A Picnic

 Picnics are always fun and it had been years since I had been on one. On September 14, 2023, six friends decided to go on a picnic and visit Hiwan Heritage Park and Museum. Even though I am a Colorado resident and traveled to Evergreen many times, I had never stopped at the museum. There are seven bathrooms in the large rustic home with seventeen rooms. Most of the items are furnishings from the original owners that lived in the home from1880 until 1942. There were fireplaces in most of the rooms and the tour guide commented that the first fireplace was pretty rough and as other rooms were added, the fireplaces became better and neater looking as the mason learned the trade! 

It was interesting seeing how things used to be in the past and amazing at the handmade wooden work throughout the house. In a chapel there was a crucifix and a statue that looked like the Blessed Mother even though it was not a Catholic chapel. Dr. Josepha, one of the owners of the land, married Charles Douglas in 1896 and used the mountain home as a get away from Denver. He was an Episcopal minister and became the first curator of Native American art at the Denver Art Museum. Developers tried to purchase the land to put in condos but fortunately the land was not sold. With luck, the area will continue to be where picnics can be held, schools can visit and tour to learn how life was in the past and wildlife can wander peacefully while quietness reigns.

On the grounds there is a pavilion with tables and that's where we had our picnic. Six of us enjoyed the silence, the greenery, and the mule deer that wandered near to check us out! I learned they are called mule deer because of their large ears. 

Even though rain had been predicted, we lucked out and missed the rain though it drizzled lightly. On our way home it began to rain and we felt lucky that we were able to enjoy the day before the rain arrived!

"Picnics are the ultimate

multi-tasking experience --

eating, relaxing and dodging

bees all at the same time."

by Picnic Makers