mentors in my life that helped mold and shape me and become the man I am today. Men that were nothing like my father; men that were strong, capable, successful, adept. In my twenties, Peter guided me as my father should have and without Peter, I would not have been able to retire in my early fifties. His advice was the best career advice I ever received.

Dotty was recovering from radiation treatments for cancer when I met her. True, genuine, honest and real, even amidst her own struggles. Before her death, she had become a better mother to me than the woman that raised me. She offered love, kindness, compassion and understanding on more levels than I can recall. She will always be in my heart.

My first friend on the ranch here reminded me, when I described being lucky to be here, that no, it was not luck. I earned this place. I worked for it. Scrapped, sacrificed and sold my time for it. It is mine from hard work, effort and steadfast determination to hunt until I found my own slice of happiness upon this land.

The luck, my true luck, is the people I am now calling friends out here. My community. We are a community because we need to be. We look out for each other for they look out for us. We care because we all know we are here for the same reason – our love of this patch of land. We can bond over such, protect such, treat each other kindly as such, and as lucky as I am to know these people, I can happily report that I am not related to any of them.

Spring is (or was) definitely in the air. A neighbor and I went out traversing in a wheeled side by side; Moon Bug (with tracks) is only required to get me off this particular mountain, the lower roads are far more open and navigable via wheels. We have nearly a foot of snow predicted for the coming weekend. It was time to ride while we could!

The Kuehler’s graciously allowed us to use their upper field as a parking lot. From home, I can see these vehicles upon the skyline, white, black, then black and white.

The Rippetoe garage, surrounded with remaining drifts, even though Merlot is navigable from the railroad gate, nearly to their cabin.

The melting is continuing; the wind appears to remove snow nearly as efficiently as it dropped it here in the first place. Much of the ground clears daily. The drifts, however, drop much slower. At this point, the road seems to be holding the majority of the deeper snow, most likely due to track machines having packed it down over the winter. I wonder if it would melt quicker were one to sit still and not pack the road even when not needing to leave the park?

The old dog and I walked about Schierl Road today, mostly upon my own land. It is exciting to see patches of bare dirt, fresh bits of earth uncovered from the long, deep winter. The dog had much to explore (and much land to re-mark via the bladder), so it was a slow, meandering adventure today, simply being upon the bare earth (most of the time) instead of snow banks.

The corner by the Mitchell cabin is still not only mired in a five foot drift, but trash is now scattered about. Much trash from the construction site, and sadly, being down wind, much of it is landing upon my pristine land. I will need to get some trash bags and do a clean up this spring once the snow goes. Beer cans, construction materials, grocery shopping bags… nothing I expected to find out here in this beautiful wilderness. The spread is quite wide, but it has to be cleaned up.

I’ve included photos of the snow on Schierl below; far prettier than construction trash.