Impression Evergreen

Bishop Castle Rising out of Colorado’s remote Wet Mountain Range, Bishop Castle is a royal symbol of hard work, creativity and perseverance. Jim Bishop began building this unfinished, medieval fantasyland 60 years ago while using nearby rock and timber so the fortress blends neatly into the local environment. The scary keep is designed to shoot straight skyward as a labyrinth of stone and iron ascends to dizzying heights. Not for the faint of heart, a strenuous climb up a spiral staircase is required to reach the summit of this monster house. Once you reach the top, vertigo sets in and things begin to sway as intermittent gusts of cold air make your balance unsteady. The acrophobic experience is exacerbated by open windows, suspension bridges, exposed ledges and sketchy railings but the views are incredible. Back down in the lower bowels of the austere bastion, a grand ballroom is illuminated by a series of beautiful stained-glass windows. Interesting details can be found through

The Castle In September, the cast and crew of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot television series visited nearby Bailey, Colorado. One of our favorite shows, its a documentary that follows four Bigfoot researchers across the country in their quest to prove that the elusive creature exists. They were in town to investigate recent encounters in our area and interview local eyewitnesses. The Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) is certain that Sasquatch survives in Colorado. Pike National Forest just south of here is considered the perfect habitat. It's a remote wilderness that's heavily forested with lots of water and a stable elk and deer population. Bigfoot expert Keith Foster explains the situation here in Colorado. "Trying to find a Sasquatch in a forest is like trying to find a highly trained sniper who wants to hide in that forest, nearly impossible. Essentially, a Sasquatch is like a very stealthy puma with reasoning powers that may dwarf the reasoning

The restored Dunafon Castle Lair O' the Bear Park is nestled in a steep canyon about six miles east of Evergreen, Colorado. John and Matilda Johnson emigrated from Sweden with their two young boys and purchased the narrow meadow in 1902. They named it Mountain Nook Ranch, built a four-bedroom house and raised Red Durham cattle. Their two sons, Finis and Francis, attended school in nearby Starbuck, now known as Idledale. It was originally named for John Starbuck who won the town property in a poker game. John Johnson was a master gardener and his popular, fresh produce was sold in Evergreen and Denver. They planted over 200 cherry and apple trees in the area. If you look closely many can still be found throughout the park today. The unruly Bear Creek sculpted the beautiful scenery and provided the needed irrigation for productive crops but it also wreaked plenty of havoc. There was a constant fear of extreme flooding. The Lariat Trail (Highway 74 today) crossed Bear Creek s

Full Moon over Epcot It was a normal day, up early, off to work, pickup kids from school, soccer practice and supper. But that night was different, my wife announced those five famous words "We're going to Disney World." Wait...what? I know what you're thinking, so was I. How cliche, a family of four on the obligatory pilgrimage to the Mecca of amusement parks. What about snorkeling with penguins in Antarctica or that photography workshop in the Galapagos or studying the Old Masters at the grande museums in Europe? Not Disney World, the symbol for everything that goes against what I believe in. As a humble artist living in the Colorado mountains, I cherish simplicity, peace, morality and spiritualism. Disney World is about complication, confrontation, decadence and materialism. I'm a sensitive soul searching for answers to life's great mysteries, not a seasoned tourist on a frenzied quest for fun. Try and explain that to my two boys who were dancing hys

Summit Lake After a delicious Father's Day breakfast served in bed by my two boys, we decided to drive to the summit of Mount Evans. To get to the top is a 30 mile drive from our front door. As we ascended the highest paved road in North America, our first wildlife sighting was a herd of elk, grazing high above timberline. In the summer the elk move up to higher elevations and cooler temperatures. Rocky Mountain Elk are built for the cold and don't tolerate heat very well. Our first stop was Summit Lake nestled high in a glacial basin just below the summit. This cold, clear lake is the headwater for Bear Creek and flows down into Evergreen Lake and then all the way to Denver. We really got our blood pumping by ascending to the top of Mount Spalding and looked down into the beautiful Chicago Basin. After getting some pictures of the lake, we drove the treacherous, winding road up to the summit parking lot. At the top, we explored a rocky structure know as the castle in