{"id":2446292,"date":"2019-07-12T19:04:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T01:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/tony-vagneur-if-not-a-reality-this-pretty-parcel-sure-makes-for-a-nice-dream\/"},"modified":"2019-07-12T19:04:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-13T01:04:00","slug":"tony-vagneur-if-not-a-reality-this-pretty-parcel-sure-makes-for-a-nice-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/tony-vagneur-if-not-a-reality-this-pretty-parcel-sure-makes-for-a-nice-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Vagneur: If not a reality, this pretty parcel sure makes for a nice dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you know where we\u2019re going?\u201d she asked, as we drifted down a dirt road I hadn\u2019t traveled for at least 20 years. \u201cUh, no, I don\u2019t, although I thought I did in the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sounded a little hesitant on the phone, so thought I\u2019d better check to see if you really wanted to continue on with this,\u201d she offered. \u201cHell, keep going,\u201d I said, settling back in my seat, eager for whatever surprise lay ahead.<\/p>\n

With the exception of 50 yards of asphalt, we traveled on winding dirt roads, still sticky from the last rain, looking for the turn-off she wanted. Found at last, we continued driving, from a rather smooth surface to one scattered with water-filled potholes, the wide-open spaces on either side eventually narrowing a bit with the introduction of a barbed-wire fence on the right. And we kept driving, very slowly, navigating unfamiliar terrain, with quiet anticipation in our hearts.<\/p>\n

There it was at last, kinda like we\u2019d arrived at the bountiful, impossible mirage normally just out of reach on a very hot desert plain. Only it was welcoming cool, surrounded in green, droplets still fresh on the grass from the last drizzle.<\/p>\n

It was the kind of place where maybe you go when you die, a veritable heaven that you\u2019re standing in, without familiar reference, a place that begs for your creative spirit, using the palette God left for you, but no, not yet. There\u2019s nothing to do but soak it all in. Does such a place really exist within our reach?<\/p>\n

We\u2019d just missed the last bear that had wandered through, making tracks through grass so tall it would be almost impossible, without a practiced eye, to see him again if he backtracked for some reason. It\u2019s clearly deer and berry country \u2014 a place well-suited for the ursine world. Keep your doors closed.<\/p>\n

A quiver of arrows hung along the entryway to a small, 120-year-old refurbished cabin, ready when needed. The quiver was made from tanned coyote hide, the head still on. It\u2019s old, my god, it\u2019s an old way of living that is so incredibly near, but almost impossible to touch.<\/p>\n

If you looked east, there was Independence Pass, and if you looked west, the view was almost endless, maybe Grand Junction was down there somewhere, and we weren\u2019t even at the highest point. And as good as the vista was, it wasn\u2019t necessarily any better than the nearer surroundings, including the cabin. Or the much larger log house that could serve as the centerpiece of this unique place.<\/p>\n

To the northwest, high up above us, maybe half a mile away, silhouetted against the now-azure sky, was a promontory of immense proportion, a huge piece of rock and earth jutting out over the valley. If it was in South Dakota, someone would be trying to build a national monument out of it, honoring Native Americans. Oh no, I didn\u2019t ask, and there was no need \u2014 without a doubt, there was a hideout up there, perhaps a couple of them. Was it forbidden to humans? Maybe, and a shiver went up my spine.<\/p>\n

Sloping gently toward the beginning of the monolith, far off, and going over the other side, was a park, an open, gentle meadow, deep in emerald color, not a bare spot in sight. Surely a time-worn trail skirted the edge, leading horsemen toward the fold of earth and sky, old men of skill riding swift ponies to their final destiny in the land of beyond.<\/p>\n

Ah, a very special place that has held my attention for days. If I was a young man, or even in my 50s, maybe even my 60s, I\u2019d let my deep, natural instincts loose and grab not only the physicality of it, but the essence of the wonder it exudes. To me, there was something so deep-seated, so natural about it all, an outpost containing simplicity, intrinsically unforgettable.<\/p>\n

The winters might be brutal, an added attraction to my way of thinking, although daily trips to Aspen Mountain would likely be out of the question. There are undoubtedly a million cross-country trails waiting for the first winter storms, just outside the cabin door.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t guessed, this extraordinary place is for sale, likely attractive to a young person or couple looking for the rustic life away from glamor gulch. Maybe your interest has been piqued by my description, and if so, contact me. I\u2019ll put you in touch. If not, just put it in your bag of dreams.<\/p>\n

Tony Vagneur writes here on Saturdays and welcomes your comments at ajv@sopris.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you know where we\u2019re going?\u201d she asked, as we drifted down a dirt road I hadn\u2019t traveled for at least 20 years. \u201cUh, no, I don\u2019t, although I thought I did in the beginning.\u201d \u201cYou sounded a little hesitant on the phone, so thought I\u2019d better check to see if you really wanted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2446292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 07:09:10","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2446292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2446292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2446292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2446292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2446292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}