Greetings to everyone who has given up on ever hearing anything from me again. I can't quite explain what has transpired that allowed so much time to pass since my last entry. No excuses though, I'll try to get back to more regular postings.
In no particular order, a few random updates.
Hockey season nears an end with only four teams remaining in the struggle for the Stanley Cup. I continue to be amazed at the low number of followers of this incredible sport. News in my local paper always manages to show up on page four or beyond of the sports section, following updates on such topics as baseball (zzzzzzz), basketball (no contact hockey on wood), auto racing (you're kidding right?), and soccer (the new buzz in the Northwest). It also gets pushed back by news of doping in cycling and the many local sports updates. Clearly I'm in the minority, but to me it's the absolute best spectator sport - if you can keep up. The speed and intensity, the physicality, the mind-numbing grinding effort required to get the puck in the net, the pain and fatigue - how could you not love it? Anyway, I read today that only about a quarter of Canadians are rooting for the last remaining Canadian team in the playoffs - the Montreal Canadiens. It appears they are despised outside their home territory and if fact one writer noted that if aliens arrived on the planet today and announced that they intended to eat the Canadiens first, he'd be ok with that. Incredible. In spite of being the number 8 and last team to squeak into the Eastern Confernce playoffs, the men from Montreal have dispatched all the heavyweights including the Washington Capitols and the Pittsburgh Penquins. You've gotta love that !
Travel plans for the year are much quieter than last. We had a massively busy 2009 with trips to Utah for skiing, Colorado for neice Rachel's wedding, Las Vegas with Scott and Christine, to New Jersey for Thanksgiving and then the annual pre-Christmas trip to Whistler. This year, in keeping with the slower economy and our need to repair the massively expensive damage to the house caused by a ruptured pipe, we're staying a bit closer to home. Or at least that's the plan at the moment.
One notable exception to this is a September trip to Yellowstone with my old high school buddy Steve Bohnemeyer who had the foresight to move into my neighborhood so we could reconnect. Having been to Yellowstone several times (and written about it a bit here) I still have a burning desire to fish some of the streams there. Every visit has been a bit rushed as I tried to take in the many incredible sights and share them with whoever was along. Steve, to whom fishing stands second only to breathing, was easily convinced to join the expedition and share his experience and skill with me - a bit of an advanced novice fly fisherman. I have the basics in my mind but lack any real experience with catching anything longer than my hand. Most of the waters in Yellowstone are world famous for trout fishing. I ordered a couple of cans of bear spray yesterday so we can hang them on our vests in case we stumble onto a grumpy grizzly. I am very excited about the trip and look forward to the experience.
It's nearing June already but the snow remains deep and low in the mountains so hiking has just begun. A couple of weeks ago I visited the foothills of Wenatchee with Martin, enjoying some nice vistas of the town of Wenatchee and the Columbia River on hills covered with spring flowers. This is the time of year to go since the rattlesnakes are still snoozing. Apparently, as things warm up the snakes pile up in this area. Maybe not the best place to visit in July even if you didn't mind the heat.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Book Reviews - American Buffalo
I frequently pick up random books off the "new" shelf at the library. This one caught my attention because it has a photo of a buffalo. I mean, when have you ever seen that on a book cover? The liner notes made me question why I thought I should take it home since it's written by a hunter about hunting. But I drug it home anyway and let me tell you, it's about so much more than hunting buffalo. This is a stunning work by a marvelous writer that is a mix of anthropology, adventure, history and science. I strongly recommend it."
Book Reviews - Travels in the Greater Yellowstone
Travels in the Greater Yellowstone
by Jack Turner
Jack Turner is, like me, one of the old geezers who has been around long enough to remember how "it used to be". The value of that, in spite of the skepticism of the youngsters making their way through life now, is that of perspective. Turner is a guide and the president of Exum Mountain Guides in Jackson Hole, and as such knows a thing or two about adventure. He has lived in the Yellowstone area for so long that he can see the changes - both good and bad - that have come with time. He also knows a thing or two about fishing. This is a beautiful work that views the enormity of the Yellowstone ecosystem from mulitple angles, providing a real sense of the challenges facing both the land and the people who live there. Whether you have wandered the country around Yellowstone or not, this book will leave you with a sense of the fragility of the earth and how we can soften our impact on it."
