The Stanley Hotel

US 36 approaching Estes Park, Colorado

One of my favorite towns is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park, Colorado is an interesting town that caters to tourists visiting the area. One landmark of note in the town is The Stanley Hotel, an historic venue that has played host to many dignitaries over the years; from Teddy Roosevelt to Steven King. It was staying at The Stanley that inspired King to create the fictional Overlook Hotel for his novel, "The Shining". The television miniseries of the same name was shot at The Stanley.


The magnificent Stanley Hotel sits by the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Driving into Estes Park, The Stanley is the largest man made structures you see. If it weren't for the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, the Stanley would overpower everything else in sight. Yesterday, I managed to get the shot above of the hotel complex from a distance, with the mountains and approaching storm clouds in the background. While the photo doesn't do the view justice, as with all of my pictures, you can click on them for a larger version.


The main building at The Stanley Hotel

The main building at the hotel is a huge structure featuring Georgian architecture. The hotel was founded by F. O. Stanley, inventor of the famed Stanley Steamer automobile. Stanley came to Estes Park to have a healing climate for his tuberculosis, and ended up building the hotel as a summertime resort, one of the first to have electricity and plumbing. An actual Stanley Steamer is displayed in the main lobby, and is a beautiful piece of early 20th Century transportation history.

As an sidebar, one thing that occasionally gets my attention is the cultural knowledge differences between people of different ages. My 17-year-old nephew and his same-aged buddy heard the rest of us talking about the Stanley Steamer. They couldn't figure out why we were so excited about seeing a vacuum cleaner! (For those who don't know, Stanley Steemer is a carpet cleaning franchise in the United States that advertises heavily on the television). So this turned into an educational moment for them.


An original Stanley Steamer

While the hotel has had a revival of interest since The Shining became popular, it is truly a piece of history. If you visit Estes Park, it is worth a stay. Barring that, at least be sure to visit this beautiful hotel just for the spectacular views and classic architecture. If you are lucky, you will be able to stay for one of the evenings of ghost stories presented by the hotel staff. Who's that wispy figure standing on the staircase?


Main Lobby staircase and elevator at The Stanley Hotel

Drive with care, and buy Sinclair!

The title of this post is an old advertising slogan for Sinclair gasoline. That is one of the brands that I remember from my childhood. I can remember the round Sinclair signs that had "H-C" in the middle. I seem to recall that the H-C stood for "High Compression", but I also have seen on the Internet that it was for "Houston Concentrate", its high octane motor fuel.

The Sinclair brand also plays a prominent role in another childhood memory. My family went to the 1964-65 New York World's Fair, where Sinclair sponsored a pavilion about dinosaurs. My sisters and I got plastic dinosaurs there that were injection molded on the spot by a machine the company had set up to dispense them. I wish I still had one, as I imagine they may have some collectible value today.

Many Sinclair outlets were rebranded as either ARCO or BP after the company was acquired by Atlantic-Richfield in 1969. In the 1970s, the brand and its apatasaurus logo made a resurgence in many western states, and today can be found once again along the American highway. Once in a while, one of the stations will still have a large dinosaur standing out front. Here is one that happens to have two of them!

Over the Independence Day holiday, my mom, sister, nephew, and a friend came up from Texas for a visit, that included a trip to the always stunning Garden of the Gods. Just outside the park lies the town of Manitou Springs, Colorado, home to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It was in Manitou Springs where two of the Sinclair dinos watch the traffic go into and out of this great little municipality.

The first one you notice is a bright green dinosaur looking out at the street. To his left and positioned sideways and in a stand of trees is a darker green version. These guys, like other advertising icons, have become more rare as time has taken its toll on them, along with the occasional theft of one from the front of a gasoline station. Still, I am glad to see that these two are still around.

Back to the 50s

A cool, early 1950s Oldsmobile convertible!

Today is Father's Day, and my beautiful spouse took me to Sunrise Sunset in Lakewood for breakfast. Then we just drove around various areas looking at houses and whatever else we could see. It turned out to be a day of flashbacks to the early 1950s, as we saw several sights from that era.

