This is where I live

This is the Pillar of Fire.  It sits atop the highest point in the Denver metro area.  It looks like a castle from all directions.  Its looooong history, of which my son knows more than almost anyone about, has it initially being built as be the “Princeton of the West.”  It is a massive red sandstone building. 

I live less than a quarter of a mile south of the Pillar of Fire and I grew up 1/4 mile to the northwest of it on the north side of the hill.

You can see a few more pictures of the Pillar of Fire here and here.

The first shot is of Denver.  I live about 7 miles north as the crow flies.  Last night we had rain.  We were expecting snow and you can see how close it came down in the second shot which is looking right from the hill toward the foothills west of Denver.  It is a humid, windy, and cloudy day, but the sun is still shining through.  We love our sunshine in Colorado were we get at least 300 sunny days a year.

These are the “flat-tops” which are part of the foothills west of Denver. 

Hopefully spring isn’t too far away!

Robbie Marie

Another shot of the Pillar of Fire

Untitled, a photo by old town drafting on Flickr.

My son, Justin of Old Town Drafting, manipulated one of shots of the castle.
It looks really great, doesn’t it?

Robbie Marie

... in the Shadow of the Castle

I grew up in the shadow of a castle.

The castle lumbered over our heads as we grew up.  Occasionally we were able to tour it, we told scary stories about it and sneaked onto the grounds as teenagers.  We passed the graveyard almost daily, always mindful of the ghost of the old woman that traipsed through the grounds searching for her dead son. We seldom saw the bats that lived in the belfry, but their presence was evident in the drippings which glowed white on the hard red sandstone of the outer walls.

The deep freezes that came with winter meant skeleton trees frozen with ice and sprinkled with snow that glistened against the cold and frigid blue sky.  The castle was more foreboding during the winter when its shape was softened with foliage.

The castle stood on top of the highest hill and could be seen for miles and miles in every direction.  Everyone knew of the castle, but not many knew anything about it.  There was something timeless and reassuring in it's hard stone blocks.

My children likewise have grown up under the castle.  My son has grown to have a great affinity for the castle and has researched it extensively.  He has become quite an authority on its history, and of our town.

In a future post I will tell you about the castle and introduce you to my son.

~ Robbie