Back on June 2nd, Donna and I made a trip over US160 to Durango, Colorado – about 50 miles from Cortez. The purpose of the trip was a stop at the Wells Fargo bank branch there – the only one within 150 miles of Cortez. Why make such a long drive to the bank? The purpose was to draw a couple of cashier’s checks to make the final distribution of the trust funds left by my step-dad, Ken Keller.

I had already taken care of all of his bills and filed his personal income taxes and a trust tax return. There wasn’t anything else left to do but make the distribution, close the trust account and dissolve the trust. Sounds simple enough, right?

I sent cashier’s checks via USPS Priority Mail to my sister in Florida and brother in California that afternoon. My brother sent me a text saying he received the check on the 5th. On the following Tuesday, the 9th, I tracked the mail to my sister. Tracking showed an exception alert on June 5th – the mail had to be forwarded. I didn’t know when I sent the check that my sister had moved from her apartment.

I kept trying to track the envelope, but no new information was showing. Finally, on the 17th, I opened a ticket online with USPS and spoke to a customer service representative. This person told me mot to worry, it takes time for forwarding and it was “in process.” I asked her where in the process it was. She couldn’t answer – she said it would have to go to Tallahassee, be tagged and re-sorted to its final destination in Jacksonville. I told her more than 10 business days had passed with no update. She again said it was “in process.”

I started getting e-mail tracking info on the 21st due to my online service request. It said the envelope was at the sorting facility at Gainesville, Florida. What? Then on the 22nd it said it was “in transit.” The next update said it left Jacksonville. Then it was “in transit” on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. Next it was shown as at the facility in Ybor City, Florida. What! That’s across the state from Jacksonville. I made a second online complaint and call with no satisfactory answer of what happened to the check. On the 27th, tracking said it arrived in Jacksonville, then on the same day, it said it departed Jacksonville today and than again arrived in Jacksonville.

Anyway, by Friday, the 26th I gave up on the USPS finding and delivering the check. I made an appointment and drove back to Durango. I needed to stop payment on the original cashier’s check and draw a new check. This was complicated by the fact I had closed the Wells Fargo account. After an hour of filling out forms, I had to pay a fee of $199.34 to issue the new check. This was for fraud insurance. The only way to avoid this was to wait for 90 days and the check would be voided and I could get a new one for $31.00. I paid the fee and got a new check, then stopped at FedEx to send it. No Priority Mail this time!

On Saturday morning, Donna and I drove up US491 north to County Road 15 – our destination was the Dolores Canyon Overlook. A gal we met at pickleball, Jan, told us about the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) field day. This is an event where ham radio operators set up portable equipment in the field to communicate. It’s the most popular annual ham radio event in the US and Canada – more than 35,000 ham radio enthusiasts participate.

Members of the local club, which includes Jan’s husband, Mike, set up at the Dolores Canyon Overlook. This is a remote location – more remote than I anticipated. Little did I know that when we left US491 and hit CR15, we would drive 15 miles of dirt and gravel road to reach the overlook. At one point, a few miles from the overlook we rounded a corner and saw two bears – a momma and a large cub. They ran away from us. There was a small pond nearby and I think they were there for water when we startled them.

I wanted to make the trip so I could learn more about ham radio operation. It’s a hobby I’ve had an interest in. Mike and another club member, Cap, filled me in with a lot of information about equipment and how I could set up in the motorhome. Mike told me about a trip he and his wife took with their teardrop trailer into remote northwest Canada. They were more than 100 miles from the nearest cell tower but were able to stay in touch with their family via ham radio.

The Dolores Canyon is a deep gorge with the Dolores River running through it. From the campground area there’s a trail about a quarter of mile long to the overlook. The views are spectacular.

The overlook is on a narrow ridge. We walked a few yards away from the canyon and faced the flatland to the west. We could see the small town of Dove Creek.

I’ve decided I want to join the ranks of amateur radio operators. I’m studying to take the exam for a technician license. I can take the exam in Everett, Washington on July 25th when we are there. A man needs a hobby and I haven’t taken up anything new in a while.

Saturday afternoon we had another interesting visit. We went to the Owers’ farm. We met Bob and Carolyn Ower at the Cortez Farmers’ Market where we bought beef from them. Bob told us about his hydroponic cattle feed system and invited us to check it out.

Bob and Carolyn raise angus cattle on their farm. They used to breed and raise the cattle themselves. They started with good stock from Montrose, Colorado. Raising your own stock is a lot of work. You constantly have logistical challenges of separating bulls from cows and tending pregnant cows and dealing with calves. They’ve changed their operation now to buying young steers from Montrose and raising them for 18 months. They start with genetically sound cattle and by providing proper nutrition they produce quality beef.

The cows eat grass in the field and their diet is supplemented with hay for roughage and barley for dense nutrition. They sprout the barley in a hydroponic system that’s capable of producing 250 lbs. of barley per day. It takes six days to go from seed to feed with this system.

My photo of the nearly finished product is a bit off – I think I had an issue with the UV lights. The hydroponic trays do not contain any dirt or mulch. The nutrients for the seedlings is in the water and the barley roots mat together making the tray of barley into a single unit much like sod (without any dirt). The cattle happily munch the entire mat of barley.

We went out to the back field where the cattle were. Bob brought some treats – actually they were horse treats that I think were made from apples – and the cows moved out the shade of a tree across the field to come to us for treats.

They have seven steers currently and some are about ready for processing. The largest of them is about 1,100 lbs and Bob said they gain about three pounds per day. They have five more young steers coming on Tuesday.

We also toured Carolyn’s garden and greenhouse. She grows vegetables which they sell at the farmers’ market.

Bob told me the greenhouse grows vegetables year ’round – even in the cold of winter. Carolyn also raises chickens for eggs as well as a few fryers. Different breeds of chicken produce different colored eggs. The color of the egg doesn’t affect the flavor – they all taste like eggs. Farm fresh eggs do seem a little creamier and richer though.

We really enjoyed our tour of a working farm. Bob and Carolyn also happen to be licensed ham radio operators and are members of the same club with Mike and Cap. Bob is thinking about writing a book about his approach to raising cattle and sustainable small-farm operations. Donna gave him a few tips and ideas.

After our dusty road trip, I went over Midget-San with a California duster last night. This morning I got serious and gave it a good cleaning with Meguiar’s Ultimate Waterless Wash and Wax. Looking good now.

After I had a couple of lunches of pulled pork sandwiches, Donna came up with a dish for the remaining leftover pulled pork. She made piggy mac which is baked macaroni and cheese with pulled pork! It was tasty and Donna thought it tasted like comfort food from a good food truck!

I’ll start organizing the trailer this afternoon. Tomorrow, after pickleball in the morning, I’ll get us 80% ready to roll. Tuesday we’ll head out and go up US491 into Utah where we’ll take US191 north to I-70 and head back east to Fruita, Colorado for a couple of days. We don’t expect any weather issues and by Tuesday it’s supposed to be cooler than the 90 degree heat we’ve been having – Tuesday’s high is forecast as 78 degrees.

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