Emmy’s guidebook for the Laybourne Family Retreat

At the house, there are condiments and cooking staples that you're free to use. In general it’s best to buy groceries on your way to the house, since the closest stores are a good distance away. There are grocery stores in Montrose, Ridgeway and Telluride. As we usually fly into Montrose, we do our shopping there. At the City Market grocery store, they will pack your frozen goods with dry ice if you request it, for free.

Our house is at an altitude of 9,000 feet. This means everyone needs to drink a lot of water the first few days - double or triple the amount you're used to, for the first few days at least. We give our kids Gatorade and popsicles - anything to get them to hydrate. Other symptoms your body may experience due to the altitude include shortness of breath when exercising, insomnia, dry nasal passages, and our personal favorite, increased flatulence. Advil helps with altitude sickness if your symptoms persist.

For our renters: The road up to our house is a dirt road, used for logging. This means it's bumpy in the summer, and icy in the winter. In the summer, cars of all sizes and makes can get up to the house. In the winter, you must have a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle. It will need either studded tires (very best), snow tires (great), all-season tires (okay), or chains for other tires (okay in a pinch). No matter what season, use extreme caution going down the road and keep your speed very low. **In the summer, max of 25 MPH. In the winter, even lower.** It is easy to slide or bounce off the road.

Our kitchen is a lot of fun to cook in! You will find extra dishes in the pantry. And lots of appliances (blender, Cuisinart, stand mixer, etc) under the counter by the sink. You're welcome to use any foods or cooking oils that you find. Please replace them if you use them up. The tall wood table can be lowered or raised, to accommodate a crowd. One person should get under it and support it while another person removes the pegs. Sometimes we put the two tables in a big line, sometimes we put them in a square. Outside on the patio there's a gas grill and a barbecue. You're welcome to use them

We have a well and the water that we pump to the house is very soft. You will find that when you shower and do dishes, it feels slick and slippery. Please be sparing when you shower. The well is deep enough, but it is possible to drain it if, say, 14 people took a shower every day for a week. For coffee, tea, Gatorade, and pasta water, please use the filtered water spigot on the main sink in the kitchen. This water is safe for drinking but has a subtle mineral taste. For drinking, we use the bottled water. There are extra bottles in the berths. We get them from Montrose Water Factory.

There is a trash compactor in the kitchen and it’s the best place for your kitchen trash. The compactor is grouchy, but responds to jostling and turning the switch repeatedly. Everything can go in the compactor except for glass, which must go in the black trash bin near the water dispenser. Make sure to only use compactor bags (which are under the sink) in the compactor or the bag will rip. When the trash is ready to go out, take it to the dumpster and put it inside. The dumpster is located on the road. Use the caribener clip to close it. If you leave trash outside, you risk attracting bears.