This Blue Hollow
This Blue Hollow
Estes Park, the Early Years, 1859-1915
Based on Pickering's extensive use of primary sources, This Blue Hollow details the lives of such characters as Joel Estes and Griffith J. Evans, the valley's first residents; the "notorious" James Nugent ("Rocky Mountain Jim") and his short but tempestuous relationship with the celebrated English traveler Isabella Lucy Bird; and the Earl of Dunraven, a wealthy Irishman who was successful in his (illegal) attempt to secure control of as much of the park as possible for his own uses. The book also explores such significant events as the coming of the first pioneer families and permanent settlers, as well as their development of Estes Park as a place to farm, ranch, and entertain tourists; the conquest of Longs Peak and the first explorations of other high and remote places; and the people and circumstances that led to the establishment of the town of Estes Park in 1905 and Rocky Mountain National Park a decade later.
This Blue Hollow is an exhaustive account of about fifty years in the history of Estes Park, one of the Rocky Mountains' most picturesque valleys. Pickering does a fine job of chronicling the lives and experiences of the pioneer folk that first homesteaded the area and the early pleasure-seekers that hunted its meadows and climbed the surrounding tall peaks. . . . As a traditional pioneer history of Estes Park this volume will likely never be surpassed.'
- New Mexico Historical Review
Co-winner of the 1999 Colorado Endowment for the Humanities Publication Prize, 'This Blue Hollow' is a well-researched, well-written revision of earlier and sketchier histories of Estes Park and the Estes Park area.'
- Western Historical Quarterly
Pickering demonstrates how the community of Estes Park evolved in tandem with the growing popularity of outdoor recreation, as isolated homesteaders hosting single travelers gave way to mountain resorts and luxury hotels...his affection for the Park gives This Blue Hollow an intimate feel, and fits with how environmental history is being written: regional biography from the ground up...this is a worthwhile and enjoyable read.'
- Journal of the West
