Decisions, decisions.
Last week we took a trip down to Mancos - Dolores - Cortez area, partly to look at houses but mostly because we needed a break and to get off the Front Range for a bit. Tess did great for the 7 1/2 hour drive that always somehow ends up taking 9.
We stopped for a little break at Kenosha Pass.
But the main reason it took so long was that we stopped at a little sandwich shop in Salida for lunch and as we sat outside eating right next to the car so I could watch the dogs and fret over Tess being left alone, a huge tour bus pulled up right next to us and an even huger high school track team filed out. It was bad enough that the end of the bus that was noisy and spewing exhaust was right next to Tess' window but when it pulled away it hit our car. The driver was all thankful that the damage was minor and no one was hurt and I'm going on and on about my scaredy cat dog and no not everyone was o.k. Except she kind of was. She wasn't thrilled and certainly scared but not in a terrible state. I took both dogs for a little walk and between having just been in a car that was hit by a bus and being in a strange place and all kinds of dogs barking at us from cars and who know where, she was reasonably o.k. Scared but functional. Not that much more unhinged than some of our walks through the neighborhood. So in the end all was o.k. except we had to hang around forever while the bus driver called the cop and the cop did all his cop stuff and it was so hot for early May. So yeah, 9 hours by the time we got to Mancos.
I only brought one crate for Tess since Ruby isn't fond of crates and sleeps on the bed with us but Ruby went into the crate immediately and she was so tired that she didn't object when Tess wormed her way in. Ruby is Tess' rock.
Crate Buddies
We spent our first day driving around looking at houses and neighborhoods without the realtor. We crossed 2 places off the list right away and wanted to add another that we hadn't asked to see. We also took a little break at the Mesa Verde National Park Visitor's Center so everyone could pee.
We didn't go into the park though. It's a long, twisty, steep drive to get to the cliff dwellings and it was already starting to get too busy for us. No point driving all that way for peace and quiet only to get caught up in a swarm of tourists.
We did stop up at Boggy Draw for a quick hike since Tess shouldn't go too far. No pictures somehow, guess I was fed up with the camera.
The next day was with the realtor and we found out right away that we couldn't get in to see the main house we'd wanted to see - a little 'casita' right near Boggy Draw. The renters weren't cooperating since they didn't want to move out and the listing realtor wasn't aggressive enough about getting them out and we decided this sounded like a good situation to avoid. Also the road to get to the house looked a bit interesting from the main road. We didn't go up it but we could see the house and it was a decent ways up. Not terrible but certainly an exciting drive in a winter storm and a bit more excitement and isolation than we're looking for.
We ended up seeing a house that was just de-listed but the realtor knew about. She said she had woken up at 2 am remembering it and realizing it would be perfect for us. And it sort of was because it had a 40x60 outbuilding with concrete floor, electrical, lights, insulation and heat. I could have my own indoor agility facility, teach lessons if I want. Location was great too, no crazy roads, 7 minutes from town. 4 1/2 acres with reasonably flat land an a huge area that's already fenced. Land and fences needed some work. But the house was too big. Like WAY too big. 3300 square feet too big. We're looking for more like 1200-1800. 2400' was my line in the sand if everything else was good. I hate big houses, pain in the ass all the way around. Nonetheless we put in an offer on the place. Every night I wake up in a hot sweat whispering, '3300 square feet, HOLY CRAP'. But we've given the owner until today to respond and as of 4:00 still no response. She doesn't want to sell the place but can't afford to keep it sort of thing which is why she de-listed it. So it may take some time for her to be ready to part with it. Or maybe she won't and we'll find some place that isn't 3300 square feet.
I already have someone who wants to buy our house. A friend of mine has a son who's moving back here next year but he really likes our house and starter homes are so hard to come by that he would rent it out until he moved here. Only trouble is he needs to sell a condo and now it starts to get complicated. Ah the logistics of moving. Let's not even talk about the insane amount of time we've spent so far getting this house ready to go on the market if we have to. And still not totally done. And it's only 1100 square feet. Not sure how we'll cope with 3x the size. Oh well, we'll see what happens.
In other news, Ruby had her third agility foundation class today. She's such an awesome little girly. No photos or videos. Foundation stuff is so little and big at the same time. So simple but so much detail tied up in the simplicity. The classes are taught by a One Mind instructor, or coach, or assistant coach, or something. In any case, it's the One Mind methodology and it's very different from anything I've ever done before but also some similarities. I'll go into more detail in future posts and maybe get some video of Ruby and Tess practicing.
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