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Yellowstone
Given the popularity of Yellowstone National Park and the news that this year was the busiest on record, Suzanne and Jamie and I opted to make a trip over the last few days of summer and, perhaps, avoid some of the congestion. It also would put us on the ground as the weather cooled in hopes of seeing an increase in wolf activity which was, ostensibly, the real justification for the visit.
The fact is that wolves, and wildlife in general, are only one aspect of a visit to this place. The park itself is primarily a geological preserve. The wildlife is there only because the land has been protected. That protection, and the arbitrary boundaries established when the reserve was set aside in 1872, have created more than a unique and remarkable island of wilderness, it has allowed us to view the changes to the ecosystem created by development and advanced the science of biogeography while allowing us to view both the minute changes and the massive impacts of our interaction with the natural world.
The term "island Yellowstone" has come to be applied to both the park itself and those protected areas adjacent to it. There are wilderness areas abutting the boundaries. There is Grand Teton National Park to the south; but there is also an abundance of unprotected land consisting of National Forest and private holdings. The term "island" becomes meaningful if you consider the impact to the biota of Yellowstone; boundaries mean nothing.
We typically view the health of an ecosystem based on the obvious. In a place like Yellowstone, that would be the apex predators - the grizzly and the wolf. Both these animals are well known to be walking a fine line between survival and disappearance. As noted in the news headlines of late, wolves, following the success of a reintroduction program begun in the fall of 1995 havebeen deemed so abundant that hunting has been allowed in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho this year. That might imply there is no longer a need for concern, that we have somehow managed to correct the wrongs of past decades and all is well once again. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are wolves in Yellowstone again. And the grizzly, after teetering on the edge for years, seems once again to be re-established. The news that there are many other species facing serious threats might come as a surprise, but as I said, the top of the food chain seems to be the headline grabbers. What of the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout? Almost gone. What of the Whitebark Pine? Dying in frightening numbers. There are others as well, pressured by development and grazing and logging on the adjacent lands. And before dismissing these as insignificant, understand that the trout might be viewed as the canary in the coal mine - a harbinger of changes on a scale that escapes our immediate notice. The Whitebark Pine, on the other hand, is essential to the survival of the grizzly as well as the Clark's Nutcracker to say nothing of the squirrels. As one goes, others will follow.
Yellowstone Park is magnificent. Both as a place and as an idea. It also serves as an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences in that it simply will not allow us to ignore the toll taken on the land by runaway development. Wyoming has the good fortune of being home to both Yellowstone and the Grand Teton parks, and the misfortune to be the home of massive amounts of natural gas - maybe fifteen trillion cubic feet - as well as oil, oil-shale, coal-bed methane. Guess what's going to be happening in Wyoming....
While the energy industry salivates at the opportunity to extract this reserve, others are stepping back saying , "wait a minute...what does this do the the land?". And, of course, to the water, and to the less obvious populations of non-apex animals and to the plantlife. Nothing gets off this train unharmed.. Ironically, money was at the root of the establishment of Yellowstone when the railroads saw an opportunity to cash in on tourism, and money may well be the cause of the death of the place if we stand idly by.
There are clearly polarized positions in the Northern Rockies. A biologist we spoke to in West Yellowstone at the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, told us that if you want to get into a fight pretty much anywhere in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming, just mention wolves. There are the adoring legions of followers sitting on hillsides in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone, spotting scopes trained on the distant treeline across the river, and there are the gun-toting-Sara-Palin-like-shoot'em-from-helicopters folks who think the only good wolf is one with a bullet in the brain. There seems to be very little middle ground on this. Unfortunately, the same can be said about grizzlies and coyotes and oil and gas. In the words of my old buddy Dubya, "if you're not with us you're against us". Devisive. The middle ground on this one is very, very hard to find.
