National Park After Dark - Parkitecture and Haunted Tales: Historic Hotels of the National Parks

Episode Date: June 24, 2024

Today we dive into the history of National Parks and how America's best idea almost died. Instead of talking about their landscapes, we take a deep dive into the history of their beautiful historic hotels and the ghostly encounters people have experienced within them. From Tennessee to Washington there are plenty tales to tell.Our Merch Shop is open today!For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns.Zocdoc: Use our link to download the Zocdoc app for free.Prose: Use our link for a free in-depth hair consultation and 50% off your first subscription order.Beam: Use our link and code NPAD for up to 40% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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National Parks draws in for so many reasons The trails, the adventure, the wildlife Seeing the lands that are untouched Are like taking a step back in time And seeing how it's always been National Parks attract all types of people The adventures, hikers, climbers, sightseers, families, and friends and couples from around the country and the globe. While each park you visit is vastly different from the next, you may have noticed a similar theme among them all.

Have you ever stepped into a visitor center in one park and thought, Huh, this looks exactly like a visitor center I've seen in another. Have you ever noticed that the park signs, road signs, and campgrounds, while in completely different landscapes, all look the same as the other park? That's because years ago, National Parks almost died, and a billion-dollar revitalization project saved them and made them into what you see today. Welcome to National Park After Dark. Well, this is different.

This episode is so different than most I've ever done. And it all kind of stem from I was trying to think of a topic to write about. And I was thinking, a haunted hotel because we haven't done that in a while. And then I was just thinking about hotels and I was researching them. And I was like, wow, there are so many really beautiful hotels inside of national parks. And I noticed that, I mean, you don't go inside of a national park and see like a day's in. No offense to days in. No offense.

Offense. Well, I mean, they're great when you're on the side of the road and you need somewhere to like hop in and you need a bed for the night. But national parks don't have anything like that. And they're all, they seem very purposeful. They're designed within the landscapes. And I just thought, like, why are all of the most beautiful buildings that you see? They're all within national park boundaries or the most interesting ones happen in national parks. Like, you see they have massive timber lodges.

They have chelets that make you feel like you're in the Swiss Alps. They have these luxurious buildings that take you back to the Victorian era. Like, there has to be a story behind why. And more than it just being a tourist destination. Mm-hmm. Well, I remember for the, and I will not be able to remember his name, but remember when we were at the Stanley and we did the live show and I was talking about the park-a-tect. Do you talk about him? Not really. Okay. But I do talk about like park-a-tecture.

Okay. Maybe you'll bring up his name and I'll be like, oh, that was him. It's something about like he designed a bunch of the lodges. A lot of them are not in existence. anymore. So maybe you don't. But he at some point, for some reason, his nickname was the architect. And the reason I brought it up was because he had designed a lot of the places that are connected to the filming of the shining. Oh, interesting. Remember? Yeah. I do vaguely remember you talking about that. I don't mention him in this. I do talk about parkature, which is a movement within national parks of the rustic design of the buildings within them, which is something that I do get into. Okay, well, we'll see.

But not him in particular. I might have to Google him at some point in this episode just so I can get it off my brain because now my God, what was his name? Like, who is that? Okay, go on. I'm excited because you know I love an old building. Yes, and we're talking about all old buildings today. And actually for this episode, we're going to talk about the history of a project

that the National Park Service implemented known as Mission 66 that revitalized the parks and made way for what we know the park structures to be used. today. And of course, because we're talking about historic buildings, we're also going to sprinkle in some haunted happenings at each one of them as well. And I thought this would kind of be a fun summer because this episode, I think, is the first one that's coming out since it's officially National Park season. And I thought it would be fun just to mention some fun lodges and hotels that you can stay in when people are wandering around. Cool. So going into it, as many of us know, Yellowstone National Park was the very first National Park established in the entire world in 1872, and it came following

a conservation movement to protect these beautiful lands, and it also protected environmentally important landscapes from development and overuse. It was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant to be set aside and preserved and protect the scenery, cultural heritage, wildlife, geologic, and ecological systems, and processes in their natural condition for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. That was the whole point of creating the national parks. And following that, this is like a history into national parks briefly about this, but following Yellowstone, there was Sequoia, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, Wind Cave, Mesa Verde, Glacier, Rocky Mountains, Hawaii Volcanoes, and then Lasson Volcanic. And these were all established

before the National Park Service was even established in 1916. So I think that part of the thing that's important for people to recognize in national park history is that the national parks came long before the National Park Service and there was this kind of open time where national parks weren't being managed in the same capacity that they are now. And in part, the National Park Service had not been created in the beginning because visitation of these parks were relatively low. At the time, automobiles hadn't been invented because they weren't invented until 1886 or when the parks were really in their very beginning days. Automobiles were very early.

So there weren't like a lot of road systems and there weren't a lot of people who owned them. So people traveled mostly by train and horse covered wagons, which made a lot of these parks difficult to travel to. With the railroad system being built across the west, it opened opportunity for hotels and tourism and buildings to be established. And when that happened, the need for a National Park Service grew. And this was in part to manage visitors and also. to protect the lands.

And while it had been designated by law as protected, they had people in place, but there wasn't really a system to make sure that these laws were upheld. And vandalism and extrication of resources was still happening. So at this time, the federal government was managing the parks directly through the army at the time. But there wasn't a designated group managing it.

And a lot of that history goes back into the Buffalo soldiers being there. And it was just, it was a time when they were trying, but it was very clear that they needed people who are trained and established in these areas to be working in the area. And I will say at this time when they first started, there weren't many visitor services or places to stay for visitors. So they're like, hey, we just created these national parks for everyone to enjoy and love. But we have nowhere for you to stay when you travel across the country to be here. So people were intense. There weren't like great services, restrooms, things like that.

