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The Story of Eagle Peak

Eagle Peak: a retreat where friends and family gather. A place where people encounter silence in a thin place where heaven and earth come close.

Sunrise from the front porch of our cabin

I have learned that one aspect of calling is place. To live out our calling requires us to anchor ourselves in a certain place. For many years, that place was Atlanta, where Genie and I were born and raised. After we sold the business, we bought our first place in Colorado, which we called Base Camp, and used it to explore the Front Range.

Six months after we bought that place, in January 2000, we walked the 40 acre property where we would build our cabin. We were struck by awe and wonder as we looked down at Boulder and the Front Range, and then looked the other way to see the Continental Divide, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Longs Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park. After walking this place for 45 minutes, we knew this was the place. We didn’t look at a single other piece of land. We bought it three months later. So, come along and see how the story unfolded.

Our cabin under construction with Longs Peak in the background

1n 1980, I was selling tractors in North Georgia when a friend began to develop lots in the mountains. We dreamed of a log cabin, but could not afford $1500 for a lot, so we put the dream on hold.

In 1999, we sold the business and walked away. We fell in love with the Front Range of Colorado, near CU Boulder, where our son was in school. We transferred our dream of a Log Cabin out here. We bought 40 acres with views of the Front Range, Gold Lake and the Back Range. There was an existing foundation and an active building permit.

Over the next two years, we finally built our cabin we had dreamed of for 20 years. Our son Andy worked on the crew and learned the carpentry skills that would lead to his career in construction.

Andy on the wall of the cabin. The lead carpenter saw him swing a hammer and said, “Hit it with your purse Alice,”

I watch them stack the logs over Memorial Day weekend. They finished the cabin in 9 months

The cabin is off grid, powered by solar panels and heated by radiant heat in the floors. We have two 1000 gallon propane tanks and a backup generator to supplement our solar power.

The floors are heated by our boiler circulating glycol through the concrete floors

We finished the cabin in the winter of 2002 and moved in.

Our vision was to create a home place, where friends and family would gather. One of my goals after selling the business was to deepen my relationships with family and friends. Eagle Peak was the primary means of deepening those relationship. We are 45 minutes from Boulder and Estes Park. When people came to visit, we were together 24/7. At first, a week of company would exhaust my introverted wife, and a week without company would drive my extroverted self crazy. Over two decades, she has drawn me into silence and solitude.

Thanksgiving with extended family.

Our largest gathering was 42 family for Thanksgiving 2022

We have built a fort for kids to play.

And a Mountain Hytte (Norwegian expression) with a fire pit and a view of the Indian Peaks and Rocky Mountain National Park.

We are surrounded by National Forest on three sides, and another 40 acre holding on one side. We have hiking trails marked through the forest and up to Burnt Mountain. There are numerous trails where we take our side by side ATV.