Chromo, CO - The End - Sadly

Friday, November 7, 2008

Last night, Thursday night, was, sadly, my last night at Standing Stone Ranch.

Maddy invited Shadow, her neighbor from across the street, over. "Across the street" means across State Route 382 and is about a mile away. Shadow is a another awesome dog and rode shot gun with me on the ATV trip, sitting on the back and never even slipping an inch. As did Maddy with Jim & Debbie. These are how dogs should be.

Shadow & Maddy

Debbie set a beautiful table and made an incredible meal, as always. She's as good in the kitchen as in the horse training corral and on the trail. Great meals all week. Confession: I came to Chromo at about 180 lbs and left at about 190. Many, if not most, of the dishes I ate during the week at Standing Stone included goodies that came straight from Debbie's garden. She has the greenest of green thumbs.

The Setting

Oh, yeah, Shadow's owners came along, too.

The Last Supper Guests

Joe, Diane, Jim, Debbie

You may recognize Diane. She and Shadow came along on our delightful houseback ride on Sunday. Her horse was Butters.

Joe is an EMT and Search and Rescue Mission Director and Diane is also a Search and Rescue Mission Director. They had incredible stories to tell about rescues. Last year they had 17 rescues. This year, so far, they have had over 30. Hikers, campers, snowmobilers, hunters, and others seems to be getting more and more idiotic when they go off for their weekends in the mountains.

These two fun and interesting people are responsible for saving many lives. We're lucky to have them and people like them. Lots of stress, lots of frustration and, in many cases, lots of rewards.

So, other than packing up and going, that was my week in Chromo.

Friday I got up, said my goodbyes, and headed out.

Goodbye, Leroy

Goodbye, Maddy

Goodbye, Standing Stone Ranch

Goodbye, Dear Friends

As the Ranch episode of my current adventure came to a close, I was extraordinarily grateful to have spent a whole week with 2 of my oldest and dearest friends. I can't say when I was alone with either or both of them last. Debbie, maybe never. Jim, other than in a work environment for a number of years, not since we were in high school together.

Not that we haven't been together plenty through the years since we met back in Junior High School (Debbie) and High School (Jim). For most of those years after college, our 2 families have been as 1. We have spent most holidays and many vacations togther....not to mention just day to day. I was in business with Jim for 6 or 8 years and our kids literally grew up together. And then, to make the family bond even more official, stronger, and even legal, Jim and Debbie's younger son married my older daughter.

So we've been around together a lot. But just me with just them....not so much. And, for me, at least, it was a very special time.

I cannot imagine what I could or would have changed to make my stay any better. It was perfect in every way.

For me, the physical work I got to do on the Ranch was a ton of fun. I was happy to be sharing it with Jim and sincerely hope I earned my room and board for the week. Plus, I learned a lot about Ranch life - irrigation rights and problems, the care of horses, wild animals around the area, hydro-electric power, oil & gas rights, and much, much more. Quite an education.

The excursions wouldn't have been nearly as fun nor meaningful without Jim & Debbie's vast knowledge of the area and, of course, Debbie's finger on the pulse of all Chromo personalities, drama, and local gossip.

And so, my dear old friends, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and the depth of my soul for an incredible, fun, educational, and meaningful week. I will always think of my visit to Standing Stone Ranch and the time I have the privilege to share with you this past week with the very best memories.

I am grateful that you are in my life and thank you for the visit and your freindship.

Chromo, Co - Winterizing

Friday, November 7, 2008

Lots to share today.

Before going into the day-to-day info, I have an observation.

Jim's Truck

It's hard to tell from this picture, but this truck is caked in dirt, grease, and grime.

I come from Southern California. Cars there seem to be an extension of the person (something, by the way, I've never personally understood at all). You judge yourself by the kind of car you can afford and drive. And, worse, other people judge you the same way. A lot of your status and place in the social pecking order is based on your "ride."

Compounding the insanity, you are also judged by how clean your car is. Many people will spend a small fortune having their car(s) washed, waxed, detailed, etc., weekly.

The exact same thing is true in Chromo, Colorado.

Except...the opposite.

Here your status is established by how filthy and grimy your truck is. If you wash your car or truck your neighbors will wonder what's wrong with you, look down on you, and talk about you behind your back. You have no credible social standing in Chromo if you have a sparkling clean truck.

