Whining, Wine-ing & Winning

Colorado is burning right now. My home state. My childhood.

The Aspen Acres Fire has torn through southern Colorado, forcing evacuations in places like Rye, Beulah, San Isabel, and Colorado City. Communities are hurting, families have lost homes, and the mountains I have always considered home are facing something unimaginable.  It’s zero percent contained and has burned the equivalent of 138,000 football fields.

Whenever I go back to Colorado, there is one place I always visit. Bishop’s Castle.

If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. Tucked away in the San Isabel National Forest near Rye, Colorado, Bishop’s Castle isn’t some centuries-old European landmark. It’s something much more Colorado.  

In 1969, a 15-year-old named Jim Bishop started building what was supposed to be a small stone cottage. Then he kept building. And building. And building. Over the next five decades, he hauled stone by hand, welded steel himself, and created what became known as one of the largest one-man construction projects in the world.  

No architect. No construction company. No investors. Just one stubborn man in the Colorado mountains who decided, “Why not build a castle?”   And he did. Bishop’s Castle is weird. It’s beautiful. It’s unfinished. It’s terrifying if you’re scared of heights. And it represents Colorado. Wild. Independent. Unpredictable. A little crazy. And impossible not to love.

The fires are way too close to this historical landmark. If it burns that’s everything one man put his heart and soul into. Built by hand without any equipment. Multiple visitors from all over the nation, just to be gone by foolish people. It says it was started my lightning but at this point t feels intentional.

Every time I visit, I climb the towers, stare out at the mountains, and remember that some of the best things in life don’t make sense to anyone except the person who built them.

The fires are far too close to this historical landmark. If Bishop’s Castle burns, that’s more than stone and steel. That’s one man’s heart and soul. Built by hand. Built over decades. Built because someone refused to give up on a dream.

Tonight, as southern Colorado burns and families wonder what they’ll have to come home to, I’m thinking about Bishop’s Castle. A monument built one stone at a time. A reminder that Colorado has always been built by stubborn people who refuse to quit. Animals are dying. People are losing homes. The state I grew up loving is burning.I know it’s the Fourth of July weekend. I know fireworks are fun. But Colorado doesn’t need more fireworks.

Your $200 artillery shells might be cool to you, but your state is on fire. That’s all the fireworks anyone should need to see.

Don’t be selfish. Don’t be stupid. Your mountain home is depending on you.

Praying for Colorado tonight. ❤️🏔️🔥