Colorado Family Memories

“We should a guest love while he loves to stay, and when he likes not, give him loving way.” ~~ General Palmer’s creed regarding visitors. ~~

One of the things Mui and I did when we were in Colorado Springs in 2015 was visit Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs and "have a cuppa" in the tea room afterward. We enjoyed the experience so much that I wanted to repeat it with the family. Alas, getting tickets for the tour and reservations at the tea room over the holidays and into the first part of the year proved impossible. So, I started looking for alternatives and came up with Glen Eyrie Castle ... not far from the Garden of the Gods. In fact, so close as to have similar red rock formations that add interest to the grounds. And so I made reservations — tour of the castle at 1:00p ... followed by tea in the Music Room at 2:30p.

And that’s how we came to be at Glen Eyrie today. A cold day ... but one that felt quite comfortable in the sun ... brilliant blue skies above. And wildlife all around ... free-roaming herds of deer and bighorn sheep that come and go as they please between the Garden of the Gods and Glen Eyrie ... a flock of wild turkeys roaming amongst the lodges sprinkled around the property. Those are the animals we saw. I understand there are foxes as well ... and a bear even got into the Great Hall last year when someone left one of the French doors open. We also saw two huge abandoned eagle nests as we were leaving the property — apparently foxes and eagles don’t make good neighbors 😉

Glen Eyrie — Valley of the Eagle’s Nest — is the one-time estate of General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. When originally constructed in 1872, the building was a 22-room frame house. In 1881, it was renovated and the tower was added. After another restoration in the early 1900s, the castle as it is seen today was born ... with 67 rooms and many amenities that had not been seen in Colorado at the time ... such as a fire suppression system hidden in the walls, electricity, plumbing, and central vacuuming.

Today the property functions as a conference center and a B&B. It is owned by The Navigators, an international, non-denominational Christian organization. This latter came as a surprise to me as I don’t recall seeing mention of the ownership when I was checking out the castle for our afternoon tea experience. Frankly, knowing this would have made me reconsider today’s visit ... but I guess that is neither here nor there now.

Our tour started in the carriage house with a short introductory video. Then our guide took us outside for a short stroll to the castle, stopping along the way to show us the tunnel that connects the carriage house to the castle and the small schoolhouse that General Palmer ordered built on the property for his three daughters. At the bridge, we stopped to photograph the castle ... the best vantage point to do so. Then we headed inside ... the foyer, the library, the music room, the general’s den ... up to the second floor to see what were back in the time the family and guest bedrooms and the great hall ... and a ladies restroom with a fireplace to keep it cozy.

Here I have to pause and admit to some disappointment in Glen Eyrie ... no original furnishings ... none of the old world charm I was expecting. Yes, the bedrooms — prepared and awaiting overnight guests — were beautifully decorated, but they just didn’t have the ambiance that original furnishings would have added. And the great hall — except for the massive fireplace that was a reminder of the bygone era during which the building was constructed — had all the ambiance of a lecture hall at a conference center.

After wandering through the castle, we returned to what was once the music room. Here we joined other guests who had made reservations for the daily afternoon tea. Before being escorted to our table, we selected our own teacups ... odd I thought, but perhaps the best way to handle the mismatched porcelain and bone china cups and saucers used for the tea service.

There were eight varieties of tea from which we made our selections. Then we dug into individually-plated crisp salads (with a blood orange vinaigrette dressing) that was the starter course for our tea. When our salad plates were removed, one of the waitresses brought a tiered tray of goodies for us to partake with our tea ... orange/cranberry scones with clotted cream; fig and honey canapes; smoked salmon canapes; pecan cookies; and a meringue-topped miniature chocolate tart. All, we agreed, were quite tasty.

It was 4:00p when we left the music room. We had hoped to wander around the property on foot for a bit. But by this time the sun had gone behind the rock formations and it had grown quite chilly. So we satisfied ourselves with a quick drive, stopping in several places to check out the bighorn sheep and the wild turkeys that were roaming about the grounds. It's always great to see wildlife going about their own business with total disregard of the humans gawking at them. I want to return to photograph them with my long lens since the phone camera was not up to the challenge. Perhaps when we return we can hike one or two of the trails on the property as well. (Our guide said we can tell the gate guard that we are going up to the bookstore and he will accommodate us.)

All in all, we had a nice afternoon at Glen Eyrie. Certainly, the rest of my party had no complaints. Nor did I. Not really ... except for the disappointment I mentioned above ... that I won’t dwell on now. That said, if I had to recommend a castle for tea, Glen Eyrie would not be the first one to come to mind.

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