Also strongly suggest making a stop in the Telluride area if you've never been.In terms of property, you'll find an endless supply of small farm towns in that whole corner of the state you could use as a base - for the actual investing, there's not that many larger markets - Grand Junction, Durango, the I-70 corridor.

For my first flip I want to start out small and find something that just needs cosmetic work.

Use a chunk of the HELOC for a small single family, rehab it and refinance it to get my money back to pay off the HELOC.Use the cash out refinance as a down payment on something smaller for more BRRR actionIs there a path I'm not seeing?

I have seen a video on a small wind turbine that fits on your deck.

So you're going to get left with small (or no) returns. keep doing more research!

Are there any cool small ski towns that have good outlook for growth?  

Yes, I'm looking for any misc. companies that provide public records on seller carry backs, "private" notes, whatever you want to call them as long as they're owned by an individual or small/mid company.

It cranks out small panes of glass.  

Small population makes comps with patios impossible.

Right now I'm still " house hacking and living i the small unit and renting the larger to suppliment my income and allow me to pay down pricipal fast and save more for future investments.