An annual fall tradition in Montezuma County is heading to Aspen Wall Wood, south of Dolores on Highway 184, with a trailer or truck to stock up on scrap firewood.
Mountains of the planed, cut-off ends of aspen paneling dominate the landscape at the mill, owned by Dewayne and Mary Ann Findley since 1996.
"The scraps used to be offered for free, but people thought it was inferior or something so it went to $10 for a level truck load, and people have been coming ever since," Mr. Findley said.
People trek to mill for the affordable firewood from Durango, Telluride, Aztec, Farmington, and the Navajo Nation, he said. Some come early, others wait until the snow falls but still gather the wet wood. Stacking techniques vary as well.
"The Navajos are great stackers, very meticulous. They bring the family and will spend hours loading up. Others use the toss into a pile method. For a little extra, we will scoop up a load and drop it into your truck or trailer but you will get all different sizes and a lot of dust," Findley said.
Picking through the pile by hand gives people more control over choosing sizes specific to the stove size. Get ready to touch each piece several times beginning at the pile, then unloading and stacking at home, then chopping into kindling, then - finally - throwing it on the home fire.
As the droves begin to arrive in late summer and fall, people jockey for position at several huge piles of scrap aspen. Pick a spot and begin the chore, your eyes will adjust to your preferred size, and little by little, your aspen stash grows. But as residents scramble all over the mountain, location envy starts to take hold, and people shift positions thinking another area has better firewood. But be patient, Findley advises.
Aspen burns hot and fast, and actually helps to clean chimneys of creosote build-up from denser woods like oak, pinon, and pine. The wood is from recently logged aspen, but it dries out within a few weeks.
"Come on by, we never run out. It's taken on a life of its own. We enjoy providing a service for the community, and we have not raised our prices since 1980s," Findley said.
Check out some of the aspen art when paying at the trailer on your way out.
"People have brought us all sorts of stuff they've made out of it, from wooden vases, wooden deer and elk, so we put some of it up on the walls," Findley said.
Aspen Wall Wood is at 31405 Road S, right off Highway 184, a few miles south of Dolores. Phone: 882-7366
They are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday for firewood.
