Still riding the high of knowing I was good for slow hiking gently uphill at 12,000 feet and having only gotten rain below 10,000 feet, we decided to go by the Stanley Hotel. We didn't know at the time, but this is the 50th anniversary of when Stephen King stayed there for the inspiration of writing The Shining. You have to pay to get into the grounds, but they give you a token that you can either keep as a souvenir or trade in for $5 off something in the gift shop. We kept ours. I just got some exterior shots. First, I got a couple of shots of the Lodge.
Then I walked around the hedge maze and met this cute little bunny. He wasn't at all concerned about me.
Finally, I made my way to the front of the main hotel and got a shot.
On the way out, we saw this bronze statue of a cameraman that we thought was in honor of King and The Shining, but it turns out that it marks an upcoming film area on the hotel grounds.
It was raining, and I was looking forward to meeting up with a friend in Denver, so we scooted on out of Estes Park on our way to Colorado Springs with a long stop in Denver.
Following a night in Colorado Springs, we headed out to the Garden of the Gods, where we had a trolley tour reserved. The visitor center is pretty nice. We didn't do the film, but we looked at the gift shop and the signs and views from the second story, wrap-around-ish balcony.
Our trolley driver was late, but it was a pretty good tour. I loved the rules posted in the front of the trolley. You have to blow them up to read them.
That building at the top left thatyou can barely see is the Pike's Peak visitor center.
I missed part of what she was saying and pointing out because I was too busy watching and shooting the bighorn sheep!
This is the pregnant woman formation
I don't remember what these were, but they were pretty.
This is the trading post. The initial postwas just the center part, but it has been added on.
These are the little paintings on either side. Our driver said the date they were repainted/touched up was at their feet, but I can't find it.
On the left side is a crying woman. She said when it rains, the water runs down that track from her eye.
I don't remember this, but I like it.
She drove way to fast for me to get some shots. I wanted to get the mule deer, the formation that looks like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, and several others, but she just zoomed right on by. That's okay. We'll be back and won't be taking the trolley the next time, just self driving and doing some hiking. Definitely a beautiful park, and the trolley ride is very informative, but do plan to do the self-drive after the trolley. The visitor center has a QR code on a sign that will give you the highlights so you don't have to memorize what your trolley driver said. I'm reallly looking forward to going back ad self driving and hiking when I'm more ready for altitude and snow leopards, but for now, we have more things to see, so it is time to head on down the road!
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