First on the list of sights is the above red convertible. It was going by so fast that I barely had time to grab the camera and take this shot as it went by. It wasn't that the driver was speeding, as he was not. It was just almost not enough time to capture the image. I think this is a 1952 Oldsmobile. Nice ride, isn't it? Or as Peter Griffin from TV's Family Guy would say, it's "freakin' sweet!"


An old International Harvester pickup truck.

In two different neighborhoods, I saw two vintage pickup trucks. The photo above was built by International Harvester, a company I discussed last December on this very blog. I like the look of this vehicle, and even its tires have a look of rugged service and no-nonsense transportation. I believe this is a 1953 model.

The second pickup was the one below, a 1950 Ford F-1. While both of these had some rust on the bodies, they were in overall very serviceable condition, and could be restored to their full glory with some work. Also notice the flat windshield. Guess that was before the use of curved glass became commonplace.


Ford pickup from an earlier time

Also this morning near the restaurant, I saw something else that reminded me of the 50s; this old Montgomery Ward power reel mower. You don't often see power mowers that are not of the rotary variety anymore, but here was one sitting out by the street and the trash. The resident of the home where it was located was in his yard, so I asked if he would mind if I took a photo of it. He said I could have it if I wanted. The thought crossed my mind, albeit very fleetingly, as I don't need it, have no place for it, and I know the lovely wife would not want it around either. It did bring back a memory though. My dad used to have a red power reel mower starting when I was about 5 years old. I still recall how he used to mow the yard at the rental house in Bellaire, Texas that we called home for a few years. That little house was still around until about a year or so ago, when it was torn down to make room for a big custom house as part of the ongoing gentrification process now taking place in Bellaire.

I guess this old mower has cut its last blade of grass, and will hereafter end up in a landfill. Too bad, but like many of us, it has seen better days.


Old Montgomery Ward power reel lawn mower

Hungry Squirrel

MMMMMmmm!! Corn and nuts!

Even hairy little rodents can be cute, as this guy illustrates. This was taken in my oldest son's back yard where they have put out food for the squirrels in these feeders that I think used to be birdhouses. Look at those toes!

Praying Mantis

Not much to say here. Just happened to come home one day and found this little fellow sitting on the base of a window. At least he was photogenic enough to look toward the camera for this picture.

Oklahoma Highways

US Highway 66, the legendary route from Chicago to Santa Monica went through 8 states, and was a major route to the west coast from the Midwest and points east. It entered Oklahoma in the far northeast part of the state after just a few short miles in Kansas. It paralleled the current Will Rogers Turnpike (I-44) to Tulsa; the Turner Turnpike (I-44) from Tulsa to Oklahoma City; and I-40 west to the Texas Panhandle. This road has special memories for me, as my maternal Grandparents lived three blocks off of Route 66 in the OKC suburb of Bethany, where the highway was on NW 39th Expressway. For a short time during my childhood, I lived in a house whose backyard was on a hill overlooking Route 66 in Cucamonga (now Rancho Cucamonga), California, where it was Foothill Boulevard.

During the 1990s, I spent two-and-a-half years living in Tulsa, where "The Mother Road" had taken several alignments during its time as a US Highway. Today, the old highway is Oklahoma 66, but is marked with historic US 66 signs in many places. This most well known historic route is on 11th Street, but further north and closer to Tulsa International Airport is the alignment from 1926-1932, as indicated by this sign.

On the newer alignment (11th Street) near the University of Tulsa campus, I found the marker below in the pavement. It isn't all that old from what I could tell, but it is well worn.


Get your kicks on Route 66!


In the last year or so, Oklahoma has begun replacing its state highway shields with a new design. The old one was a simple white circle with black numerals. The new one features an outline map of the Sooner State with the route number below the map. While it is nicer looking than the old design, I think they could have done better than this.

This photo is an oversized reassurance shield for OK 11, a partial loop on the north side of Tulsa that is a main route to and from the Airport. Ultimately, the old design will be totally switched out with the new one statewide.

