A Writer. His Wife. A Remote Outpost in Colorado. Lots of Snow. Even More Darkness.

Road 2 Elsewhere by Peter Moore
3 min readJan 3, 2023

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A happy new year? Shine on! WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY PETER MOORE

I’M NOT A SELF-DRAMATIZER.

For instance, I rarely imagine myself as the protagonist of classic novels. I have never walked a lonely road to Yarmouth, like David Copperfield. Nor have I had a cage of rats strapped to my face, like Winston Smith in 1984. And I have never once driven around France in a sports car with a mind toward seducing the locals, like Phillip Dean in A Sport and a Pastime.

OK, sometimes it is tempting.

In fact, my recent New Year’s Eve jaunt into the remote, snowy, lonely, spooky, dark mountains of Colorado did have obvious similarities to Stephen King’s The Shining.

For instance:

Our lodgings in Estes Park, Colorado, were solitary. And the weather sucked!

The Overlook Hotel from The Shining

We had some trouble locating our room. Hey, it was simple mistake.

The naked lady in the bathroom from Room 237 in The Shining

The views were less than ideal. I know there are mountains out there. Somewhere.

Clouds cover the view of Rocky Mountain National Park

Fortunately, I’d brought a little work along to keep me busy. My wife didn’t share my enthusiasm for my latest project, however.

“All work and no play make Johnny a dull boy” scene from The Shining.

We had a visit from local urchins. That part was like a Dickens novel. Sort of.

A visit from The Shining twins.

Despite all that, we were able to chill. Let it go!

A new visitor in The Maze, from The Shining.

May your new year shine on with visions of hope and joy.

“That’s your job in this hard world, to keep your love alive and see that you get on, no matter what.” — Stephen King, The Shining

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