One More Look at the Lincoln Lot

Sat, Dec 9, 2017

We are strongly favoring the Lincoln Lot. It has really great views, and it’s the only lot that feels isolated from the neighbors. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the road conditions and having something better maintained, at least for winter conditions, is a huge plus. Morgan Creek also has its own private beach access, and as the lake becomes more crowded, this could be advantageous.

Our primary hesitation is how much of the excavation is really done. We believe we’re paying a premium for that work, and so getting a better understanding of what is done will help calm those concerns. Additionally, I wanted to walk the whole lot and see how flat the rest of it was. The build site is surrounded by steep hills on three sides (there is a ravine on one side), and we had been told it flattened out on the other side of the ravine. With kids, we wanted some room for them to run around that wasn’t on a steep hill.

I headed up today to try and get a better idea of what was there.

I bought some chains, and am glad I did so. The roads headed up to the lot are steep, and completely covered in snow. They are plowed, but they keep a 3” snowpack on the road so that the snow plow does not accidentally damage the road. This was also a test to see how comfortable I will be with driving this road just about every weekend.

Morgan Creek is pretty remote. About 6 miles prior to arriving at the entrance (and the steep hills), is a hotel/restaurant/gas station called The Last Resort, and it really is the last thing on this road. The road turns into a gravel forestry road about 10 miles beyond The Last Resort (just a few more miles past us), and goes on in a bunch of different directions from there, but there isn’t much civilization. The municipal snow plows tend to stop at The Last Resort. The road becomes much more icy thereafter. If you’re at The Last Resort, you’ve already been without cell service for a good few miles too.

So I had my snow chains, my snowshoes, and any other preps I thought I would need for this day trip and headed up. The road from The Last Resort to Morgan Creek was snow covered, but not too icy, and it’s very flat. I didn’t chain up until the entrance of Morgan Creek. The chains went on easy (I had practiced a few times in the driveway), and I didnt have any issues getting to the top of the hill. That was good, but I figured going up wouldn’t be the issue.

The view today wasn’t as good; a lot of cloud cover. I am not sure how high up from the lake we are, but it feels like we are brushing the underbelly of the clouds. The snow is much deeper up here than it was at the base. I like that.

The second half of the lot is a lot flatter than the first half. If we thinned out a few of the trees and cleaned up some debris, we could easily put a treehouse and swing set.

I spotted a few well-worn game trails too. We’re not alone in these parts.

I took some mental notes on the grade around the build site. It was not as steep as I remembered, but as I would later find out, it is steep enough to cause problems.

No issues with the drive down. Kept the car in first gear and just took it slow. The chains did their job.

I think we will get this lot. I am convinced it is the right one. The concerns I had are mostly alleviated, or the most they can be at this time.

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