A Walk Around Evergreen Lake

 My husband and I took a short drive west to Evergreen, Colorado, last week to take a walk around the lake that is located there.  Evergreen is at an elevation of 7,220 feet (2,200m) and was named for the plentiful pine, spruce, and fir trees that grow at its location.

The area which is now Evergreen Lake was originally the scenic mountain ranch of 1860s pioneer Julius C. Dedisse.  His 420 acres of land were purchased by the City & County of Denver in 1919.  In 1927-28 Denver constructed the 35-foot (11 m) high Evergreen Dam as a flood control measure on the notoriously flood-prone Bear Creek, creating the 55-acre (220,000 m) Evergreen Lake. The surrounding area is now part of Denver Mountain Parks and is called Dedisse Park after the original landowner.  The lake has become a favorite recreational part of the Evergreen Community with ice skating and hockey in the winter and boating and paddleboarding rental opportunities in the summer.  The beautiful rustic Evergreen Lake House, seen in the photo above, is available for rental and many weddings have been held there.

Please click on to enlarge to read the information.

Bear Creek runs through the Bear Creek Watershed that extends from Mount Evans Wilderness to Morrison and it is a tributary of the South Platte River in central Colorado.

 

Parts of the land surrounding the lake have become marshlike with the seasonal ebb and flow of the creek.

A portion of the lake perimeter consists of a boardwalk over the marsh.

The lake attracts many migrating birds and the Evergreen Audubon Society volunteers help observe and keep records of the birds sighted along Evergreen Lake and Bear Creek, as well as completing other studies. Click on the photo above to enlarge it to see a list of some recent bird sightings. The day I was at the lake I saw mainly geese and red-winged blackbirds.

The lake is now open to boating and paddleboarding and rentals are available at the lake boathouse.

I thought the marsh reeds made a pretty pattern in this area!

One of our favorite restaurants--Willow Creek--is located across the road from the lake. We look forward to being able to dine on their outdoor patio once the weather gets warmer.

Another favorite place to dine can be seen in the distance--Keys on the Green. It is located in the original octagonal clubhouse of Evergreen Golf Course, which was the first public golf course in the state of Colorado, constructed in 1925.

After our hike around the lake, we took a drive up Bear Creek Road to admire all the big beautiful houses in the area.  Can you see this one across the creek and behind the towering pine trees? 

Another house along the road had this exhibit outside for the holiday Cinco de Mayo, celebrated on May 5th.

As we headed back home we passed the historic Little Bear Saloon and restaurant in the town of Evergreen.  They have live music six nights a week, and a few years ago we attended a concert there with friends which you can see in this post. It is such a fun venue!

A drive back east down Bear Creek Canyon and we were home again, happily refreshed after a nice day out. I'm really looking forward to going on more local hikes now that the weather is improving.  We feel fortunate to be able to enjoy the outdoors again after such an unusual year. 

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

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The Hiwan Homestead Museum

Hiwan Homestead Museum, located in Evergreen, Colorado, is a magnificent, 25-room log lodge, built between 1880 and 1942, and includes three other original buildings. which are now used as a museum and exhibit space.

I visited Hiwan Homestead Museum on different occasions during last summer, and especially enjoyed the excellent docent tour when I went with a group.  

Hiwan Homestead was a mountain retreat for Mary Neosho Williams, a Civil War widow, and her daughter Josepha in the 1890s. They were among the aristocratic society of Denver who camped at Evergreen. They acquired a simple log structure and hired John “Jock” Spence, a Scottish carpenter, to convert it into a summer cottage, and over the years added on to the initial structure. The property was named Camp Neosho after Mrs. Williams’ middle name.

Overnight guests of Mary Neosho Williams would stay in tents, comfortably equipped with wood floors, stoves, and double canvas walls.  In 1889, Josepha graduated from Gross Medical School in Denver and became one of Colorado’s first women doctors. Seven years later, Josepha married Canon Charles Winfred Douglas, an Episcopal clergyman who achieved world acclaim for his musical work.

The Williams/Douglas families would hold lavish parties at their mountain retreat and one of their famous guests who stayed at Camp Neosho in 1931was the poet Robert Frost.

Josepha Douglas died in 1938 and the house was sold to Tulsa oilman, Darst Buchanan. It grew to 15,000 acres over the years. His wife renamed the land Hiwan Ranch. Buchanan’s Hiwan Hereford cattle were known throughout the country and won many stock show prizes. Six generations of notable families lived in this rustic mountain lodge before it was developed as a museum by Jefferson County Open Space in 1974.

Many of the restored rooms in the Hiwan Homestead are furnished with the original residents' belongings, including a collection of southwestern Indian artifacts.

Canon Charles Winfred Douglas, whose portrait hangs on one of the fireplaces in Hiwan Homestead, was largely responsible for bringing plainsong, the ancient music of liturgical worship, into general use, and with it the full choral service in Episcopal worship.

One of my favorite rooms in the Hiwas Homestead was the kitchen, which was frozen in time circa the 1930s

There were so many wonderful artifacts to look at in the kitchen, including a wonderful vintage cookbook collection...

...and vintage spice and condiment containers. 

Schoolchildren often tour Hiwan House to learn about the early days of Colorado, and they make pioneer style journey cakes in the kitchen.

