The Winter That Would Not End!
Actually it?s a mild winter when compared to last year and the winter of 2007, but we?re less than 30 days from the Summer Solstice and at the time of this writing, more snow is in the forecast for the high country!? The good news is all our reservoirs are nearly full, the risk of fire is relatively low, snow pack is up, and water-related recreation Chaffee and Park Counties should ?boom? this summer.
The bad news is the Ranch has suffered much damage to its roads and trees due to the relentless heavy May snowfalls.? However, I found Park County?s Road and Bridge crews hard at work yesterday hauling in road materials and re-grading segments of our major roads that had washed out or turned into impassible quagmires.? [Pictures here show restoration of portion of Ranch Road between Tapadero and Forge Roads].?? All of our roads (all 69 miles of them!) need attention, so please be patient until the County can get to them.? Vince Johnson, the County?s work supervisor for our district, is aware of our needs but, understandably, must attend to these on a ?worst first? basis and on a finite budget.
With respect to snow plowing and maintenance, we are actually blessed relative to other subdivisions in Park County.? Did you know we are the only subdivision in the County with a dedicated road grader, and a driver (Vann) who lives right here on the Ranch?? The County is also working toward constructing a storage/shop building for its grader and will submit its plans to our Architectural Review Committee when funding for the project is more eminent.
Many of our trees have also been lost or badly damaged in certain areas of the Ranch.? [Picture here shows tree damage at the south end of Blacksmith].? John will discuss the extent of this damage in his column as well as the power outages many of us experienced on May 18-19th. ??While the Ranch is one of the most scenic and wildlife-abundant areas of Colorado, we are often reminded that ?livin in the mountains ain?t for sissies!?
Jeff Deardorff, Member at Large