The national treasure which is the Yellowstone River is 671 miles of free-flowing, undammed river. The longest such unencumbered river in the 48 states. I mentioned trout earlier - the numbers there may well tell the story of all that is wrong in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is the park and all the land, wild and tame, that surrounds it.
Pelican Creek empties into Yellowstone Lake which is both fed by the Yellowstone River and then empties into the Yellowstone River. Pelican Creek is considered some of the finest wildlife habitat in the region and maybe in the world. In the 1980's, Pelican creek had around 30,000 spawning cutthroat trout. In 2004, fisheries biologists found nine. Yes - 9 - fish. Other streams in the area are much the same. We are walking on thin biological crust here, not unlike wandering through the geyers basins of the park and risking breaking through the thin crust and falling into a thermal pool. We'd best tread lightly.
This is the grim news, but in the midst of it all is much to be hopeful about. First is the fact that many, many people are aware of the tenuous state of affairs in Yellowstone and are not standing idly by waiting. Then there is the undeniable success of the wolf reintroduction program. In spite of the convtroversy, and in spite of massive resistance, there are now mulitple successful packs living within the protected confines of the park boundary. After decades of "wildlife management", some semblance of normalcy has returned to the wildness of Yellowstone.
There is also the undeniable fact that, as I mentioned, record numbers are visiting the park. People are aware of just how remarkable place this is and the more folks we get with an interest in preservation the better.
There is conservation and there is preservation. Conservation, the supposed mantra of most government land management agencies, requires them to follow the US Forest Service mulitple use approach in one way or another. These agencies have the misfortune of having to please the loggers, the miners, the hunters and fisherman, the hikers, the RVers, mountain bikers, the motorcyle riders all at the same time. An impossible task. The unfortunate side effect of this approach is that in the end, no one is satisfied. Everyone gives up something of what they want and ends up with less. The Park Service has a slightly different mission in that preservation is the key. At times it feels like the restrictions placed on us by the Park Service as excessive and you'll often hear me complaining, but in truth, preservation is what we need. We simply need to stop cutting and bulldozing and drilling and grazing on massive amounts of land in the Greate Yellowstone. Easy for me to say, since I don't live there and don't own any of it. But then, maybe that's what's needed - people like me who can offer an outsider's perspective without having to juggle my own personal financial impact.
Given our government's propensity for handing out tax dollars, perhaps a good approach would be to stop giving milliions to millionaires, and start spending that money to buy up vast tracts of this land before it's too late. In the end, some people would have to move so at least compensate them for it, but Yellowstone needs it more than AIG execs.
If you haven't visited Yellowstone, you should. It's unlike anyplace else on the planet. It's an idea and a reality. It's a gurgling geological wonderland and a wilderness of animals that can hurt you. It's bitterly cold and miserably hot. It's packed with RVs and it's utter emptiness. But mostly, it's yours. Take care of it.
The fact is that wolves, and wildlife in general, are only one aspect of a visit to this place. The park itself is primarily a geological preserve. The wildlife is there only because the land has been protected. That protection, and the arbitrary boundaries established when the reserve was set aside in 1872, have created more than a unique and remarkable island of wilderness, it has allowed us to view the changes to the ecosystem created by development and advanced the science of biogeography while allowing us to view both the minute changes and the massive impacts of our interaction with the natural world.
The term "island Yellowstone" has come to be applied to both the park itself and those protected areas adjacent to it. There are wilderness areas abutting the boundaries. There is Grand Teton National Park to the south; but there is also an abundance of unprotected land consisting of National Forest and private holdings. The term "island" becomes meaningful if you consider the impact to the biota of Yellowstone; boundaries mean nothing.
We typically view the health of an ecosystem based on the obvious. In a place like Yellowstone, that would be the apex predators - the grizzly and the wolf. Both these animals are well known to be walking a fine line between survival and disappearance. As noted in the news headlines of late, wolves, following the success of a reintroduction program begun in the fall of 1995 havebeen deemed so abundant that hunting has been allowed in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho this year. That might imply there is no longer a need for concern, that we have somehow managed to correct the wrongs of past decades and all is well once again. Nothing could be further from the truth.
