You can't miss what you've never had Monty... Now take Emily Ratajkowski for example....

 

Monty.....you have to approach this as a safety thing......Which it is.
Next mountain......ride the brakes until smoke is pouring out of the wheel wells.....

 

Rodney and Gigger, thanks for the hitch crack pictures. Man, that's bad. I'll keep an eye on mine. My 2" shank/8" drop Diversitech will be relegated to the Titan since it is completely worthless on the F-350.

The wife and I drove the F-350 up into the mountains to look at property today. Put about 450 miles on it. I'm now over that magic 1,000 number. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow?

One of the properties we looked at is essentially a mountain. 120 acres. The drive up is a 12% grade. The drive down the other side has two 12% grade sections. While it would be cool to own a mountain, I don't think it's going to happen, unless I win the lottery.

 

I think all women have the same programming,
I tell my wife she doesnt need a new purse or shoes but she doesnt listen,
its a double standard huh

 

We're always looking at land too Jim. Someday that perfect piece will call our names. Haven't found it yet...

 

Plus the fact that you haven't won the lotto yet
the place you have isnt too shabby in the meantime

 

We love our house. Not as crazy about the location. Someday we want to get further out despite the 45 minute drive for a gallon of milk...

 

Agreed & understand, I'd love to get out of town too,
maybe move to Southern Ontario some day soon

 

My goal is to not see another house no matter what window I look out.

 

That & I dont want to hear the neighbors dog bark,
we're really not asking for that much ..
.... just peace n quiet til we disturb it

anyways whatcha working on t'day

 

I said to my wife I want enough land that I can't hear or smell my neighbors. The first place we looked at yesterday we both agreed was too remote. The dirt roads got pretty bad and it was clear that a section of the road always drifted shut in snow storms. I don't want to beat the crap out of my cars driving on nasty roads. I'll be spending time today with the power washer cleaning the underside of the F-350.

 

Yep, paved road is a must on our list...

 

I think we're shooting for paved to the last mile or two. Most of the rural mountain subdivisions have dirt roads.

 

Jim, My wife and I moved to Colorado in 1980. We spent the next twenty four years living in rural mountain settings. The smallest parcel we lived on was five acres of heavily wooded land in the foothills west of Boulder at 7800 ft. Prior to that, we were much further out, much higher up, and on bigger parcels in Conifer and later west of Evergreen.

We loved the privacy, the peace and quiet, the independence and the lack of HOAs The last house we lived in for 18 years was up in the Sugar Loaf area near Nederland and was so private, we never owned any window coverings even though the entire south face of the house, including our bedroom, was 18 ft high glass walls. Those are all of the plusses. We raised our family up there and we have no regrets.

Then there is the other side. Figure replacing tires and brakes every year because windy mountain roads just eat them up. Figure six months of the year your vehicle, not to mention every horizontal surface in your house, will be coated with dust or yellow pollen. The other six, your vehicle will be coated, or caked, in mud. Understand that gardening is very limited as the elevation dictates an extremely short season. You get really good at developing a very detailed bill of materials for even the most insignificant project, because it's an hour roundtrip for that one missing bolt or wire. And then there is the wildfire risk that seems to increase every year.

The first year we lived on Sugar Loaf in 1989, we watched every single house we could see from our deck, in the valley and on the other side, burn to the ground. That was the Black Tiger Fire and up until that time, it was the worst fire in Colorado history with 47 homes destroyed. I threw a shovel and an axe in my truck and took off towards the smoke to try to help, having no clue what the hell I was getting into. A week after the fire was pronounced out, my wife and I joined the local volunteer fire department and stayed with it for the next twenty years.

Don't get me wrong, we have no regrets about our time in rural, mountainous Colorado. It's just that the benefits come at a price. Would we do it again? Yes, under the right circumstances and in the RIGHT PLACE.

Good luck with your search!!

 

Looking at the same things up here in AK. And what STOF-FORD seems to be true here. Although the growing season is short no matter where you are, pollen is everywhere, and break up/mud sucks even in town. The whole town could burn to the ground with a wildfire too. But the more rural the higher the risk.

Looking for that right place as well. A lot of parcels I like you can't even drive to. Fly, boat, or sled in only... Those are off my list as a primary residence.