Caretaker Column - June, 2018

Life is good in the mountains and MUCH work is getting done! A couple of weeks ago Gary Matthews, Ron Carey and I were able to move the dock back to its rightful home. We hooked it up to a pair of boats and away we went! The next time you are up please take a moment to enjoy our handiwork and catch yourself a fish. I have also been operating the motor grader to tune up the roads and I have been working on a lot thinning project here at the caretaker’s cabin to ensure we are fire WISE and fire SAFE!

Unfortunately, we have been having quite a few trespassers of late. Some of the trespassers refuse to speak to anybody when approached and turn their car around and FLY out of Hidden Lake at top speed. I decided that that was enough and started construction on a closed-circuit television or security camera system. I believe that the sight of the signs that accompany the cameras and the visible cameras themselves will deter many of the trespassers in the future. In fact, less than an hour after I had the cameras mounted at the end of the driveway my wife witnessed a vehicle drive past the cameras then turn around and leave. The deterrent effect of the cameras is obvious but if a crime is committed in our community despite the presence of the cameras then we will have some great video and photographic evidence to proceed with rectifying the situation.

The weather is beginning to go our way lately, too. As most of you probably know, we had an incredibly dry winter and an incredibly dry spring which has put us in imminent danger of wild fires. However, we got a nice rain storm yesterday and may have another today. Word ‘round the campfire is that the coming monsoon season is to bring more precipitation than usual so perhaps we will be out from under this burn ban and in a more relaxed state of mind soon.

I hope that each and every one of you gets a chance to come out and enjoy our beautiful community soon.

Casey S. Matthews

Caretaker -- Hidden Lake