The bedside diaries of one of the great hotels of the Rockies



By Mark D. Williams

When Durango's Strater first opened in 1887, it serviced business travelers and locals who used the Colorado hotel as a winter refuge when their drafty cabins could not weather the intensely-cold winters. The rooms shared a three-story, indoor privy, and each had a wood-burning stove, a washstand, and a bed. But by the turn of the century, the Strater catered to those made rich by the local silver and gold mines and had been refurbished in Victorian ostentation.

Thanks to the Barker family, which owns the Strater, much of that style is evident a century later. Room 223, for instance, houses an antique, Victorian-style, hand-carved walnut bedroom suite valued at over $30,000. The washstand has been replaced with a marble-topped vanity. Ornate mirrors and crystal lamps grace the walls, and the ceiling has intricate, gold patterns leading to a multi-colored mandela in its center. Red, crushed-velvet curtains tied back with gold braids open to Main Street and beyond, revealing a sweeping view of the San Juan Mountains.

In the 1940s and 50s, Louis L'Amour sat at the desk in Room 223 and typed some of his most famous Westerns, including Hondo and How the West was Won. After taking a few drinks in the Diamond Belle Saloon, his imagination sparked by the cancan girls and the plinkety-plink of the period piano songs, L'Amour would retire to his room and create characters like Tyrel Sackett and Van Reilly.

Nowadays, a new series of epics is being penned at the landmark hotel. Beside each bed, awaiting each guest, lies a diary for guests to pour out their hearts and their memories.

February 24, 1995
Tonight we were in this beautiful old room as lovers ... and in that I'm sure we are not unique. The story is that we were high school sweethearts about 30 years ago, he went off to college, she stayed behind to grow up. The fates took us in different directions, we had careers, we made families and time passed. He lived in Tucson, Arizona, she lived in Dallas. Then, fate brought them together. We came home to remember what was but even more what is to be. This has been a memorable part of that odyssey.

May 8, 1995
I was sound asleep in the room with 2 beds--Grandma, 89 years old, was sleeping in the bed next to me and about 2 a.m. I felt something patting the side of my bed. Of course I thought Grandma was ill and calling me so I said 'what's wrong, Grandma?' As I turned over to see, she was fast asleep, all covered up, so you tell me what happened?

January 12, 1996
My name is Michael. I am eight years old. I come here a lot and my dad brings me. He gets me from my mom and we come here. It makes me sad to come here. They got divorced and when we come here it makes me cry. I wish we could all be a family again.

January 12, 1996
I am Michael's father, and I have tears in my eyes right now after reading his entry. I had no idea our monthly visits to the Strater disturbed him so. I, too, wish we could be a family again but my wife (ex-wife) has a new man and a new life. I just hope Michael understands all this when he gets older. I love him so much.

October 9, 1996
Exactly a year ago today, I was in the hospital with breast cancer and it was not a great day! Today I am still cancer-free and it is a wonderful day to take the train, enjoy the colors and to thank God for each day of my life because each moment for all of us is a moment of celebration! We love staying here, it's really a very 'homey' place and we'd like to come back again. (Oh yes, Today is my 57th birthday!)

February 14, 1997
Harold and I have been spending Valentine's Day at the Strater for the last 48 years, each year of our anniversary. Harold passed away this fall and this is the first trip without him. I knew it would be tremendously challenging but I also knew that I needed to continue this tradition of ours. I will keep coming back as long I am able. I will always remember him and the special love we shared for half a century. I love you Harold, with all my heart.

Copyright ©1999 Cowboys & Indians


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