Pretty Prana.
2 Likes
Recent photos of Fontana Lake from the AT shelter at Fontana Dam while camping along the trail. Lots of through hikers along this section at this time of year.
5 Likes
Not bad for an old man. Did you paddle?
Technically not “pretty”, but in the eye of the beholder this is beautiful to me after 20 years of not having a garage or even a driveway and struggling to house and juggle the growing fleet. And this is probably the only group of folks I know who might empathize with my delight.
New (to me) house has this huge detached garage (the builder was a contractor) and an enormous driveway and parking area. Don’t even need to leave space for the car since there’s a separate oversized integral garage under the house with basement entry.
And now the toy-hauling box truck camper that the boats often ride inside has its own parking spot right beside the boathouse and the boat trailer can be stored and even loaded under roof. The big garage also has a 20’ long vintage workbench along one side, perfect for repair work some of the salvaged craft need including a new skin on my favorite SOF.
Need to update the lighting in the garage and build some racks for paddles and assorted gear (and control myself from collecting any more boats now that I have such tempting space to fill). But for now this is my “pretty picture”.
New house is pretty nice too, but that garage was the clincher and will greatly simplify my mobilizing to get out on the water (where I can collect some more conventionally pretty pictures to post).
15 Likes
Be still, My heart
We need a video 
Be wary Willowleaf…I built on a four bay garage for two bays of stuff. …It was full after the first year.
2 Likes
From 2021:
6 Likes
Where’d you go?
1 Like
That one is at Lake Nighthorse in CO.
1 Like
That is a beautiful garage! I bought a rental hiuse fir detached 3 bay garage fir boats, but yours us so much nicer. Congratulations.
I had also bought a rental property a few blocks from my last house 5 years ago because it had a large level yard (a rarity in my steep hilly town) and I spent $30K putting in a driveway, concrete foundation and steel 2 1/2 car garage so I could store my fleet and camper nearby while the income from renters in the house was supposed to pay the mortgage for me. But covid struck the month after the garage was completed and the tenants ceased paying rent (though they had money) since they knew that government mandates prevented me from evicting them. Was quite a struggle for over 2 years to remove the tenants which cost me $15,000 in legal fees, $8000 in lost rent (I did recover about $20,000 in rent from the county covid allocations eventually but had to tap my retirement savings to keep the bills paid while I awaited compensation) and was left with over $5000 in damages it cost me to clean up and repair the mess the tenants left.
I decided I did not want to be a landlord any more after that fiasco and just sold that property. Buyer is a young guy who is obviously thrilled with the garage, which has a vapor barrier in the structural concrete floor and to which I just added a 240 volt 40 amp electrical service so he can add a welding outlet or quick charge station for an electric vehicle. The proceeds from that sale and from the sale of the house I had been living in will pay for this “new” one.
Every day I am happier with this great garage space and the big walk out basement where I am now able to better store and access all my paddling gear. There is a 10’ long solid cedar closet with sliding doors in the basement where I can hang all my dry wear and PFD’s and stand up my paddles.
This place is a boat owners paradise! Looking forward to being able to more readily hit the water without having to exhaust myself getting boats and kit sorted, prepped and loaded, which sometimes left me so tired and frustrated that I didn’t even want to go out.
5 Likes
An enviable fleet!
Those are only the hardshell boats… There are 6 folding kayaks as well, currently packed in their travel bags in the basement. I do have plans to sell off several this year, though.
A lot of the fleet are “rescues” that I came by very cheaply, even free, and that I have restored or am in the process of fixing up. Both of the composite sea kayaks (the teal and white and the royal blue and gold over white) were barn finds from Craigslist ads that I only paid $300 each for.
I’ve passed along more than a dozen boats over the past 20 years either by reselling or as gifts to friend and family. I never intended to accumulate such a hoard but the problem now is narrowing the collection down to just the favorites — problem with that is each has unique characteristics that I like!
1 Like
I do apologize for clogging up this “pretty pictures only” thread with my geeking out over the new garage. I expect to be able to get out on the water more easily and frequently this year and promise to atone by sharing some fresh paddling images as the seasons progress.
5 Likes