And like a child I begin bouncing in my seat "It's open! It's open. The Lodge is open!"
For those of you who know not of which I speak (who talks like that anyway? Oh, wait, me!) at the bottom of one of the most beautiful glaciated valleys on earth, the Kawaneechee Valley, sits the headwaters of the Colorado River--Grand Lake. And on the hillside above Grand Lake sits one of the most darling, most intriguing, most amazing travel destinations on earth...The Grand Lake Lodge, a giant log structure with a green metal roof, and a front porch as long as a football stadium. And from this porch one can view two, almost three, of the most beautiful lakes on earth--Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain, and Lake Granby--all three of which are, this year, filled to capacity with ice cold mountain runoff.
The Lodge has been closed for the last three seasons, which truthfully has made Grand Lake just...well, not seem like Grand Lake. The James family, the owners since 1953, have been trying to sell this grand old queen of summer lodges, and I guess somebody thought it would show better empty.
But Grand Lake Lodge was never meant to be empty. It's one of those places from a time past when people actually gathered in a communal house to eat meals, sit around a fireplace or swing on the front porch trading stories and anecdotes or just quietly taking in the view. The fireplace inside the lodge is a six-foot diameter wood-burner, and the sweet smell of pine smoke faintly lingers in the air. It's surrounded by 16 rocking chairs and two swings, and when the weather grows too cold outside, the wind off the lake drives the rain in under the porch eaves like cold mist, you can prop your feet up on the brass foot rail and watch the flames.
And it's not unlikely for the weather to grow cold, even in early August, in Grand Lake. A morning that starts out in the 70's can fall to the 50's by 3 p.m. when an afternoon shower thunders through the valley, rocking the walls of Mount Baldy and the giant logs of the Lodge as well. In fact, one time my friend Joe Owens (new to the area) thought he could take a leisurely bike ride (right, my lungs just collapsed at the thought) up Trail Ridge Road and he nearly froze to death.
But by 5:00 the sun was back out, the front doors of wood and beveled lead glass were flung open again (you just never have to worry about flies...I'm sure somebody could tell you why, but there just aren't any) and the kids were swimming in the 80-degree pool. (Thank you Reed, they had the time of their lives!)
I love Grand Lake Lodge. I was married on a knoll there in 1991, and now that my own daughters are beginning to marry I realize how much, and how quickly, time has passed. I know I'm sentimental, and I know I often wax nostalgic, but you could never re-create a place like this...even if you copied it wood beam for wood beam, duplicated it stuffed mountain goat by stuffed moose, little brown guest cabin by pine-wood deck. When you enter the lodge you step back in time and sit on the ghostly laps of the tourists in the black-and-white photos who made the first bus trips from Estes Park to see this natural wonder, dressed in their long skirts and white blouses, fancy hats and fine habedashery.
If I had 15 million dollars just sitting around, Grand Lake Lodge would be mine. But I don't, so I share it with you. It is part of my heart, and I daresay part of the heart of Grand Lake (as witnessed by scores of people who flock in each day).
Samantha and Brian, happy wedding day to you. May your love last and grow old as this lodge; may it be a place of wonder where you can sit and soak up the breathtaking scenery, feel the heat of the fires and survive the cold of the storms.
1 comment:
Simply grand. Thank you.
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