There are wolves in Yellowstone again. And the grizzly, after teetering on the edge for years, seems once again to be re-established. The news that there are many other species facing serious threats might come as a surprise, but as I said, the top of the food chain seems to be the headline grabbers. What of the Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout? Almost gone. What of the Whitebark Pine? Dying in frightening numbers. There are others as well, pressured by development and grazing and logging on the adjacent lands. And before dismissing these as insignificant, understand that the trout might be viewed as the canary in the coal mine - a harbinger of changes on a scale that escapes our immediate notice. The Whitebark Pine, on the other hand, is essential to the survival of the grizzly as well as the Clark's Nutcracker to say nothing of the squirrels. As one goes, others will follow.
Yellowstone Park is magnificent. Both as a place and as an idea. It also serves as an example of the Law of Unintended Consequences in that it simply will not allow us to ignore the toll taken on the land by runaway development. Wyoming has the good fortune of being home to both Yellowstone and the Grand Teton parks, and the misfortune to be the home of massive amounts of natural gas - maybe fifteen trillion cubic feet - as well as oil, oil-shale, coal-bed methane. Guess what's going to be happening in Wyoming....
While the energy industry salivates at the opportunity to extract this reserve, others are stepping back saying , "wait a minute...what does this do the the land?". And, of course, to the water, and to the less obvious populations of non-apex animals and to the plantlife. Nothing gets off this train unharmed.. Ironically, money was at the root of the establishment of Yellowstone when the railroads saw an opportunity to cash in on tourism, and money may well be the cause of the death of the place if we stand idly by.
There are clearly polarized positions in the Northern Rockies. A biologist we spoke to in West Yellowstone at the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, told us that if you want to get into a fight pretty much anywhere in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming, just mention wolves. There are the adoring legions of followers sitting on hillsides in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone, spotting scopes trained on the distant treeline across the river, and there are the gun-toting-Sara-Palin-like-shoot'em-from-helicopters folks who think the only good wolf is one with a bullet in the brain. There seems to be very little middle ground on this. Unfortunately, the same can be said about grizzlies and coyotes and oil and gas. In the words of my old buddy Dubya, "if you're not with us you're against us". Devisive. The middle ground on this one is very, very hard to find.
The national treasure which is the Yellowstone River is 671 miles of free-flowing, undammed river. The longest such unencumbered river in the 48 states. I mentioned trout earlier - the numbers there may well tell the story of all that is wrong in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is the park and all the land, wild and tame, that surrounds it.
Pelican Creek empties into Yellowstone Lake which is both fed by the Yellowstone River and then empties into the Yellowstone River. Pelican Creek is considered some of the finest wildlife habitat in the region and maybe in the world. In the 1980's, Pelican creek had around 30,000 spawning cutthroat trout. In 2004, fisheries biologists found nine. Yes - 9 - fish. Other streams in the area are much the same. We are walking on thin biological crust here, not unlike wandering through the geyers basins of the park and risking breaking through the thin crust and falling into a thermal pool. We'd best tread lightly.
This is the grim news, but in the midst of it all is much to be hopeful about. First is the fact that many, many people are aware of the tenuous state of affairs in Yellowstone and are not standing idly by waiting. Then there is the undeniable success of the wolf reintroduction program. In spite of the convtroversy, and in spite of massive resistance, there are now mulitple successful packs living within the protected confines of the park boundary. After decades of "wildlife management", some semblance of normalcy has returned to the wildness of Yellowstone.
There is also the undeniable fact that, as I mentioned, record numbers are visiting the park. People are aware of just how remarkable place this is and the more folks we get with an interest in preservation the better.
