After a week of caring for sick kids, a wave of cabin fever washed over me. Life is good on many levels but also so overwhelming with major, saddening issues over which I have no control. I just needed to get out and for me, that means outside. I left Hadley with Jamie and headed to the mountains. I have a bucket list of trails I want to tackle and one of them is Lair ‘o the Bear Open Space. We spend a lot of time playing in the creek in the summertime but the Bear Creek Trail extends 12.6-miles through three contiguous Denver Mountain Parks to the west. I had no idea how extensive it was until I set out but it was just what the doctor ordered.
Or he would have if I’d been sick but remember I was the lone holdout in the family for the first time ever?
I was delighted to wear my YakTrax traction devices on my shoes for the first time this winter. That’s my nice way of saying, DENVER–YOUR SNOWLESS WINTER HAS SUCKED.
But my winter expedition did not and I loved it all–from hiking in snow to the beauty of the crystallized river to the chilly temperatures to the complete solitude where it seems even the birds had abandoned the forest for warmer climes. Just alone in my thoughts without any of life’s distractions.
When I was about 15 minutes into my hike, I was stopped in my tracks by enchanting classical music that saturated the area. I looked around, saw nothing and deduced I was imaging it. But as I pressed onward, the music grew louder and more urgent so like the Pied Piper, I blindly followed it and it lead me to the Dunafon Castle. 
Now I’m not sure about you but it’s not exactly happenstance in my life to find a cosseted château in the mountains–particularly one that is located off a road I’ve driven a hundred times. Built on a peninsula overlooking the crystal-clear waters of Bear Creek, I later found out this stunning seventeen-acre “Colorado’s Camelot” was built in 1941 and is a residence that opens for private events May through October. The property was securely gated off but I’ve vowed to return for one of their guided tours.
That fueled my fire and the hike I’d only intended to be a brief escape turned into a three-hour, who-knows-how-many-miles hike. I simply couldn’t turn around; the mountains are among my most sacred places. When I happened upon this view of the peaks that worship 14,26-ft. Mt. Evans, the thought came to my mind, “God is in charge.”
A wash of peace came over me…and I walked away from my brief interlude with Colorado’s Camelot with gratitude for a renewed perspective.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 