One of the visits I made to Hiwan Homestead Museum was to see an exhibit going on at the time about Chief Colorow, a Native American who was active in the area where I now live.  I've blogged more about him, and the red rock front range cave he liked to use as a shelter, on this blog post.

It was a wonderful exhibit of both photographs and artifacts of the Utes and early settlers in Colorado.

The grounds of Hiwan Homestead Museum are much smaller now than when it was a functioning ranch but are beautifully maintained.

Two of the beautiful sculptures on display on the grounds.

Above is a short video about Hiwan Homestead from the Jefferson County website.  

I hope you enjoyed learning more about this wonderful piece of old Colorado history preserved for all time.

The Hiwan Homestead is located at:

28473 Meadow Drive

Evergreen, CO 80439

Admission is free

 For large group tours contact the museum at 720-497-7650 

Museum Hours: Tuesday – Friday: Noon - 4:00 pm Saturday & Sunday: Noon – 4:30 pm

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Little Bear Saloon in Evergreen, Colorado

Doesn't everyone enjoy live music? My husband and I, and a couple of good friends drove up to the mountain town of Evergreen to visit the Little Bear Saloon on Saturday, where two friends, Mike and Nick, were performing live music during the lunchtime hours. (All photos will enlarge when clicked on)

The rustic Little Bear Saloon is exactly what you would imagine an old-time western saloon to look like, with its all wooden facade, swinging double door entrance, brass cash register, wooden bar stools booths and tables carved graffiti of names and dates, and forty years worth of legendary music. Little Bear was formerly a church, a drugstore, the Red Ram Saloon and the Round-Up Dance Hall. During the 60's and 70's, the saloon was known as the Red Ram, and Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, the Glenn Miller Band all performed here. Around the middle 70's the name had changed to Little Bear, and the music changed to the sounds of  Bo Diddley, Rita Coolidge, George Thoroughgood and many others, including Willie Nelson who had a house in Evergreen at the time and used to come down to Little Bear to jam with other musicians.

We ordered a pitcher of beer to share and enjoyed some really tasty and juicy hamburgers from their menu selections and sat back to enjoy a wonderful few hours of R Michael Rhodes performing, accompanied by Nick. On his website, Mike describes his music as: "...lighthearted, 'easy listening' feel and with storytelling lyrics that give it an incredibly nostalgic quality that is hard not to like." Mike was influenced in his music by James Taylor, John Denver, The Eagles, and Garth Brooks and he often plays cover songs of their hits, as well as songs he has written--click here-- to learn more on his website and to listen to his original songs.



We loved Mike's beautiful rendition of John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High," as I've always a big John Denver fan--click here to see my blog post about the John Denver Sanctuary in Aspen, Colorado. You can watch a few minutes of the song in the video above from my Mille Fiori Facebook page.  Click here to listen to it on my facebook page if you can not see the video. I think you'll agree that Mike has a wonderfully soothing and melodic voice and that he and Nick are superb guitar players.  The Little Bear house was packed for his performance and everyone had a wonderful time!

Some more views of the wonderful old honky tonk Little Bear Saloon. People have sent in many car license plates from all over the world to adorn their walls, including one that was near our table that was from America Samoa!

There were also signed dollar bills on the walls, photos of past bands, music memorabilia, and yes, even women's bras hanging down from on the rafters over the stage. Sagging old wooden steps lead upstairs to both a viewing gallery and pool tables, and almost every inch of wood in the saloon had carvings from countless past customers to view.  The Little Bear was a colorful place full of nostalgia and with music history in every corner! It is definitely worth a visit!

Little Bear is located at 28075 Highway 74 in Evergreen, Colorado, and continues its over forty years tradition of live music. You can check its upcoming schedule at this link.

Evergreen is a beautiful town to visit, and a walk around Evergreen Lake on a 1.3-mile loop trail is another wonderful thing to do during the day, in addition to visiting all the shops and restaurants of the downtown area. Boats and paddleboards and other equipment can be rented to enjoy the lake on the water, and in winter the lake becomes a popular ice skating rink.

Evergreen is just 30 to 45 minutes west of Denver in the beautiful foothills of Jefferson County. The drive along CO 74, which includes Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, is famous for its awe-inspiring granite cliffs, diverse vegetation, wildflowers, and meandering Bear Creek.

We really enjoyed our day out in Evergreen and the historic Little Bear Saloon, and we wish Mike continued success in living his dream of pursuing music as his second career!

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I'm linking this post to the following blog events:

Amaze Me Monday, Mosaic Monday, All Seasons, Blue Monday,  Through My Lens Monday, Inspiration Monday, Blogging Grandmothers, You Are the Star Blog Hop, Good Random Fun, Nature Notes, Grand Social, Travel Photos, Photo Tunes, Happiness Is Homemade, Tuesday Treasures, Pictorial Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Tuesdays With A Twist, Party in Your PJ's, Wordless Wednesday, Oh My Heartsie Girl's Wonderful Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Whimsical Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World, Wonderful Wednesday,  Share Your Cup, Little Things Thursday,  Travel Photo Thursday, Thankful Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friendship Fridays, Friday Photo Journal, Skywatch Friday, Sweet Inspiration, Weekend Travel Inspiration, Pink Saturday, Over the Moon, Happiness Is Homemade