Owl River Campground

(Owl River Campground is a FICTIONAL place from the films in the Bipolar Mania Saga)

The Owl River Campground & R.V. Park (also referred to as Owl River Campsite) is a recreational campus located in Colorado Springs, CO. It is mainly used for camping, and lodging. It consists of a small collection of campsites, a small river, a lake (about 2 miles South), and a converted house, which contains a bed & breakfast, restaurant, lounge, and a fully-equipped kitchen. There are also a few other houses on the campus, which are rented out as summer cabins.

The Owl River area is known for its large and diverse population of Great Horned Owls, and Barn Owls. The owls fly freely about the area, but are most commonly seen near the river. Most of the owls are not frightened of humans, and are quite friendly to them because of their large population in the area.

History
In 1908, The Ellestad family moved from Norway to Colorado. They were thinking of building a vacation cabin outside of the newly founded town of Colorado Springs. The family wanted to have a view of the Rocky Mountains, so the hill that they built it on is a scenic view point. The original concept of it was not to have a recreational campus, but just a private cabin. Nearby, there was a river that we know of as Owl River, today.

Construction of the Ellestad's cabin began in December of 1908. It lasted until May 1909 because of very harsh winter conditions. A while after the cabin was finished, Virgil Ellestad, the oldest male in the family, couldn't find a job in Colorado Springs. In that case, the family agreed on reserving the upstairs portion of the house for bed and breakfast lodging suites. This idea made them a lot of profit, and made them able to expand their family business.

They eventually used more of the property's 16 acres to build a small campground for visitors hoping to see the Rocky Mountains at the view point.

The property was added to many times, and renovated. Eventually, Bob Ellestad (known as park ranger Bob) took over the ownership, and is also the current owner. To see a full timeline, click here.

Property Features
The area is somewhat rural, yet cozy and comfortable for vacationers. The river is located on the other side of a tree covered hill behind the Owl River house. It is accesible by following the main road to its end. There is a bridge crossing the river, which was believed to be installed in the 1950s. Many locals depend on this river for clean water. An example in film is when Gimnette takes a drink of water from the riverbed righ before Joey comes to pick Dehihlah up. There are also many small springs and hand water pumps located around the property, which are very convenient. The campground has not installed any water spickets, so all water from pumps must be dispensed by hand using a pump lever. An example in film is when Dehlihlah gives Towl a bath in one of the water pumps by the house.

The main house is the Owl River house, formerly known as the historic Ellestad Family Estate. It includes two guest rooms and a loft for the Bed and Breakfast area. People can rent these out, and even live there if they are qualified. Another part of the house is the kitchen, which is known as the Sugar Shack. It was recently named after the infamous song of its name. The guest kitchen is fully-equpied, including appliances and other small items such as a coffee maker and blender. Frankie Winston, Gimn's friend, is the main person responsible for any cleaning to be done such as washing dishes. On the lowest level of the house, there is the Owl River Family Restaurant & Lounge, which makes some of the most famous food in the area. People from miles around come to enjoy dishes like corned beef hash and country steak. The restarant has a bar, and also has occasional live performances by girl bands, and local country music artists. It is also known for its nightly game of Black Jack. There is also a car port covering the small parking lot outside the Sugar Shack.

Across the street from the house there are five summer cabins, in which some people live in, but are also available for rent when unoccupied. There are also summer cabins throughout the property, which make up the rest of the population.

Filming Locations
In the Bipolar Mania Saga, the Owl River Township area was shot in two different locations. The main location, which included Gimn's campsite and the house, was shot in Lake Forest Park, Washington. It was across the street from a church, which was pictured in the third film when the Lewis kids travel back to the present (parking lot). Also, the part picturing the actual river was shot near Waldport, Oregon in the unincorporated community of Tidewater. The Alsea River was used as the Owl River, and runs along highway 34. The bridge that crossed the river was part of Boundary Road.

The cemetery as its past version (1959) was also shot in Tidewater, at the hard to find historic Tidewater Cemetery. It is located at the top of a dirt road, near the Tidewater Post Office. Graves dating back to the 1700s scattered about the location. Local, Audrey Fields, was asked to play the Great Grandmother for that scene in the cemetery. The new version (present time) of the cemetery was shot near the Owl River Location in Brier, Washington at Abbey View Memorial Park. Most of the scenes that took place there were external shots of the 1999 Volvo S-80 used as Gimnette's car. Along with that, maintainence/construction trails in some woods near the cemetery were used for scenes with Shirley Mulvihill in which she was searching for Towl.