American Castle

You can just build things...

The first thing I saw was a goat.

At first I thought, Wow look at that big horn sheep on the highway!

But it wasn’t a big horn sheep. It was just a basic bitch domestic goat.

I parked my truck on the side of the highway, taking care not to hit the goat. I grabbed my camera, jumped out of the truck, and the goat was still there.

He was giving me a goat smile. I think he wanted a snack.

I had some Circle K brand gummy bears, but I didn’t know if those made good goat snacks. So instead of gummy bears I gave him a pet. The goat seemed to like my pets.

This was my welcome to Bishop’s Castle.

In 1959 a teenaged high school dropout Jim Bishop bought two acres in the Wet Mountains south of Pueblo Colorado. The property was full of rocks and timber. Bishop was going to use the rock and timber to build a stone cabin. But it would seem that things got a little out of hand, and what emerged was a monument to human creativity and perseverance.

The first thing you see before you enter the gate is a sign. It says you must read. The TLDR is that once you’re on the property you’re on your own. And don’t sue if you get hurt.

I’m no lawyer, but I doubt the sign will hold up in court.

Now, good thing there’s a warning sign because this place is sketchy as fuck. It’s a construction site. There are sharp pieces of metal everywhere. There are holes in the floors. And the entire place feels like it could fall down at any second.

But holy shit… it’s also really fucking cool. Beautiful even.

From what I understand, Mr Bishop built most of it himself. He was a decorative ironworker by trade and (what I assume is) scrap decorative iron is everywhere.

Aside from not being lawyer, I’m also not a structural engineer. But it would seem that the decorative iron is used as a structural element all over the castle. I’m not sure how kosher that is, and from what I understand there’s been a multi-decade battle with the local zoning people who’d like to see the place demolished.

I climbed one of the turrets to get a better view. The spiral stairway was narrow. Even though I’m of average hight I hit my head a few times.

There were holes in the stairs where the concrete had crumbled away. Some of the holes were big enough for my size 10 ropers to fall through.

The view from the top didn’t disappoint. But the climb had me quivering.

I’m not afraid of heights, but I am afraid of being buried under many tons of stone and decorative iron.

It was a gusty day and I could feel the turret swaying in wind. I took a few quick pics and decided to head downstairs to safety.

But I couldn’t help but notice the beauty of this place. And the fact it was crafted by one man over many decades. Stone by stone. Timber by timber.

It’s seriously inspirational—and so what if it’s a death-trap…

At the bottom of the stairs I ran into a family. The kids were running around and grandma urged them to slow down so they wouldn’t get injured.

I agreed with her assessment and mentioned that the tower was scary.

She said “Oh yeah, it always sways in the wind.”

I took it this wasn’t her first trip to Bishop’s Castle.

Oh yeah, there’s also a dragon. Made from thousands of scrap hospital food trays, the dragon isn’t just decorative. It serves as a chimney. So yes, it breathes smoke.

There was no fire burring that day, so it was just a smokeless dragon. Just sitting there swaying in the wind, with the rest of the structure.

I found my greeter goat waiting for me at the castle gate. I gave him a pet and headed on my way.

But then I found yet another goat on my way back to the truck. This one was a baby. A chivo.

A man asked if I could make it smile for the camera. I told him I had a way with goats.

I think I made him smile (the goat that is) but then again goats always look like they’re smiling.