So the very first National Park Hotel was built before the National Park Service was even established. And fitting to the first National Park, the first National Park Hotel was in Yellowstone and it was the Lake Yellowstone Hotel built in 1891. And this hotel, it's just like huge beautiful yellow building. I don't know if you've seen it before. But it took two years to build and it took a total of $46,000, which when you hear that now, I'm like, oh, that's a lot. great. I wish I could build a house for 46 grand, but in today's money that is estimated to be just about over $1.5 million. It was the very first luxury National Park Hotel, but it certainly wasn't the last. And the building of this hotel inspired a National Park rustic aesthetic that is

often referred to as park architecture that had luxurious hotels popping up around national parks in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While we know National Parks now to be referred to as America's best idea. It wasn't always that way. In fact, at one time, it was described as nationally disgraceful and a national tragedy. And it wasn't for the idea itself, but it was actually because of the way it was being managed. And again, like not having a national park service. And there were a lot of things happening within just globally, globally that were happening, like World War II that was affecting these. When World War II happened, they took a lot of the personnel that were managing the parks and the budget out of the parks because they just didn't have the money for it. And this resulted in

unmaintained buildings and services and overall low maintenance of the national parks. After the war, the budgets remained low and infrastructure continued to deteriorate. Despite this, visitation numbers were on the rise. In 1945, the parks had a total of 11.7 million visitors, but by 1954, only nine years later, the numbers had skyrocketed to 47.8 million people. And all of these visitors were noticing the dilapidated conditions of the infrastructure that was there. So all of these beautiful hotels that were once built had been abandoned for years. They had all of these different structures and restaurants and things that people had built in the first coming years when things were starting to get established and tourism was beginning. And then the war and the Great Depression and everything kind of shut stuff down.

so these people who spent $46,000 building a hotel and we're spending money doing all these things across all these national parks had really not had the budget or the money to take care of them. So then after World War II when people were like, hey, the economy is back up. Our soldiers are home from war. Things are good. Let's go on to vacation. They were going to these parks and being like, what is this? Like what is going on? This everything, the accommodations here are horrible. So a lot of people were complaining, people were upset, and the parks were faced with two choices. They could either restrict access to parks altogether and say, they're protected land, but they're shut down for public use.

No one can come here. Or they could pursue a massive revamp of the parks. And that's where we get into Mission 66. That happened. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have everything you want. steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice.

Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. So a man named Conrad Worth, who was the director of the National Park Service from 1951 to 1964, strongly believed that access to these areas of the country played a major role in the well-being of the American people and advocated for the revitalization of the parks. However, when he first proposed the idea to Congress, it was completely shut down.

Like, no, everything's in dilapidated conditions. We don't really agree. How does this affect the well-being of the American people? Kind of just thought it was nonsense, I guess. He was adamant, though, and gathered committees of National Park Service staff to draft a proposal for a 10-year project with a $1 billion budget that he called Mission 66. The name was derived because if it passed, the program would end in 1966, which would commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Park Service.

He officially presented the idea at the Public Service Conference at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in September of 1955, and in the following months, he showcased the idea to officials across the governments, including President Eisenhower. and Congress ended up approving the $1 billion funds and Mission 66 officially began in 1956. Now, Mission 66 wasn't just for buildings because, of course, those are important. But part of what was making these places so difficult to get to is we had the railway stations and roads and stuff, but we didn't have great road systems. So a major part of this budget was dedicated to updating the roadways in the park. Previously, they had been built for horse drone wagons, but as the popularity of cars arose, the roads really needed a serious upgrade.

Within this budget was also born a new era of park architecture where they sought out to modernize the building. So before, the park architecture was these rustic buildings with big logs, kind of cabany fields, or they would build them to fit into the landscapes, which was still the idea for the modern one to build them. into the landscapes and use cost-effective construction material and make it these really beautiful buildings. But they wanted them to make more sense and to be able to hold the capacity of the people who are coming in. Instead of these quaint rustic buildings, they wanted something that was effective for everyone. Well, and that supported the influx of visitation. And also I would imagine if some of the earliest buildings were constructed in the late 1800s. And now we're talking we're in the 50s. I mean, that's what, six, seven decades later, depending on when you're talking about,

I'm sure they're like, we need electricity. That would be nice. So I'm sure like that was also sprinkled in there as well. And that's no small project when you're talking about multiple parks across the country. Hence probably the billion dollar budget that's going into this. Yeah, exactly. And it wasn't just hotels, but it was also visitor centers. And it was building facilities, They wanted gas stations. It also included campgrounds that could accommodate more people. It was the signs. It was the trail systems. It was hiring additional employees. It was getting the housing for the employees and more. And they wanted it to be this cohesive project that kind of streamed lined things across the National Park Service, which is why a lot of the buildings that you see today when you're

visiting are from this period, 1956 to 1966, when they were building these to make the National Park Service very cohesive with each other. No matter where you are if you're in Acadia or if you're in Yosemite, the visitor center is going to look very similar. Mm-hmm. Gotcha. In it, they've revitalized old buildings. So some of these ones that were historic and were built in the early 1900s, late 1800s, they also revitalized those ones of historic importance. They also demolish some. And the very first project was Canyon Village in Yellowstone National Park. The idea of this project was to stop rustic architecture that had developed in the park previously. And these new buildings were handcrafted and designed to harmonize with the natural environment,

which was also, I should point out, was the idea of rustic architecture as well, but just in a different way. And while there was a clear need for more infrastructure to accommodate the growing amount of visitors, many of these original buildings remained after Mission 66 and were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And even though Mission 66 didn't have a direct impact on a lot of these hotels where they were the ones putting the money in and revitalizing them, restoring them, the reason that these hotels were able to be restored and brought back to their original former glory, if you will. Yeah. Their former glory exactly was because Mission 66 brought all these services for all of these influx of visitors to come.

