Cerro Gordo for sale!!!!

I vote we all pitch in and purchase this place.

Mike,

I have sold my silver and gold for the down payment and Fred is putting up three of his homes as collateral. I did not think you would be serious about it. Carl was in but blew the money his Uncle left him on a depreciating truck he will never take off roading, really was disappointed, but you know how public sector retirees are! Cody was thinking of being the maintenance man, he likes the cold weather in Ohio so the winters up there will suit him fine. All we need is four more $100k investors and we can start negotiations on the purchase You in? I have started drawing the site plan from GOOGLE earth and the County Assessor's records for the partnership or LLC we will be forming.

Let me know if you are really serious about this.

Murrie, the inn Keeper

Mike,

Great thinking and research into the potential of the property. I know Fred really appreciates the hard research. The septic tank system could have it's leach field that a garden could be planted over. Remember the 1890 house we lived in Vista and how green the vegetation was over it. That's really organic living. The idea on 4 wheeling into the mines is also great. If there are vertical shafts we could rig up any winches on the front of our rigs to lower people lower into the mines and have dinner parties by candlelight, maybe even murder mystery dinners. Of course, we would need to get fresh air down to the habitable mine areas but there should be ventilation shafts we could rig up some supply air fans run by solar power during the day and batteries at night. Do not forget that this would be a great Christain camp or retreat also.

This also brings up the possibility of providing a place for survivalists to flee, we could sell 1,000 square foot parcels of a mine shaft, maybe 10' wide x 100' long. If you can see if the Bureau of Mines has any maps of the mine or mines that will be a big help during our due diligence if we can muster enough partners and funding. The return on investment is can we generate enough revenue to pay taxes, around $1,000 a month to start, and then some. An investment like this backed by hard real estate we should be shooting for 2% a year.

I think I would prefer strongback tents or sea huts like we used in the Seabees and leave the original buildings as tourist attractions and if we can create a Christian retreat they will be easier to clean.

We could invest in one of those European 4 wheel open-air vehicles I see around Big Bear that take tourists off-roading. Pick the paying customers at the gas station on 395 at Olancha. We even may be able to stage some type of "Trail show" that recreates the shipping of the silver and gold to Los Angeles with gunfights and all that historical stuff people pay for at Calico and Tucson ghost towns. I great place possibly for Jenelle to sell her famous beef jerky tenders.

Let's continue to investigate. I know Carl thinks we are joking but do not be surprised if he goes all in. HIs son Alex may be looking for a job soon and he already has his bugout bag packed.

Here's wishing

If this happens, I can ask my son to be a caretaker of the property; maybe we can get Matt and Cody on board? Matt can work on the elevators and Cody could be a caretaker too.

Neil, I was thinking Carl more as the town constable vs. the B&B manager. We can give him one bullet like Barney Fife. With Murrie's penchant for the "big breakfast" when we're out on the road and his history in the restaurant business when he and I were growing up, he would best suited for the bed and breakfast I think. If you want to run a saloon, we'll need to figure out that works with a Quaker and Baptist clientele.

One idea I have is that since it snows pretty good up there, we could have Carl's son and Cody plow snow into one of the shorter mine tunnels as a water source during the summer. If Cody's Exploder can't handle a front plow attachment, they can use wheel barrows and shovels.

Let's not forget snow skiing come to think of it! If we could groom a good run down one of the mines we might capture some of that winter traffic from LA heading to Mammoth Mountain. We can call it the Kamakazi Mine Run and may do it blackout like blackout bowling.

Also, I read there used to be a cable tram down the mountain to Keeler that ore was transported down. I bet the old concrete foundations down the mountain for the tressels are still there and possibly can be rebuilt. Let's think about a copy-cat Palm Springs-Mt. San Jacinto tram operation from Owen's Lake to Cerro Gordo. With Fred's penchant for tour guide talk on our off road trips, he would be a natural tram car host. And come to think of it too, he'd be in control of a very long winch motor/mechanism, a 4x4 junkie's dream.

Hey guys, we could make all these ideas happen, what say you?

It's not a real old west town without a saloon! If that's a concern, we could serve the hard stuff! Sarsaparilla!