Another late night for the Nelsons and Walkers. Last night we joined a night tour of the Stanley Hotel. The hotel was built in the early 1900s by the person who invented the Stanley Steamer. He and his twin brother developed early meat holds for taking photographs and speedier ways of developing photos. Their company was eventually bought out and became Kodak. They then built the Stanley Hotel so they could house all their guests from back east. A 40 room guest house. It real fame came in the 70s when Steven King stayed at the hotel and came up with the idea to write the Shinning. None of the movie was filmed there. A really elegant place. Today we did a 5 mile hike to Cub Lake. Lots of small ponds, meadows and hills. The ... read more

Hi All, Yesterday we left Stub Creek and drove to Estes Park. We are staying in a Large 3 bedroom house just across from Estes Lake. We are here with Chris and Bill Walker. Today we drove up Old Falls River Road Through Rocky Mountain National Park. It is mainly gravel, narrow, and one way. The road starts at around 8,000 ft and finishes at just under 12,000 ft. The views are nothing short of spectacular. An added bonus was the herd of elk we spotted coming down Ridge Road. We estimated about 75. We did walk to the small summit which was at 12,005 ft and the wind blowing about 60 mph And the temperature around 50. Back down in Estes Park it was in the 80’s. A great day in Rocky. Tomorrow we are ... read more

This morning we awoke to a cloudy almost stormy morning. My usual morning coffee on the porch was anything but usual. The squirrel and the chipmunks were very subdued, but the birds took over for the entertainment. The starlings were all over and joined by three robins scurrying around the ground looking for worms I think. Our usual hummingbird was joined by a second and a woodpecker showed up checking out all the trees in our front yard. Great entertainment with morning coffee. Today our goal was to seek out the moose that are said to be abundant in this area of Colorado. When I worked here in the late 60’s a moose sighting was very rare since the numbers had dramatically dropped. In the 70’s and 80’s a private donor funded the reintroduction of moose ... read more

Today was a wonderful day in Stub Creek. The skies were blue and the temperature was a little cool around 55. What a change from St George. We slept in since we had nothing on our agenda today nor any way for any one to contact us with any request or required activities. I enjoyed my coffee on the front porch and watch a squirrel at the top of one of the pine dress attempt to toss pine cones on the ground. The chipmunks were as active as always, not sure they ever sleep. We took a stroll to the back portion of the station. The only think remaining from our old bunk house was the two poles for the cloths line. The old corral was almost useable, but in need of repair. It was the ... read more

Well the Nelson‘s are on another adventure. We are going to do some reminiscing from my youth. Or I should say I am reminiscing and Joanne is going along to listen to my reliving those memories. While I was attending the University of Colorado in Boulder I worked a summer building trails in the Roosevelt National Forest. My base was at the Stub Creek Ranger Station which housed the local rangers family. The forest service discontinued that practice many years ago. Now the cabin can be rented out so that is were we are staying. Nearest town is Walden a good hour drive away. No TV, no Wi-Fi, no cell phone. I think this is what they call off the grid. We will see how that goes. Right now are spending the night in Silt, Colorado ... read more