So because they did this, there were more and more people and more need, which created the funds to be able to restore these historic buildings. And that's how it's all connected. These are places that you can still visit and stay at when you visit parks today. And I've compiled a list of four of some of the most beautiful and most interesting ones that I thought around the country. But I did it a little bit different because there was just, there was a way I could do it where I could talk about like Old Faithful and the Awani and El Tovar. And those are just so widely known that I decided to pick some beautiful lodging in hotels that are a little bit lesser known. You might have heard of them. You might be listening and be like, what do you mean?

I know that. I've been there. But for me, I felt like they were lesser known than some of the bigger ones. But they're very interesting and they have very interesting history. Cool. I'm excited. I'm so excited. And also, it reminds me of, I don't know if you've seen it at like the bookstores or anything.

I've seen it maybe three or four times between like, little. bookshops and Barnes & Noble and things like that. And it's called the great. I already don't know. It's called I'm pretty sure it's called lodge. And the subtitle is an indoorsy tour of America's National Park Lodges or something like that. And it's like a instead of for the outdoor enthusiast, it's for like the indoor enthusiast. Yeah. And it's it had it's very, the look of it is so distinct. It has like a checkered like kind of flannel looking cover and it's it's like kind of like a coffee table book I guess more of more than anything because it has all these big beautiful pictures of like you're describing a lot of historic lodges throughout the US national park system and just like small blurbs about them

and every time I see it I'm like I kind of want that and then I just never I never get it and so maybe this is a sign to grab it because every time I see it on the shelf I'll flip through it you know mostly just to look at the beautiful buildings and stuff. But yeah, so I'm excited. I could see that on your coffee table. Yeah, right? Yeah, I know. It should be there.

Order it right now while we're on. No. The pressure is on. Yeah, Lodge, an indoorsy tour of America's National Parks by Max Humphrey. Cool. It's $40, so I'm not going to order it right now. But maybe sometime soon. Next time you go into a bookstore and you see it, that will be your sign.

Yeah, that'll be it. I'll wait until that happens again. Okay, so where are we going first then? Well, first we're going to the Belton Chalet, which has served as the gateway to the west entrance of Glacier National Park since 1910 and was the first iconic lodge that was built by the Great Northern Railroad and the first for Glacier National Park. So this was when the railroad was put in. They specifically built this hotel for visitors to come to. And I love that you just mentioned for like the indoor enthusiast kind of book because when I was writing this, I was like, this is a good episode for people who like maybe they don't want to hike, but they want to see beautiful views and they want to stay in nice places.

These are like, this is kind of like a fun itinerary, minus one because I have one hotel on the list that you do have to hike to. But we'll get to that. I feel like this is like your. I mean, you can camp like the best of them, but do you want to? Not always. Sometimes you want to be outside all day, get dirty, and then you want a nice bed. Yeah. I'm totally a bed advocate. A lovely breakfast. A indoors. A hot shower. A hot shower. Speaking my language. Somewhere you can do your skincare routine. Yes, skincare is so important. You're like a hybrid. Like you like the best of both worlds, you know. Yeah.

It's hard to do skincare outside. I remember, specifically going off track a little bit, I remember when we were on one of our group trips in Alaska and we were staying in one of the campgrounds and the campgrounds had a bathroom, but it only had cold water. And it was the coldest water I've ever experienced in my life. And I went in there like with my skincare stuff. I was ready. And also you turned it on and this faucet didn't have like a slowly. you turn it on and like a slow drip, like medium really fast. It was like you slightly turn the handle and it was like gushing out at you like splashing everywhere, freezing ice cold, probably

glacier water, I don't know. And I tried to do my skincare routine and I just couldn't. It was cold outside a little bit and then I'm putting cold water on my face. I was like my skin's just going to have to suffer. So yes. I was thinking when you said Alaska in skincare, I was thinking of, it may not have been the same campground we're thinking about, but I'm thinking about the one, was it near Talkeetna? I think it was the one near Talkeetna where there was only one bathroom for the entire campground. So I never saw the inside of that thing. Apparently it was there. I don't remember seeing it, but I do remember. So I used outhouses and stuff, but for skincare. For the skincare, I used the, there was a hose spicket on the side of the building, like around back.

of where the bathroom is, and that's what I use. That's dedication. That is dedication. I gave up in Alaska. Yeah, I know. Yeah. It's like, well, whatever happens, happens. And if I age, so be it. So be it. Okay, anyway. Anyway, we're going to Glacier National Park to the Belton Chalet. It is one of the six original chelets in the park. And at the opening of this chalet, it was regarded as the pinnacle of hospitality in the West. It was built with large balconies with rustic rocking chairs on them, wide eaves and heavy braces, windows that led in lots of light, beautiful crown molding, and hardwood floorings, along with beautiful old brick fireplaces. It's comprised of five buildings, including a dining hall and hotel facilities. The chalet structure looks like something you would

stumble across on the mountain side in Switzerland, which is fitting because Glacier National Park has been deemed America's Switzerland or the American Alps, and people from all over the country would take train rides to visit. And this chalet was actually directly inspired by Swiss chelets. The entire construction of it was based upon what you find in Switzerland. This chalet was directly affected by the war and shut down in 1946. It stood empty for four decades, except for a cafe and bar that intermittently operated. And it wasn't until 1997 that it was a required by new owners who put $1 million into restoring it. Today, the chalet prides themselves on restoring the building to its original state when it

first opened and offering elegant locally sourced dining experiences in the restaurant and tap house. When you stay here, you can rent a room or an entire cottage and the rates I found were around 250 to 450 per night, depending if you were staying in a cottage or a room. And while this is truly a gem to be visited and on the list of national historic places. It is also a place filled with strange happenings. And this actually began during the renovations of the hotel. So now we get into the fun spooky story part. So during the renovations of the hotel, workers were reporting that furniture would unexplainably move. They were hearing muffled

noises that were coming from empty rooms inside the hotel. And occasionally, black soot that was left by kerosene lanterns would appear on walls that had just been newly painted. In another instance, during the renovation, someone brought their dog with them there, and their dog was reportedly sitting at the foot of the stairs staring up very intently, and they watched, as this was going on, like, what are you staring at? No one's there. And as we know, dogs, dogs see all. And for them, there was no one there. But then, out of nowhere, a marble came bouncing down the stairs. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's, that's, that's. That's. That's. A ghost.

