The Green Dump!

A few years back I realized that I had a disorder. Most of you will agree that I'm moody, and at times, a bit difficult to be around. However, this "disorder" has been much less severe since getting married-just ask Deborah and Blayne! There are times when it creeps back in and I decided to give it a name, and call it MAD- Mountain Affective Disorder. Basically, if I don't get to the mountains at least once or twice a month I suffer the symptoms of MAD. Irritability, depression, sadness when in sight of Long's Peak and Meeker. It drives my friends mad so of course I should go to the mountains, right? Better yet, we should buy some property in the mountains right? That way I can go there and even spend the night to ensure my mental sanity and a cure from MAD.

On Sunday I finally made it up to my friend Mark's "shed" to hang out on his property. He purchased a few acres near Drake and just broke ground on his house. Last spring he built a "shed" on it so he would have shelter when working on the property. Now, this is no shed...it has a porch and a loft, and tools and equipment so the powers that zone would classify it as a shed. Unfortunately Larimer county determined it was a living space and gave it an address! There is a gas grill behind it...120 square feet of shed...and I spent all day Sunday there having the time of my life.


The land was secluded and I felt disconnected from the world. It felt good to let go of the heavy burden I now bear having an iPhone. We tromped through the woods, hiked to the lake (where the fly fishing is great) saw herds of elk and even more scat, and then enjoyed the yummy grilled meat Eric whipped up. After that I went in search of rocks for my garden and since Mark's foundation had just been dug, the choices were amazing. Audrey and Cache had a great time romping free. Well, Audrey was free since she is a good dog, but Cache enjoyed the mountains on leash.

Right next door to Mark's place is what we have deemed "The Green Dump." Apparently this land and structure was listed for a long time at $200,000 or so, but no one wanted it. It's gone way down in price and as I sat enjoying the free medicine to cure MAD I realized that this was a place I would like to spend my weekends and summers. I envisioned a new structure on the property, one with a wrap around porch and a mountain cabin feel. I could see myself biking to Estes Park each weekend and being close enough to Long's Peak to climb it whenever I wanted. I imagined hiking to the top of the nearby mountains, whose trail heads were within hiking distance from the front door. Rock climbing there is some of the best and I could see all our friends sharing this place and relaxing in the mountains together...I stopped my thoughts and looked at Eric. Once again he had the "no way in hell are we buying this" look on his face, the one I see a lot. I knew I would need help, so here is this blog asking all who are interested in sharing this place to consider it.

Here are some pictures of the area, along with the view from the front of the Green Dump.





Think about it!