So, by this standard, here in Chromo, Jim's truck is dirty enough to keep him at the top of the social pecking order. Way to go, Jim!

And, Debbie's Lexus is pretty filthy, too. So that's great. Except....well...it's a Lexus. That's a bit of a problem in these parts. Oh, well.

Next time you decide to spend your valuable time washing your vehicle or your precious money having someone else do it for you....remember Jim's truck. It gets him where he wants to go just fine.

Deb & Friends

One big step in the winterizing process to get the horses winterized. All of the horses will be moved to ranches about 1,000 feet lower in elevation. Believe it or not, at just that small change, the weather is considerably milder down there.

3 of Jim & Debbie's horses need special supplements every day. Those 3 go to a place where they will be fed their daily meds. The other 3 go to a place where, as Debbie said, the owner will "...check once in a while to make sure they're still alive..." In both cases, the horses winter outside on pasutre land.

Jim & Debbie have experimented over the years on what's best of the horses during the winter while they (Jim & Debbie) are wintering in Southern California.

Outside, in the pasture, is best. The horses thrive. After all, they were made as outside animals.

The above picture is when Deb is brining the horses up to the Shed beside the house where their farrier (you might know this guy as a blacksmith - the guy who shoes the horses) will remove their shoes for the winter. When the horses are being riden regularly, they get re-shoed every 6 to 8 weeks.

Sorry I didn't get any shots of the farrier working. I went over to do so, but one of the horses was acting up, the farrier was clearly aggravated, and I thought discretion on my part by not taking any chance of further agitating the horse was a good idea. Next time.

Oh, and here's why the whole winterizing process is needed...

Winter Arrived

My place, after a couple of inches of snow and a 7 degree morning.

This is down by the river...all frosty beauty and icy wonderment. The morning I took these, there was a good layer of ice on Jim & Debbie's pond and lots of ice dams in the river and irrigation ditches.

On Wednesday, the day of the first snow, Jim and I had to move some hay down to the ranch where the 3 horses needing supplements were going.

When I say "some" hay, I mean 70 bales of hay.

The process is called "bucking." Having now, for the first time in my life, experienced "bucking hay," I thought I'd look it up so see exactly what it meant (just my nature to look up stuff like this). It seemed like a strange term. I'd call it "schlepping."

Here's what Wikipedia has to say: "A hay buck, or "bucking hay", is a type of manual labor where hay bales, usually 85 lb. to as much as 150 lb., are stacked by hand...the act of throwing the bales up to a higher level is called "bucking". The work is very strenuous and physically demanding, and is dependent upon using a proper technique in order to not grow weary too quickly."

Since Jim has done this before (presumably), since he cares so much for me and my continuing education, since he wanted me to learn the "proper technique" so I wouldn't "grow weary too quickly" as mentioned above, and since he has (alledgedly) a bum knee and bad back, I'll let you guess who did the lion's share of the work.

In Jim's defense, he's a good supervisor and teacher, and I learned a lot on Wednesday.

While it was snowing pretty good, we unstacked 70 bales from the shed, restacked and loaded them into the horse trailer, drove for an hour or so to the ranch where the 3 horses who need supplementing will be staying, unloaded the 70 bales out of the trailer, and restacked them on a big cart.

4-Horse Trailer Completely Stuffed - Before

Wagon Where The Bales Needed To Be - Before

(Note Jim showing me where he wanted the bales stacked.)

Wagon With Bales Stacked - After

That's my jacket hanging on the the pictch fork....it was cold but I was sweating like a pig on a skewer over hot coals.



If you believe Wikipedia and take the low end - 85 pounds per bale - times 70 bales, that's 5,950 pounds. But you have to double that because there is unstacking and loading the trailer then unloading the trailer and restacking the 70 bales, so that's 11,900 pounds of hay. Almost 6 TONS.

No wonder I was sweating and had to take off my jacket early on in the bucking process.

4-Horse Trailer Completely Empty - After

Jim's Big Job

I could not figure out how to either latch or unlatch the trailer gate....so that was really one of Jim's big jobs. You might also notice that Jim still has his jacket on. Hmmmm...tell you anything?