That's a ghost. Where'd that marble come from? Another dimension. Yeah. Another dimension. A child. Of course. Probably.

I'm into it. I'm into it. And I'll always trust your dog. Yeah. That's a blanket statement. It could be anything. Anything under the sun. Trust your dog.

Yeah. Except if you're like out walking around outside and they just like, I don't know, Tucker, he likes to just stare at things when we're, my God, I'm saying this. Like, I'm not believing this guy. But he likes to just stare. it freaks me out and I look around when we're out hiking and then he's not doing anything he just like his brain shut down for a minute or something oh is that canine cognitive disorder creeping in or is that picking up on another dimension or is he just taking in the scenery there's a lot of options well I'll say

taking in the scenery taking in the smells yeah something like enjoying enjoying enjoying his time yeah yeah but it freaks me out sometimes because he like gets high alert and then just like stands there and move and then there's nothing no sounds nothing and then he just moves on yeah like nothing happened yeah well maybe he's just i mean doing what you're doing going out there yeah you know maybe there's ghosts around me all the time i and he's seeing him would say probably i feel like there's stuff around everyone at all times yeah but we won't get into that yeah i don't get my vibes sometimes i get vibes when i'm in places and it's not on the trail anyway maybe he know he probably knows more i should I don't know.

You've experienced some vibes on the trail. That one specific one. That's true. Yeah. I mean, I don't think that you're in like an open receiving state at all times. You know what I mean? Yeah. Sometimes you're more in tune to what's happening than others.

Yeah. Of course. Okay. Well, trust the dog's blanket statement. Yeah. Anyway, back to the belt. And in recent years, guess now that it's open and people can stay there. In recent years, guests have reported strange occurrences as well. People

staying in rooms, especially in the rooms between 30 and 37, have found weird things with their plumbing. So they've found their faucets running when they've returned and haven't been there in a while. Or they've even found the valve shut off underneath the sinks. And it's such a common occurrence that it is reported to the staff really often. Like, hey, was someone in my room? Did they leave the water on? My valve shut off in the sink? Is there a reason for that? And the staff is very used to this. And it's actually interesting because they report that the problem with that whole thing of the sinks running or the faucets off or whatever is that the plumbing has been very recently updated. And every time they've had it inspected for any reports, no issue is ever found.

And it happens so much now that the issue is brushed off. And for the most part, the staff will tell guests, like, it's just a mischievous ghost at work. Like, no harm. Especially rooms 30 to 37. It should be like a little disclaimer. If you're checking into one of those rooms, like FYI, this may happen. And if it does, don't call us. Yeah, like leave us alone.

That might deter some people though. They'd be like, what the? There's ghosts in here? There's a warning label for ghosts. I feel like for every person it deters, it attracts five. Fair. So maybe they should look into doing that. The morbid curiosities.

Mm-hmm. There is. So I did. The reason I found the story of this is because this woman, she wrote a book and it's called Glacier Ghost Stories. And I think, I forget. I've referenced her book at the Stanley. Oh, did you? Yeah.

I downloaded it on my candle and I didn't read the entire, I didn't read the whole thing. I know it's on the shorter side. You just read the chapter that. Yeah, I just read the chapter for this hotel. Okay, so I didn't read this chapter because I don't remember this. But yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

because I did going to the Sun Road at the Stanley. I do remember you saying that I do remember this now that you're saying. And I don't know why I want to call him Joe, but there was like that apparition that's on the road that they see. Like that whole thing is from this book. So there's the connection. Gotcha. Cross-referencing. Yeah.

So I used this book and she was the one. She actually went and talked to the people who work and have stayed at the hotel. So these are like firsthand. occurrences that people are saying. And part of her book also references sounds of a woman weeping and that this has been a very common report in the hotel. In one instance, a night auditor was the only one in the building and heard the weeping woman in room 37.

Another guest in that same room reported feeling someone touching his shoulder when he was in bed, which is a no go for me. Staff have reported strange things too. In one instance, the staff member was moving furniture. when they became locked in the bathroom and another staff member had to let them out. Some staff members stay in rooms above the restaurant have also reported some strange happenings. They'll hear someone with heavy boots walking outside their door in the middle of the night. But when they get up to see who's out there, no one is ever there.

And those same happenings have been reported by guests outside of room 23. Very specific with the room numbers. Yeah. It's like, they just go to these certain parts. I don't know. Yeah, who knows. In 2008, a guest who stayed at the lodge later sent a letter back to the Belton describing their night there because it was so memorable. She detailed waking up to a man sitting in the chair in her room and she described him surrounded by a light and he was handsome with dark hair and was muscular.

He spoke to her and told her that he was a minor and that he couldn't leave Glacier. He also told her that he had heard her on a phone call that she had earlier that night about some concerns. in her life that she had and he said that it would all be okay before disappearing. That is so touching. I love that. It's very nice. Like it's a little scary but also very nice. Like, hey, this is me.

I'm, I'm here. It's your boy. It's your boy. And I just wanted to say like your worries. Don't worry about it. It's all good. I've never heard an account that way in that, like that, what's the phrase I'm trying to come up with? I've just never heard an account.

count of the paranormal blend together different experiences in one. Like generally when someone sees like a haunting like that, usually it's like a residual type of thing. They don't interact with you. And it's a very like they're kind of just going about their business without recognizing your presence or anything like that. Yeah. And certainly even if they do, it's like like you said like a touch or like turning on

the faucet or to, you know. know, doing some. It's not like a full conversation. Like a personal one. I mean, I feel like, especially like the light around them and just the words of comfort and advice so personally, like that gives spirit guide vibes to me. Spirit guide or some creepy stalker and she was half asleep and he like walked in and was like, shh. Or that. I would hope the former, but either is on the table. I first thought, like, are you sure that was a ghost girl or are you, uh, were you like narrowly killed by a serial killer? Who felt bad for you?

