Kenville

[tadbart]

Some of you may have seen me post here, or on facebook, about a dream of mine, to own a chunk of land in the mountains, called Kenville. 

Basically, a MYOFB, leave me TF alone, homestead on some acreage out West. 

Well, I'm proud to announce that it is officially in the works. 

I have signed a contract on 35 +/- acres in Central Colorado. The down-payment is ready to transfer to the bank. Credit score and work history not concerns. Closing October 8. The appraisal is in a couple weeks, and I am pretty sure it'll come in favorably compared to the selling price.

It is already half fenced, so I only have to fence about 3500' of barb wire, then it's good for livestock. Electricity is on property. Both side neighbors have GOOD wells. No mineral or oil rights underneath.

Plans are for Fence. Barn. Well. House. Will look further into sustainable stuff from there, but you can irrigate an acre on a residential well.  A couple nice building sites, one of which is not visible from the dirt road.  

One perk- it has a view of the west slope of Pike's Peak in the distance. The mountain turns RIDICULOUS colors during sunset.  The nearby Sangre de Cristo mountain views are awe-inspiring. Also plenty of room for at least a 300m range.

Literally watching a decade of dreams and plans begin to unfold before my eyes, guys.

 

So. What would YOU do, with a blank slate and a LMTFA mindset? Greenhouse? Solar vs. wind vs. propane backup? Trout Pond?  Hit me with some wild ideas, please.

[NPTim]

Mozel Tov  dude! Huge greenhouse, windmill, well in the middle of the house. Escape tunnel. Remember, livestock, except for trout, requires 365 tending. Propane generator or diesel, both are multitaskers.

[gwalchmai]

Congrats, amigo! That's excellent news. My advice is go big time into research on lots-o-stuff (I know you already have). Something I'd consider if building in a cooler area is a masonry heater. And I'd take at least a year to design and plan a house before starting the build. 

But irregardless, good luck!

[pipedreams]

5 hours ago, tadbart said:

So. What would YOU do, with a blank slate and a LMTFA mindset? Greenhouse? Solar vs. wind vs. propane backup? Trout Pond?  Hit me with some wild ideas, please.

A nice large deep pond if the terrain allows.  I would look around to see what others are doing in the area to see what kind resources are available.  If you use propane buy your own tank, that way you can buy from the dealer that has the best price.  Costs to buy tank up front is expensive but it will pay for itself over the years.  Rural areas usually have a number of dealers that are competitive.

[tadbart]

Great suggestions! Keep em coming, please!

@NPTim I sat down and talked with my eastern neighbor, who came to see who was walking on the land. We talked for about an hour. They lease part of their land to a family member who puts a few cattle on there in the spring, and takes them off in October. He gets half a cow, in payment for the use of his land. I'd Probably do something like that, to start with. There's a good 25 acres that is graze-able. Definitely thinking greenhouse. Western neighbor has one, but I think he just grows weed. Generator is a must. Power is by wire, and that's less reliable (in my opinion) than underground electric. 

@gwalchmai This is fascinating. I'll definitely do my research on masonry heaters. Cool concept! This is a great idea! Coldest they've seen is -17F. Snow doesn't tend to stick around for long in the high mountain desert, bit they got a 30-inch dump a couple years ago that took a couple days to go away. Definitely want to be ready for the outliers as far as weather, much like I'm prepped for hurricanes, in Florida.

@pipedreams Ponds are tricky out there, The King is very particular on how us peasants can use even his rainwater. Now, that doesn't mean I won't put the pond behind a hill...  Guy down the road has a huge excavator. I'm certain he also has a price, as most folks do. Maybe I just need a really big pit. To bury a horse. Deep. There are a couple fish farms within a decent drive, so stocking trout, walleye, and perch aren't an issue. I'm sure I'll manage to kill em all the first year, anyhow. Been looking into pond construction. Seems practical.

Good call on BUYING the propane tank. Independence and Freedom, man. 

[Swampfox762]

Congratulations Tad!!!  Absolutely outstanding Sir!!!  Bunch of Good Ideas here.  I Like Your idea of your own Personal RANGE!!!

[pipedreams]

3 minutes ago, tadbart said:

@pipedreams Ponds are tricky out there, The King is very particular on how us peasants can use even his rainwater. Now, that doesn't mean I won't put the pond behind a hill...  Guy down the road has a huge excavator. I'm certain he also has a price, as most folks do. Maybe I just need a really big pit. To bury a horse. Deep. There are a couple fish farms within a decent drive, so stocking trout, walleye, and perch aren't an issue. I'm sure I'll manage to kill em all the first year, anyhow. Been looking into pond construction. Seems practical.

Good call on BUYING the propane tank. Independence and Freedom, man. 

Most farm stores sell fish to stock ponds once a year.  Pond fish are pretty easy with a little basic knowledge. 

