Glen Echo rises from the ash ~by Linda Bell
Correspondent On Mother's Day, Glen Echo Resort opened its new restaurant, patio and lounge, making the day particularly celebratory because the resort's old store and restaurant were leveled by an April 13, 2003, fire.
Owner-operators Gail and Lloyd Rowe are both happy with the new facility, but wouldn't have chosen to rebuild only two and a half years into their first business venture.
"The new building is about the same square footage as the old store and restaurant, but because of the log construction, it looks a lot larger," Gail Rowe said. The new restaurant can accommodate 75, and that doesn't include a separate lounge bar, she said.
She noted that the new kitchen is amazing, with so much space and stainless steel. Of course everything is up to code now, and that feels a lot safer than the 1920s style building that was there, she said.
Linda and Bill Leigh, owners of the Rustic Resort just east of Glen Echo, said it's wonderful to have another restaurant open. Linda Leigh said there used to be four full-service dining rooms in the canyon, but until Glen Echo opened in May, theirs had been the only one still open.
"We've always considered the resorts at Rustic to be complementary rather than competitive," Bill Leigh said.
Clyde Greenwood, a water engineer with the city of Fort Collins, said the restaurant is a good addition on his route. He said he has to be in the canyon a lot and he appreciates having the variety.
Lloyd Rowe said they lost a lot of revenue when the restaurant burned, but it's slowly coming back. "Our next and final project is to expand in back of the building for a gift shop," he said.
~north forty news and fossil current
Glen Echo: taken from The Poudre A photo History, pages 384-388 written by Stanley R. Case. copyright 1995, Published by Stanley M. Case, Bellvue Colorado.
  |   |
About Rustic:
Tucked in the scenic Poudre Canyon outside Fort Collins, the town of Rustic is one of several tiny communities which carve out a charming existence along the state's first National Wild & Scenic River. The Cache la Poudre River (which translates to a hiding place for gunpowder in French) tumbles down from the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park along Colorado 14, now dubbed the Cache la Poudre-North Park Scenic and Historic Byway. Before it was designated a state scenic drive, however, the canyon was a major thoroughfare for Native Americans and early fur trappers.
Today, the motor byway climbs to 10,276-foot Cameron Pass where it meets 70,000 acres of mountains and evergreens in the Colorado State Forest. Between Rustic and Bellevue visitors will find some fittingly primitive cabins in which to lodge. A restaurant and a convenience store. Spring runoff brings kayakers to the Poudre's rapids, and summer marks the start of a concert series at the riverside Mishawaka Amphitheater (at nearby Bellevue).
Other outdoor activities in the area include wildlife viewing at the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge near North Park; fishing and water sports in the Red Feather Lakes district; and hiking, biking, and snowmobiling endless trails near the top of the canyon. Don't forget to bring the camera: Profile Rock near Rustic always makes for an interesting photograph.
http://www.colorado.com/Rustic.aspx
Tucked in the scenic Poudre Canyon outside Fort Collins, the town of Rustic is one of several tiny communities which carve out a charming existence along the state's first National Wild & Scenic River. The Cache la Poudre River (which translates to a hiding place for gunpowder in French) tumbles down from the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park along Colorado 14, now dubbed the Cache la Poudre-North Park Scenic and Historic Byway. Before it was designated a state scenic drive, however, the canyon was a major thoroughfare for Native Americans and early fur trappers.
Today, the motor byway climbs to 10,276-foot Cameron Pass where it meets 70,000 acres of mountains and evergreens in the Colorado State Forest. Between Rustic and Bellevue visitors will find some fittingly primitive cabins in which to lodge. A restaurant and a convenience store. Spring runoff brings kayakers to the Poudre's rapids, and summer marks the start of a concert series at the riverside Mishawaka Amphitheater (at nearby Bellevue).
Other outdoor activities in the area include wildlife viewing at the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge near North Park; fishing and water sports in the Red Feather Lakes district; and hiking, biking, and snowmobiling endless trails near the top of the canyon. Don't forget to bring the camera: Profile Rock near Rustic always makes for an interesting photograph.
http://www.colorado.com/Rustic.aspx