It's very interesting. That's so intriguing. Yeah. So these are just some of the happenings in the chalet and staff think there could be as many of six ghosts that reside there. Now, where did they all come from? Legends have circled around, but there's no written records of tragic happenings that have ever been found.

Legends have detailed a man who was killed by a train across from the chalet. Mine workers killed in the construction of the railroad, which was a very common occurrence, especially in the late 1800s, early 1900s that were not documented. And one of the legends is of a woman who threw herself off of one of the balconies after a relationship ended badly, which is attributed to the wailing, crying woman. I mean, it seems like there's a lot of links to be happening. And I feel like where there's legend, there's like some truth in there. Like where did that legend come from for years and years?

Like, it started somewhere. Right, exactly. You know? Yeah. While the sources of these ghosts have yet to be found, the Belton is known to be one of the most haunted buildings inside of Glacier National Park. So that's our first stop in the historic hotel tour. And our next stop on the list of historic hotels is the Oregon Caves Chateau

and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Now, Oregon Caves, National Monument, and Preserve is located in southwestern Oregon. and protects 4,554 acres or 1,843 hectares, including a marble cave. It's been a part of the National Park Service since 1933, and a major attraction to this park is, of course, the Oregon Cave Tours that you take through the marble passages deep underground with smooth flowstones, stalastites, and stalagmites. Paleontologists have found many fossils of scientific importance here, including the remains of a 38,000-year-old jaguar,

black bear and a 50,000-year-old grizzly bear. Fun. Very fun. Now, the Oregon Caves Chateau is a National Park Lodge and National Historic Landmark. It was built in 1934 just after the National Park Service gained control of the area. And this is a picturesque six-story lodge that offers 23 rooms and a dining room with canyon views and a 1930s area coffee shop diner. The exterior is built from Cedar Wood and the lobby boasts beautiful.

stone fireplaces with massive wooden beams and overlooks the cave creek. The chateau is also the only lodge within the National Park Service with its original arts and craft style furniture. So it's had the same furniture since it opened. However, unlike the other hotel I spoke about that you can go visit, this chateau has been closed since 2018 for renovations and restoration costs for this is about $8.6 million. A large portion of the renovations. is for plumbing and wiring issues, along with bringing it up to code of the Americans with Disability Act standards. Unfortunately, through their renovations, they found more issues than originally thought and actually found structural issues with property and are now currently stabilizing the

building. And because of this, an additional $4 million has been added to the budget and the opening of this hotel has been delayed. But it is planned at some point to be reopened, which is why I wanted to talk about it because there is a significant ghost story here and a significant haunting that if people have stayed here before, since it just closed in 2018, or you're planning to stay here someday, you can know. So the story goes that sometime in the 1930s, a woman named Elizabeth, who is now known as the Blue Lady and her husband stayed in room 310 of the chateau on the night of their wedding. At one point, her husband got up and left their room and he didn't come back. And after a while, when he didn't come back, she went out to search for him. And in her search, she found him in a

passionate embrace with one of the chambermaids. On their wedding night. On their wedding night. Red flag. What year was this? Sorry. This was sometimes. It didn't say a specific year, but it said sometimes in the 1930s. Oh, okay. So horribly upset, she ran up to her room, climbed out her window, and jumped from the roof. Other theories in this is that her husband pushed her off of the roof. That seems more likely. Yeah. He caught her and probably went upstairs to talk. I don't know. It just I feel like that seems. She caught him. Yeah, that's what I meant. She caught him. And then he was like, oh, man, you caught me. You got to go. Yeah. So the traumatic part about this is that when she fell, whether she jumped or she was pushed right below her window wasn't actually the ground. It was a steep shingle roof and she had time.

The reports say that she had time to fall and try to claw her way up the roof to try and save herself. But the roof was really wet and she couldn't hold on. And she fell five stories and on her way down, she passed the massive windows of the lobby and everyone in there was able to see her hit the ground. And this is verified? No. This story has never been verified. Okay, I'm like, holy shit. It's like very traumatic and shit. Yeah. Okay, so this is all.

This is all legend. Okay, okay. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Yeah, yeah. There's also another thing that says that she went into the bathtub and she slit her wrist. But that one seems like less told and less thought of. So I didn't really focus on that one too much. But her presence has certainly convinced both visitors and staff that something

horrible did happen to this woman. And she's also reportedly a ghost, but she's also reportedly not a very friendly one. And she doesn't like when guests stay in her room. The good news for people who, if you are staying in room 310, is that she doesn't like you and she doesn't want to be in the room that you're in. So if you come and stay in her room, she actually leaves. And instead, in the middle of the night, she will haunt the hallways and she'll wander the hallways and she's been seen in a blue nightgown walking the halls. Both staff and visitors have heard her wailing cries coming from the third floor linen closet, and she's also been known to frequent the kitchen,

where there have been a few reported incidents where conversations of her arise, and during them, particularly the conversations between people who don't believe she's real, like, oh, no, that's fake. That's not a real story. A hanging pan or a food item on the shelf will drop and hit them in the head. Oh, okay. So she's violent. She's aggressive.

Got it. She also seems to have it out particularly for the maids who worked there. She has been known to paying closet doors in the rooms that they're in, unmake the beds, and throw their neatly folded towels on the floor. I thought you were going to say the men. But the maids also make sense if that's... Who she caught her husband with. Yeah.

