Special offer

Estes Park, CO Real Estate News

By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
It was a pretty exciting day at the Hallmark story (managed, operated and owned by my beautiful bride) when one of the customers that came to buy a card had a drive through.  The good news is that no one was injured. IT'S A TOYOTA CAR CRASHS INTO PEAKS HALLMARK ESTES PARK COLORADO PEAKS HALLMARK DRIVE THROUGH PEAKS HALLMARK STORE AFTER CAR REMOVAL You never know when you go to work what kind of day you are going to have when you go to work.  One of the Hallmark customers was coming to purchase a card.  You never know when you are going shopping what kind of day you are going to have.  While parking in front of the store she suddenly found herself insid the store.  The good news is that no one was injured.
Comments 9
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! My family got a head start on our holiday activities...we just took our 2010 Christmas photo. Full ski and snowboard gear standing in a foot of fresh snow. In our backyard. On April 24. Will I ever get to take off the thermals and put on a pair of flip flops? Not sure at this point. But I am pretty happy about this great photo opportunity!
Comments 3
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! Yesterday, the Estes Park High School Jazz Band performed for the Estes Park Rotary Club. The kids were great and the Rotarians loved the jazz standards from "Opus in Chartreuse" to "A Night in Tunisia". It's cool to watch the kids learn to perform together and play ad lib solos in front of a crowd. The Estes Park Rotary Club provides $500.00 in scholarships for the Estes Park Band students to attend summertime Band Camps. I'll have three boys in band camp this summer at the University of Nebraska that will benefit from their generosity!
Comments 0
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! We are having one of those spring weather patterns, that if it was a little bit colder, we would have 5 feet of snow on the ground. Fortunately, it's raining with those wispy clouds that hang on the mountainside. The Stanley Hotel is always a great subject for a photo, but I especially love the way it looks when its gray and spooky outside. Stephen King drove up to Estes Park years ago just after Trail Ridge Road had closed and the Stanley was packing it up for the winter...that inspired his book "The Shining". The movie version was filmed at the Timberlane Lodge in Mt. Hood, Oregon, but the mini-series directed by Mr. King himself was filmed right here...right about this time of the year. They had to truck snow in from Rocky Mountain National Park...another o...
Comments 6
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! One of my favorite volunteer activities is to be a part of the "Band Boosters"...a group of parents that support the Estes Park High School instrumental music program. The kids are great, and they have a fantastic director, Mr. Chuck Varilek. I had the opportunity to go with the band kids to a competition in Greeley, where they performed in a concert venue with judges, then had a sightreading portion, also a judged event. The sightreading judge was so impressed at how Mr. Varilek took the kids through 6 minutes of reviewing music together with no sounds on the instruments allowed. It was so cool to hear how well they played their sightreading piece...a true testament to a solid instrumental music program. Just another reason Estes Park is a great place to live...
Comments 0
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
I think this is going to be one of those years that we go from Winter to Summer and Spring is just going to be a fleeting moment.  We just keep having trouble getting Spring to show itself with the exception of a few fleeting moments.  I came back from Las Vegas on Thursday where it was 79 degrees and woke up so snow flurries on Friday morning.  We had low lying clouds and cold all day today. I thought we all deserved a little bit of spring even if it is just a picture but it is a picture of what is to come.  I love living in Estes Park as much as some people enjoy visiting thier favorite vacation spot.  You can see your tax dollars at work as the city plants thousands of flowers every year make our community inviting and special for both those that are fortunate enough live here and th...
Comments 2
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! I was at a trumpet rehearsal when we spotted this mountain lion in the next door neighbor's yard! They are magnificent animals...and here's a little advice if you happen to come across one of these big cats... Stay calm if you come upon a lion. Talk calmly yet firmly to it. Move slowly. Stop or back away slowly. Do not run. Raise you arms to appear larger. If the lion behaves aggressively, throw stones, branches, or whatever you can get your hands on. Without crouching down or turning your back. Fight back if a lion attacks you. Lions have been driven away by prey that fights back.Human encounters with mountain lions have increased in recent years, as human settlement has encroached on lion habitat. Division of Wildlife’s booklet, Living with Wildlife in Lion ...
Comments 3
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! One of my favorite volunteer activities is creating the artwork for the Oratorio Society of Estes Park's posters and programs. (they let me have a trumpet part occasionally, too) The Oratorio Society of Estes Park has announced its spring performance of Brahms' "German Requiem" on Saturday, May 1 at 7:00 PM and Sunday, May 2 at 3:00 PM at Mountain View Bible Fellowship Hall on HWY 7. There will be a reception following the Sunday afternoon performance. This concert is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Harlalee "Hal" Wilson.
Comments 1
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! Good news about the real estate market in Estes Park...for the first quarter of 2010, we had 28 single family homes and 16 condo sales for a total of 40 units sold...up from 13 single family homes and 13 condos sold in the first quarter of 2009. That is a 65% increase in sales volume! And for us here in Estes Park, it's still the "off-season", with our busy summer season approaching. The Estes Park Board of REALTORS will have John Gerhard of the Everitt Real Estate Center at CSU speak at our first meeting in May. He will have lots of great info on the market here in Estes Park and trends that he has been tracking throughout Northern Colorado. We are anxious to hear what he has to say!
