The Pikes Peak Region Archives

Jul 1st Pet Safety Tips for the Forth of July

Pay Special attention to your pet’s safety on the Fourth of July. Here are a few Pet Safety Tips to keep in mind:

Did you know? More dogs go missing on the 4th of July than any other day of the year. With all the noisy fireworks, loud parties, and distractions, it’s no wonder so many pooches bolt and get lost on Independence Day.

July Fourth is a significant date for Americans across the United States. Celebrated with parties and FIREWORKS. it is imperative pet owners pay special attention to their four-legged friends during the holiday festivities and afterward. Ensure that the information on your pet’s collar is current and make sure your dog is microchipped and/or has a GPS device. If they escape, there’s a better chance they’ll get returned.

Always keep you dogs and cats inside when fireworks are going off to avoid their nature to find a safe haven. Make certain your pets are walked prior to fireworks going off, close all windows and doors. Draw the curtains. Ensure your pets are wearing ID tags, even if in the house, as many animals are expert escape artists. Never leave your dog alone in a vehicle during the celebrations. You can also prepare a den for your pets inside the house with blankets and pillows in a location they will feel safe. There are thunder shirts you can buy for your dog that relieve the stress of thunderstorms and I’m told fireworks too. As far as our pet box turtle, Sammie, she 51 years old, but the fireworks don’t seem to bother her. Since a lot of what she feels come from vibrations though out her world, we make sure she has a den in her house with overhead logs to feel safe. She has lots of experience with this holiday, so she handles it just fine. From time to time we escape the city and take everyone with us for a nice quite mountain Fourth of July. Still we see all the fireworks from afar. But they can’t be heard or felt. a win win for all. Pet Safety Tips – Now let’s talk a bit about companion parrots who have to endure this noisy holiday too. Let me give you an example. Taco and I sit outside in the sunroom every evening after I’ve finished writing for the day during spring, summer, and fall. Over the past week (end of June first of July) the boom of fireworks are prevalent from early revelers. Taco is normally a fearless Eclectus. She’s learned the outside hawks can’t get to her through the glass of the sunroom. Thunder and lightning doesn’t bother her either, she’s been conditioned from an early age to understand there is nothing to fear. Now softball size hail falling is another story and a tale for another time. But, the sudden, unexplained noise from the fireworks has her flying off her perch and cowering on my shoulder. So we have to go inside during this time. Boo Hiss.

First we need to remember pet birds (unlike dogs and cats) are prey animals. They have evolved with their eyes on the side of their head, to enable them to spend long periods of their life looking over their shoulder. Some birds can even see better behind them than in front of them. By nature, birds are neophobic, meaning they naturally want to retreat and avoid anything unfamiliar. By perceiving a new object or sound as a potential threat until proven otherwise, they increase their chances that they won’t end up as someone’s dinner! This means birds and Parrots are constantly evaluating their environment and can become stressed much more easily than you may think. Let’s consider some ways to help our pet birds and Parrot reduce the amount of stress, anxiety and fear they suffer with the loud booms, and sudden light displays. Pet Safety Tips – Suggestions for birds in the home…

Where possible put your feathered companions in a room without any windows.

Alternatively, cover any windows with blankets, to block out those sudden burst of light. Covering the bird’s cage with a thick blanket can help muffle any loud noises, plus it helps make the bird feel more secure. The use of white noise machines or having the TV or radio on a little louder than normal can help drown out the sudden noise of fireworks.

Please note, noise isn’t normally the problem, as Parrots are noisy by themselves, but the sudden sound of an unknown loud noise is what frightens them. If bird(s) don’t live in a cage it may be wise to utilize a travel cage. Even Parrots who have had their wings clipped have been known to fly off when scared which could cause injury! Some pet bird owners have been known to play recordings of random noise, including those of fireworks to their birds – be it in the home or those outside in an aviary before firework season begins. The idea is that they eventually learn that unknown noises won’t harm them.

After the celebrations are over, make sure to check your yard any pick up any debris from the spent fireworks or maybe those that didn’t go off. These are harmful to your pet should they chew or ingest these items! Most importantly in keeping pets safe: NEVER TAKE YOUR PET TO A FIREWORKS DISPLAY! The American Veterinary Medical Association and AKC have more safety tips. Check them out. Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog, Holidays, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged fourth of July, Pet Safety tips, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 22nd Halloween Hauntings Cripple Creek- Part Two

With its wild and turbulent past, Cripple Creek has a history of unexplained, supernatural occurrences, no wonder it’s earned the reputation of one of the most haunted towns in America. Tales of haunted Cripple Creek hotels, casinos, and homes flourish. What better way to celebrate Halloween than visit a haunted Cripple Creek?
The Imperial Hotel at Third Street and Bennett Avenue known originally as the Collins Hotel, was built after most the town burned to the ground in 1896. As a young man, George Long emigrated from Europe and eventually made his way to Denver. He married his first cousin and together they ran the hotel. The union produced two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter, Alice, was mentally disturbed and the parents were forced to keep her locked in their apartment next to the lobby for her safety and the safety of others. Soon after George fell to his death while negotiating the narrow stairs to the basement. Or some say Alice escaped, waited for him at the top of the stairs, struck him over the head and he crashed to his death from the stop of the stairs. It’s rumored his ghost haunts the hotel to this day.
My experience at the Imperial Hotel was at the performance of Dracula by the Imperial Players in early 1990’s. The performance was excellent, but the strong feeling of someone watching, icy patches and pressure on my arm and lower back, when no one was there. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. After meeting the cast in the lobby for an autograph session, my family and I quickly exited the hotel and raced to the safety of our vehicle, thankful that we hadn’t booked a room. Looking back on the experience, was it the performance of Dracula in the supposedly haunted hotel that caused my imagination to run wild, or was there really something there? I admit to having an overactive imagination, but not that time. In the years since, I’ve visited Cripple Creek on numerous occasions, to explore old buildings and mining shacks. My husband and I drive up Hwy 67 to enjoy the turning of the Aspens in autumn, used to camp at the Lost Burro Campground but I haven’t set foot in the Imperial Hotel since that night.
** Next week, more Halloween Haunting with traditions, legends and spooky fun. You don’t want to miss it.

Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged Colorado, Cripple Creek The Imperial Hotel, Dracula, Halloween, Haunted Towns by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 15th Halloween Hauntings- Cripple Creek – Part One

Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado is extremely rich in history and it is also touted to be one of the Most Haunted Places in the United States.
On Highway 67, at the base of Pike’s Peak, southwest of Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek sits at an elevation of 9,500 feet. There are mine shafts, head frames, miner’s cabins long abandoned tumbling down. A lonely stone fireplace may be all that’s left of a miners home. Standing among the rubble might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. A brief visit to one of the abandoned cabins still standing, gives you a window into what it was like back in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Can you imagine a more inviting place for ghost to spend Halloween?

Cripple Creek, Colorado was the land of opportunity beckoning men from across land and sea to claim their fortune in the gold fields. Most of the men came from the east where they were farmers and had little knowledge of gold mining. Pikes Peak or Bust was their battle cry, it was painted on covered wagons and carts. But the Rocky Mountains didn’t give up its gold easily, buried deep in the mountain, it was fifty years after the first wave of gold fever hit that the mountain gave up its gold.

Many prospectors lost everything they had, some even their lives in the pursuit of gold. With the tales of fires, (Cripple Creek burned to the ground in 1896) floods, mining accidents, general lawlessness in the beginning then bloody battles between mine owners and labor unions, it’s no wonder stories abound of ghosts haunting this historic town that once boasted one murder a day.

Hotel St. Nicolas

So let’s take a closer look at those ghosts. First up, The Hotel St. Nicholas boasts a colorful history. Today its spectacular view of Cripple Creek, 15 guest rooms, furnished with elegance of a bygone era and one restored historic miner’s cottage still includes tales of the supernatural and unexplained. Originally built as a hospital that served the flood victims in the region in the late nineteenth century, it also served as a home for the Sisters of Mercy. As time went on, the hospital served prospectors and their families and then expanded adding a ward for the mentally ill. The hospital closed in the 1970’s. St. Nicholas is rumored to be haunted by several spirits including children, former patients of the mental ward, nuns and an old cantankerous miner. For more information see Hotel St. Nicholas.

** Next week we’ll take a look at more Halloween hauntings in Cripple Creek including the Imperial Hotel where I once attended a theater production of Dracula during the week of Halloween. That was a hair-raising experience I can’t wait to share with you. Until then Happy Haunting! Bawahahaha

Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged Colorado, Cripple Creek, Halloween, Haunted Places, Hotel St. Nicholas by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 1st Colorado Hauntings – Mines, Mountains and Mysteries!

Full of old mines from the Gold Rush Days, Mountains and Mysteries, no wonder Colorado has an abundance of paranormal sightings. From the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, to the Cliff House in Manitou Springs spirits abound. As we learned in previous weeks, Cripple Creek, Colorado with its wild and turbulent past has a history of unexplained, supernatural occurrences earning it the reputation of one of the most haunted towns in America.

Let’s take a quick look at a few:

cliff-house The Cliff House in Manitou Springs was built in 1873, before Colorado was even a state. Through it’s many renovations, paranormal experiences remain, including disembodied footsteps, ghostly voices when no one is there and white orbs floating through the hallways late at night. Could these be spirits of the old American West? The Cliff House was known as only The Inn was a popular stagecoach stop in route from Colorado Springs to Leadville? Hmmm….

How about Emma Crawford Coffin Races in Manitou Springs? 12187909_10156228888785008_109156638325622110_n The story goes, that Crawford moved to Manitou in the 1800’s to heal her tuberculosis. She succumbed to the disease and was buried on Red Mountain. A favorite spot of hers. Construction on the mountain forced relocation of her coffin to the south slope in 1912. Unfortunately, heavy spring rains washed her coffin down the side of the mountain, where her ghost is said to still roam today. Participants of the race, held in downtown Manitou Springs, claim they feel her presence every year. See for yourself, this year the coffin races are October 26, 2019. See you there!

The ghost of Maggie, haunts the Colorado Grande Casino & Hotel and Maggie’s Restaurant in Cripple Creek, Colorado. At night, voices (Maggie’s lilting Irish soprano) and music can be heard from the ballroom, slots clinging and clanging after hours. The hotel’s security cameras have caught Maggie in her turn-of-the-century clothing, only to have the tapes mysteriously disappear. The scent of her rose perfume lingers even if she chooses not to make an appearance.

Want to know more about the Ghosts of Cripple Creek Mining District?

Speaking of Ghosts, if you are looking for a fun Halloween read. A Witch’s Journey has meddling ghosts, shifters, stolen magic and a handsome Navy SEAL who has a dark secret. Available at Amazon.com, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

Every Tuesday throughout the month of October I will have Colorado Hauntings we’ll take a look at The Stanley Hotel and the Halloween traditions. Mark your calendars, you don’t want to miss any of these Halloween Celebrations!