Next day, Thursday, we started the day burning the dead trees and debris down by the river. Jim and Deb had some trees cut in the spring, their remains were dry, and everyone around these parts burns around this time of year.

There were 5 stacks about this size.

Dead Trees

Fireman Jim

Jim uses gasoline for a starter, dumping some on the pile, then leaving a trail of gas away from the stack. He lights the little trail that serves somethingn like a fuse, then runs like hell before the "gas fuse" causes the gas on the stack to literally explode. It's quite a process. Very exciting. I kept my distance.

The Burn

After that, we spent the rest of Thursday putting up fences to protect the trees from the elk damaging with their antlers during the winter. My camera was malfunctioning during that fence building process, It involves driving steel fence posts through solid rock. It would be a good activity for "hard labor" in any prison. It's difficult to explain without visual aids so I'll just say 2 things about it.


First, it was slightly harder, but in a completely different way, than bucking hay. Think of trying to force a 1/2" blunt square pole about 6 inches into a 1/4" inch round hole in sold granite. That's pretty much it.

Second, after showing me how to do it (it involves amost exclusively brute force), Jim suddenly realized he had to drive his loader down to the pasture to move some of the smoldering wood from the morning's fires around. So off he went to play with his loader and the fires. And, here's a really interesting coincidence. Jim finished playing loader driver and got back to help me finish the fencing project exactly at the same time as the last post had to be driven into the rock.

My jacket and hat had been discarded long before...his were still on. He was not sweating at all. Hmmmmm....???

Chromo,CO - Standing Stone Ranch

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Got a nice light dusting of snow last night. It's supposed to keep snowing all day today and tonight.

We'll be continuing the "winterizing" projects today and tomorrow. I plan to leave on Friday and Jim and Debbie are aiming to hit the road on Monday. So there is lots to do quickly.

Meanwhile, I wanted you all to get a good look at Standing Stone Ranch. Not so much the 35 acreas of beautiful country....the Ranch House, itself.

I can imagine the images some of you reading this may have since I told you I was going to visit friends who built a log home. Perhaps visions of a porous, one room, shanty filled your head.

Wrong.

I'm not going to even attempt to describe it. You can see if for yourself.

Unfortunately, these picutures don't come close to doing it justice.

And I lack the vocabulary, particulary the superlatives, to relate what a magificent home Jim and Debbie have built for themselves here in Chromo. And I mean literally built by hand.

Plus, the home itself pales in comparison to the love, warmth, and gracious hospitality you'll find at Standing Stone.

And so, without further explanation and in no particlar order (and, by the way, this isn't everything by a long shot - just a representative sample)....

Behold - Standing Stone Ranch

Chromo, Co - The Ranch Animals

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

You've seen the horses.

Here are some of the other animals you may find on the Ranch.

Eagle

This majestic guy (or gal) was sitting here watching us ride by the other day on our horseback ride, probably wondering what the heck we were doing invading his/her privacy.

Leroy

Jim & Deb took Leroy in and to pay them back, Leroy keeps the house mouse free. He's a ferocious mouser and, for the first time, will be making the trip back to Balboa Island this year.

Maddy & Leroy

Maddy can't seem to stand it when Leroy wants to just rest. So she just bugs him until he hisses and lashes out with some sharp claws at which point Maddy quickly backs down and leaves Leroy alone again until the next time he's relaxed, comfortable, and content. Then she she starts bugging him again.

Maddy

Chromo, CO - The Trip

November 3, 2008 - Monday

Before getting to Monday, I'll finish up Sunday.

After the ride and Maddy's shower, we headed over to a neighbor's home for dinner.

Ron and Ilene live in the Dallas area and, as then say, don't get to Chromo nearly enough. But when Ron retires, it will be full time.

Ron & Ilene's Home

You can't get the full effect because of my limited flash, but, like Jim & Debbie's, this is a breathtaking home.

The Feast

I can say with absolute certainty that people in Chromo know how to eat...and eat...and eat.

Hosts and Guests

Jim, Ron, Ilene, Debbie

Great meal and great company. I appreciate the hospitality.

So then that brings us into Monday.

Started with "winterizing" the garden. Got rid of the last of the weeds and dead plants, and cleaned out the greenhouse. Then we moved the scrap lumber from Jim's various improvement projects to the shed. This was all made easier by Jim's Loader.

