Exploring Estes Park: Bird & Jim

Welcome to Wanderlust: Off the page, a travel podcast designed to help you discover the most fulfilling travel experiences on the planet! From culture and history to nature and wildlife, we're going to be taking you behind the scenes of the magazine to go deeper into our favorite destinations and meet the travel writers, experts, and personalities who will bring our stories to life.

Hosted by founding editor Lyn Hughes and special features editor Rosie Fitzgerald, this episode chronicles the Colorado adventures of Isabella Bird, a British explorer who famously ascended Longs Peak in 1873 with her guide and companion Jim Nugent. 

The story of Bird and Jim illuminates the early history and character of Estes Park, as her writings helped establish the town as a tourist destination, and parallels with the broader historic myth of the frontier and the American west.

Bird remains an inspiration to the locals of Estes Park, including restaurateur Melissa Strong. We visit her new restaurant Bird & Jim to hear of her near-death experience and learn how Isabella’s determination to break the conventions of the time was an inspiration for Melissa’s subsequent recovery.

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Learn more about Estes Park at www.visitestespark.com/
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