3500 INTO 1440







Junk a'plenty outside the workshops



The rear patio and yet more stuff


 A very busy time post Sandia with the move to Cozy Comfort in full swing! Time to let go of many
of life's trappings and look to the future. Some bright lights on the horizon and some dim tunnels
of gloom. Yard sales x 2 have been had and despite tons of junk having been sold there is still
more to go and of course an awful lot of precious nick nacks that have been collected over a
lifetime..... there is NOWHERE to put it!



The Pool furniture makes it to CC on the first run

 3 runs with a full trailer, 2 flat tires on my car, and one on Brenda's meant 2 full sets of new tires
for the coming winter and the predictable deep snow. Rescuers for the Koi arrived and after pool
draining 100+ of the monsters were captured and are now off to their new homes. Some of this
years babies didn't get caught and there are some 30+ enjoying whats left despite the pump
having been turned off. 



Dogs ready for packing!



Dogs unwrapped

 Common sense, where's the fun in that, came into play this morning so we decided that the Napa
and Hollister trip had be shelved this year as it is a 2400 mile round trip and that means $2400 in
fuel alone, before the wining and dining so time and money are better spent getting "Cozy"
exactly the way we want it. It therefore means that as I won't be riding anymore of the AZ trials
my 2008 season is now at a close.

 Next up, the workshop which will need some planning to get everything in and be able to work
on those machines remaining in the inventory. About 6 left to sell, the Rothmans Honda 929RR,
the 520EXC KTM, the HD Vrod with only 700 miles on it, Baby Superglitz TY175, the 77 TY250, and
probably my "53" SSDT replica TY250A Yam.

 About another 2 weeks and 2 more runs to Cave Creek to collect the last bits from the workshop,
it never seems to end! Sell, sell, sell, so if anybody reading this wants to buy anything just let me
know as I'm pushed for room and would hate to see some of these beautiful bikes sit outside.

 Moving into the "hunting and gathering" phase I bought my Colorado fishing license and after
some new line on reels that hadn't seen the light of day in 10 years set off for the nearby Summit
Lake. Lovely spot, and you can drive almost to the shoreline which is solid flat bed rock. Using two
methods, ledgering on one rod and float fishing on the other a quiet 15 mins went by using
"worms" as bait. A quick change to "powerbait" on the float rod and it becomes all action with
multiple hits and the 4 bag limit is made in 20 minutes. As fishing in the UK is generally only for
inedible species I have never taken fish home so now another first of "how to clean a trout". U
tube has the answer and after watching the clip several times I'm cleaning fish like a professional.
Just up the valley en-route to Telluride there lives an extremely wealthy widow who said she has
tons of fallen cotton wood, which is free if you saw it up so the chainsaw is now at the ready for
that task. She also has deer and some sort of licence to shoot them so maybe some more goodies
for the freezer there along with half a cow at a ridiculously low price.




Well this is delightful...... Summit Lake



The Bag Limit

 Now we start the rifle hunting season so we should get very busy in the next few weeks with all
the hunters coming down for showers and washing their muddy hunting outfits. The weather has
turned, along with the leaves, so glorious early morning fall colors with just a touch of frost. The
mountains have their first dusting of snow and the logs are blazing in the fireplace. Must unload
the RV, goodness knows where all that stuff will go, and then get set from the next trip south to
offload the bus and collect yet another full trailer load of stuff. 

 Having unloaded  the RV, effectively another house, there is more stuff everywhere and we are
bulging at the seams so it looks like the loft space will be coming into play here to store a lot of
clothes and other resaleable stuff next spring.

 Back to AZ with the empty RV and VROD in the trailer. The coach rockets along, 525 horses all
going well, and now freed from a couple of tons of equipment it's actually making 7-9 mpg! When
I get there the power is off so limited packing before nightfall and elect to stay in the bus where
at least I have light, comfort and TV. The following morning my mechanic from the now defunct
company arrives to collect the last Chevvy dually which he will buy/sell.

 The RV goes in for the replacement shield and when it comes out it goes into the sales section
hoping for the Canadian visitors to snap up a fantastic bargain. Move across town to Chandler
Harley Davidson and the Screamin Eagle finds a new home. Back to more packing and stumbling
around in the dark and finally at 2030 wind my way up to Cave Creek for a night stop in the
grossly overpriced Tumbleweed Hotel! By now I'm hungry and VERY thirsty so a quick 1/2 mile
walk up to Harrold's for dinner and a lot of BEER!!



The best time of the year


 Just 2 more runs to collect the last of the chattels that can be saved and then store all of the
45 years of trophies that now are committed to a life in the loft as wall space is at a premium.
One day the Empire may rise again!



The Trophy Wall now all in boxes in the loft


Tony Down