On our four previous visits to Rocky Mountain National Park, we stayed one or more nights in the adjacent town of Estes Park. This time, we didn’t, as we were able to get reservations at Moraine Park Campground in the park for the duration of our planned visit. As a result, we actually spent less time in Estes Park than any other visit – other than traveling through town and stops for fuel and groceries, just a short visit before and after lunch on September 15th, followed by an afternoon alpine hike back in the park. It was an nice stroll along the street and into some of the shops – and much less crowded than our last visit on Labor Day weekend, 2009.
This image is from a photo Karen snapped of me
while I was taking a picture of the Wishful Thinkin’
sculpture of the cowboy pouring water out of
his boot.
Estes Park, a town of just under 6,000 permanent residents, is a popular summer resort in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies, though there are plenty of recreational opportunities during the rest of the year. Located at 7,522 feet above sea level, the town is at the east entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Tourism has been a primary business for the town for most of its history. Lodging includes The Stanley Hotel, inspiration for the setting of Stephen King’s novel The Shining. (We stayed in the hotel during our 2001 visit.)
The word “park” used in place names in the Colorado Rockies often refers to a valley or meadow. Estes Park, then, originally referred to the valley and was named after town founder Joel Estes.
The town experienced severe damage in July 1982 from flooding resulting from the failure of Lawn Lake Dam.
Additional information on the Lawn Lake Dam Failure, July 15, 1982:
Since we were camped near West Yellowstone, we traversed this part of the park several times. There are a lot of thermal features here, but we didn’t make it to all of them.
Some of the more popular destinations in the park get very crowded as the day goes by, even in September when the season is starting to wind down. One secret to getting in at those places without having to fight traffic and/or search for a parking spot is to get there early. It seems as though a lot a folks are late risers when on vacation – or they are just taking their time.
In Yellowstone, like many other places, early morning is a good time for photos, especially on chilly mornings in areas that abound in thermal features.
Yellowstone References and Resources:
Yellowstone is one of the most popular destinations in the U.S. and there are a lot of available resources, including books and DVDs as well as internet resources. I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my Yellowstone page at Haw Creek.
Music: “When it Rains” by Anna Coogan and North19
track added using YouTube AudioSwap
While in Montana in September 2007, we had plans to stop in Lewistown to get set up with a satellite internet system. The installer, Ron, had an extra RV spot at his home for friends, complete with hookups and invited us to stay there for a few days. The satellite system was a new model and there were a few wrinkles in getting it set up right.
Ron was a member of an on-line RV forum I participated in. Retired, Ron did satellite system installs for other forum members at one price no matter how long it took.
While there, we shared supper with Ron and his wife several times in their house and once at the Black Bull Saloon and Steakhouse in Hobson. We also took in the 2007 Lewistown Chokecherry Festival and the What the Hay “hay art” contest that stretched over 21 miles in Judith Basin County between the towns of Hobson and Windham. As, well they took us on a couple of other drives out into the Montana countryside.
“What the Hay” is now also called the “Montana Bale Trail.”
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Lewistown, Chokecherry Festival, and Montana Bale Trail information:
The music is “Back to Back” by Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, YouTube audioswap.
While we had been here before, in 2001, we had just been passing through on our way to Glacier National Park and had made reservations at a hotel in Great Falls for one night.
In 2007, though, Great Falls was a destination for a family visit. A brother, his wife and two sons were living there.
While visiting with family, we also saw some of what is left of the falls, went to a farmers’ market, saw an autocross competition, visited Giant Spring State Park, spent a little time at a horse auction and stopped at the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center.
I’ve created a short video using photographs from the civil war and and mixed it with a couple of medleys of civil war music recorded almost 100 years ago. I titled it “Torn Asunder–Images from America’s Civil War.” It can be viewed in high definition by going to YouTube.com and then selecting the full screen icon in lower right corner of video (move mouse cursor over lower part of video to see icon).
Before and after:
This little project took a lot longer than the one’s I’ve created from my own photos and videos. I assembled it photo by photo as I found them in the U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Each image was “adjusted” to correct fading, remove spots and scratches, or other enhancements. The audio was enhanced to filter out most of the static, hisses, and pops.
The video shows very little of battle. First off, there are very few actual photos of battle. Second, for most people, including the soldiers, the actual fighting was only a fraction of their war-time experiences.
I am using the frames from some of the photographs in the new header on my Daily Observations from the Civil War blog, which, of course, also has a post on this video, with a different slant to the blog post content.
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Description of photographs:
Keedysville, Md., vicinity. Confederate wounded at Smith’s Barn, with Dr. Anson Hurd, 14th Indiana Volunteers, in attendance, September 1862.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform and forage cap.
