I was certain I’d written about this in the past — the profile of the sleeping Indian visible from Highway 7 near Allenspark, Colo. I was equally certain I’d included a photo of my own, annotated to point out the relevant features. But if I did, I can’t find it now. So here we go again, for the benefit of tourists traveling through the area (about 15 miles south of Estes Park).
Looking for an image that showed the Indian, I came across the old postcard above. It’s the only image I could find that included Estes Cone as the chief’s feet. I don’t know how old the postcard is, but “Chief Mt.” is known today as Chiefs Head and the “South St. Vrain Highway” is Highway 7. Allenspark has been spelled as one word for as long as I can remember.
I’ve annotated the photo below, in case the sleeping figure isn’t obvious otherwise. It doesn’t include the chief’s feet, but it was the best I could do. In the summer, when almost all the snow melts, there’s a single patch that usually persists, exactly where the chief’s eye should be.
NOTE, Aug. 31, 2022: Looking at these pictures for the first time in several years, I’ve a new point of view. That out-of-proportion belly the chief has — I now see that he has his hands folded over his belly.