Boys & Their Toys

Aftetr the chores, it was time for The Trip. You know we went To Town Sunday for Chruch and lunch.

Monday was The Trip To The City. "The City" is Durango. About an hour and a half from here.

The first stop was at some neighbors to drop off Maddy to play with their Black Lab, Tanner.

Duplicate Names

Jim, Jim, Deb, Deb

Seriously. In this tiny part of Colorado, the next door neighbors have the same names. It's a wonder of nature, I guess.

Next stop was at the Merc. Jim and Debbie have to go there to pick up their mail. There is no door-to-door delivery at The Ranch.

The Merc

If you ever had an image of what a one store town and classic small town general store would be....this is it. You could not create this for a movie or something any better than it is.

It is run by a father and son - the only "employees." It is open when they feel like it and otherwise closed. When the US Postal service realized the propietors were also handling mail, they installed a real postmaster who sits over in the corner by himself and seems to have virtually no interaction with the proprietors. What they do in there all day is beyond my comprehension.

And, as I said, before, The Merc is literally the entire city of Chromo.

Then into Durango for a great lunch, a little walk through town, and then the errands Jim and Debbie needed to take care of in order to winterize and close up The Ranch for the winter.

Durango is an old silver mining town and there are still buildings there build before the turn of the century. There's also a university close by and so lots of college kids are roaming around the streets. Not many tourists left now, but they are busy in the winter for Skiing at Pergatory plus all the other winter sports. And the summer they're packed for camping, hiking, fishing, river rafting, etc.

The last of the errands was to drop off a bunch of horse supplements to the ranch where some of the horses will be wintered. It's in Ignacio, Colorado.

The real benefit of the whole thing for me was to get a great tour - again, Debbie knows everything, I got to see a lot of the magnificent country around here, and spend time with old and dear friends that I haven't had the chance to spend alone time with in many, many years. Nothing earth shattering....it was just nice hanging.

Chromo, CO - Part 2

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Stand by for a lot of pictures with this post.

It was a varied, busy, and rewarding (for me, at least) Sunday at the Ranch.

Started with a drive to Pagosa Springs....yes, the city. Well, The Town.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, Debbie knows everything. So it's not just a drive into Town, it's a guided tour as well as a soap opera.

"The Merc was originally a hotel and general store. And there was a fire back in (whatever date...I can't remember) but everyone knows it was arson because Jimmy Joe Bob was trying to get even with his wife. After he abused her, the owners of the Merc put her up with them. So Jimmy Job Bob burned it hoping to kill her in the fire and get even with the owners for being nice to her."

"And this is the Bobby Joe Bob's place. He assaulted a woman and if he's not convicted, her brothers are going to come after him for some good old country justice."

"Now this place used to belong to Billy Joe Bob and Betty Lou, but they split up and they sold it to the McCoys, but he got struck by lightening and she couldn't keep it up so now the Mitchells own it. They're from Tulsa and moved out here because...."

You get the idea.

History. Drama. Fascinating.

I know more about life in and around Chromo and Pagosa than I ever would have dreamed possible.

The purpose of going to Town was to attend church services.

Centerpoint Church

It was a great service - lots of music and signing (no songs I knew, but good music) and an insightful sermon on the Crises of Leadership in America. Well delivered by Pastor Dan and timely.
After Church we stopped for a look at what makes Pagosa Springs. The Pagosa Springs.

Natural hot water springs with curative properties and powers.

Pagosa Springs

The above is an actual resort developed around the Springs and business is so good, they're expanding it....building a new, bigger, more modern hotel on the property.

After Church and the tour of Town, we had a delightful lunch with some of Jim and Debbie's friends at the the Pagosa "Hot Spot," the Riverwalk Restaurant & Pub.

The Gang At The Riverwalk

Trent (Pastor Dan and Donna's son), Pastor Dan, Donna,

Jim, Debbie, and Sarah Palin (no, sorry, I mean Jay.)

