craigslist is the way to go out here. tons of pallets, tons of free wood (especially in broomfield area). I burned for the first time last year, and managed to make it through the season with a bit of green wood and a lot of scrounged stuff. What i learned was that you won't get optimal efficiency, but you will be able to stay warm. I found that for the first half of last season, I was not able to turn the damper down on my stove much more than 1/2 way. When i cleaned my chimney this summer, I had quite a bit of creosote (like 2 handfuls). Collect as much as you can and get it stacked, split, etc. It stays nice and warm here for a while, so i found that my wood was still drying into january (when it was 65º) so it was ready for spring!