Comments 0
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! Sometimes we feel a little spring challenged here in the mountains, but everyone is so anxious to get outside and get rid of the wintertime cabin fever, that we will take what we can get! Once we all get outside, we need to watch out for one of our least favorite signs of spring...the wood tick. They aren't nearly as cute and charming as the chipmunks that come out of hiberation at about the same time in March. Ticks seem to be most active in May and diminish as the temperatures head upwards, but it is possible to find them into early fall, especially in our forests and underbrush. It's a good idea to wear long-sleeved light colored shirts and white socks while you are enjoying springtime in the Rockies, just makes it easier to see a tick if you happen to have...
Comments 2
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Evey once in a while, you have your camera at just the right time. I took this shot of the Twin Owls rock fromation north of Estes Park earlier this Spring.  The sunlight on the formation was spectacular. My niece called the rock formation "Twin Penguins" instead of Twin Owls, so I've never quited looked at them the same since then.  I hope you enjoyed the picture - have a great week. Gerald
Comments 7
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Here in Estes Park, we are a little "Spring Challenged". It's kinda like Mother Nature with PMS...a bit unpredictable! We can have a foot of snow one day and 60 degrees with sun the next, which makes for what we call here the "mud season". There are, however, a few signs that give us hope here at 7522 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains, and one of those is the appearance of our adorable chipmunks. Once they wake up from hibernation, we know for sure that there will be flowers and leaves coming!
Comments 7
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Being from Nebraska, I'm used to flash flooding, but this year in Estes Park we have been subjected to "Flash Blizzards".  I haven't even had my camera handy when they occur, but this will give you some kind of sense of what happens.  It's a great day, then suddenly out of nowhere you can't see across the street and there is two inches of snow on the ground. FLASH BLIZZARD You can see the snow in this picture, it almost looks like wire going through the air.  I've never seen anything like it before, and they leave as soon as they come. BIG THOMPSON Have a great day -
Comments 3
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! The Estes Valley Workforce Downpayment Assistance Program is pleased to announce it has helped the first local homebuyers purchase a home here in Estes Park, Colorado. The recipients grew up in town, attended school here and returned after college to work in local businesses. The concept for the program, co-sponsored by the Estes Valley Housing Authority and the Estes Park Board of REALTORS began nearly a year and a half ago after a symposium sponsored by the Housing Authority that demonstrated a need for downpayment assistance for a workforce with a median income from 81% to 160% of the AMI set by ourest county. We've got tons of work ahead and lots of fundraising to do, but it feels great to have helped a local couple purchase a home in Estes Park!
Comments 0
By Lisa VonBargen, Estes Park Real Estate Photographer
(Photography7522)
Greetings from Estes Park! It is a picture postcard day here, the sun is shining, birds are singing and the kids had a wonderful time in Rocky Mountain National Park for their annual field trip! Ha ha...it's snowing like crazy and the kids are taking CSAP tests. We WISH it looked like this today...not to worry, it will soon!
Comments 2
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Just thought I'd send you another wonderful sunrise this morning from Estes Park, Colorado just to prove that yesterday was not a fluke.  Every day in Estes Park is special in one way or another.  Growing up in Nebraska, I can appreciate the mountains every day, and selling real estate reminds me how lucky I really am. Many of the residents of Estes Park after a few years forget how special the place really is. I get to relive that excitement and newness every time I take people out to show them homes.  They marvel at the elk in the yards which are actually pretty spectacular.  However if you've lived here long enough you get tired of them eating your flowers.  Suzie and I went to silk flowers in our hanging baskets and yes - they will tear them out and walk away with them.  When they h...
Comments 4
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
I never grow tired of waking up to this every monrning.  This morning there were even birds singing which brings hints of Spring and maybe some warmer weather. Every day when I look out my window and see the spectacular sunrise that is greeting each day I always have the same two thoughts.  First how lucky I am to live in Estes Park, and second how God gets his paintbrush and palate of colors out every day.  It doesn't matter if you are homeless, or one of the richest people on earth.  The price of admission is the same for all.   We just have to take  the time to stop,even if for only a moment, and appreciate his work. Have a great day- it's your choice.
Comments 2
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Stopped by the local coffeying hole and saw David giving Keely a "Huge" donut from the Donut Haus called a Turtle.  It probably has enough calories and cholesterol for a two months supply of the average adult.  The good news is a couple of hours on some cross country skies or a pair of snowshoes and it doesn't go to the waistline. What a special place Estes Park is.  People from all walks of life just enjoying life and sharing with each other.  Nothing puts you in the mood like actually living in Estes Park.  The weather is great today, and supposed to be getting better every day through Friday - yep, then another one of those Spring snows. Have a great day,
Comments 2
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Seems like every three days we get another snow this Spring.  Our snowpack was reported low but I'm guessing that we are above normal by now. Typically I would try to keep the wires out of a picture but the snow was just piling up on the wires as well as the trees. The fresh snow is heavy on the trees, but you can tell it is spring as the river is thawing and running clear.  Soon the runoff will start and the level of the river will increase several feet. Have a great day.
Comments 6
By Gerald Mayo, Mr. Estes Park
(Prudential Team Realty)
Footprints in the snow seem to show people coming and going in the early dawn in Estes Park, Colorado.  The Beautiful Spring snow looked as if the world was given a brand new start. Twin Owls is tucked into the clouds covered with fresh snow behind the Stanley Hotel.  Residents and spring break tourists alike enjoyed the beautiful new snow. Sure beats living in Nebraska.
Comments 7
Explore Estes Park, CO
Estes Park, CO Real Estate Professionals