Grampa's in the Tuff Shed

We pulled out of Estes Park heading south via the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway.  This is Colorado's oldest (1918) and historic scenic byway.  It is a spectacular but comfortable (no real white knuckle sections) drive through several small mountain towns.  The largest town is Nederland which has a rich mining and music history.  The town was named after a Dutch mining company that worked the first major silver mine in the area.  When the silver ran out, Nederland became just another mining ghost town by 1890.  Discovery of tungsten brought the town back and the arrival of "hippies" in the sixties produced a strong music culture.

Interior of Black Forest Restaurant

Surrounded by greenery-inside and out

We arrived around noon and decided to eat at the Black Forest Inn, which specializes in German food.  The Inn has a beautiful interior with gorgeous views of the mountains.  The menu was typical German, but since it was lunch we decided to eat light and ordered a seafood salad.   I couldn't resist also ordering their "famous" German oxtail soup.  I thought it would be the clear broth variety with beef bits in it but instead turned out to be the "gebundene" type which is thickened with flour and cream.   It reminded me of smooth gravy without any meat bits in it.  On mashed potatoes it would have been ok but as a soup, I did not care for it.  The salads turned out to be disappointing also.  We expected some recognizable shrimp, scallops, or crab but instead a half cup of what resembled Gordon's fake crab salad with heavy mayo was placed in a cut open tomato and surrounded by shredded veggies.  Very pretty but  disappointing.  Even the table bread looked like it had just been purchased at the corner grocer store.  Service was slow.  Next time we will either give the Black Forest Inn a second chance with their German entries or, better yet, save some money and try the Wild Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery down the street.

Gravy lovers will appreciate this oxtail soup

Nice presentation but seafood lovers should avoid

If you like quirky festivals, Nederland is the place for you.  The "Frozen Dead Guy" festival is one of the wierdest and darkest small town festivals you can find. 
In 1989 Grampa Bredo Morstoel died in his native Norway.  His daughter and grandson were believers in cryonics and hoped to have him frozen and eventually bring him back to life.  Grampa was packed in dry ice and shipped to a cryonic facility in California.  In 1993, hoping to start their own cryonic facility, the daughter and grandson again packed Grampa Bredo in dry ice and shipped him to Nederland where he remains today.  His insulated coffin was placed in a Tuff Shed and a caretaker known as the ice man lovingly replaces the dry ice every month. 
Two films were made which attracted international attention and became the basis for the festival.  The first was made in 1998 and titled:

Grampa's in the TUFF SHED

The sequel came out in 2003

Grampa's still in the TUFF SHED

If you want to see all the wierdness you are missing check out this link. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBbLoKKL8Bw