But let's not blame the woman in that. No. She's a woman scorn. She... No, I'm saying, like, is it the maids' fault? in this? Oh, I see. I don't know. Like if you're going to get mad, get mad at... Get mad at him. Right. I don't know. Who are we to say? Yeah, the maid had no. We don't know who the maid was. Maybe they knew each other. Maybe she knew the maid. Yeah, that's true. That is... Add to the legend. The maid was her best friend.

We're going to just start a new, yeah, version. It's like they had actually grown up together, which made this story so much more heartbreaking. They were best friends. So hard. breaking and she was also there when her husband pushed her off the roof and they watched together and then they actually got married right after yeah and they went on to have two children and yeah it goes on and on it goes on for a long time tell that to everyone you know yeah spread it spread it far and wide so anyway um for the chateau it is not currently open it doesn't have a date that it is going to be opened by. But if, and I'll post pictures on Instagram of it, this hotel is really beautiful. I mean, it is a huge massive, like, log hotel on the side. It looks like in, like, a canyon or something. It's in Oregon. It's really pretty. And I think when it reopens, it's going to be amazing.

And it's a great location for it, too. The National Park, it has the cave system, but it also has a lot of hiking trails that you can go on. And there's just a lot to do in this area. And it's a little, I think, less known, like, of a national park in Oregon. So it's a cool spot. All right. All right. The next historic hotel we're visiting is in the heart of Mount Rainier National Park and might also be the grandest one on my list. The Paradise Inn is the poster child for rustic architecture that draws us into many historic National Park hotels. It was built in 1916 with massive ceilings, giant timber beams and frames and beautiful stone fireplaces. The hotel has a grand dining hall, verandas, and offers views of Mount Rainier. It also has massive cedar tables and chairs, a 14-foot-tall clock and a piano.

Many of the beams used for the building are from the park itself. A year before construction began, a massive wildfire swept through part of the park, leaving a lot of dead Alaska yellow cedars standing, and they actually got permission to cut these trees down for use of the building. In total, the project cost was about $92,000, which is equivalent to $2.6 million. today. Have you ever been there? Yeah, I haven't stayed there, but I've been inside and I've seen it, obviously, during my visits, and it is, it's stunning. Danielle approved. Stamp of approval. It looks very beautiful. I've never been there, but the pictures are, I mean,

when you walk in, it looks like those, the ceilings are like the tallest ceilings I've ever seen. Yeah, it's a beautiful, not only is it a beautiful building. It's in one of the most beautiful parts of the park, in my opinion. So it's just all around 10 out of 10. And a lot of people agree with you. Tons of people stay there and have been staying there for many years. And a lot of that is because this is a very popular location for people to come see the wildflower meadows. But also, when it first opened and today, it was a great spot for early mountain climbers summiting Mount Reneer to visit. It had been decided that a hotel should be built here. after a visitor influx and tourists voicing their willingness to stay in more than a tent,

which was the previous accommodations. People would come here and there would just be a tent and people were like, hey, this is beautiful, this is stunning, give us something that's a little bit nicer. And I will say this is a part of the story that I haven't really gotten into, but with this and Mission 66 and everything, there was a huge backlash with the conservation movement of people fighting against this mission being like, you're accommodating all these people to visit the parks, you're causing destruction in the park, you're building facilities, you're building it up to be this place like you go into a town or a city and all these facilities when it's supposed to be nature. So a lot of conservationists actually disagreed with all of everything with Mission 66 and all these buildings and all these hotels and the influx of visitors.

And ultimately, I think the consensus and like the halfway point was that they built these places to resemble the locations that they were in. Yeah. to try and offset that. Well, it reminds me of the argument, the current present day argument that's kind of parallel to that is the Wi-Fi, implementing Wi-Fi in national parks. Because obviously you can get it in like visitor centers and stuff, but there's like some big, I don't know if it's like the start, like Starlink or whatever. There's some debate on whether or not to provide Wi-Fi throughout a lot of places in

national parks where as of now it is not there. And like the argument for it is like how many people would be saved, you know, if they have service to to Wi-Fi and are able to use their phones, especially further out in the backcountry. But obviously the flip side of that is, well, I mean, Wi-Fi is everywhere. And, you know, people go to national parks, especially out in the back country to get away from a lot of things, but modern technology, one of them. And there are such things as, you know, sat phones and like your garment in reach. And there are things that are still available that could, you know, is like a middle ground for that instead of just providing. Like, you don't need to be able to access Instagram when you're on a through hike. You know what I mean? Like just

things like that. But I know that is something that has been brought up in recent years. I mean, two valid arguments. Because if you are off in the middle of nowhere and you fall and you're injured and you're alone or something happens. You get into an accident with a hiking partner or whatever and you look down on your phone and you can connect to Wi-Fi and call 911. Right. Your life saved. But on the flip side of that, there is something about being in the backcountry and away

from it all. And also, I guess my question would what would Wi-Fi look like? Like, what would installing Wi-Fi look like in a capacity like? And a capacity like that. Yeah, that's another huge part of it. Yeah. Are we destroying forests to make this happen? Like, what is what is the cost to doing that to the environment?

Yeah. I mean, I don't think it'll get off the ground, honestly. Hopefully. Actually, I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. So I'm not quite sure, but I feel like. I'd have to know more about it, I think. Maybe they would like pilot it in certain places or maybe just do it in like more

populated parks. I don't know. I haven't read anything really about it in recent months. I just remember seeing a few articles like debating back and forth about it, but I would side with no. Yeah. I mean, there's an inherent risk in going into nature and I don't think that every single thing should be modernized and mitigated. And I mean. Yeah. Survival of the fittest. Yeah. Sorry. Well, anyway, back to. the Paradise Inn. The doors open on July 1st, 1917, and at the time it had 37 guest rooms in a dining hall that could hold up to 400 people. More rooms were added over time, but lack of visitors during World War I slowed their construction plans. The 1920s were a tough time for the hotel

with the Great Depression. Less people were traveling to the park. And also, the long and harsh winters were causing a struggle for the management of this hotel. The original structure, and I thought that this was wild. So the original structure wasn't built to withstand the amount of snow the park receives. And as the snow piled up against the building, it was actually being slowly pushed down the hill. Oh, the building, you mean? Yes. Yeah.

