{"product_id":"this-blue-hollow-estes-park-the-early-years-18591915","title":"This Blue Hollow: Estes Park  the Early Years  1859-1915","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"This Blue Hollow\" is the first comprehensive account of the early history of Estes Park  Colorado  the \"gem of the Rockies.\" In this enthralling narrative  James H. Pickering traces the development of Estes Park as a mountain resort community  from the time of its first recorded discovery by Joel Estes in 1859 to the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915. Though Estes and his family stayed only briefly  others quickly followed: hunters  homesteading settlers  lumbermen  mountaineers  artists  writers  and vacationers. They came for many reasons: first for settlement  exploration  and exploitation and later for escape  health  recreation  and renewal. Their collective experiences and accomplishments--their successes as well as their failures--are chronicled in this book. Based on Pickerings extensive use of primary sources  \"This Blue Hollow\" details the lives of such characters as Joel Estes and Griffith J. Evans  the valleys 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 is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of Colorado.  James H. Pickering  a summer resident of Estes Park  is a professor of English at the University of Houston  where he has also served as dean  provost  and president. Over the past dozen years he has written or edited ten books on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Colorado history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44976964763701,"sku":"ByrdShop_0870815288","price":91.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780870815287.jpg?v=1770713519","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/this-blue-hollow-estes-park-the-early-years-18591915","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}