There is conservation and there is preservation. Conservation, the supposed mantra of most government land management agencies, requires them to follow the US Forest Service mulitple use approach in one way or another. These agencies have the misfortune of having to please the loggers, the miners, the hunters and fisherman, the hikers, the RVers, mountain bikers, the motorcyle riders all at the same time. An impossible task. The unfortunate side effect of this approach is that in the end, no one is satisfied. Everyone gives up something of what they want and ends up with less. The Park Service has a slightly different mission in that preservation is the key. At times it feels like the restrictions placed on us by the Park Service as excessive and you'll often hear me complaining, but in truth, preservation is what we need. We simply need to stop cutting and bulldozing and drilling and grazing on massive amounts of land in the Greate Yellowstone. Easy for me to say, since I don't live there and don't own any of it. But then, maybe that's what's needed - people like me who can offer an outsider's perspective without having to juggle my own personal financial impact.
Given our government's propensity for handing out tax dollars, perhaps a good approach would be to stop giving milliions to millionaires, and start spending that money to buy up vast tracts of this land before it's too late. In the end, some people would have to move so at least compensate them for it, but Yellowstone needs it more than AIG execs.
If you haven't visited Yellowstone, you should. It's unlike anyplace else on the planet. It's an idea and a reality. It's a gurgling geological wonderland and a wilderness of animals that can hurt you. It's bitterly cold and miserably hot. It's packed with RVs and it's utter emptiness. But mostly, it's yours. Take care of it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rock Mtn - Sept 12
I'm not sure how this particular lump of rock was awarded the generic name, but Rock Mtn it is. And, like virtually all the other summits in the Cascades, it's rocky.
Once the site of a Forest Service lookout, the 12 x 12 summit foundation is now home to some sort of unpleasant flying red ants that seem intent on maintaining absolute control of the summit. One need only step slightly to the side and they were no problem, but I figured this out only after dropping my pack on the summit and standing to take in the view. At that point an attack was mounted and I had to retreat a few feet.
The views are incredible. Glacier, Baker, Pugh, Sloan, the Monte Cristo massif, and on and on and on. Spectacular. We arrived via four and a half miles of trail and a gain of about 3250 feet - which is the easy way up. Climb from highway 2 and you'll need to add another thousand feet. We also added in a trip down to Rock Lake, just the other side of the summit ridge, and managed to tack on another three miles as well as the thousand feet so it ended up being about a dozen miles for the day. The tough part is that at least half (or more) of the gain is in the last couple of miles so it's a grunt but well worth it.
We made the exit at about 7pm on some very sore feet - how many times can you shove your toes against the front of you boot until the pain ceases to get your attention? I don't know, because I never achieved that blissfull state. I'm all better now, but when I reached the truck I was convinced I'd never hike again. I think I need to fill my boots with some of that expanding foam insulation you inject in your walls - maybe that will prevent this from happening next time.
On the drive out we turned a corner on the gravel road just as dusk was settling in and the biggest black bear I've ever seen popped onto the road in front of us - paused and gave us a good look before he lumbered up the cut bank and "hid" behind a tree. Too dark for a real photo, we had to be satisfied with a staring contest between us. A big bear!
We head out on Wednesday for a trip to Yellowstone. This will be the first visit for Suzanne and Jamie. In addition to the usual sites of geyers and mudpots we'll be taking in an organized wolf inpsection tour with "Bearman" - http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/
I'll report back on the outcome of this much anticipated adventure.
Once the site of a Forest Service lookout, the 12 x 12 summit foundation is now home to some sort of unpleasant flying red ants that seem intent on maintaining absolute control of the summit. One need only step slightly to the side and they were no problem, but I figured this out only after dropping my pack on the summit and standing to take in the view. At that point an attack was mounted and I had to retreat a few feet.
The views are incredible. Glacier, Baker, Pugh, Sloan, the Monte Cristo massif, and on and on and on. Spectacular. We arrived via four and a half miles of trail and a gain of about 3250 feet - which is the easy way up. Climb from highway 2 and you'll need to add another thousand feet. We also added in a trip down to Rock Lake, just the other side of the summit ridge, and managed to tack on another three miles as well as the thousand feet so it ended up being about a dozen miles for the day. The tough part is that at least half (or more) of the gain is in the last couple of miles so it's a grunt but well worth it.
