Hike flowers

Here are some pics of flowers from our hike on July 4th.  We were trying to go for the red, white, and blue theme.  Arn's on the deck having a dark and stormy after the hike.

4th of July Hike

We finally made it to Cheyenne Mountain State Park on the 4th of July.  We did start out too late on our hike because it was pretty hot!  We did about a 4 mile loop on Cougar's Shadow and Blackmere Trails.  We only saw a couple of other hikers (probably because of the heat and the holiday). We followed the hike with lunch at the Navajo Hogan.  We're still getting some use out of our state park pass.

CO State Park Adventures - Mueller SP

Driving over Mt. Herman to Woodland Park

Mt. Herman to Woodland Park

A week or so ago we decided to head to Mueller State Park (the original plan was Estes Park but we couldn't seem to find 2-3 days linked together).  We headed up over Mt. Herman to Woodland Park (only made one wrong turn).  Mueller SP is beautiful and we did about a 4 mi. loop.  We could see smoke in the distance which was due to a controlled burn.  It looks like a great place to snowshoe and cross country ski too.  The campgrounds were very well maintained but I noticed three cabins which I would like to rent sometime.  They are fully furnished with linens and all and have beautiful views.  It's on my future bucket list.
We stopped in Crystal Park at the cantina for margs and nachos..............Very fun but next year I want to get up to Estes Park for the elk rut.

CO State Park Adventures - Castlewood Canyon SP

a tree in a rock

Inner Canyon Tr.

Inner Canyon Tr.

East Canyon Tr.

East Canyon Tr. - furthest pt.

Dam Trail

Dam Tr.

Rimrock Tr.

Dam Ruins

We've really been taking advantage of the great October weather lately and have made 3 trips to Castlewood Canyon SP.  We've walked the Canyon View Nature Trail, hiked the Inner Canyon and Lake Gulch Trails (approx 3 mi. total) on the first trip.  The second hike was a 4 mi. Loop on the East Canyon Preservation Tr. and we had the trail to ourselves that day.  Yesterday we hiked another 4 mi. Loop consisting of the Dam Tr. and the Rimrock Trail.  It goes past the Dam Ruins.  After our first hike in the park I found out that a friend came across a big rattler sunning itself on a rock when she was there.  Needless to say we were on the lookout when we went back again.



The Castlewood Dam was built in the late 1800’s, but on August 3^rd 1933, the Castlewood dam collapsed under the pressure of the water from a huge rain storm upstream on Cherry Creek. A torrent of water plunged down the Cherry Creek basin until it hit the city of Denver some 30 miles away. It was the worst flood in Denver history.

CO State Park Adventures - Roxborough SP

I met Val early one morning to check out Roxborough State Park.  It's a lot like Garden on the Gods and Red Rocks but was very nice.  We did the Fountain Valley hike and I think Willow Creek and hiked about 4 miles.  We'll definitely go back but wish dogs were allowed.

CO State Park Adventures - Golden Gate SP

We've made a decision to see more of our state parks and purchased a pass a couple of months ago.  Val and I checked out Golden Gate near her house and did a hike (approx. 2-3 mi.) up to a restored cabin and pond where the past owners had lived until the 1950's. It's a beautiful park and so close.  It's like another world just off the road between Denver and Boulder.