“The Everlasting Hills” is a captivating novel set in picturesque Grand Lake, Colorado. With a relevant narrative, memorable characters and sweeping imagery, the author, Mary Lyons Cairns, a 20th century town resident, transports readers to early Colorado small-town life in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.

Barry Hamilton, a mining engineer, is the book’s protagonist. He has been sent to Grand Lake to survey elevations and measure winter snow levels for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

The finished historical project now collects, stores and delivers more than 200,000 feet of supplemental water to residents of northern Colorado. It is this early project that Cairns develops in her novel.

Hamilton meets much opposition from many residents: harsh weather, the town’s lady innkeeper, and two brothers who threaten to shut him down.

Julia, the owner of the inn where Hamilton boards, tells him it is a fool’s idea and believes the project will never reach a conclusion. She is a recent widow and is against change in general.

The Massey brothers are scoundrels and poachers. They try to stop Hamilton from his work. They also attempt to kill a large stag that Hamilton has named “Knight.” 

Alice, Grand Lake’s lone school teacher, boards at the inn where Hamilton lives and becomes the woman he hopes to marry.  Does he succeed?

Cairns masterfully weaves together the lives of the work’s characters with themes of love, loss, and the enduring power of the human spirit. Her deep appreciation of the region is evident in her rich storytelling, which immerses readers in the sights, sounds, and emotions of Grand Lake.

As presented in the novel’s foreword written by Jane Patience Kemp, Cairns’ granddaughter, “The Everlasting Hills” was almost not published. A publisher kept the manuscript for almost four years and returned it writing that it contained no sex or violence.

The book was then placed in the family attic where it rested for 40 years. Ms. Kemp retrieved the copy and had it published in 2018 by Retelling.com and the Grand Lake Historical Society.

“The Everlasting Hills” is a poignant and thoughtful read, offering a sense of nostalgia and a celebration of pioneer resilience. Overall, the novel stands as a heartful tribute to the enduring beauty and spirit of Grand Lake, Colorado.

It may be checked out through the Juniper Library in Grand Lake.  You will be glad you did.