Colorado Park Rangers Love Getting Your ‘Flat Stanley’

Would you enjoy a visit to a Colorado park or monument, but find you simply don't have the time or money? There's another way you can make the trip and capture photos.

If you simply can't visit these Colorado locations in person, you should send a Flat Stanley. People have been doing this for years, and it works like a charm.

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A Unique Way To Visit Colorado Parks

There's nothing like visiting a Colorado park or monument. The scenery alone is worth the trip. The trip to get there can be fun, too. It does happen, however, that life gets in the way. If you simply can't make the trip, there's another way to go about it.

When You Simply Can't Go In Person

Suppose you want to visit one of Colorado's nine national monuments including:

• Browns Canyon
• Colorado National Monument
• Chimney Rock
• Canyons of the Ancients
• Dinosaur
• Florissant Fossil Beds
• Hovenweep
• Yucca House
• Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument

Perhaps you would like to visit one of Colorado's 42 state parks. That's a lot of ground to cover. If time, money, or reliable transportation are standing in your way, here's the alternative.

The Craze Sweeping The Nation (or World)

If you absolutely, positively can't make it in person, send a Flat Stanley.

What exactly is a Flat Stanley? According to the Flat Stanley Project's official webpage:

One of the reasons the Flat Stanley Project has become the longest-lasting literacy project on the web is due to the simplicity of the concept. Kids send a flat visitor to a school, a celebrity, a family member, a politician or anyone of interest and the recipient returns the little flat guy along with a completed journal and perhaps some souvenirs such as postcards, photos, or special items.

Are People Actually Doing This?

Absolutely! Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park posted this on Facebook earlier this morning, Thursday, January 12, 2023:

Thanks to the Flat Stanely Project, visitors of all ages come to Rocky Mountain National Park from all around the world via letters and their own unique “Flat Stanley.”

 

Park Rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park enjoy responding to each and every letter by touring the Flat Stanleys to various locations in Rocky Mountain National Park. Rangers take fun photographs of the Flat Stanleys exploring the wonders of Rocky. Each visitor then gets back an adventure journal with the photos, as well as brochures, and park maps.

Where Did This Come From?

This is nothing new. The Flat Stanley Project has been around since 1995. It was inspired by the children's book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 - December 3, 2003).

Is It Just For Kids?

I don't know, and I don't care. I'm 52 years old and I'm sending a Flat Stanley to Rocky Mountain National Park. Why? My car has 160,000 miles on it, and I'm saving every penny for a music tour I'll be taking later this summer. I have neither the funds, vacation time, nor resources to pull off a road trip. Welcome aboard, Flat Stanley.