Chickahominy River, Va. Grapevine bridge built May 27-28, 1862, by the 5th New Hampshire Infantry under Col. Edward E. Cross.
Unidentified young soldier in Union uniform with musket, bayonet, and knapsack.
Aquia Creek Landing, Va. Embarkation of 9th Army Corps for Fort Monroe, February 1863.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform and slouch hat, missing jacket buttons.
Cedar Mountain, Va. A Confederate field hospital, 1862.
Unidentified young soldier in New York Zouave uniform.
Cumberland Landing, Va. Federal encampment April – May 1862.
Unidentified young soldier in Confederate shell jacket, Hardee hat with Mounted Rifles insignia and plume with canteen and cup.
Military Bridge across the Chicahominy, June 1862.
Unidentified African American soldier in Union uniform in front of painted backdrop showing military camp.
Rebel gun in front of Fort Hell, April 1865, a Confederate cannon inside of Fort Sedgwick in Petersburg, Virginia.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform.
Yorktown, Va. Embarkation for White House Landing, Va.
Unidentified young sailor in Union uniform.
Antietam Bridge, September, 1862.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate shell jacket and slouch hat with object hanging from neck in front of painted backdrop showing waterfall.
Confederate prisoners at Fairfax Courthouse, June 1863.
Unidentified girl in mourning dress holding framed photograph of her father as a cavalryman with sword and Hardee hat.
Hand colored; Tending wounded Union soldiers at Savage’s Station, Virginia, during the Peninsular Campaign, 1862.
Two unidentified women reading letters.
James River, Va. Sailors on deck of U.S.S. Monitor; cookstove at left, July 9, 1862.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform and civilian, likely his father or older brother.
Harper’s Ferry, meeting of the Potomac and the Shenandoah, July 1865.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform.
Libby Prison, Richmond, Va., August 23, 1863.
Unidentified African American Union soldier with a rifle and revolver in front of painted backdrop showing weapons and American flag at Benton Barracks, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Manassas, Virginia. Camp of General Irvin McDowell’s body guard, hand colored photographic print.
Unidentified soldier in uniform with young woman, probably his wife.
Secret Service agents, Whitehouse, Va.
Unidentified soldier in Confederate uniform of the 11th Virginia regiment with knapsack and bedroll.
Dinner time in camp.
Unidentified woman wearing mourning brooch and displaying framed image of unidentified soldier.
Confederate artillery near Charleston, S.C.
Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with Company E, 12th Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers hat.
Confederate prisoners at Belle Plain Landing, Va., captured with Johnson’s Division, May 12, 1864.
1863, Interior view of Fort Sumter showing ruins and explosion.
honey badger – The honey badger (Mellivora capensis), also known as the ratel, is a monotypic species of mustelid native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. (wikipedia)
In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky. (Wikipedia)
Engineered from the finest genes, and trained to be a secret courier in a future world, Friday operates over a near-future Earth, where chaos reigns.
Hogweed – Heracleum Mantegazzianum — a plant more commonly known as the giant hogweed and native to Central Asia — is spreading fast in several states, and experts are urging some residents to beware. The tall plant with large, attractive flowers the size of umbrellas contains sap that causes blisters, burns, even blindness.
Your Paintings – a BBC website which aims to show the entire UK national collection of oil paintings, the stories behind the paintings, and where to see them for real. It is made up of paintings from thousands of museums and other public institutions around the country.
When we visited the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens 0n March 13, 2011, there was an amazing amount of flowers in bloom, even though most of the trees were still bare from winter.
On our four previous visits to Rocky Mountain National Park, we stayed one or more nights in the adjacent town of Estes Park. This time, we didn’t, as we were able to get reservations at Moraine Park Campground in the park for the duration of our planned visit. As a result, we actually spent less time in Estes Park than any other visit – other than traveling through town and stops for fuel and groceries, just a short visit before and after lunch on September 15th, followed by an afternoon alpine hike back in the park. It was an nice stroll along the street and into some of the shops – and much less crowded than our last visit on Labor Day weekend, 2009.
as well as internet resources. I’ve included links to a few reliable resources below and have more on my 
Ron was a member of an on-line RV forum I participated in. Retired, Ron did satellite system installs for other forum members at one price no matter how long it took.
While there, we shared supper with Ron and his wife several times in their house and once at the Black Bull Saloon and Steakhouse in Hobson. We also took in the 2007 Lewistown Chokecherry Festival and the 
operates over a near-future Earth, where chaos reigns.