We made the exit at about 7pm on some very sore feet - how many times can you shove your toes against the front of you boot until the pain ceases to get your attention? I don't know, because I never achieved that blissfull state. I'm all better now, but when I reached the truck I was convinced I'd never hike again. I think I need to fill my boots with some of that expanding foam insulation you inject in your walls - maybe that will prevent this from happening next time.
On the drive out we turned a corner on the gravel road just as dusk was settling in and the biggest black bear I've ever seen popped onto the road in front of us - paused and gave us a good look before he lumbered up the cut bank and "hid" behind a tree. Too dark for a real photo, we had to be satisfied with a staring contest between us. A big bear!
We head out on Wednesday for a trip to Yellowstone. This will be the first visit for Suzanne and Jamie. In addition to the usual sites of geyers and mudpots we'll be taking in an organized wolf inpsection tour with "Bearman" - http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/
I'll report back on the outcome of this much anticipated adventure.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Willard’s Principles of Software Engineering
Willard’s First Rule of Programming
Adding more engineers to a late software project makes it take longer.
Willard’s Second Rule of Programming
Effort estimates will always match exactly the number of days management makes available to complete a project.
Willard’s Third Rule of Programming – (aka Occam’s Antithetical Razor)
When you have two competing programming solutions that produce the exact same results, the more complex one is the most likely to be coded.
Willard’s Fourth Rule of Programming
The relative skill of a coder is inversely related to the amount of time said engineer expends in telling you how talented they are.
Willard’s Fifth Rule of Programming
Complexity and grace are not mutually exclusive.
Willard’s Sixth Rule of Programming
Success is in the eye of the beholder.
Willard’s First Corollary – Facts are for people with small imaginations.
Willard’s Seventh Rule of Programming
Newer does not mean better. Better means better.
Willard’s Second Corollary – Older may actually be wiser.
Willard’s Eighth Rule of Programming
Documentation is for people with weak memories.
Willard’s Theory of Software Estimation
Time and engineering staff are flexible only to the extent that there is never enough of either.
Willard’s Enduring Principle of Initial Development
Real Programmers don’t invent, they copy.
Willard’s Principle of Divergent Convergence
The Principle of Divergent Convergence defines the ability of an individual to maintain conceptual agreement with two distinctly dissimilar and antagonistic views.
This requires the individual to develop an internal explanation supporting the Postulate of Harmonious Recombination – a non-logical axiom in which these opposing views are in some fashion explained as either unrelated or, in the most egregious of cases, actually forced to coexist in a new framework of reality that redefines the expected outcomes in an acceptable (to the individual) way.
Both the Principle of Divergent Convergence and the Postulate of Harmonious Recombination are observed within the definition that exists only to the individual supporting the concepts. It is typically blatantly obvious to the non-participant that facts do not support either the thought process supporting such naturally opposing perspectives or resultant behavior.
Adding more engineers to a late software project makes it take longer.
Willard’s Second Rule of Programming
Effort estimates will always match exactly the number of days management makes available to complete a project.
Willard’s Third Rule of Programming – (aka Occam’s Antithetical Razor)
When you have two competing programming solutions that produce the exact same results, the more complex one is the most likely to be coded.
Willard’s Fourth Rule of Programming
The relative skill of a coder is inversely related to the amount of time said engineer expends in telling you how talented they are.
Willard’s Fifth Rule of Programming
Complexity and grace are not mutually exclusive.
Willard’s Sixth Rule of Programming
Success is in the eye of the beholder.
Willard’s First Corollary – Facts are for people with small imaginations.
Willard’s Seventh Rule of Programming
Newer does not mean better. Better means better.
Willard’s Second Corollary – Older may actually be wiser.
Willard’s Eighth Rule of Programming
Documentation is for people with weak memories.
Willard’s Theory of Software Estimation
Time and engineering staff are flexible only to the extent that there is never enough of either.
Willard’s Enduring Principle of Initial Development
Real Programmers don’t invent, they copy.
