George is Killing me

[brewer12345]

George aka TiogaRV is travelling through the West lately and has been posting some gorgeous pics at http://vagabonders-supreme.net/blog/blog.html

I love it out there. Its beautiful, the sun shines all the time, and as I get older I increasingly want to trade city life for wide open spaces. George's recent pics remind me of the beauty of the West, which is all the pretties when viewed from a monitor in the office.

C'mon RE crash. I'd love to own some property in NM or CO.

 

[Dawg52]

I'm with you Bubba! I've been following his blog too and really have the bug to go back out there. I visted Moab 2 years ago and it was awesome. Next April when I retire, I plan to travel to Santa Fe and visit with a cousin for a couple of days then drive on to southern UT and explore Zion National Park. Also want to see Moab again.  Who knows, might even buy a small travel camper for the trip. 

http://www.zionnationalpark.com/

 

[brewer12345]

Check out the area around Taos, if you haven't been. Gorge Bridge is pretty neat. There is also an inexpensive hot springs in Ojo Caliente that is an interesting drive from Taos or Santa Fe.

 

[Dawg52]

Check out the area around Taos, if you haven't been.  Gorge Bridge is pretty neat.  There is also an inexpensive hot springs in Ojo Caliente that is an interesting drive from Taos or Santa Fe.

Thanks, I will do that. Logging this into my little travel black book right now.

 

[Papi]

I love it out there. Its beautiful, the sun shines all the time, and as I get older I increasingly want to trade city life for wide open spaces. George's recent pics remind me of the beauty of the West, which is all the pretties when viewed from a monitor in the office.

C'mon RE crash. I'd love to own some property in NM or CO.

So what is stopping you? I live in Colorado now, transplanted from So. Cal . My only regret is I wish I had moved sooner than I did. If you can do it and want to do it, then you should go for it. You won't be able to get those years back.

 

[brewer12345]

So what is stopping you?   I live in Colorado now, transplanted from So. Cal .  My only regret is I wish I had moved sooner than I did.   If you can do it and want to do it, then you should go for it.  You won't be able to get those years back.

Can't do it. We are settled here in NJ and my career would be toast if I moved out there. Would easily set my FIRE date back a decade.

 

[Dawg52]

So what is stopping you?   I live in Colorado now, transplanted from So. Cal .  My only regret is I wish I had moved sooner than I did.   If you can do it and want to do it, then you should go for it.  You won't be able to get those years back.

What part of CO do you live? Love that state.

 

[Papi]

What part of CO do you live? Love that state.

Central Colorado. Denver is a little over an hour away. Our house is at about 8000 ft. in the middle of a beautiful forest. I'n a few minutes I can be in the National Forest mountain biking away or fishing. And since I work out of the house, it makes work A LOT more tolerable. Life is good!

 

[CyclingInvestor]

I've ridden through Colorado 3 times. My favorite spots -

South from Ouray along the Million Dollar Highway

West from Estes Park through Rocky Mtn NPark

East from Aspen over Independence Pass

Leadville - any direction

 

[Papi]

Hey CyclingInvestor,

Those are great spots you biked. If you liked those and you got some great lung power, you REALLY need to hit Monarch Crest. It is truly awesome.

http://www.monarchcrest.com/
http://www.mtbr.com/trails/Colorado/MONARCHCREST.html

Or, give the 10th Mountain Division Huts a try. You can bike from hut-to-hut (or x-country ski in winter). Maybe you saw one on your Independence Pass trip. The huts themselves are outstanding at a very reasonable price.

http://www.huts.org/

 

[Dawg52]

Papi,

If you are ever in the Vail/Edwards area, check out Moe's Original BBQ. My nephew has a little ownership in the business and they have a location in Vail and Edwards. Excellent bbq. There is also a Moe's Southwest Grill there so don't confuse it with that.

http://tinyurl.com/jwl8m
My nephew recently moved to Gulf Shores, AL and opened up a Moe's there. All the owners are from Alabama so they wanted to open up one close to home. I'm going down this weekend to stuff my face.


EDIT: Shortened URL

 

[laurence]

My parents own 8+ acres and a nice, big cabin near...fluorescent? (tiny town) about 45 minutes away from Colorado Springs. Awesome.

 

[brewer12345]

My parents own 8+ acres and a nice, big cabin near...fluorescent? (tiny town) about 45 minutes away from Colorado Springs.  Awesome.

Laurence, do they live there year round or is it a seasonal place for them?

 

[laurence]

THey "summer" there. We tried Christmas there, ended up getting snowed in for a week. Almost killed each other. They have a 3000 sq. foot McMansion on a 1/3rd acre in L.A. where they live. They also have a cabin in Big Bear, and a house outside of Trinidad (Northern California Coast) on two acres. Now to clarify, that's my Mom and Step Dad, not to be confused with my Dad and Step Mom, who live in Carlsbad, have the rental house on coast highway in Oceanside, and bought the 9 Acres in East San Diego county that I posted pics of here.

Yet for some reason, I'm real estate investment averse. Hey, if nothing else, maybe I can retire on what I inherit!

 

[brewer12345]

So what do they do with the place in the wnter/ How do they make sure it doesn't get broken into, frozen up, whatever?

 

[laurence]

Hey.....

I can't tell you exactly, but I know they do all the "drain the pipes, shut off valve" stuff and they have a service that comes by and checks the house once a...month? They have two neighbors who kind of keep an eye on things, but your right some one could live there a week and chances are, go unnoticed.

The big bear one is on a crowded street and they have the neighbor right there, the Humboldt/Trinidad one is rented out to a family.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

C'mon RE crash.  I'd love to own some property in NM or CO.

my brother lived in co early on and loved it. he was considering purchasing some acreage in co or nm for retirement there but is concerned about water issues into the future. instead, for now, he's settled on some lakefront property in tenn.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Those are great spots you biked. If you liked those and you got some great lung power, you REALLY need to hit Monarch Crest. It is truly awesome.

http://www.monarchcrest.com/
http://www.mtbr.com/trails/Colorado/MONARCHCREST.html

Or, give the 10th Mountain Division Huts a try. You can bike from hut-to-hut (or x-country ski in winter). Maybe you saw one on your Independence Pass trip. The huts themselves are outstanding at a very reasonable price.

http://www.huts.org/

The Monarch Crest ride looks very interesting, as long as it is not too technical.
My leg and lung power far exceed my technical riding skills, which max out
around narrow firre road.

I have ridden up Monarch Pass once from each side on my CO rides, and find that
area very pleasant.

 

[MJ]

Hey, if nothing else, maybe I can retire on what I inherit!

PM me if you're looking for a "girlie man" terminator. My work comes with a very ER guarantee.

 

[laurence]

Uh oh, I think that offer includes free room and board, with one hour of "yard time" a day.

 

[Dawg52]

Following George on his blog has motivated me into looking into truck campers. I'm surprised how nice some of these are even though they are fairly small. But for a single person that is interested in occasional rv'ing, it looks like a good way to go.  Looks like you can buy these for a fairly reasonable price too, just depends on what you want. Not gonna do anything this year as I have a few more months of the working life, but plan to study and think about it until then.

Any advice is welcome. 

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Colorado is great. I can vouch for that because I lived there for 4 years. People are into outdoor sports, and the towns have the infrastructure to facilitate active lifestyles. Fort Collins and Boulder both have extensive bike trails, bike lanes, and, get this, municipal kayak parks right in downtown.

However, I wouldn't advise single males to traverse out there in the hope of finding some cute cyclist chick who's straight of the Colorado Cyclist catalogue. Unless you're plugged into the college scene, the yuppy dating scene is rather lacking.