Start of 2013

       The new year has started.  Of course we have resolutions.  I had a short interview with the local Hill City Prevailer newspaper, I was asked if I made resolutions and what it was for 2013.  My goal is to listen more.  With that in mind, feel free to remind me this summer if I talk too much.

     We are determined this year to finish some of the projects we started years ago.  We also hope to get some of the upgrades done that we have longed to do.  The past few years of county politics have put us a bit behind both financially and industriously.  Thank goodness it is all behind us now.
      We are in winter mode.  The Boxcar Cabin is being rented monthly by our neighbors contractor.  He is getting a cabin remodel done.  We hope to have the Boxcar Cabin available nightly by the end of January.  I have been reminding Tally to get updates into the computer and website.  We now offer a home in Hill City for summer rentals.  We will be using photos from last summer but have already painted rooms and changed them around.  Updated photos will probably not get done until next spring.

     I took some nice photos of South Dakota as we traveled across it over Christmas.  Hope you enjoy them.

Summer in review

         As usual it was a wonderful summer of meeting new guests and renewing fiendships with past guests.  Thank you all for staying with us and then wanting to come back.   My only regret is that, with the  fire ban, we did not have any quality fire/marshmallow roasting time.  Hopefully we'll get some rain and good snow this winter and be able to resume the fire pit next year.  As there were some large fires all over the country and we are so dry, it definitely is better to be safe than sorry.
       We applauded the passing of a new Vacation Home Rental Ordinance for Pennington County, this happened in May 2012.  Vacation home rentals that came into existance post 1994 can now get a permit through this new ordinance and covers such things as quiet hours, occupancy, garbage service, etc..  Everything that makes for a perfect neighbor.  We are also happy to confirm that our Log Cabin and our Boxcar Cabin are now permitted by the County.  They were licensed by the state in early 2011.
        With this all behind us, we are scurrying to get some projects finished by the time the snow flies.  The wood pile is all split and just waiting for my busy hands to pile it into nice stacks that fall over part way through winter.  Tally is gathering tools and nagging me to stain some boards to finish the siding on the Boxcar Cabin.  The squirrel is wanting to move in and so we need to button up the siding.
       We did get the shed at the Log Cabin moved.  What a day that was.  It took so much time to prepare that the half hour it took to move was almost anti-climatic.  It pays to be thorough and the move went smooth.

We are still open and guests are still arriving and enjoying the Silver City area.  The leaves are in full color and we always swear that the Silver City Road beats out Spearfish Canyon for beauty.

We are on the final cabin for deep spring cleaning.  The Bullion cabin is the last in the line.  We seem to rotate the order of cleaning each year based on when they get rented.  We get asked which cabin is our favorite.  While I am cleaning I look each cabin over and I still can't seem to choose a favorite as they all have their special charm and character.
The Boxcar Cabin siding is not completely done but the cabins are almost cleaned.  We do have our priorities.
This years mothers day we hiked Harney Peak with my extensive extended family.  My 73 year old mother (who rarely hikes) almost made it.  My 79 year old father would have made it but turned around with mom (it ws her day).  We had a great time and the weather was warm and perfect.  Wonderful snack at the top and much appreciated lunch at the bottom.  Always take food and water with you.  It is a bit harder and longer than you think.

Spring progress

I will officially update the cabin progress.
Bullion Cabin now has linoleum in the kitchen.  The owners have wanted that done for ages.  We put an egress window in the bedroom with the twin beds and as Tally had the tools in the cabin, and we had the time, the carpet got torn out of the kitchen.  It will be easier to clean and maintain.  When you walk into the cabin you now see straight through the dining room and living room to the view out the egress window.  Small changes make such a difference.

The Log Cabin now has screen doors on both the front and back door.  One can have a nice cross breeze on a warm summer evening.  I won't say hot as our nights always cool down.  At 4600' we almost always need blankets at tnight.  They now have the signature wood door slam - I will try and rectify that by summer.

Our regular guests will understand this update.
The back side of the Boxcar Cabin is getting new siding.  The whole cabin will now match.  We have the large wall done and are working on the alcove part.  Tally also put trim boards around the windows.  We had a bit of rain yesterday so we are slowed down on the project but we had a nice day off from the outside work.  I sat and worked on paperwork at my desk, made a pie and cooked a delicious dinner.  Pictures to be posted at a later date.

Spring at Happy Trails Cabins

Can't believe it has been so long since I last wrote.
We have accomplished so much.  The ordinance passed.  It is overly regulated but nothing out of line.  Our guests are so nice that there will be no problems enforcing such things as quiet time.   We are in the process of getting our conditional use permit but hopefully we shouild have that in hand by mid June.  There were actually residents of Pennington County that opposed vacation home rentals.  Here we are in the prime tourist county (Pennington County is the home of Mount Rushmore) and there was an actual statement that tourists and residents next to each other is a "lose lose situation".  Our job is to make up for that lack of hospitality.  Tally and I have always believed in making others welcome in our home and our community.  I will post more on our current projects later.

What we are doing now.

We still are fortunate to get some late fall guests.  We even had the good fortune to have an old friend visit us last week.  It was fun to catch up on 24 years of absence.  He is currently living in Germany so now we have a fun connection in Europe.

The vacation home rental ordinance draft is finished.  We had a public meeting last week where it was officially presented to the public.  Our first public hearing is December 12 in front of the County Planning Commission.  Of course we are nervous.  It has been a long 6 months and we are getting tired.   To any past guests that have been reading this, any comments to the county are welcome.  The following are 2 links to send any comments.  Hopefully we will get the ordinance passed.  If it is passed as currently written, we will need to apply for a conditional use permit and a variance.  I personally feel that input from guests is fine as they have a vested interest in keeping their home away from home available to them for the future.
plz@co.pennington.sd.us
commissioners@co.pennington.sd.us

This has actually been very stressful.  It has shown us who we can depend on, who our true friends are.  It has been fun to debate with people and find out the points of dissent.  Education is always important and I sure have been learning a lot about county government, ordinances, development covenants, etc..  Actually we know way more than we ever wanted.

Fall

The leaves are starting to change and we have had a few light frosts.  The sumac is beautiful and is usually the first to change, poisen ivy is a pretty red right now too.

Finally the garden is winding down.  The final tally, not including those eaten, was 25 gallons of raspberries.  I will get a squash count in a few weeks.  Want to keep those guys on the vine a bit longer.  I was impressed that 21 edemame plants produced a large ice cream bucket (5 quarts) of beans.  They are nicely blanched and safely in the freezer.  Between jelly and pickles I am running out of pint jars and smaller.  Luckily I just have applesauce and a small batch of jalepeno jelly left to make.  We still have the beets, carrots, onions, squash, parsnips in the ground.  We'll let them sweeten up a bit more then spend a day in the garden cleaning it up and putting it to sleep fort he winter.  To stay true to form we should wait until the ground starts to freeze and we get a snow.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

 Tally is out of town for a few days and of course I have high hopes of getting a lot of things done.  Reality is a bit different than the high hopes.  He has been gone 4 days and I have barely touched the house projects I have planned to get done during his absense.

Weekends are still full of guests with weekdays a bit sparse.  As long as the weather holds, people will still come.  It is a great time of year to visit the hills.