Thank you all for letting me share my woes with you. I always have to process everything in my mind to come up with solutions, and it's helpful to write about them here.

So here's the latest. It sounds like the highway department has not fixed my upper driveway yet, and propane deliveries to my house are not going to be possible for several months.

I am pretty sure they haven't started on it because it is such a big project, requiring the slope to be rebuilt from the riverbed up, with the right kind of big rocks at the bottom. Not just any rocks will be able to stand up to future high water events: they have to be specially quarried in order to have the correct angles. According to my sources, this type of work is not going to start until April, probably too late to help me.

After a month away from Colorado, I am going to rush back there on Thursday to see how much propane was used while I was gone. I'm going to get more serious about using electric space heaters to warm up the house, running them around the clock, and put insulation on the outside wall where the kitchen plumbing runs. It's not going to be an elegant solution because I'm just going to use patio furniture to hold fiberglass batts up against the house wall in that one vulnerable spot.

The advantage of being here is I have been able to discuss these plans with Mr. Troutbend and get some advice from him. When I'm there and I email him, he never offers any guidance, just lets me figure it out for myself.

Once I know what the propane status is, I'm going to track down someone who can tell me what the schedule is for fixing the highway right-of-way that supports my driveway. Notice that I don't refer to it as 'fixing my driveway' because I want them to be aware it is their problem, not mine. Of course, the propane delivery issue is my problem, not theirs, but you'd think from a humanitarian standpoint they would give a darn and make it more of a priority.

The reason I hesitate to undertake some extreme solution is that since the flood I've seen so many people do things like charter helicopters to fly them to their inaccessible homes in order to winterize them, and a week later they could drive there on a newly-opened road.

If they truly are not going to get around to my place until April, then I will have to figure on taking heroic measures. This would be something like loading a full 500 gallon propane tank into the bucket of a Bobcat (those little dirt-moving tractors), bring it to the house, and get the propane company to transfer the contents to my tanks. Propane can be hazardous to work with, but I'm counting on the professionals to know how to handle it safely.



This is my bobcat-like tractor. Yes, in the midst of all this need for dirt work, I have my own piece of equipment. It needs work: charge the battery, air up the tires, and get it started. The challenge is that garage doesn't have electricity, except for one outlet powered from my house next door. I didn't want to undertake starting it before now because of other things going on. I suppose the time has come to do it, and maybe I can find someone to help me.

But, oh my! Just think of all the fun I'm going to have once I get it going! Hah!