Sublunar Photography

Interlaken resort began as a hotel in the late 1800s which was located next to the Twin lakes in Colorado. James Dexter purchased the site in 1883 and expanded it into what was to become one of the top resort destinations in Colorado. It only lasted about 25 years before the Twin Lakes themselves were transformed into a reservoir which raised the water level and flooded the main road to the site. The lakes are now connected by a narrow channel in the middle. Interlaken subsequently closed in the early 1900's and it wasn't until the 1970s that the Bureau Of Reclamation stabilized the structures and preserved them from destruction.

To reach Interlaken today you can either take a ~5 mile trail from the nearest parking lot or you can cross the lake(s). Our plan was to take a kayak to Interlaken which meant going through the small channel connecting the lakes, turning right and eventually parking the boat onshore right up next to the old resort. The kayak rental guy warned us that if we tipped over in the middle of the lake then we'd likely get hypothermia before reaching the shore. And we only had two hours to get there and back with the kayak. Awesome. Naturally the wind picked up right about the time we got on the lake. The water itself was exremely cold and the wind relentlessly pushed waves against us which just about completely absorbed the energy were burning off just to stay still. It got worse the closer we got to the channel in the middle because it effectively funnels and amplifies the effect through this narrow passage. Once we made it through, we then turned to face the resort and the waves were now hitting us broadside. As we finally exited the funnel and its influence, even the smaller more calm waves caused us to rock back and forth naueatingly. We eventually decided it would be easier to park the kayak slightly further from the destination than planned and just walk it the rest of the way. We disembarked our thus far seaworthy vessel and explored the site. Dexter's cabin is the only accessible building now; the rest are all boarded up. The cabin is made possible by the generous contributions of the local park service and volunteers and I'm glad they're doing what they're doing. We had to get back on the water shortly after we arrived and learned that the wind wasn't done with us. On the way back and short on time we once again had to work against waves which were only slightly easier this time than the way in and short on time we had to haul ass to return. It may look peaceful in these photos but this was surprisingly exhausting and treacherous.. Which is how I'd describe most things I've experienced so far in Colorado.