Isabella Bird – Victorian explorer who conquered mountains and the hearts of frontiersmen
In the year of our Lord 1873, this English rose with a spine of steel ventured forth into the wilds of Colorado, seeking to cure her ails with the crisp mountain air and breathtaking vistas. Little did she know that she would find adventure, romance, and a one-eyed desperado waiting in the wings!
Our heroine’s exploits in Estes Park read like a dime novel come to life. Picture, if you will, the demure Miss Bird astride a horse named Birdie, galloping headlong into canyons and leaping over pine-clad slopes with the vigor of a seasoned cowhand. By day, she corralled stampeding Texan cattle; by night, she battled snowflakes that dared to freeze upon her very bedsheets!
But the pièce de résistance of Bird’s Rocky Mountain sojourn was her ascent of the formidable Longs Peak. Accompanied by the notorious “Rocky Mountain Jim” Nugent – a man with “blonde curls and a face that could have been modeled in marble” on one side, and a visage mauled by a grizzly on the other – Bird embarked on a climb that would make lesser mortals quake in their boots. Two other hardy souls joined this unlikely duo on their perilous journey: Sylvester Spelman Downer and Platt Rogers. Alas, these young bucks proved too fleet of foot for our Isabella, romping ahead and leaving her alone with the dashing desperado. One can only imagine the whispered sweet nothings and tales of derring-do exchanged as Jim hauled Bird up the mountainside “like a bale of goods, by sheer force of muscle”
But soft! What light through yonder pine trees breaks? ‘Tis the flame of forbidden love! For lo, the roguish Rocky Mountain Jim, smitten by Bird’s pluck and wit, dared to propose marriage to our fair maiden. Alas, Bird, ever the pragmatist, declined his offer, declaring him “a man any woman might love, but no sane woman would marry”. A wise decision, dear citizens, for the ill-fated Jim met his maker in a gunfight mere months later.
Bird’s Rocky Mountain adventures, immortalized in her tome “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains,” set the literary world ablaze. Her vivid descriptions of the sublime beauty and healing powers of Estes Park no doubt caught the eye of one William N. Byers, that ink-stained prophet of the West who had christened the park after its first settler.
And thus, dear citizens, we bid adieu to Isabella Bird – explorer, writer, and accidental matchmaker between man and mountain. Her tale serves as a reminder that sometimes, the greatest adventures are found not in the peaks we conquer, but in the desperados we meet along the way!
Bird and Jim is a restaurant in Estes Park, Colorado named in their honor.
Bird & Jim is a culinary haven in Estes Park named after that dauntless Isabella Bird and her one-eyed paramour, Rocky Mountain Jim. This establishment, which bravely opened its doors in 2017, serves up “elevated modern mountain cuisine,” which, as we all know, is code for “fancy grub with a side of breathtaking views”.
Sources
Bird, Isabella L. “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.” John Murray, 1879.
National Park Service. “Isabella Bird’s 1873 Visit to Rocky Mountain National Park.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/romo/isabella_bird_visit.htm
Wikipedia. “James Nugent (Estes Park).” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Nugent_(Estes_Park)
Alta Journal. “The Lady and the Mountain Man.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a38679004/the-lady-and-the-mountain-man/
Lamulnix.com. “Isabella L. Bird’s story ‘Climbing Long’s Peak’ – Classic Travel Tales.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://lamulnix.com/stories/Isabella-L-Bird-A-Ladys-Life-in-the-Rocky-Mountains-Climbing-Longs-Peak/
Wikipedia. “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lady%27s_Life_in_the_Rocky_Mountains
Cowboy State Daily. “A Mountain West Legend, The Story Of Isabella Bird And Mountain Man Jim Is 150 Years Old.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/06/a-mountain-west-legend-the-story-of-isabella-bird-and-mountain-man-jim-is-150-years-old/
Mountain Village at Lake Estates. “Bird & Jim Restaurant and Bar.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://mountainvillageestespark.com/estes-park-restaurants/bird-jim-restaurant-and-bar/
Swept Away Today. “Essence of the Pioneer Spirit at Bird and Jim Restaurant in Estes Park.” November 4, 2017. https://sweptawaytoday.com/2017/11/04/essence-of-the-pioneer-spirit-at-bird-jim/
Yelp. “Bird & Jim – Estes Park, Colorado.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-and-jim-estes-park
Yelp. “BIRD & JIM – Updated February 2025 – 1472 Photos & 1397 Reviews.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-and-jim-estes-park?start=20
Bird & Jim. “Restaurant and Bar | Estes Park.” Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.birdandjim.com
