Castle in the sky

¿Donde está mi hijo?

Considering his world traveler reputation, if you were just to look at this photo and try to guess where he was perched, you'd probably think somewhere in eastern Europe, or perhaps Patagonia.

But, no, it was right here in the US of A, and in Colorado, no less!

He had climbed to one of the topmost turrets in Bishop Castle, a fantastic, eccentric, and beautiful little oddity that we stumbled upon when we missed a turn off IH-25. (And if you were wondering where the "Fantasy Staircase" in my last Wordless Wednesday post was shot, you now have your answer!)

This is the castle entire, as seen from the road (CO 165):

I misread the map and instead of taking CO 69 west from Walsenburg, we went on up the interstate a ways and exited at Colorado City. The unexpected route turned out to be a lovely drive, and gave us the surrealistic experience of the Castle. Who says serendipity is dead in the 21st century?

The Castle is a one-man, never-ending project, and we actually met Mr. Bishop himself, sawing boards for new walkways right there on site. A very interesting fellow, as you can imagine. (You can learn more about the history of the castle, as well as see links to some of his legal challenges, by following the link to Wikipedia above.)

We almost couldn't get enough of exploring the lovely (and very solidly-made) wrought-iron staircases, stone passageways, and surprising spaces of the Castle. In summer, there are no doubt more visitors to this free attraction (we did leave a generous donation). But in chilly, snowy January, we had the place to ourselves.

It's had some more famous visitors, too, as Hal saw a place where NatGeo folks had left their mark. And we wondered if perhaps there have been some weddings in this amazing cathedral-like central hall, adorned with donated art works:

Here are a couple of views from two of the Castle's numerous tower windows:

looking into the snowy woods

the highway and the Castle gift shop

These overlooks are definitely not for the acrophobic, as they often have no railings, but the views are magnificent. At least, Hal said the panorama he got from the very top (the picture at the top of the post) was really amazing. He was the only one brave enough to take the delicate-seeming wrought-iron bridges over to that turret.

Here's how these fairy walkways look from the relative safety of the main castle, where I took this picture:
And here's another shot of the whole castle, along with its dragon bowsprit ornamentation. Very fitting for this bit of fantasy fallen to Earth and hidden away in the eastern Rockies.

Remember not to get too mad at yourself the next time you take a wrong turn. Who knows what you might find along that different path?