I was going to say, I feel like this place is closed a good portion of the year because of the snow. Yeah. Yeah, it's open seasonally. And they actually had to add structural braces to the timber to reduce the stress. from the snow. And that was like a major cost that happened. But then, much like the rest of the parks across the country, World War II, was rough on visitation. And after the war ended, visitation numbers didn't get that much better in this park. So the company who owned it previously, who was known as the Mount Rainier Park Company, couldn't make a profit off of it. It was costing too much.

So by the 1950s, they officially sold the building to the National Park Service. Which sounds great. and is great, but the National Park Service struggled within as well because of the extreme weather and the maintenance that it needed. It turned into a very costly upkeep. Small projects were done, but it took a lot of time. It wasn't until visitation grew over the years that projects were really able to get done. In 1980 to 81, they did a $2.8 million renovation on structural stabilization for the building. Then again, in 2006 to 2008, the hotel underwent renovations on the the foundation to make it capable of withstanding earthquakes better. Today it has 121 rooms for overnight guests, a gift shop, restaurants, and a cafe. And it is also said to be haunted. People

believe that this hotel is haunted by climbers who have attempted to summit Mount Rainier and died there. The amount of people who have attempted to summit Renier is estimated to be over 500,000 people with about 200,000 completing it. Each year, the National Park Service estimates about 10,000, attempt to make it to the summit and about half of those people succeed. To this date, there are over 425 fatalities that have occurred within the park, but the number of people who died climbing Reneer sits somewhere around 90 as of right now. In the hotel, guests have reported their furniture being moved in their rooms, and when they ask hotel staff if they moved it, the answer is always no. It's common for guests staying in the hotel to have a very strong feeling that they're being watched, even while sitting alone in their rooms. In addition to that, loud footsteps down the hallway in the middle of the night have been reported, but when guests checked to see who's walking by, no one is there. Also, mysterious voices are heard again when no one is around. So really similar hauntings to some of the other hotels and not, again, not like an exact connection,

but people have linked it because it's so close to Reneer in the location and because it's a major stop for climbers that over the years, some of the people who have died have decided to remain there. I mean, that sounds right on track with, again, going back to the Stanley Hotel Live show. The, is it the Timberline Hotel on Mount Hood, which is the face of the Overlook Hotel in the movie, The Shining. Like the outer, why can't I think maybe because it's 9.30 at night. The shots of like the building is actually the Timberline Hotel on Mount Hood in Oregon. And a lot of people say that it's haunted from the people who have died trying to summit Mount Hood. Because, again, I don't think there was really much tragedy in the hotel, except for, remember that guy who got decapitated by the helicopter in the parking lot?

Yes. How could I forget? That is, that story will stick with me forever. Yeah, that was really rough. That's horrific. It was, well, quote unquote, recent. I think it was in the 80s. Recent enough. Recent enough. Yeah, recent enough. But yeah, very similar vibes of like just people of the mountain instead of like there was a tragedy in a specific room or something like that. Yeah.

It's like the spirits of these people have congregated to one, like have found a building to be in instead of. Because I feel like that's very common with an ain't ghost story I've heard is that they're associated to some type of structure. Mm-hmm. Yeah. For the most part. Not always. All right, I have one last hotel, and this one is a National Park Historic Hotel, and it is the Rheeden East, and we're going to the La Cante Lodge in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains

National Park. And I have to say, this one is my favorite one. I can tell by your face and the cadence of your voice. This one was my favorite one to research. I just think it's so cool, and I also think it's really cool because we were recently talking about planning a trip to this park, and now I'm like, oh, I found one. and it's like a little haunted, so Danielle might agree to stay here. Absolutely, first of all, yes.

We just have to figure out when to go, which is just such a struggle. But is it near where I want to go? It's in the park. Okay. Yeah. We have to go during nice weather, though, because this lodge is different than the other ones. So you can't drive to this one. You actually have to hike to it.

And there are five different trails within the park that you can hike to it on. And the shortest and also steepest of these hikes, is along the alum cave trail, which is a little over five miles or eight kilometers one way. Okay. That's not too bad. No, no, it's not bad. All right. As long as we go to Tennessee for the Titanic Museum, that's all I want to do. Yes, we can definitely still do that.

Okay, as long as we do that, I am down to take a hike to a hotel. Yes. Perfect. Yes. Okay, now I'm excited. Okay, so this isn't like, it's not super easy to get to, but it's definitely worth it because when you stay there, you are staying in the highest guest lodge in the eastern United States. This lodge sits in an open glade area just below the summit of Mount Lacan and offers absolutely spectacular views of the Smokies. While this lodge is certainly not as spectacular and luxurious as the other ones that I've talked about, they pride themselves on being the only place visitors,

sleep overnight on a mountaintop in a snug permanent structure with hot and hearty meals in the national park. So it's like my jam. There you are past both worlds. What do we just talk about? You're still there. You're still out there, but you got a bed and you got some hot food. The lodge is constructed of seven hand-built rough-hewn log cabins and three multi-room lodges. They have the capacity to hold up to 60 yes and the cabins are furnished with upper and lower full-sized bunk beds. They have propane heat, kerosene lanterns, and plenty of wool blankets to keep you warm. However, this lodge has no electricity. Instead, it's a simplistic getaway and a natural haven nestled among the highest peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains.

It sounds fun. It sounds like a good time. Yeah. And it's like if you all post photos of it too, but it looks so beautiful. The views up here are insane. It's remote. It's quiet. but you still have some like nice accommodations.

