Bears Den Estes Park — Local services in Estes Park

What a beautiful shop with fantastic Mountain themed gifts and more. My wife and I wanted to make the Bears Den the last place we visited before leaving for Texas tomorrow. We walked in and immediately was greeted by Marie, she informed us of the specials , and I had to stop her so I could translate to my wife what was being said .. You see, my wife is deaf, and I always let her know what's being said .... Marie continued, and I signed to my wife.. While shopping, Marie made several suggestions .... It's like she knew exactly what we were looking for.. We started making small conversation while shopping, and she revealed she knew some sign language.. She began signing to my wife and I was overwhelmed... Most salespeople ignore my wife and talk to me because I can hear, but not Marie. She is such a genuine beautiful soul, she took time out of her closing duties to make my wife feel warm, and welcome. I told her what she did was truly heartfelt . We are so glad to have stopped in. We had such a wonderful time in Estes Park. The hospitality that came from Marie, was icing on the cake. Our most sincere thanks go to you for finding Marie. To you, Marie, next time we are in Estes, we will find a restaurant, treat you to dinner, and give you a big Texas Hug again . Miss you...

In the shop today the woman working asked where we were from. I shared that we are visiting from Denver, but my mother grew up in Estes - we left our kiddos for the weekend with our nanny for a little break.

"Oh, so the nanny is raising the kids for you, must be nice."

Subsequent comments about how kids need parents at home with them, how a nanny was in with some very rude kids the week prior, and asked if our kids are rude or polite. (They are one and three...). A truly wild and appalling conversation... But maybe given how rude SHE was, and her utter lack of social graces... She was raised by a nanny ;)

Anyhow... A shame. I'll give my kids the two stuffies we bought anyhow as I lectured the woman back about how fortunate we are to have childcare and I'll tell my kids about how lucky they are to have a mom who works and can afford to bring them gifts.

To the shop owner, worth a review of how your staff...

There were indeed many rustic decorative items, but I thought there would be more practical items. I would have been way more comfortable if the proprietor had not been wearing his mask as a chinstrap and having a very loud conversation with a customer about how he didn't like masks and only wore them at work as a courtesy.

Edited to add: I was looking for a blanket. We're not living in a world where masks don't protect others, and the employee in question strongly implied that he only wore his mask at work and not elsewhere. He was not wearing his mask over his nose or mouth. This is not just a problem, it's technically illegal. Please do not defend...