Alluvial Fan Trail, Chasm Falls, and Stanley Hotel
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First stop of the day, we returned to Sheep Lakes, hoping for a bighorn sheep sighting. They had not come down from the mountain yet. We learned that they’re most likely to descend on sunny days when they can better see predators. Volunteers are stationed there during prime hours and will stop traffic on Fall River Road if the sheep appear.
Sheep Lakes
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We moved on and explored more of the area. First stop was the Alluvial Fan Trail, a short and easy walk to Horseshoe Falls with a great payoff. We continued to the Endovalley picnic area, where we saw six wild turkeys wandering around and a bull elk trying to nap. Another male elk was out grazing, and we managed a roadside selfie.
From there we walked a little over a mile up Old Fall River Road to visit Chasm Falls. The one way road is closed to traffic until July. Nice views and a beautiful waterfall made it well worth the effort. On the way we passed a few mountain streams and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
After lunch and a nap back at camp, we headed into Estes Park for a ghost tour at the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley hotel was built by F.O. Stanley, co-creator of the Stanley Steamer with his twin brother. Before building steam-powered cars, the brothers helped revolutionize photography with their invention of the dry photographic plate. Their photography company was eventually sold to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. F.O.’s wife, Flora Stanley, was known to hold séances in the Music Room in the hotel. Maybe she’s the one who invited the spookiness in.
The hotel is best known as the inspiration for Stephen King’s book The Shining. He and his wife stayed in Room 217 in the 1970s. One night he had a vivid nightmare of his young son being chased through the hotel's long, empty halls. The movie The Shining was not filmed here, but Dumb and Dumber was. We were given a complimentary coin commemorating the 30th anniversary of Dumb and Dumber.
The tour included some history and a handful of stories. We visited the old office of a deceased groundskeeper, Paul. Paul passed away from a heart attack on the stairs just outside the office window. Guests leave items in the window as a memorial. The guide shared a photo of a shadowy figure in the room. Was it Paul, one of Flora's conjured ghosts, or a huge camera smudge?
Outside, we spotted a bunny just feet from the sidewalk—completely still, totally unfazed by us all passing right by. The guide looked over and said, deadpan, "That’s our ghost bunny." Honestly, at that point, I wasn’t ruling anything out.
Naturally, I took photos throughout the tour. In the billiards room, I snapped one of the mirror. Later, when I looked through them, I noticed something — a dark silhouette stood near me. It was probably just Danny, or maybe it was something else...
The tour ended in the basement amongst the bedrock. The final photo the guide shared showed a goblin-like creature above a group of tourists, something straight out of Lord of the Rings. Whether it was Gollum's ghost or just a bit of Photoshop magic is still up for debate.
From there we walked a little over a mile up Old Fall River Road to visit Chasm Falls. The one way road is closed to traffic until July. Nice views and a beautiful waterfall made it well worth the effort. On the way we passed a few mountain streams and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
After lunch and a nap back at camp, we headed into Estes Park for a ghost tour at the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley hotel was built by F.O. Stanley, co-creator of the Stanley Steamer with his twin brother. Before building steam-powered cars, the brothers helped revolutionize photography with their invention of the dry photographic plate. Their photography company was eventually sold to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. F.O.’s wife, Flora Stanley, was known to hold séances in the Music Room in the hotel. Maybe she’s the one who invited the spookiness in.
The hotel is best known as the inspiration for Stephen King’s book The Shining. He and his wife stayed in Room 217 in the 1970s. One night he had a vivid nightmare of his young son being chased through the hotel's long, empty halls. The movie The Shining was not filmed here, but Dumb and Dumber was. We were given a complimentary coin commemorating the 30th anniversary of Dumb and Dumber.
The tour included some history and a handful of stories. We visited the old office of a deceased groundskeeper, Paul. Paul passed away from a heart attack on the stairs just outside the office window. Guests leave items in the window as a memorial. The guide shared a photo of a shadowy figure in the room. Was it Paul, one of Flora's conjured ghosts, or a huge camera smudge?
Outside, we spotted a bunny just feet from the sidewalk—completely still, totally unfazed by us all passing right by. The guide looked over and said, deadpan, "That’s our ghost bunny." Honestly, at that point, I wasn’t ruling anything out.
Naturally, I took photos throughout the tour. In the billiards room, I snapped one of the mirror. Later, when I looked through them, I noticed something — a dark silhouette stood near me. It was probably just Danny, or maybe it was something else...
The tour ended in the basement amongst the bedrock. The final photo the guide shared showed a goblin-like creature above a group of tourists, something straight out of Lord of the Rings. Whether it was Gollum's ghost or just a bit of Photoshop magic is still up for debate.