I stayed for about a month in the summer of 1986 when the H-Bar-G Ranch was run by Lou as a youth hostel. I was hitchhiking solo east-to-west through the United States (then the reverse through Canada).
Memories of the H-Bar-G Ranch are some of the fondest from that trip including:
- lifts into town in Lou's jeep to work in a restaurant
- the gate-opening pulley mechanism he devised so that it could be opened grabbing a rope as the jeep sped along
- jovial evening gatherings with other hostelers
- a real sense of safety, family and belonging, when far from home travelling for the first time (aged 19)
When walking in the hills one day, several miles from the hostel, I came across a dead mountain lion. Lou and I brought it back to the Ranch in his jeep. I believe it was the first lion to be found in Colorado in many years. I still have a newspaper clipping somewhere from the local paper about the find. I clearly remember the shock of seeing the lion and being pretty scared until I realised it was dead.
I kept in touch with Lou and the Ranch for a while after I arrived back in the UK. I recently watched the official video for the Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) soundtrack, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'. If you watch the video soundtrack and listen to the song, you will understand why those memories of the H-Bar-G came flooding back to me. Wow, they were happy days.
If I make to the USA again, Estes Park will be at the top of the list. Here's thinking of you.
Best wishes.
- Oliver Unett (Chester, United Kingdom)