Amy Law - A Natural History of Trail Ridge Road: Rocky Mountain National Parks Highway to the Sky

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2015 by Amy Law

All rights reserved

Cover images: Front top and bottom, Amy Law

First published 2015

e-book edition 2015

ISBN 978.1.62585.471.1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014956340

print edition ISBN 978.1.62619.935.4

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is dedicated to my mom, who taught me that writing should paint pictures in the mind; my dad, who taught me that every photograph should tell a story; my husband, who told me to follow my passion; and my kids, who came along for the ride.

Be aware of wonder.

Robert Fulgham,

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many people helped to make this book. My thanks to Liz Law-Evans, who let me pick up her idea when she put it down; Dick Vogel, for the use of his outstanding photographs; Michele Simmons of Rocky Mountain National Park and Dave Lively of Grand County History, for taking the time to talk to me; and to all those who helped me put it together by editing and critiquing. Many, many thanks to you all.

INTRODUCTION

Colorado perches at the top of the continent. The average elevation of Colorado is higher than the highest point east of the Mississippi. Colorado has more mountains over 14,000 feet (4,267 meters) than all the other states combined. Four major riversthe Colorado, the Arkansas, the Platte and the Rio Grandehave their headwaters in the Colorado Rockies. The first of these rivers flows west to the Pacific, while the other three flow east to the Gulf of Mexico. The direction that they flow is determined by the Continental Divide, which runs down the spine of North America.

The highway that crosses the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park is Trail Ridge Road. With 10 miles above 11,000 feet (16 kilometers above 3,353 meters), Trail Ridge Road is one of the highest paved roads anywhere in the world. It follows an ancient trail along a spine of mountains through the park to cross the Continental Divide. Trail Ridge Road is world famous, and for good reasonthe views are spectacular, and the ecosystems are unique. There are few other places in the world where you can experience the high alpine. Trail Ridge Road is Rocky Mountain National Parks Highway to the Sky.

U.S. 34 passes from the open park of Estes into Rocky Mountain National Park. Deer, elk and even bighorn sheep are often alongside the road. Courtesy the author.

Chapter 1

ESTES PARK TO FALL RIVER ROAD

Mountain Meadow Community

ESTES PARK

Elevation 7,522 feet (2,293 meters)

Most people begin their journey up Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park. The town sits at 7,522 feet (2,293 meters). To the south, granite Longs Peak and Mount Meeker surge to almost twice that height.

You know youre in Estes when you see the grand Stanley Hotel, built by F.O. Stanley, to the north of the intersection of U.S. 34 and U.S. 36. F.O. Stanley and his twin brother, F.E., were inventors of an amazing variety of things. They are best known for the Stanley Steamer, an automobile that was powered by a lightweight steam engine. The brothers also invented the process to develop film and sold the patent to the Eastman Kodak Company. The inventions made them fortunes.

But in 1903, F.O. Stanley was diagnosed with tuberculosis; his doctor told him that he had only months to live. Like thousands of others, Stanley came to the thin, dry air of Colorado looking for a cure. He stayed in Estes Park during the summers and, as he recovered, began to take an active part in the growing town. He used his reprieve to help develop Estes Park as a resort.

In 1907, Irish Lord Dunraven sold the Estes Park Hotel and the last of his land to B.D. Sanborn and F.O. Stanley. When the Estes Park Hotel burned to the ground in 1909, Stanley spared no expense to rebuild it. He paid $500,000 cash to build the most modern luxury hotel in the country; every room was wired for electricity. The big-name, wealthy patrons of the day came to visit, including Margaret (Molly, a nickname she hated) Brown, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt and the emperor and empress of Japan.

The Stanley Hotel was built in 1909 to be the most modern hotel in the country. Its amenities included electricity in every room. Courtesy the author.

A resort needs roads to bring in vacationers. When he bought the Estes Park Hotel, Stanley immediately donated funds to build the North St. Vrain highway to Lyons (now U.S. 36). With the new road, Stanley Steamers could make the trip to the plains in just five hours!

During his last thirty-seven years, Stanley became one of Estess biggest boosters, building the town water system, as well as Fall River Hydroplant, just below Cascade Dam, for electricity. Stanley also donated land for parks and schools and constructed the town golf course, as well as the fairgrounds that go by his name.

But F.O. Stanleys biggest contribution was one given to the country as a whole. Along with Enos Mills, Abner Sprague and others, Stanley encouraged the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park. Their goal was to preserve part of the Colorado Rockies from mining, logging or ranching. They succeeded in having Rocky Mountain National Park set aside in 1915.

The Twin Owls granite rock formation, on the north side of Estes Park, is a great example of granite weathering into rounded boulders. Courtesy the author.

F.O. Stanley lived to be ninety-one, returning often to the hotel that he built in the town that he loved.

The Stanley Hotel is said to be haunted. The Shining, Stephen Kings classic horror novel, was inspired by a stay at the hotel.

West of Estes Park Village, granite, formed as life began on the planet, crowds the canyon along the highway.

Whats a Park?

When in Estes, terminology gets a little confusing. There is the park (meaning Rocky Mountain National Park), there is the park (meaning any of the open valleys in the region) and then there is the park (meaning Estes Park Village).

Using the word park to mean a high valley surrounded by mountains is a holdover from the French Canadian fur trappers who explored the Rockies in the 1800s to 1840s. For them, a