Secluded Log Cabin Chalet: Spectacular views! Near town & all-season Adventures!

About Richard and Marilyn Wheeler

When Marilyn and I are not in Colorado at our dream-come-true vacation Chalet, nor in bonnie Scotland visiting my wife’s cousins, you'll likely find us at our home in the peaceful Texas hill country. We have been happily married for 45 years (and counting), and having just recently retired from the pastorate (after 35 plus years in Christian ministry), we now enjoy being whole-hearted grandparents to our nine (and counting!) incredible grandchildren. You could say this all started through the eyes of a child, a child's dream turned to prayer. When I was a young lad back in the ’50’s and living in Santa Monica, California (where both my wife and I were raised), I got bit by the Davy Crockett (all-things-frontier) “bug!” Coupled with my fondest childhood memories of living for a short while at my (step) Great-Uncle Jack's hand-built cabin in Lockwood Valley, California, I decided then and there that my long-term goal was to build a log home of my own. And by the grace of God, nearly 50 years later, that prayer came to pass. You will have the joy of sharing in this dream come true when you come and stay at the Chalet, which overlooks the majestic Collegiate Peaks – all 3 peeks over 14,000 ft. and directly in front of the Chalet. I’m a rugged outdoors man by nature, and before serving as pastor full-time, I traveled over 2 million miles over the course of 35+ years with Mantle Ministries as historian/evangelist and known by my full name, Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler. You will see those faith-based historical touches all over the Chalet, making the place a delight and amazement, which we hope you will immediately sense as an awesome experience. Young and old alike will find it hard to leave this little "taste of heaven" in the Rockies.

Richard and Marilyn Wheeler purchased this Chalet in 2003

Why Richard and Marilyn Wheeler chose Buena Vista

When deciding where to build our Chalet, I headed to Colorado in search of property anywhere from Trinidad in the south, to Leadville in the north central part of the state, to find just the right place to "stake a claim." Little did I know then, but that the Lord led me to a once-famous 1889 gold mine, "THE NELLIE BLY," named after a ground-breaking 19th century female investigative reporter. This 10-acre piece of property (the legal size of most mining claims), is surrounded by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and national forest, yet is only 5 miles east of the historic town of Buena Vista off Highway 24. Because of a large chunk of “free-gold” that was mined out of this very property in 1889, the Nellie Bly was the very mine that brought the miners from all over the world to seek gold in the Midland Hills surrounding the Chalet. Although no longer full of its “gold luster,” by walking the property, you will be standing on the actual ground that miners worked over a 100 years ago. If you're interested in the history of the area, you can visit the 1890’s Buena Vista Courthouse, now a humble museum with the history of the railroad and area mining.

What makes this Chalet unique

When first acquiring the land and trying to decide where to build our Chalet, I recall kneeling on the very spot where the Chalet is standing today and asking the Lord to direct the building site. When I finished praying and opened my eyes, I was struck with the breathtaking view, and felt the Lord’s prompting to erect the dwelling right on the same spot, and Marilyn wholeheartedly agreed. As an outdoors man, I wanted the sense of the wilderness, yet my wife prefers the more refined conveniences of town life. Providentially, this property provides both! Every wild-at-heart man's dream can be fulfilled only minutes away – mountain biking, hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, (and more...), while gracious women, like my wife, can enjoy that sort of thing, but also the "creature comforts" of a short 5-mile drive into town for a candlelight dinner or uptown shopping in the pedestrian-friendly village of South Main by the Arkansas River. There is hardly anything quite like this Chalet in the area with the mixture and easy access to both. We pray you, too, will be overwhelmed by the beauty and diversity of the Buena Vista Valley and mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see.