Willard’s Principle of Divergent Convergence
The Principle of Divergent Convergence defines the ability of an individual to maintain conceptual agreement with two distinctly dissimilar and antagonistic views.
This requires the individual to develop an internal explanation supporting the Postulate of Harmonious Recombination – a non-logical axiom in which these opposing views are in some fashion explained as either unrelated or, in the most egregious of cases, actually forced to coexist in a new framework of reality that redefines the expected outcomes in an acceptable (to the individual) way.
Both the Principle of Divergent Convergence and the Postulate of Harmonious Recombination are observed within the definition that exists only to the individual supporting the concepts. It is typically blatantly obvious to the non-participant that facts do not support either the thought process supporting such naturally opposing perspectives or resultant behavior.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A trip to Colorado - Part Deux
The Historic Stanley Hotel. I think that is what they officially call it. And the street sign as you approach announces you are entering the "Stanley Hotel Historic District". Estes Park, just on the eastern boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park, is a beautiful location with stunning views of Long's Peak from the veranda of the hotel that overlooks the small and very appealing town. This is rather like Leavcnworth, Wa without the Bavarian theme. And with better shopping.
The hotel is a result of FO Stanley, inventor of, among other things, the Stanley Steamer. His fortune from his creative pursuits allowed him to build this spectacular structure in what was, at the time, a near wilderness and equip every room with not only electricity (unheard of at the time) but also a private bath in each room. At the 100th anniversary of the hotel - this past July - it still remains an elegant and appealing destination. All the more so given the rather unbelievable activities within.
I attempt to remain somewhat skeptical of paranormal activities, although I can't really say why, given the number of things I've experienced in my life. In any event, I usually make great fun of Suzanne and Royce as they sit around the house watching Ghost Hunters on tv. In spite of that, it was mostly me, not Suzanne, that encountered the unexplainable at The Stanley.
She does have a camera full of pictures with hard to comprehend grey and white and black shadows over the scenes. I watched as she took a series of photos of the same subject and one would be a perfect representation of what I was looking at and the next would be half covered with a misty looking veil that was then gone for the next shot. Over and over she did this. Something is going on in this place.
Our first night in the stuffy fourth floor accomodations I got up to try and get some air through the tiny window of the gabled room and sat next to the screened opening, sitting in a small, overstuffed chair. Moments after sitting, while Suzanne snoonzed peacefully just a few feet away, I received four sharp smacks on my backside. While I was sitting in the chair. Behind me was the wall, next to me was my suitcase, shoved next to the chair because of the lack of space. Yet something was clearly smacking me. For several minutes afterward I had recurring sensations of my entire body tingling from head to toe - rather like the sensation of the hair on the back of your neck standing up, but all over my body. It would wash over me and I'd look around the room half expecting to see someone. Something is going on in this place.
The following day we spent hiking around town and in the mountains and before dinner I got into the shower to freshen up. Due to my techincal incompetence, I was unable to get the water hot so it ran and ran and ran while I waited in vain for it to warm up. (Turns out I needed to not turn the handle all the way to the left but about three quarters of the way to get hot, but I digress). I finally gave up and amidst much complaining I got in and begain railing about my "tepid shower" and how I should complain to the management. While in the midst of this low level tirade, while facing into the cool stream, my neck and shoulders were suddenly hot, as if a heating pad were laid across my shoulders. The cold water continued to run over the very part of me that was the hottest. I was shocked. It only lasted a few moments and then, cold water again. Something is going on in this place.
Dinner was in the small private dining room where we had watched Senator John McCain eating the night before. (And no, he did not ask my opinion on either the war in Afghanistan or my opinon on health care.) The room was a bit cooler the second night but we still had the fan running when I was wakened at about 2am by a pounding on the wall just opposite my head. Four or five good whacks and then footsteps running down the hall. I was up in an instant and put my eye to the peephole in the door. Its fisheye lens let me see the end of the hall in both directions. A long hallway both ways, but nobody there. Back to bed and about fifteen minutes later the same thing although this time the pounding sounded like it was on the opposite side of the hallway. Up in a flash and looking at the door as I still heard the running footsteps - nothing. Something is going on in this place.