Oklahoma is the land of turnpikes, and nearly every major route in and out of Tulsa is a tolled road. One bypass route on the south and east side is the Creek Turnpike. This highway used to extend from US 75 near Jenks to S. Memorial Drive, but now connects the Turner Turnpike south of the city to the Will Rogers Turnpike on the northeast side. This photo shows the entrance to the Creek off of Memorial northbound.



Below is a close up from the above photo. I lightened it up a little to make the Creek Turnpike shield more visible.

It also happens that Oklahoma is the first place I ever saw electronic toll transponders, those devices that let you zip through special lanes equipped with readers that automatically charge you the toll. Oklahoma's version is called Pikepass, and I actually had one when I lived there. In Houston, they are called EZ-Tag, and in the Denver area, ExpressToll. Maybe someday they will be interoperational between jurisdictions, but so far this type of capability is very limited.

I do know that Dallas and Houston have an agreement to let their transponder customers use them on each other's toll facilities. I also saw in Houston last month that the EZ-Tag can also automatically be charged for parking at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. What a novel idea!

Newport Beach

I wish they all could be California Gulls

Time to take a look at some photos I took last summer at Newport Beach, California. My wife, son, daughter-in-law, and I took a day to head to this town on the blue Pacific for a day of fun, sand, and sun. We were not disappointed. While the rest of the entourage went to play in the water, I took the trusty Olympus for a walk around to see what I could find. As always, you can see larger versions of these photos by clicking on them. Use your back button to return. Or you can "right click" to open in a new window or tab.

This next photo appears on its surface to be two fishermen on a pier. Actually there are three fishers in this picture. Do you see the third? You may want to look at the larger version for this, and the answer follows this image.


The Fishermen at Newport Beach

If you look behind the fisherman to the left, you will notice a brown pelican cruising above the water looking for fish to scoop out of the ocean. Hopefully for everyone's sake except the fish's, there was a good catch for all three.

Speaking of pelicans, these seashore birds were everywhere. This next photograph has another pelican on a fishing expedition, with a sailboat on the deep blue waters. I don't think the ocean gets any more beautiful than this.


It isn't the size of the ship, but the motion of the ocean!

Just below the Newport Beach Pier, this cute little sea lion was playing and putting on a show. I really enjoyed watching him as he spun around, flipped, and generally just showed off his tricks.


Sea Lion at play

And what beach in California is complete without surfers. This guy was having fun and I'm sure he also was hoping to impress the ladies with his surfing prowess. As the Beach Boys sang, "Catch a wave and you're sittin' on top of the world".


Surfer dude

Springtime in Madison

Garden at the Wisconsin University campus

In my last post, I shared some photos from Milwaukee. Now let's look at a few from Madison, Wisconsin taken the same week. The garden above is on campus at the University of Wisconsin. It contains many beautiful plants and water features.

Also on campus is the Washburn Observatory. This facility sports the typical dome, and makes for an attractive feature atop Observatory Hill.


Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin

On weekends during the spring, there is a public, open air market on the state capitol grounds. There are also people there of all kinds, exercising their First Amendment right of free speech. These guys in the next picture reminded me of the Elton John song Tiny Dancer, where the lyrics say, "Jesus freaks, out in the streets, handing tickets out for God". So we walked on by, as the street preacher was calling us all whores and whoremongers. I really haven't ever mongered anything, much less a whore! Just another fine example of Christianity at work.


Street preachin' Jesus freaks

Madison is a progressive-minded city, so the Jesus freaks were met with laughter and mild amusement by the passersby. Luckily, Madison has a major counterbalance to such nincompoops. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is headquartered just a few blocks from the capitol. I stopped by Freethought Hall to snap a few pictures, even though the staff was out of town that day.


Freethought Hall, headquarters of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

And since this blog deals a lot with road and highway issues, here is a sign you see around Madison. The blank US highway shield is not a mistake. It indicates the Madison Beltline Highway, a multiplex of US Highways 12, 14, 18, and 151. They just use the blank shield to represent them all.


Beltline Highway blank shield

Springtime in Milwaukee

A Milwaukee city park in full bloom

Well, it's been a little over a year since I went up to Wisconsin. I figure it is time to share a few photos of Milwaukee that I took during that trip. What better way to start off than with the beautiful colors of the trees in a city park covered with red and pink blossoms.