These are all extremely interesting and extraordinarily nice folks. Trent is home for a vacation from his job....Safari and Hunting Guide in Africa. Pastor Dan and Donna are sweet as can be, have grown the Church over the last 15 years since he took over as Pastor, and just got back from their own Safari and hunting trip in Africa. Guess who their Guide was? Jay can make herself a dead ringer for Sara Palin, was one of the fabulous singers in the Chruch group, and is in the process of earning a degree in counselling while working full time. Admirable.

It was a most interesting and entertaining lunch.

After lunch, we went for a little ride.

This time the ATV's stayed in the garage in exchange for some real horses.

Bud & Buddy

Bud is kind of chubby and on the lethargic side. Debbie has been training and working with him for, I think she said, 8 or 9 years. He's the gentlest of their 6 horses and reserved for the complete horse riding novices (that would include me).

Buddy is one of their newer horses and Debbie is is just getting him well trained. She uses Natural Training so the horses respond mostly to voice commands and very gentle movements of the reins and slight pressure with your legs. No kicking, slapping, whipping, or yanking on the reins allowed. It seems to be more like a partnership and seems not just to work, but to be completely sensible. Debbie was trained in Natural Horsmanship by the guru - Pat Parelli himself.

Buddy & Debbie

Before she saddles Buddy up and rides him, she takes him into the arena they've built and does "ground work" with him." He's relatively new at it but it was very impressive to watch her work with him.

She doesn't use that little whip you see to whip him....but just to gently storke him....like, for example, the swish of the tail or another horse brushing flies off.

She'll gently put pressure on him (not push - just pressure) in various spots and he is expected to respond by turning in the opposite direction with very specific foot work. Then she has him trot around on a lead and he's expected to start and stop, etc., just on her voice commands. Finally, he goes off the lead and they play around for a while ending when she calls him, he comes over, and then she moves (runs, walks, skips) in random patterns - back, forward, zig zagging, circling - at he follows right at her shoulder.

There's probably real name for it. I call it The Dance

Buddy & Deb Doing The Dance

Buddy

He is a rather magnificent creature, isn't he?

Speaking of magnificent creatures.....

Me and Chubby Bud

In case you can't tell, that's me on top.

And, no it's not because Jim and Debbie expected me to fall off and crack my head open. Well, perhaps they did. But regardless, their rule is safety first and everyone who rides one of their horsse - themselves included - is required to wear a helmet. And, it's hunting season right now, so the red vests were considered part of the protective gear.

I say Chubby Bud not because I would recognize a chubby horse from a lean one. I just thought Bud was one of us full figured guys.

But let me just say this. I reinjured my almost healed groin muscle just sitting astride Bud. Your legs go way out to the sides before they go down to get around his girth. And he did have to stop to rest a few times going up some hills that the other horses were running up.

I should also mention, and I'm not sure about this and don't want to accuse them falsely, but I feel pretty strong that I got some rookie hazing on this ride. Not only was I hooked up with Chubby Lethargic Bud, but they pulled out a saddle that I believe was made of solid wood back in the days when torture was legal.

Debbie on the other hand, who has spent her life in a saddle and probably has caluses on her rear, has this foam rubber saddle with a high back so you get back support and padding down the sides leading to the stirrups so as not to chafe your legs.

Meanwhile my butt's on fire, my groin is stretched beyond it's natural limit, and I've got cramps just about everywhere.

Gee, riding's really fun. Where are those ATV's?

Diane & Butters

Diane is a neighbor and a very big shot in Colorado and, I think, New Mexico Search & Rescue. If you ever get injured or lost in the back country around here, you want Diane heading up the team looking for you. Her husband, too. Didn't get to chat with her too much since I was hanging on for dear life, but if she's with Search & Rescue and OK with Jim & Debbie, she's OK with me, too.

Along The Trail

As you can see, I missed the Fall Colors. So everything looks rather stark. Except for the evergreens, the trees have shed their leaves and all the pasture and prairie land has turned from green to brown. It will soon be covered in snow. But that's the beauty of having seasons and it's pretty spectatular right here in Chromo no matter the time of year.

Headin' Home

Remember the bathroom Jim was building the other day? It's done and here's the first customer for the new shower.

Maddy

After a few days running around all over the Ranch and surrounding environs, Maddy needed this!

Sunday evening after the ride, we headed out to dinner - well, a feast - at a neighbor's house. I'll share that with you separately. Gotta go right now.