And I really love the history of this hotel too. So the history of this hotel is centered around the love of the outdoors, hiking, and national parks. Because a man named Paul Adams started the idea of having a lodge here before the park was established. In 1925, he joined a conservation group that was advocating for the area to become a national park. And in that, him and a group of other outdoor enthusiasts led a group of the house. fireups from DC to this spot. They had built a tent camp on top of Mount LaCont because it showed some of the most beautiful views in the park and they thought it would be a great way to sway these DC executives into signing the area into a national park. And it's beautiful, it's amazing,

they really enjoyed their time because it worked. And after the park was established and the official lodge was built in 1926, so just a year later. Similarly, to the other places in my story. The reason as to why this lodge is haunted is unclear, but what is clear is that people are seeing the same ghost. And unfortunately, it's my least favorite kind of ghost. Does it touch you? Okay, second least favorite kind of ghost.

I'm confused. Okay. So there have been several reports that at exactly 3.33 a.m., guests have been woken up to see a little girl standing at the end of their beds watching them sleep. Yeah, that would be a top. No. Top. No. Especially in the middle of the woods. Is it the, is it the child part or is it the what she's doing that you're like, no? What she's doing. Okay. Yeah. What she's doing. I don't like that. And guess I've reported as soon as they like really wake up, like a lot of times it's kind of foggy.

Like they wake up and are like, what? Someone at the end of my bed. And then they like wake up and they're like, oh my God, what's going on? She disappears. No one knows who she is. is or why she's there, but she is a frequent sighting that is up there. So that is something to consider when booking. Again, for everyone it deters, I think it draws in five times as many people. I truly do. I really do believe that. Well, we'll be sleeping in the same fucking bed because I'm not being alone. When are we not? When are we not? Every time we travel, we never, like, if you think that we have separate rooms. Think again. We're always... Very rarely. When have we ever had separate rooms? When it was just us too traveling together. Oh, never, never. Never. Like if Owls there or like Ian was there, like we would have

separate rooms. But like if it's just us, then we... And if it's haunted, like, it's legit, like, same bed. Yeah, it's like, even if there's two beds, if there's two beds, I don't care. I'm sleeping in Daniel's bed. I know we use the other bed for like storage of our clothes and stuff. Yeah. Like that's nice. but I'm not sleeping there by myself. Yeah, so, well, so are we still going or? Yes, I'm still down to go because I love everything else about it. And it is open from late March to mid-November, which gives kind of an open, a more open window since it's in the south. The weather's a little bit nicer longer.

And I did look up the cost, so it's a little less than $200 per night to stay there. Yeah, that's not bad at all. No. I'd be fine with one or two nights up there, really, realistically. Well, I think two nights would be nice because, you know, you do the five-mile hike in, you have, you know, a night there. And then the whole next day to, like, explore that local area before. And there's a lot of hikes, like, in it now around there. Yeah.

I think, like, two nights is a good, is a fair amount of time to be there. Two nights there and the Titanic Museum. Here we come. Yep. My Titanic itinerary still needs to be built out. But when I tell you. I found out that. Like I was sending Cassidy pictures of, I know there are several Titanic museums and Titanic exhibits and points of interest, you know, throughout the country and, of course, the world.

But the one that's most accessible is obviously in Pigeon Forge. And I was showing her pictures of it. I'm like, we have to go here. We have to go here. And then I realized people get married there and like on this staircase. On this staircase, like where Jack is like waiting for at the clock and stuff. Replica. The replica.

And I'm not laughing out of making fun of it. I'm laughing because I was like, I know where I'm getting married now. I just have to find someone to marry. Okay. Have you got married there? I'm wearing like Titanic outfit. No, that's the dress coat. One of the rich ladies on the Titanic will be my outfit.

Yeah, it's going to be, it's a very small quaint venue. Doesn't seem like it holds many people, which is great because I don't know many people. and it looks so fun. Like, it just looks so fun. And I know I would be just totally made fun of for the rest of my life if I did that. But I would like to say if anyone out there knows someone who got married there, please tell them to reach out to me. I think that would be so interesting to hear.

Like, I thought you were going to say who would like to get married. This is my personal advertisement. No, please. I can't. No. I cannot. But thanks for your interest. Anyone who was considering. I'm, anyone who thought for a hot second that was an option. Well, I will say, I told you, and I mean it, I need the best photo of my life taken there. Like, I don't even need to be married. I just really want a picture there.

You got to have the outfit. Done. I, for my birthday last year, I went to one of those, like, reenet, what are they called? Like an old-timey photo place. And that's what I did. I dressed up as a Victorian woman reading a book and had my picture taken and had it printed out and now I have it. Like I have a legit photo of myself that I took on my 33rd birthday. So if you think for one second, I would not dress up in a period outfit for the Titanic Museum. You're sorely mistaken and I can't wait to make it a grand event. Well, that being said, this is a call out for photographers in the Great Smoking Mountain. area who would like to photograph Danielle on that stairway in her outfit.

I would really love that. And date to be determined because we have no idea, but this isn't a joke. It sounds like a joke, but it's not. It's like it's more serious than we've ever been for anything we've asked on the podcast of you. That's true. Yeah. Well, thank you for bringing us to all these different places. And it's cool because the one in Oregon, like you said, I mean, it's not open yet, but it's something to look forward to.

and it sounds like it's in a really cool place. And I know that the Mount Rainier one is pretty popular, but everything else I've never heard of. Yeah. Yeah, I saw that one and I was just like, it's so beautiful and I wanted to mention it. But yeah, I had fun looking into them because they seemed less known, at least to me

and hopefully to a majority of the people listening. Yeah. Well, we have more places to add now onto the list. And I'm sure we'll be going to the Glacier one first because that's like a number one for you. you. I really want to. I need to go to a glacier. All right. Well, we will see everyone next week.

In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much for joining us again this week. If you have a trail tale or story suggestion, send us an email at Stories at NPAD podcast.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at National Park After Dark and on Twitter at NPAD podcast. Join our outsider's only community on

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