It is a beautiful, warm day here in lovely Estes Park, gateway to the shutdown Rocky Mountain National Park.





I have a similar view of these two mountains on my customized Capital One credit card.

Too bad about this cute little place, but most of it's still there, and they might be able to fix up the yard and live there again.




Before and After:






But the good news is that the power company was there again, and strung the wires from pole to pole. One of them lives around the corner from me, and I stopped to ask him about it. He said they will go back in the next couple of days, hang a new transformer and run the line to the house.

The neighbor consented to check on my house every week if I am away, and this plus having power changes everything, because I can leave the house up and running, and not worry about all the cleaning supplies and canned goods, etc. freezing and bursting in an unheated house.

And I will be able to return home and leave again if I have to. Of course, I'll still have to hike over rough terrain to get there, but just getting out of this motel is a big step.

The only down side is there will be no phone or Internet service for quite awhile, so I will still have to go to town to stay in touch with the world, but things are definitely looking up.

I know, I know, you knew all along this would happen, and I should have had more faith.

In other news, I decided I need to put padlocks on the doors of the rental cabins because they are too swollen from getting wet to close and lock properly. I will have to get help with this, because there are no doubt people out there who have more experience with a cordless drill. I did take the time while at the house to make sure the hasps will fit the door frames, and round up the padlocks from the large collection my dad left.



It is very satisfying from a hoarder's point of view to find a use for something that has been saved for decades, waiting for that rainy day.