Open Sesame - Front Door, Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park

As I moved in for a close up of this spy hole, Larry from Arkansas offered to close Old Faithful Inn's front doors to allow us a full shot of the notable entry. The doors are red on the outside to syhmbolize hospitality, but the interior is a natural wood finish.

Larry is a Park volunteer who charmed and instructed us in the history of this  welcoming and hospitable historical masterpiece. He was a font of interesting information, including that a full-time crew of men was dedicated to selecting the seemingly endless and varied pieces of naturally curved wood used in multiple stories of hand-crafted stair railings and balusters. In the 1950s, Larry and his late wife met in the Park; they were happily married for over 50 years. While he winters back home to be near his family, Larry now spends the summer season enlightening Yellowstone's tourists, and is keen to acquire his 10-year volunteer pin. He added another layer of memorable to our Park meander, and we sincerely appreciate his insight and kindness.

Red Door Curves, St. Ignatius, Montana

I was drawn to the bold colour and curvy shapes of this doorplate. (Do you see the standing bird facing left? I'm not sure if that's just my fancy, but now I can't NOT see it!)

It turns out there is a fair bit of symbolism to go with red painted church doors.

Here are two of my favourite reasons:

 “Red is the color of the Passion. Red doors say that symbolically we enter the church through the Passion, through death and resurrection in baptism (at an Orthodox baptism, the godparents present the candidate with red shoes as a symbol of walking the way of the cross) and by participating in the passion through the Eucharist.” –Paul Woodrum

“...red doors traditionally mean “sanctuary” — the ground beyond the doors is holy, and anyone who goes through them is safe from physical (and spiritual) harm. In ancient times, no one could pursue an enemy past red doors into a church, and certainly no one could be harmed or captured inside of a church. Today, the red reminds us of the blood of Christ and that we are always safe in God’s care!” –St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church 

Click here for more insight and beautiful photo examples.

Forsythia on Red Door, Kalispell, Montana

Forsythia  - which is on my list of "plants to acquire" - adds to the cheery welcome of this red door at Christ Church Episcopal, just down the block from my friend's new home in Kalispell. (Funny enough, even though I took about 20 varied shots, it wasn't until I got home & zoomed in to check photo quality that I clued in that the blooms are silk!)