Have You Experienced Anything Supernatural?

On October 20, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado17 Comments

We have stayed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, several times with varied experiences. The hotel was built in 1909 by the inventor of the Stanley Steamer, Freelan Stanley, and has had many famous guests throughout its history. The hotel is located just five miles from the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park, making it a great location to stay when wanting to spend a few days hiking in park. With its bright white exterior and red roof, the hotel stands out against the mountains that sit behind it.

One of the Stanley’s most famous guests was Stephen King who stayed there in 1974 and was inspired to write The Shining after his experiences there. Although he called the hotel the Overlook Hotel in his book and added several embellishments, there are many features that are the same as what he described. The Stanley Hotel was also the set of the 1997 miniseries of The Shining.

On our very first visit to the Stanley Hotel in 1998, we arrived early at about 10:00 am because we wanted to get out and get into the mountains. We didn’t expect to be able to get into our room, but we were told that the room was ready and we were also told that we were able to stay in the same suite that Stephen King stayed in during his stay. Apparently people often request that room and actually being able to stay in that room is a rarity. We went to our room to unpack and change to go hiking and shortly after entering the room, the radio alarm clock went off. Obviously the previous guest must have set the alarm and not turned it off, so we walked over the clock to turn it off, but the alarm was not set. It wouldn’t turn off, so we went to unplug it from the wall, but it was not plugged in. We looked for a place for batteries, but there wasn’t any. A few seconds later, the radio stopped playing. It was truly creepy.

Our Room in 2012, not Stephen King’s Suite

We weren’t aware at the time that the hotel had quite the reputation for being haunted and we weren’t there for any other reason other than it was a nice hotel with a good location. A few years later, the show Ghost Hunters filmed an episode there and the fame its ghostly reputation soared. On our last visit to the hotel in 2012, we were somewhat disappointed because what was a quiet, quaint, hotel, had become a tourist spot where you could book rooms based upon which ones you were more likely to see a spirit. There are also tours of the hotel going every fifteen minutes during the day and people wander the grounds as they wait for their tour. At night, we saw people setting up cameras trying to capture their own ghostly image and people wander the halls hoping to get a glimpse of spirit.

We don’t doubt that the hotel is truly haunted, especially based upon our experience so many years ago, but didn’t care for the atmosphere of all of the ghost chasers. They even showed the 1980 movie of The Shining, which wasn’t filmed there, 24/7 in the hotel rooms. We did happen to go by the suite we stayed in during our original visit while there was a tour group outside of it because it is one of the most haunted rooms in the hotel. Apparently there was a fire in the room that killed a maid many years ago and she is reported to still haunt the room. Was she upset that we checked in early and didn’t think that the room was ready? We’ll never know. Have you ever had your own ghostly encounter?

Ecuador – Land of Biodiversity

On September 25, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn South America11 Comments

Ecuador is a country made up of three distinct regions, each with their own opportunities to discover. There is the coastal region, which also includes the Galapagos Islands, the highlands with the Andes mountains and all of the volcanoes, and the Amazon with the largest variety of plants and animals of any country. We did not visit the coastal region or the Galapagos Islands on this trip, but instead focused our time on the highlands and the Amazon.

One thing was immediately clear upon our arrival in Ecuador, it is a country that is embracing eco-tourism. Although the country is still heavily dependent on the revenue from oil, there is a conscious effort to embrace tourism as the future of the country. Changing the currency to the US dollar in 2000 has also made it easy for visitors from the States to travel to Ecuador. Spanish is the official language of Ecuador, but there are still many indigenous people who speak Quechua, and English is commonly spoken.

Our time in the highlands was highlighted by visiting three of the many volcanoes, both active and non-active, that exist in Ecuador. One of the most famous is Cotopaxi, which has been active since 2015, although fortunately it has only spewed ash and steam and not lava. The snow covered volcano peaks can be seen on clear days from the capital city of Quito and are a constant reminder to the volatility of the forces that have formed the landscape of Ecuador.

Ecuador gets its name from the equator line, which runs through the country. Visiting the equator actually involves seeing two separate sites. There is the equator monument, commonly referred to as the historical equator as it was originally calculated as the center of the world in 1736, but was later proven to be wrong. With the use of GPS, scientists were able to calculate the true equator, which is actually slightly north of the monument that people often visit. Going to both equator sites is worthwhile as it is interesting to learn about the history of the equator and how indigenous people were able to calculate the center of the world thousands of years ago even closer than more modern scientists.

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is considered to be the most biodiverse location on the earth with all of the varieties of birds, amphibians, insects, plants, and trees. It is run by a group of indigenous natives and even has two tribes inside of the park that have no contact with the outside world. Despite the reliance upon oil, Ecuador is trying to balance the need for drilling with the desire to protect their natural resources. Spending time in the park is something that was truly special and we will treasure forever.

Napo Wildlife Center in the Yasuni National Park

Ecuador is a wonderful country and we enjoyed the time that we spent in the country. We didn’t have enough time on this trip to visit the Galapagos Islands, so we will definitely return sometime in the future to go to the coastal regions. Considering the variety of things to see and do in Ecuador, it is definitely a country that deserves to be visited.

Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy

On August 21, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Colorado, HikingLeave a comment

We decided to hike a trail on the grounds of the Air Force Academy here in Colorado Springs. The Falcon Trail is a trail that we have never hiked before and it is a 13 mile loop, but we just did a few miles of it. Since we have had a rather wet summer, the wildflowers have been in full bloom and we enjoyed seeing quite a variety of them during our hike.

The trail takes you through a variety of terrain from open fields to wooded hills. It was a warm day, so we enjoyed getting into the shade of the trees. The trail is considered to be a moderate trail, but the portion of the trail that we hiked was fairly easy. It is certainly a popular trail with mountain bikers, so you have to keep your eye out in order to avoid getting in their way.

It is definitely a trail that we will likely hike again. Not a lot of people go onto the grounds of the Academy to go hiking, so it is nice way to get away from the crowds and get into nature without having to drive very far from the city.