Lake is starting to thaw. Common Mergansers are returningSnowbirding friends from Tucson are passing through on their way north.We had friends over for an evening celebration.We were enjoying the sunset and this lovely solitary swan.And even family snowbirded through on their way north.An excuse for another dinner party!We are so happy to have local friends meet visiting friends and family.To celebrate Earth Day, we bought some nice Hurricane kayaks to enjoy the lakes and a different kind of exercising.
Smokey decided we were eligible for lifetime senior pass.So we headed a bit south to explore our cultural heritage.And to see the iconic Pueblo Bonito.This was our first half price campsite now that we are of that distinguished age.Water is always an issue – such an interesting location that was chosen.Lucky we got to watch a spring storm roll in.It gave the walls and rocks another dimension of color to Pueblo Kin Keltso.Pueblo Kin Kletso is the start of a hike to top of mesa.A bit of a slot canyon hides the trailAllows you to look back down on Kin Kletso.And even see the river in the Chaco Canyon.View of Pueblo Bonito from top is outstanding.As is adjacent Pueblo Chetro Ketl.An appreciation of the magnitude of scale is had by walking through the ruins.And getting an interior perspective. Magnificent craftsmanship! Truly amazing to appreciate the amount of work.William Henry Jackson discovered this prehistoric stairway carved in the sandstone cliff when he was photographing this area in 1877. It is believed to be part of the Chaco Road system heading to the north.Is there really an end to the trail? How far do these roads travel?Guess it is time to head back to the Travato and make our way north…But first another hike down the valley to Pueblo Wijiji.
Good morning Winter 2019!Gorgeous day to walk along the San Juan river downtown.And appreciate the ice crystals on the plants, the shadows, and how the snow piles on the rocks.Snowshoeing around the block with neighbors.Winter Fest brought hot air balloons and cold temperatures.So colorful and fun to watch them inflate.A good crowd of spectators.Beautiful mountain scenery.And they like to do “touch and Go” on the lake leaving a skid mark in the snow.Maybe that is what our frequent visitor is waiting for.Or maybe he is just enjoying the view like us.
We will wake up to this view in master suite. WOW!
Hot air balloon checks out the new construction.
We spend our evenings and weekends building the interior stair.
We created a landing with a north window – a view of the mountains.
Lower stairs are set at 15% angle as this is transition from main house to garage/second floor on a curved site. Second step extended for a seat towards coat closet.
We also installed the balcony railing and Trex decking. We ate many of our lunches here during construction!
Friends came for the weekend and helped us paint. Incredible! We were so tired from the priming coat on everything, 2 coats on ceiling and walls.
Another weekend, friends came and helped us assemble and install the IKEA kitchen.
Atlas Shrugged! Power Girl! We sooo appreciated their enthusiasm and experience.
This was all the kitchen packaging – yikes! A few trips to the Transfer Station to recycle it.
Friends helped us move in and it was over in less than 2 hours! There are still doors to be hung but for now, we have a cup of java and enjoy this milestone moment.
IKEA Kallarp gray turquoise kitchen with Kashmir Granite. Front of island has door panels of IKEA Besta Laxviken – also used on built in in dining room.
J & J (link to their photos) came for 2 weeks and stayed for 4. They helped install the garage doors, finish kitchen cabinets, build the stair railings and installed bamboo floor. Much more fun to do together – and so much appreciated their dedication to helping us finish.
The railing is black powdercoated “hog fence”, set in an aluminum channel and supported top and bottom with an oak rail. Our metal fabricator made the posts, then welded top plates in place – very sturdy railings.
We made cardboard templates before cutting the hog fence. Took all four of us to get these made and installed!
We found a very artistic landscaper who created this rock wall for us at the lake shore. Property had receding shore line so we wanted to not lose any more land.
This is south facing for solar and maximum lake views. Brackets are for future photovoltaic panels. We love how rock wall undulates. Native Blue Grama Grass “Alma” is planted between patio and lake with future landscape beds on either side.
Metal roof,trim, and wainscot, stucco walls, Milgard windows: North view from street with Xeriscaping in progress- lots of rock! We thank our contractor, all his subcontractors, and suppliers who made this house a reality!
Our cozy sun filled main room with fabulous view of lake and mountains. Main floor is a polished natural concrete – slab on grade to maximize winter solar heat gain.
This redwood sign was near the Cactus Picnic area in Sabino Canyon in the Coronado National Forest. This area is used to host school groups. Smokey is looking like he could use a little sprucing up.
Here is a detail of the deterioration. The paint kept the carved out letters from aging so they protruded from the background.
We used Bondo on the edges to give a strong weather protection. There is also some wood filler. We had to reattach the boards with new screws.
We patched the old bolt holes to keep the water from penetrating as well as patching some of the larger deterioration spots.
In the field, we cleaned up the vegetation and repainted the sign metal supports.
We painted the entire back ground Forest Service ‘Brown’ before painting the details with ‘Adobe’.
Using a very fine brush and lots of patience!
After extra indoor drying time, Smokey is ready to return to the forest.
Well here we are flanking the restored sign!
This project maintains the legacy of those before us that carved this sign for their care and love of the forest. We are proud to give this sign many more extra years of life to reach more of the visitors to this picnic area.
Morning fog in Sabino Canyon after a night of heavy rain.
This fog bank is soon to overtake us as we watched it move from the creek up the side of the canyon.
We read that Sabino Creek was dry for 154 days – very unusual for the winter months. I am very happy to see it full of water this morning. This is the only photo in this posting taken with the phone.
Eight of the Nine dam/bridges had water on them. We have spent many hours clearing these bridges of vegetation and debris.
These stonework wonders are interesting engineering as they are designed for the high waters to flow over, but to act as dams by creating recreation pools during lower water levels.
The up stream side of a bridge has a quiet reflecting pond, even while the water is pouring over on the other side of the road.
The water had bubbles and was dark with tannins like an exquisite root-beer.
We checked out Anderson Dam area for trash…we did find some floating debris but mainly just enjoyed the beauty of the waterfall.
Gneiss!
We also pulled some of the grasses and weeds from the 3.7 island we had planted earlier in the season. So much easier to pull from wet soil!
It seemed like a good day to improve this little corner of the park. We shoveled out the base of the sign, moved some cobblestones and placed on the slope, backfilled with dirt and will wait for the rain to push the dirt between the rocks and clean things up. We will check on it next weekend…
We drove to Phoenix to be with these wonderful people! My aunt and uncle have another seasonal rental in Sun City. We coordinated our visit to also be with Mom.
We met J & J who were camped at White Tanks for an outing.
The ladies all looking good in turquoise or is that teal sky!
And the guys in khaki…not like we coordinated our hiking outfits.