The next picture is in the heart of downtown where the Milwaukee River flows through the city and into Lake Michigan. While it isn't the San Antonio Riverwalk, it is very nice in its own way. These boats were docked along side some of the high rises. There is something appealing about a river in the heart of a city.


Dockside on the Milwaukee River

Here is a partial view of one of Milwaukee's landmarks, the Pabst Theater. This building had scaffolding over a large portion of its exterior when I was there, undergoing either renovation or cleaning. The sparkling gold accents stand in contrast to the dark reddish-brown of the stone and brick exterior.


Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

While we are looking at the tops of buildings, take a look at this pair. Built in 1884 and 1879 respectively, these structures still house viable businesses. The one on the right has the word NEWS engraved into the top, along with the year 1879, obviously originally housing a newspaper. Click to enlarge and see the engravings on these.


What were the headlines in 1879 Milwaukee?

Being an old telephone guy, this next building was of interest to me. The facade reflects the changes in the telephone business over the years. This photo has Wisconsin Telephone Company engraved in stone across the top.


Wisconsin Telephone Company Building, Milwaukee, WI

As you look closer to street level, below the Wisconsin Telephone sign, you come across the old Bell System logo cut into marble and still present on the front of the building above the doors. The Bell System has not existed since Judge Green broke up Ma Bell back in 1984, yet this reminder of the past remains.

Then directly below it, the logo of the new AT&T had just been installed. So in a matter of 22 years, this building has gone from housing Wisconsin Telephone (a subsidiary of the old AT&T), to Ameritech (one of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies or RBOCs), to SBC Communications (the original Southwestern Bell that bought Ameritech); to the new AT&T (or is it at&t? After buying the old AT&T, SBC took its former parents name).


Your world . . . delivered!

Milwaukee also has a very modern looking art museum on the shore of Lake Michigan. I took this shot one evening during my stay there. It reminds me of a ship docked along the lakeside.


Milwaukee Art Museum

Here is a picture of the main doors to the Hotel Metro, the very nice art deco styled hotel where I stayed during my visit. This is another downtown Milwaukee landmark, and is a very elegant place to spend some time. It is also on the National List of Historic Places.


Hotel Metro, a Milwaukee Art Deco landmark

This very set of doors in also visible in the next photo, diagonally across the street from Ratzsch's German Restaurant. This has to be one of the best places I have ever enjoyed German food.


Entrance to Ratzsch's German Restaurant

To give you an idea of the ambiance of this terrific establishment, here is the view from my table.


Interior of Milwaukee's Ratzsch's German Restaurant

After dinner, I walked around town, and found this impressive structure lit up for the evening. The classic columns make this a very interesting building, but I don't remember what it is. If anyone out there recognizes it, I'd like to know.


The mystery building ? ? ?

Finally, here is a photo of Miller Park, home to the National League Milwaukee Brewers. Play ball!


Miller Park

Even More From Houston

Caroline Street in the Downtown Historic District

Let's take a look at a few more photos I took a couple of weeks ago during my visit back to Houston. This is a photo that shows a couple of things about how downtown has been coming back to life. First take a look at the street sign. As I have mentioned in earlier postings, Houston's various neighborhoods have been going to their own unique style of street signage. The type you see here is used in most of downtown, but vary the wording to denote Historic District, Theater District, etc. This photo also shows two styles of street lights that have been installed in the area, both with an older and more elegant look than the former ones, which were strictly utilitarian. Here we see a lower, single light on a pole, as well as a double overhanging light. There were also quite a few of these banners you see in the picture hanging around the area. These are obviously inspired by the Lone Star state flag of Texas.


Crosswalk arches in Uptown Houston

The next picture show the shiny arches that mark the location of crosswalks along Post Oak Road in the Uptown District. You can also see a second, distant set further down the road. These arches soar above pedestrian crosswalks, and match the shiny chrome-colored street lights, traffic signal masts, and the large circular street signs I have previously posted pictures of.