You can get a good idea how reliable the above ground electric is from the neighbors.  If there are not a lot trees to fall on the lines it may be pretty reliable.  Depends a lot on how far out you are from the source.  We had above ground and it was reliable except during storms when a limb would fall on the wires.  The REC has always had the power back up in a couple hours except one year when we had a bad ice storm.  They had to start at the source with the repairs and work their way out.  They decided to put in underground this summer since our feed was one of their biggest outages.  Underground is expensive to put in for the power company when you only have one or two customer per mile.

Look into the multi fuel generators and get one with enough output that you don't turn half of everything off.  Now days LED bulbs don't use that much even the outdoor security lights.  We don't use ours that often but it nice to leave air on if it's a steamy day.

 

[tadbart]

3 hours ago, pipedreams said:

Most farm stores sell fish to stock ponds once a year.  Pond fish are pretty easy with a little basic knowledge. 

You can get a good idea how reliable the above ground electric is from the neighbors.  If there are not a lot trees to fall on the lines it may be pretty reliable.  Depends a lot on how far out you are from the source.  We had above ground and it was reliable except during storms when a limb would fall on the wires.  The REC has always had the power back up in a couple hours except one year when we had a bad ice storm.  They had to start at the source with the repairs and work their way out.  They decided to put in underground this summer since our feed was one of their biggest outages.  Underground is expensive to put in for the power company when you only have one or two customer per mile.

Look into the multi fuel generators and get one with enough output that you don't turn half of everything off.  Now days LED bulbs don't use that much even the outdoor security lights.  We don't use ours that often but it nice to leave air on if it's a steamy day.

 

I'm hoping you're right on the fish. It's not a priority, but it's on the top of the Fun List.

My parents live near Asheville, NC, and they get a lot of ice storms. Plays hell with the electric wires. I'm a LOT less concerned with wire power in CO than I would be in NC. I guess I'm just spoiled- FL house has underground, and power only goes out if someone hits a power box or a squirrel gets suicidal somewhere down the line.

Generation of power is a subject I want to get well versed on. Neighbors don't even have air conditioning. I'm not ready to get that wild. I've sweated my ASS off in Alaska before. Granted, I know the 8000' elevation helps keep things cool, but still. So, AC/heat, lighting, fridge and freezer are the priorities. Heat and power definitely need redundancy. 

[Borg warner]

22 hours ago, tadbart said:

Some of you may have seen me post here, or on facebook, about a dream of mine, to own a chunk of land in the mountains, called Kenville. 

Basically, a MYOFB, leave me TF alone, homestead on some acreage out West. 

Well, I'm proud to announce that it is officially in the works. 

I have signed a contract on 35 +/- acres in Central Colorado. The down-payment is ready to transfer to the bank. Credit score and work history not concerns. Closing October 8. The appraisal is in a couple weeks, and I am pretty sure it'll come in favorably compared to the selling price.

It is already half fenced, so I only have to fence about 3500' of barb wire, then it's good for livestock. Electricity is on property. Both side neighbors have GOOD wells. No mineral or oil rights underneath.

Plans are for Fence. Barn. Well. House. Will look further into sustainable stuff from there, but you can irrigate an acre on a residential well.  A couple nice building sites, one of which is not visible from the dirt road.  

One perk- it has a view of the west slope of Pike's Peak in the distance. The mountain turns RIDICULOUS colors during sunset.  The nearby Sangre de Cristo mountain views are awe-inspiring. Also plenty of room for at least a 300m range.

Literally watching a decade of dreams and plans begin to unfold before my eyes, guys.

 

So. What would YOU do, with a blank slate and a LMTFA mindset? Greenhouse? Solar vs. wind vs. propane backup? Trout Pond?  Hit me with some wild ideas, please.

Consider the weather year around.  It's beautiful now, but for winter you might need a 4 wheel drive with a plow. My parents owned an A-frame cabin and a trailer park in a place called Lake George Colorado. My dad bought the land from my mother's father to use as income property from the trailer park and for a vacation home after my dad retired.

My parents lived in Los Angeles and spent their summers there, Leaving L.A. in April and returning in late September which was perfect because summers in L.A. were unbearably hot and winters in Lake George would have had them snowed in and their cabin was at the top of a long winding road overlooking the small lake. The "Town" of Lake George as just a post office, station and restaurant but the people there were really nice and became life long friends with my mom and Dad

[gwalchmai]

A dollar spent on insulation during the build saves half a dollar a month in energy costs. Not really, but nobody ever said they have too much insulation. My power bill this July was $110 for over 4000 sqft kept at 75 degrees. Also, I think it's worthwhile to make all ELE circuits other than lights 20 amps. 

[railfancwb]

12 hours ago, pipedreams said:

A nice large deep pond if the terrain allows.  I would look around to see what others are doing in the area to see what kind resources are available.  If you use propane buy your own tank, that way you can buy from the dealer that has the best price.  Costs to buy tank up front is expensive but it will pay for itself over the years.  Rural areas usually have a number of dealers that are competitive.

If folks closer to town and piped natural gas decide to replace their propane with natural they might be interested in selling a used but safe and serviceable tank. 

