In The Host’s Own Words
Delta, Colorado
Our building site on Ash Mesa is located 3 miles south of Delta, Colorado, near the home of the famous Olathe sweet corn. Known for its hot days and cool nights, agricultural offerings are diverse, with bean, corn, onion, beet, pumpkin, and hay farms surrounding our homeplace.
Our little parcel of 4 acres is surrounded by views of the San Juan Mountains to the South, the Ragged and West Elks to the East, the Grand Mesa (the largest flat-top mountain in the world) to the North, and the Uncompaghre Plateau to the West. The area is known for its many wineries, and Ouray, the “Switzerland of America” with its famous hot springs, is a mere hour away. Iconic Telluride is an hour and 45-minute drive over the stunning Dallas Divide (and past Ralph Lauren’s 16,000-acre ranch).
Your Hosts
Ken and Kristin are hosting this workshop after moving to Delta in July of ‘23 from Golden, Colorado, their home for the last 34 years. Kristin, who grew up above the Arctic Circle in Norway, has been an equestrian all her life and has always dreamed of having her own horse property. Now, she’s living that dream!
Ken has been an active outdoor athlete, professional skier, health and fitness coach, and recently discovered a love of farm life. Ken has had experience in many areas of construction and has wanted to build his own home for a long time, but circumstances never allowed it until now. A friend of over 45 years sold Ken and Kristin the parcel to allow them to build their “forever” home. On so many levels, dreams are being made reality on our new home place.
The Build
Our simple ranch-style home will feature a low-pitched shed roof facing south to the San Juan Mountains and their centerpiece, Mt. Sneffels. The 1,300 square foot floor plan will include 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and an open floor plan and kitchen, with an extension to include a mudroom and utility room. It will feature views to the North and South.
The straw bale wall system will be a modified post-and-beam infill designed around the locally available bale size. We are excited to be building an energy-efficient home with environmentally responsible materials to keep our home cool in the summer and cozy warm in the winter. AND to be 100% powered by the sun! This is our dream and maybe yours as well?!? We couldn’t be happier to be sharing this experience with you!
Your Stay
We have plenty of space to accommodate those wishing to camp in tents, RVs, or camper vans, and hope you’ll stay on-site to enjoy our land with us over the week. But there are RV campgrounds and other options in the area if you prefer, including AirBnBs and several hotel options in Delta, 3 miles away, and Montrose, 20 miles away. Both are easy, quick drives.
You’ll have a covered dining area for hearty meals plus snacks each day (let us know if you have special food requirements, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you!) We know how good a hot shower feels at the end of a work day, so we’ll have on-demand hot water heated showers ready to go for you as well.
Our land and building site are currently being kept on the dry side to avoid wetting the exposed clay soils during construction. But, for a cool swim, Sweitzer Lake State Park is only 5 miles from the ranch. And, in keeping with the farmland character of Delta, we are surrounded by hundreds of irrigated acres and treelines. We look forward to turning our own irrigation on after our construction. We have a track around the perimeter of our property where our horses live, and while they will not be on-site during the workshop, the fences that keep them safe will form the campsite edges.
Transportation
Montrose, 20 miles away, has the closest commercial airport (MTJ). Grand Junction Airport (GJT) is 50 miles northwest, and Denver International Airport (DIA) is just a little more than a 5-hour drive to the east.
We’ll help coordinate carpooling and rides as the workshop date nears.