Houston's City Hall at night

My last night in Houston, I went out to get a few photos of the buildings downtown lit up. Much to my disappointment and puzzlement, the city was not lit very well that evening. Therefore, I got few usable pictures. It was actually quite eerie. Still I will share a couple here. The photo above is Houston's City Hall, built in 1938-1939. Similar city halls abound around this part of the country, all of about the same vintage. I am sure that when it opened, it was a grand building, but it is now diminutive by comparison. It is surrounded by soaring skyscrapers on three sides, along with the Houston Main Library. The building faces a reflecting pool and small park to its east side (shown here), and the west face is visible in front of the skyline if you are west of Downtown. Compared to Denver's grand city and county building, it seems amazing that this modest structure is the seat of government for the nation's fourth largest metropolis, until you realize that most city functions are housed at over 500 other buildings and annexes. Still, it is an icon of city government, and the place where many municipal ceremonies are held.


Houston's nighttime skyline - Click for a larger view

Like I have already mentioned, the city was not well lit that night, and I had the further frustration of not having a tripod with me. Still, this photo, while not the best, is acceptable. I used my sister's shoulder for a tripod as we stopped to the side of Memorial Drive approaching Downtown to get this view. The lights from the cars in the foreground are westbound traffic on Allen Parkway, on the other side of Buffalo Bayou from my vantage point. I suggest clicking the photo to get a better view.

A Saturday Drive

Colorful Colorado Wildflowers - Click to see large version

Yesterday, my wife and I took a short drive down to Elizabeth, Colorado in Elbert County. It was an absolutely beautiful day, albeit a bit cool for June, but that's how it can be here in the Centennial State. Our intention was to go to the Elizabeth Stampede, a rodeo held there. Once we arrived, we decided not to go in to the rodeo, but instead to just enjoy a walk and drive. I guess I am just not one who likes to be in crowds.

In any case, one thing that was very enjoyable was the abundance of wildflowers in bloom. In many parts of the country, it is past the time when wildflower blooms are at their peak, but since we have a fairly short warm season, it is still cool enough that the flowers are out. The picture above is too small to really take in the color, so I suggest that you click on it to see a larger version.

The sad story behind this picture is that we took this particular route home because Colorado 86 was shut down by a very bad accident just a couple of miles or so east of Franktown. We had to veer off the main highway and down some country backroads to get around the wreck. Where the police had the highway closed was a few hundred feet from the accident site, and it was so bad that the fire department and a Life-Flight helicopter was on the highway. I hope that whoever was involved is doing okay.

The sign in the photo below was unusual. This was taken in a parking area for the Elizabeth Stampede. I think it must be for the cowboy who was thrown off of a raging bull or bucking bronco one too many times. I have never seen a sign with the universal handicap symbol wearing a cowboy hat before.

A WildBlue Sign

WildBlue on the Highway - Photo courtesy of Michael T. Williamson

The Internet touches our lives in many ways, and over the last decade it has become ever more integrated with our daily activities. Here is yet another way, one that I had never thought about until I saw this photograph, which also fits in very well with the road geekiness of this blog.

This is a picture taken by Michael T. Williamson, who works for the same company as I, but who lives in the great state of Washington. Michael shot this interesting picture in a remote area in the southeastern part of that beautiful state. At first glance, we see a standard Variable Message Sign (VMS) installed along the highway. Upon closer inspection, there is a small satellite reflector antenna attached to the top right of the sign.

That antenna happens to be an installation for service from WildBlue, a satellite-based Internet service sold to customers in remote areas who cannot get other terrestrial broadband options such as cable or DSL. WildBlue is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, a Denver suburb that is not far from where I live and work. As a matter of fact, my employer resells WildBlue service under a combined brand. Therefore, this picture was of double interest to me.

It is apparent that the sign's message must get updated over the Internet. It makes me wonder how long it will be before someone hacks into the signs and has them display a message not sanctioned by the Washington Department of Transportation. The photo also gives us a sense of direction. Since it has to point toward the southern sky, this view is looking primarily in a westward direction.

I also notice the guardrail between the sign and the highway's lanes of traffic. I guess they wanted to try to prevent a wayward car or truck from taking out this VMS (which is certainly not cheap to purchase or install).

This is a great catch, Michael. Thanks for letting me share it with other road geeks out there.