[railfancwb]

2 hours ago, Borg warner said:

Consider the weather year around.  It's beautiful now, but for winter you might need a 4 wheel drive with a plow. My parents owned an A-frame cabin and a trailer park in a place called Lake George Colorado. My dad bought the land from mt mther's father to use as income property from the trailer park and for a vacation home after my dad retired.

My parents lived in Los Angeles and spent their summers there, Leaving L.A. in April and returning in late September which was perfect because summers in L.A. were unbearably hot and winters in Lake George would have had them snowed in and their cabin was at the top of a long winding road overlooking the small lake. The "Town" of Lake George as just a post office, station and restaurant but teh people were really nice and became life long friends with my mom and Dad

Believe the fictional railroad name used for some of LGB’s model/toy trains was “Lake George & Boulder”…

After a three year tear out and rebuild, the railroad up Pike’s Peak was to have been brought back into service summer 2021. Don’t know whether that happened. 

[Swampfox762]

Cameras.  I would definitely set up Cameras.  That I could monitor from my phone, till I could live there and set em up on a Monitor.  Ya know...just to see the "Life" around.  Would be cool.

Have ya thought about setting up a cheap "trailer" type thing...just as a place to lay your head till ya build?

[G19Tony]

I'm glad it's all coming together, friendo. How much runway we gonna have. I know where there are some A-29's, Hellfire equipped 208's and some PC-12's we can get for cheap. 

 

Are you in FB jail again. Haven't seen you on for a minute. 

[pipedreams]

9 hours ago, railfancwb said:

If folks closer to town and piped natural gas decide to replace their propane with natural they might be interested in selling a used but safe and serviceable tank. 

Good point, also get a large tank so you don't have to do refills all the time.   Since they can only be filled 80% 1000 gallon is ideal.

[tadbart]

@Borg warner Oh man! I'm very familiar with that map! Been all over Teller, El Paso, and Fremont Counties! Them's my stompin' grounds!!!

@G19Tony Thanks, bro! Yeah, I'm back in facebook jail for a couple more weeks. I gotta just learn to post pics of animals and talk about work stuff on there. Every time I talk politics, some gothopotamus gets butthurt. Well, regarding the runway... The property is 3,000 feet deep. I'd say we could cut in about 2,500 feet of runway. You'll have to taxi to the top of the hill, and really pull up at the bottom. Might not be a fun place to fly in summer or winter, but spring and fall could work! You can do the DA calculations. 8,500' ASL. Might be better suited for a high performance plane than something comfortable for cross country.

@Swampfox762 Great idea, video surveillance. Definitely got some thinking to do on that subject. I don't want to put TOO much visible tech there until I'm out there on a regular basis. Regarding a trailer, I'm thinking I'll build the barn first. Looking at a 3-car metal building with an extra bit on one side. Like @gwalchmai said, it'll be insulated, and there's plenty of room to add a small wood burning stove to the plan. The intent is to "camp" in that when we're out there doing site work and building the house.

@railfancwb yup, the Pike's Peak Railroad is up and running, last I heard. I took my parents on it a handful of years ago. They LOVED it! Will definitely have to go back and try out the new one! 

[G19Tony]

It's so cool watching this all come together for you, bro. I'm very happy for you. 

[gwalchmai]

Careful, @tadbart, if you let us committee-design your house you'll never be able to retire.

[tadbart]

6 hours ago, gwalchmai said:

Careful, @tadbart, if you let us committee-design your house you'll never be able to retire.

Oh man. I've already found this adventure to be a rabbit-hole. Still, it's proving to be the BEST hobby ever.

[Swampfox762]

1 hour ago, tadbart said:

Oh man. I've already found this adventure to be a rabbit-hole. Still, it's proving to be the BEST hobby ever.

You GO Ken!!!  God Bless ya man!!!

[holyjohnson]

@Tadbart.

that is Awesome!

Congrats on the Dream coming True, that is a Rarity today.

Someone working towards a real Goal and a Dream to Reality.

Glad for you!

[M&P15T]

That's a friggin' dream you're living there!!! Congratualtions!!!

What would I do? Gun range (*natch), and a garage for sweet cars to be worked on. A living space as part of the garage. Definitely a few fireplaces, out-door fire pit or two. Maybe an ATV or two.

Other than that, enjoying the outdoors by patrolling the property.

[tadbart]

That's the view to the NE, from about 2/3 back on the land.  Some of you may recognize that Purple Mountain Majesty in the background.

@M&P15T the property is 500 feet wide, so without even putting it at too much of an angle, a 200m range is a no-brainer. 

 

[Historian]

5 minutes ago, tadbart said:

That's the view to the NE, from about 2/3 back on the land.  Some of you may recognize that Purple Mountain Majesty in the background.

 

You're going to need a horse...and the right kind of hat.

[Swampfox762]

1 minute ago, Historian said:

You're going to need a horse...and the right kind of hat.

Or a 4 wheeler.