10.31.2011

Colorado Week 10: Golden Gate Canyon, Estes Park, and the Flatirons

Do you like scary movies?  Uh-huh!  So do we…Well, at least the classics.  These new-fangled slashers with no plot, sense, or sense of cheesiness are for the birds.  The good old boys—Jason, Michael Meyers, Freddy—knew how to kill a screaming weenie like nobody else.  That’s why we decided to spend a nice weekend in Estes Park, CO.  Now, what does that have to do with scary movies?  That, my friends, is my little secret for a while, like who killed all those screaming weenies.   First, I’ll tell you about the events leading up to our “thrilling” adventure. 

Our first goal of the weekend was to drive through the wild western town of Golden to see what all of the fuss was about.  We didn’t have much time because we had left straight from work that afternoon and had to find a campsite before the darkness set it.  So, we just whizzed straight through little Golden with its “Howdy” banner over main street and headed to Golden Gate Canyon State Park.  When we got there, the sun had already set and we had to put up our tent by the light of the car.  We didn’t see much of the park that night but we sure did hear the wind whipping through the canyon and feel it shaking our tent!  Bilbo actually got out of the tent to make sure a storm wasn’t coming, but all was clear. 

The night was cold and we woke, after little sleep, to a crisp cool morning.  We packed up quickly and skipped a campfire breakfast because, frankly, we didn’t care to be anywhere but the well heated car.  The park had some lovely surprises up its sleeves for our drive out with mountains growing in the distance.  It was a lovely way to begin our day.

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We drove on through Estes Park to Rocky Mountain National Park for a day of hiking fun.  I know we’ve had a few posts about Rocky Mountain, but we just couldn’t stay away.  It is so beautiful!  As we drove in we saw Long’s Peak, the monarch of the Rockies, and a close up of the Diamond, one of the premier rock climbing walls in the world.

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The hiking began with a leisurely stroll around Bear Lake.  We later found this to be one of the most popular areas in the park.  As we left, we passed an infinite row of cars vying for a spot in the Bear Lake Area.  

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From Bear Lake, we took a trail to Alberta Falls, where a nice Australian couple took our picture for us.  It was a bit busy, but still tranquil and gorgeous. 

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The next trail that we were planning to explore lies on the opposite side of the park, so we took in another breathtaking drive along Trail Ridge Road.  This time, we were much better prepared to take in the views with our sweaters, coats, and hats!

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On the other side we came to the Crater trailhead.  The draw of this trail is a big horn sheep breeding area that boasts a nice view of the illusive creatures.  So far, I’ve felt that our trip to Colorado has been complete but for one little thing…a big horn sheep encounter.  These guys are pretty shy, or so the learned authors of outdoor guides tell me, so I’ve know all along that my chances are slim; but I really want to see one! 

The hike brought us our first 2011 traipse through the snow!  Unfortunately, the snow made the trail hard to follow and we had to rely on the footprints of others.  Bilbo enjoyed an entire bag of Goldfish crackers as we used our tracking skills to stay on course.  Too bad we don’t actually have tracking skills and our sorry excuse of them (aka following the footprints) brought us to an open field where the snow had melted and no trail was in sight.  In sorrowful shame, we turned around and followed those blasted footprints back to the trailhead.

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These droppings are as close as the Crater trail was able to bring us to big horned sheep.  I feel that my grandfather taught me an appropriate proverb to share here: “Wish in one hand, poop in the other, and see which one fills up faster.”  The aforementioned pile was small, so I’ll keep on hoping for those sheep!

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In response to our defeat, we decided to drive back to the Bear Lake area for some more hikes.  As expected, we came upon many more picture-worthy views, which almost made up for the lack of big horned sheep.  Almost. 

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The mad rush was over by that time, so we were able to get right into the parking lot.  There is a loop that leads you by a number of lakes, and we decided to take that loop as far as we could in 90 minutes.  

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Then, we began the drive back out to Estes Park, with a view of some elk along the way.

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That night, we treated ourselves to the luxury of the historical Stanley Hotel.  Nestled in the mountains of Estes Park, it was originally built as a guest house for the friends of Mr. and Mrs. F.O. Stanley.  Mr. Stanley was a New England native sent to live in the wide open spaces of Colorado after a diagnosis of tuberculosis.  He and his twin brother have their names stamped throughout history as the inventors of a quicker photo developing technique (which they sold to the Kodak company) and the producers of the Stanley Steam Car.  As I said, the hotel was not a business for F.O. Stanley, but a guest house for his New England friends who would stay all summer in Estes Park.

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Here’s a peek at the back patio.

