It is a day for good news. None of it is earthshakingly good, but things could be a lot, lot worse.

When something big happens to us without warning, there are all kinds of things we had pending that must be dealt with, and I've been doing just that.

-- Body shop: The drivers side door latch on my 2000 Chevy truck failed, and the day before the flood I took it in and got an estimate for repair. They had to order the part, and it would be delivered that Friday, but the flood prevented me from getting there. My inside door panel is sitting in their office. We talked today, and the part came in, but the truck is trapped for an indefinite period so we agreed that I will pay for the part and take it and the panel home to keep with the truck until I can take it in and just pay the labor to complete the job.

-- Transportation: I bought a 2011 Silverado pickup to get around with, and then we'll sell the old truck when we can finally get it out.

-- Car insurance: the old truck and my car, which is also trapped, have been put into 'storage' status with just a comprehensive coverage against vandalism, flooding, hail, but also includes towing in case we're going to need that to get them back on the highway. Only $60 each per 6 months.

-- Packages to be delivered: one from Amazon.com shows as delivered to Loveland, so it is probably at the post office for me to pick up. My order from Sam's Club.com was sitting in the Fed Ex warehouse and will be returned and I'll get my money back. (It sounds easier than it actually was to get this accomplished.)

-- Light and Power says don't give up on getting my electricity restored before winter comes.

-- The other main access road to Estes Park (Hwy 36 from Lyons) is going to be given priority, with 800 personnel working to open it to traffic. 40% bridges and roads on that route were lost; out of 10 bridges, 4 are a total loss.

-- Because the river channel has changed in places, the National Guard (under the Army Corps of Engineers) is going to start working on the channel along that same Hwy 36. This is good news for me because it means eventually they will be working on my part of the river, and will have to fix my driveway to get down there. They will also carry away the debris.

-- The highway by my place to Estes Park (Hwy 34 from Loveland) is 85% bridges and roads totally lost. 25 state-owned highway bridges are damaged/lost, and that's not counting the many, many small county/private bridges like mine that are off the highway.

-- I talked to someone who lives near me, and he was able to drive down the highway past my place. It's damaged in spots, but they are letting residents in. A little bad news: the highway people are saying it's only safe for 4 miles, and I'm at 5 or 6. They may have barricaded it off already.