The night we got home Suzanne put in a dvd she had purchased at the gift shop in the hotel and in it was a series of interviews of hotel workers. One of the things they reported were frequent phone calls from guests on the fourth floor complaining about the children banging on the wall and then running away.
You can draw your own conclusions. Maybe the place is rigged ala-Disneyland for these effects. Or maybe there really is something going on in this place. I can only report that what I felt and heard was real for me. I would suggest you book a trip and find out for yourself. Just be prepared for anything !!!
The hotel is a result of FO Stanley, inventor of, among other things, the Stanley Steamer. His fortune from his creative pursuits allowed him to build this spectacular structure in what was, at the time, a near wilderness and equip every room with not only electricity (unheard of at the time) but also a private bath in each room. At the 100th anniversary of the hotel - this past July - it still remains an elegant and appealing destination. All the more so given the rather unbelievable activities within.
I attempt to remain somewhat skeptical of paranormal activities, although I can't really say why, given the number of things I've experienced in my life. In any event, I usually make great fun of Suzanne and Royce as they sit around the house watching Ghost Hunters on tv. In spite of that, it was mostly me, not Suzanne, that encountered the unexplainable at The Stanley.
She does have a camera full of pictures with hard to comprehend grey and white and black shadows over the scenes. I watched as she took a series of photos of the same subject and one would be a perfect representation of what I was looking at and the next would be half covered with a misty looking veil that was then gone for the next shot. Over and over she did this. Something is going on in this place.
Our first night in the stuffy fourth floor accomodations I got up to try and get some air through the tiny window of the gabled room and sat next to the screened opening, sitting in a small, overstuffed chair. Moments after sitting, while Suzanne snoonzed peacefully just a few feet away, I received four sharp smacks on my backside. While I was sitting in the chair. Behind me was the wall, next to me was my suitcase, shoved next to the chair because of the lack of space. Yet something was clearly smacking me. For several minutes afterward I had recurring sensations of my entire body tingling from head to toe - rather like the sensation of the hair on the back of your neck standing up, but all over my body. It would wash over me and I'd look around the room half expecting to see someone. Something is going on in this place.
The following day we spent hiking around town and in the mountains and before dinner I got into the shower to freshen up. Due to my techincal incompetence, I was unable to get the water hot so it ran and ran and ran while I waited in vain for it to warm up. (Turns out I needed to not turn the handle all the way to the left but about three quarters of the way to get hot, but I digress). I finally gave up and amidst much complaining I got in and begain railing about my "tepid shower" and how I should complain to the management. While in the midst of this low level tirade, while facing into the cool stream, my neck and shoulders were suddenly hot, as if a heating pad were laid across my shoulders. The cold water continued to run over the very part of me that was the hottest. I was shocked. It only lasted a few moments and then, cold water again. Something is going on in this place.
Dinner was in the small private dining room where we had watched Senator John McCain eating the night before. (And no, he did not ask my opinion on either the war in Afghanistan or my opinon on health care.) The room was a bit cooler the second night but we still had the fan running when I was wakened at about 2am by a pounding on the wall just opposite my head. Four or five good whacks and then footsteps running down the hall. I was up in an instant and put my eye to the peephole in the door. Its fisheye lens let me see the end of the hall in both directions. A long hallway both ways, but nobody there. Back to bed and about fifteen minutes later the same thing although this time the pounding sounded like it was on the opposite side of the hallway. Up in a flash and looking at the door as I still heard the running footsteps - nothing. Something is going on in this place.
The night we got home Suzanne put in a dvd she had purchased at the gift shop in the hotel and in it was a series of interviews of hotel workers. One of the things they reported were frequent phone calls from guests on the fourth floor complaining about the children banging on the wall and then running away.
You can draw your own conclusions. Maybe the place is rigged ala-Disneyland for these effects. Or maybe there really is something going on in this place. I can only report that what I felt and heard was real for me. I would suggest you book a trip and find out for yourself. Just be prepared for anything !!!
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