Now that the dust has settled from the race, I’m busy with new ventures. The house that I bought in Austin as an investment finally sold. This is a huge huge relief since it was becoming a real pain in the butt. The selling process didn’t go too smoothly either, so this is a big load off my back. It still netted a little cash, even after splitting proceeds with the ex, and with this, I was able to pay down a chunk a debt. I probably won’t meet my goal of being debt free by the end of the year, but I’ll be well on my way. So far this year is going as hoped for.

I was planning on doing the 12 Hours of Snowmass again on July 21, and even got a wild hair to return to the Breck 100 this weekend, but racing will have to take a back seat to my latest project. I bought a 1965 15’ Forester camper and have moved from my previous location to a farm on the northern outskirts of town. The place I was at was nice, but it had a lot of drama and wasn’t ideal.  I just needed some breathing room, and now I’ve got all I want. The trailer needs quite a bit of work, but for $300 it was still a steal. Right now, I’m living in a tent while I renovate the camper, and also operating out of a small storage shed that I built to house tools, bikes, and other belongings.

You would think it is a little crude, but it’s actually kind of nice. I don’t have any electricity (except for power tools) or internet, so I pretty much crash when the sun sets and don’t feel distracted. I also rise early when the sun comes up, so I feel like I’m starting the day out right. I actually get up early enough to get a two hour ride in and eat breakfast and be at work by 9am, so the morning sun is a very convenient alarm clock!

It is immensely beautiful out here. To the north I have views of the valley and the mountains between Durango and Silverton. To the south, or more like the west actually, I have an awesome view of Smelter mountain, and Perins peak. The  Animas river creates the western property line of the farm so I can always go take a dip if things get hot. To my direct west is Animas Mountain. To the east is Raider’s ridge, where I plan on taking a small break from construction to go ride tomorrow morning. It has been two weeks since the race and I feel like my legs are starting to weaken up a little. I have big race plans for the fall, so for now, I need to at least maintain what fitness I have until I can get settled into my new quarters.

Monsoon season has finally arrived, and what a relief. It was getting pretty hot and we were in a drought. The wildfires were getting pretty scary. It’s almost guaranteed to rain every day now in the evening, if only just a few drops. What is scarier than the lightning and rain though is the wind. My tent is protected in a grove of trees, but man does the wind howl and thrash around out here. Most of the time it is a gentle breeze, but when a storm blows in, it really blows in.

In addition to really cheap rent, I will be trading work on the farm. This is super exciting because I’ve always wanted to work on a farm. It’s just an organic vegetable farm, so no horses, cows, pigs, or anything of that sort, but I’m looking forward to gaining knowledge of how to work the land. Another condition of my rent is that Rocco works the main field as much as possible. We have a little problem with prairie dogs, raccoons, magpies, and few other nuisance species. Rocco has yet to catch anything, but his presence at least keeps them at bay. He’s having a blast. As I get enough work done on the camper to have a little free time, I’ll get my bow out and do some early morning and late evening hunts.

There are also a lot deer out here. Of course, there were deer at the last two places I lived, but there seems to be more out here, and they seem to be healthier, and not so much of the grungy urban deer variety. I also see more bucks! Come hunting season I hope to bag one and fill up the freezer. The land owner tells me in years of heavy snow, the Elk get driven all the way down here, so maybe I’ll just pass up a deer and go big!

Work is going well. We have started building the two main houses of the summer and we keep getting lot of smaller handyman jobs come in, a lot a result of my marketing work, so I’m feeling really good about this job and learning a lot. I haven’t had time to build any bike trailers or work on any of my other businesses, but look forward to returning to these as soon as I’m done renovating the camper.

I think that about sums up my summer happenings. July 21^st marks my one year anniversary that I moved to Durango. The last year has just flown by, but in a way, I’ve had so many adventures that it almost feels like I’ve been here 3 years. I am truly blessed in all that I have, and even when times are tough, I can always remember than even a crappy day in Durango is better than a great day in Dallas or Houston, maybe an ok day in Austin. This place is just freaking awesome. Summer is my favorite season here, probably because I moved here in the summer and jumped into everything head first. The weather is so nice, the vibe is good, and there’s lots to do, and yet, not much to do other than relax.

Thanks for checking in, hope you are enjoying your summer too!

Caveman Greg