It all started with a phone call made by Luke when we were in Boulder. He had spent most of his internet time looking for places for us to go and visit. An hour or two later Brook called back and said that it would be fine if we came up. Sustainable Settings is a sustainable Ranch that follows much the same model as I would like my land to eventually follow. It provides produce, raw milk and eggs and is an educational hub for different homesteading and sustainable practices. Because they are so close to the high net profit folks of Aspen, they sell cow shares and get lots of money from the wealthy folks to expand their operation.
 So after finally leaving Boulder, we made the long trek up Vail Pass and down into Carbondale just past Glenwood Springs. We arrived to animals running about, gorgeous sun and Rose and her son Sheperd lying on the trampoline reading books. We met Brook just a short time later who gave us a tour around. We got there late enough that day that all we did was take in the little calf named Boss, (which not having much experience herding animals was pretty funny when left just to Luke and I. We were fed a fantastic meal by Rose along with a lot of delicious raw milk and caem to learn that this was the norm around here.
Small wonder we stayed two days longer then we were supposed to. The next day we met Zopher, one of the three  interns working at sustainable settings, and then we met Ty and Mark the following days. We fed all the animals (2 draught horses, two pigs, about a hundred chickens with some turkeys, about 100 broilers, and a turkey with some little turklings (my name for baby turkeys)). We learned how to splice broken fences using strainers and fence tools, we helped put up the dairy, we helped organize the library (which was quite impressive though did leave me in doubt about the state of the world and the hope therein). We also had an amazing meal making gyoza (momo's dumplings whatever) which was an absolute feast and so communal and wonderful. We hit out first batch of snow as well but Rose was so gracious as to let us sleep in the house as opposed to having to gruel it out another night in the tent in the middle of the 125 year old apple grove.
I learned a lot and I know that Luke did too. One thing that I certainly learned was how wonderful it was to meet and get to know people who trusted you and took the time to get to know you despite always having to have guests and entertain. By the time that we left I felt well fed and like I had been there forever, because in many ways it felt as if they had let us stay there forever. We worked hard, but we talked hard and ate hard too. My kinda place. I do hope that someday I can have something like it, and Rose and Brook certainly gave me some ideas about how to go about it.
Thanks y'all. Much obliged.