Estes Park/Stanley Hotel

Being a McBride has taught me to be flexible. My first reaction to a change in plans is usually with resistance. So when Dan called me from work on a Friday morning and said there was an opening in an Army Strong Bonds Retreat for that weekend, I tried not to freak out and look at it as an opportunity, not a hindrance.

A Strong Bonds Retreat is a marriage retreat where you get an all expenses paid weekend away, including child care while you take some marriage strengthening courses and get a night out without the kids. We did one in Korea, and while it was nice to 'get away', it was to the Dragon Hill Lodge, the only hotel for us Americans in the area.

This retreat took place in Estes Park, and we got to stay at the Stanley Hotel! This really was too good of an opportunity to pass up. We just had to make arrangements for the dog, for my church calling and get packed quickly so we could leave when the kids got out of school.

We took quite a few pictures of the hotel since it is very old and famous for being the hotel where Stephen King wrote the Shining. It has a reputation for being haunted. It was really neat!


 Our room was HUGE! The thing on the door said it would have been $250/night!

Ever seen a closet in a hotel room this large?

I loved all the hardware and fixtures in the hotel, so old fashioned!

This was the view outside our window.

These faucets were in the hallways. Attach a hose and then you can put out a fire!

Beautiful mirrors!

The is 'the' room. The one where Stephen King stayed and wrote The Shining. You can stay in this room, but some on the third floor are said to be more haunted.

This was along the baseboards, a little grate? Heater?

They had writing tables all around the hallways. Need to write a letter?

This isn't two of the same picture, one is real and the other is being reflected in a mirror. Cool and creepy!

For our date night we did the ghost tour at the Stanley hotel. It's not just a historical tour, it's a 'supernatural experience', where we went around to the most haunted spots of the hotel grounds and attempted to interact with the afterlife. It was... interesting.

Stanley Steamer!!

Want to have a reading while you're here?

Here's a few pictures from our ghost tour. Dan and I didn't experience anything, though others around us were certain they did. It was more entertaining than anything! In this room we sat in complete darkness and looked/listened for things.

In this auditorium we were encouraged to play piano to invite the spirits out, to make them feel more at home.

There were tons of pianos just hanging around

Too bad our room didn't come with one of these keys!

After our stay at the hotel we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park. Apparently this drive is jam packed with cars in the summer, but it was empty in January. It was gorgeous and we saw a lot of wildlife. Dan even took the boys sledding for a little bit, but the wind was INSANE!!

I love living in Colorado!