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Here’s the view from the front deck and the scarecrows decorating the front entrance.

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Here we are enjoying the view.

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Here are some pictures of the lobby and main floor.

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This room was used as the ladies’ morning room and held Mrs. Stanley’s grand piano, which her friend John Phillip Sousa tuned for her.  You can see it way in the back there.

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Here’s the bar and restaurant.

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There I am “operating” the awesome antique elevator.

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Here is the Manor House, where our room was.  It was constructed after the Stanleys’ first summer of guests.  They found that it was no congruent with the way of propriety to have a whole floor full of single young nannies taking care of their guests’ children whilst a flock of strapping single young men roamed the halls of the same guest house after dark.  Thus, the Manor house was built and the young men were banned to it after their after-dinner drinks.   

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Are you still wondering what all of this has to do with scary movies?  I’m getting to it!  Here is a picture of the Stanley covered in snow.  Does that make you think of any particular horror movie?  The movie involves a little boy, a crazy dad, and the phrase redrum.  Ring any bells? 

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As the story goes, Stephen King was traveling through Colorado during a particularly tough period of writer’s block.  He and his wife stopped at the Stanley Hotel, which had just closed for the season.  You see, the Stanley used to only operate from Spring to Autumn.  When Mr. King walked up to the front door, the staff informed him that he was too late to stay but they would be happy to have him in April.  They, however, were the ones who were too late.  Mr. King had seen inside the lobby, which was in a state of disrepair at the time, and had experienced a flash of genius. 

Have you figured it out yet?  The Stanley Hotel is where Stephen King found his inspiration for “The Shining”.  The original screen version of the story, starring Jack Nicholson, was not filmed here.  When Mr. King signed over the rights to Stanley Kubrick, the contract stated that the film must be shot at the Stanley Hotel; however, Mr. Kubrick felt that the atmosphere and setting weren’t quite right and filmed “The Shining” in Oregon.  Now, this wasn’t the only thing that rubbed Stephen King the wrong way and he eventually made a mini-series for ABC, which was filmed at the Stanley.  Below is the scale doll house used for the mini-series.

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The restaurant and bar were very nice and we enjoyed a cozy late-night dinner there.  They have a beer sold exclusively at the hotel called Redrum Ale.  I didn’t have any, but Bilbo gave it a go and he didn’t die.  We found it funny when we turned on the TV the next morning and AMC was playing “The Shining”.  

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The highlight of our stay at the Stanley was a ghost and history tour.  After all, the hotel has a bit of ghost lore about it apart from Stephen King’s stories. Do you remember the room number that Danny isn’t supposed to go in?  It’s 217 and that is a bit taken directly out of the Stanley’s lore.  In the hotel’s hay day, 217 had been the presidential suite and it was looked over by the head housekeeper.  This lady was meticulous about the care of her special guests and oversaw it herself.  This lady worked at the Stanley until she died. 

Due to renovations, change of owners, and what-not 217 is no longer the presidential suite, but our faithful housekeeper doesn’t know that.  This room has the most consistent history of freaky happenings and freaked out guests.  People will send their bags up to meet them and find everything unpacked and neatly folded in the chest.  When they thank the staff, nobody knows what they are talking about. One couple checked out in the middle of the night after feeling a body crawl between them in bed.  Jim Carey stayed two hours in this room, checked out, and to this day has not told anyone what happened.  We didn’t get to go inside because a guest was staying there, but I did get a picture outside!

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Our tour guide pointed out an attic door in the corridor where a clever guest had snuck a bit of graffiti…

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The fourth floor of the Stanley used to be the children’s and nannies’ quarters.  Legend says that children can be heard running and laughing up and down the long halls, but when guests check the hallway nobody is there.  Numbers of guests have reported leaving candy in their rooms that has been eaten while they were gone.  The wrappers remain.  Due to this, you can find candy laying all around the fourth floor left by guests in hopes that the little ghost children will take a nibble.

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In the middle of the fourth floor is a room that was once the nannies’ break room.  It is said that if a young woman goes into the closet, she will feel the persuasive touch of a man.  One woman even came out missing her wedding band.  The legend is that this man below, Danraven, is trying to recruit them for his brothel.

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On our way back from Estes Park, we stopped in Boulder to climb the 3rd and 4th Flatirons.  The trail begins steep, arches across, and then goes up even steeper until you reach a natural rock arch.

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When you walk through the arch, you are greeted by a view of Boulder, the mountains, and the distant Denver skyline.  

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You can even see the other Flatirons.

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This weekend trip was one of our favorites during our time in Colorado!  I’m looking forward to telling you about our last two weekends next time, but for now…

jack
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!