Monica LaSalle, Peak to Peak. Pulling down South Beaver Creek lately, anyone can see Joe Cleveland and his creativity have been flowing like spring runoff season. The sight of the silo alone has traffic slowing down for a longer look at the clever design and planning that Joe has put into the home he and his wife, Stephanie had purchased and moved into so long ago. He says it works better than the Slow Children at Play sign he requested from Gilpin County when his twin boys were born. He invites me to join him on a tour of his property, which has me tripping over obstacles in the trail for want of staring in wonder at the resort-like atmosphere his vision has unfolded for his home and family. As I gaze at the outdoor hot tub, sauna and shower, I ask him if he grew up here in Colorado and he says he grew up moving around the country once his parents divorced, with one foot in California with his dad and the other in Oregon at first, then Idaho, Arizona, and eventually Georgia with his mom. It was there that he met his beloved Stephanie, and later ran into her while she was in Boulder. They got together and, after a brief stay in Longmont and a year in the town of Eldora living in the Hitching Post, they moved to their current home in Gilpin County. 

I tell him, “Everybody has been wondering what’s up with the bunker and silo” and he laughs. When they moved into the home, it was a little tiny cabin with bad septic and in general disrepair. Joe had been spending time cooking at Annie’s Café in Nederland as well as for the Nederland Area Seniors Program, so he had met all the local contractors around town and began picking their brains for information on how to begin making repairs. Joe is the kind of guy who never let not knowing how to do something stand in the way of getting something done. He eventually learned enough to get started, ripping out the bathroom first and then starting to fire the tiles himself, a lengthy process that in hindsight he wishes he had completed prior to ripping out the bathroom. Despite having years of experience working with painting, sculpting and ceramics and building his own kiln for the project, they were without a bathroom for 2 years and would help each other shower with a watering can outside… yes, even in winter. They installed the sauna quickly during that time for the prime reason of warming up after such showers. 

While we were talking, I gazed off into the trees and did a double take; “is that a tree house?” I ask and he nods assent and offers to take me up. When Joe was a kid, he always wanted a tree house but all the adults in his life were pretty busy working so he resolved to build one at the soonest opportunity. Other than working on the main house, the tree house was his first project made from all salvage materials such as sliding glass doors and steel he welded for the ladder and frame. The kid in me cannot help but start jumping up and down in sheer delight for his childhood dream to be realized and passed down to his own boys in such a unique way. I mean, it even has a rooftop deck, and when friends stay the night they can use it as the guest bedroom. “I don’t know how you don’t sleep here every night!” I exclaim as we head back down to resume the interview. 

“So why the storage container buried into the hillside?” I asked once we got back to its rooftop patio deck. Joe explains that he originally bought the storage container to store belongings while he removed the portion of the original cabin that he is currently replacing with a new addition. Legalities being what they are, the long and short of it is he had to build a cement vault in order to keep it and bury it the way he has. The silo was inspired by the addition having been changed by design. Where ever else could one put a stairway to the second floor that would not crowd the current room designs? 

Joe and his family spent time traveling in Spain, Barcelona to be specific, where he encountered the work of architect Antonio Gaudi. In Barcelona, Gaudi designed a lot of architecture where he made amazing structures inspired by nature, and Joe wanted to incorporate that into his own design so he changed it. He wanted two stories for his addition, but wasn’t sure where to put the stairs so he built the silo as a separate room for stairs and dirty shoes entrance. He really wanted a dome because he picked up stargazing from his step dad who was president of the astronomy club at UCLA and would take him to the desert to stargaze. “Some of the best stargazing is in the winter when it’s too cold to set up a telescope, and I wanted a warm environment in which to gaze.” He liked the shape of a design he found of a greenhouse in Bristol, England, designed by Ann Romme out of Denmark. A professor of architecture and design in Stockholm, he contacted her and she agreed to design one for him. Spent a month on it for virtually free. After she sent the file he took them to Omnicut Water Jet in Denver who cut the frame for him as well as pieces for eyeglass on front door. Now they are cutting the polycarbonate Lexon plastic for the windows.

“I feel fortunate I have the opportunity to do stuff like this, not just the skills but the support to make it happen as well,” Joe tells me. Although he likes to travel, every time he returns he knows he is home. Hating the humidity from his childhood, he feels he can finally dry out here. He gave himself 3 years to do it so he and Steph could travel and spend time with the boys. He feels that life is more about making experiences, and he wants to have experiences and memories other than just building the house. At the rate he is going, I’d say Joe is well on his way. 

(Originally published in the July 18, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)