Wednesday walk

Chilly but sunny Wednesday walk. We left from the Carson Nature Center, and walked down to Highway C-470 and the South Platte Reservoir. 

 

The snow on the deck still looks nice. 

Just a few other people using the trail on this brisk day. Mostly empty. 

Most of Redtail Lake is frozen over. 

Shoveler ducks in a big circle

Shiny ice on a log chair by the trail

Slippery ice on the bridges

Pretty coating of snow on the rocks by the river

Little Kestrel Hawk on a wire

“That’s no moon…”

Snow on the grass by Eaglewatch Lake. Our fun-to-view half-submerged log has no Cormorants on it today. 

Lots of different waterfowl on the lakes today. 

Fun view of snow on the trail, and some interesting structures out there

New Years Eve day walk

Cold 34° and windy Tuesday afternoon walk at South Platte Reservoir. I had numb hands and cheeks after just a minute or two. Happy New Year’s Eve day!

We think we saw a Common Goldeneye on the reservoir. Fun! 

Beginning of decorating

We started decorating the house for the Christmas holiday today. The kitties have been paying close attention to all the changes. Here’s Rufus exploring the tree skirt. 

Bean checking out the nutcrackers

Rufus getting in the way in the kitchen

Rufus in an ornament box

Christmas tree with lights in the breakfast nook

Christmas tree closeup - needles and lights

Christmas tree in the front yard with lights and snow

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving 2024! I took “the girls” out to a Thanksgiving buffet, at the Garden Terrace Café, in the Inverness Hotel, about 20 minutes from here. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner! And no cleanup! No leftovers, either...

Saturday bike ride

 

With cold weather and snow in the forecast, this might be my last bike ride of the winter season. I am hoping to sneak out whenever it gets sunny enough to dry out the trails. We’ll see…

Friday ride

Fun to get back in the saddle for a Friday ride, after being away for awhile. l had a chance encounter with a squirrel running through my front wheel, or maybe just behind it. It happened so fast, I barely caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my left eye, then heard/felt some frantic activity underneath me, before everything quieted down and I continued with my ride. I’ve heard of this kind of thing resulting in serious injury and worse, so I’m feeling pretty lucky. 🤷‍♂️ 

Sharing a few photos from today…

Fall colors have arrived in our view from the breakfast table. 

Snowy Egret on a rock in the South Platte River. 

Cormorant on a rock by rapids in the South Platte River. 

Cycling event organizers taking down some of their signs after an event. 

Railroad tracks curving toward Denver, with the Rocky Mountains in the background. 

I’m seeing more red leaves along my bike rides. 

Purple and green colors along the Highline Canal Trail. 

Pleasant view of fence and fall color along the Lee Gulch trail. 

A little flash of red beside the Highline Canal Trail. 

Pretty reflections on the lake at Sterne Park during an after-dinner walk with our neighbors. 

Crested Butte

We drove to the little town of Crested Butte this week, and did a little exploring and fall color viewing. 

The town is nestled in the shadow of Mt Crested Butte, 

A photo from our delightful Monday scenic Colorado drive through Kenosha Pass…

Spectacular view from Cottonwood Pass. 

We tried a shortcut that put us on a rutted dirt road for a dozen or so miles. Not expected, but also not too bad. 

Saw some more colorful flora and some striking mountain peaks. 

Finished our Monday with a short walk to Secret Stash Pizza for a pesto pizza for dinner, and a great sunset.

Cool 35° Tuesday morning walk in Crested Butte

Tuesday afternoon drive over Kebler Pass to Paonia, for some great views and a delicious late lunch at Rio Brava.

Wednesday afternoon hike on Mt Crested Butte — we got some exercise, checked out the ski area, and saw lots of the Colorado Fall color!

Sunday ride

I got buzzed by a C-130 Hercules at the beginning of my warm 87° Sunday bike ride, then they kept coming around in circles, so I finally stopped to take some photos. 

I caught a few pics of sailboats and storm clouds, as I was making my way around the lake. 

More sailboats on Chatfield lake. I heard a series of warning horn blasts about this time, I’m guessing they were warning the boaters about some approaching storm cells.

At my midpoint hydration stop, I encountered a young man with a disabled bicycle and a bike trailer with two pug dogs in it, that were looking and sounding very thirsty. He’d already used up all of the water he was carrying, and was hoping to find a water fountain, with no luck so far, so I volunteered my water bottle to fill up their dog bowl. They were very happy. 

There were some dark looking storm clouds moving around the area, and on my final mile, I realized that one of those cells was racing me to my house, so I went into sprint mode, and I made it home about a minute before the rain hit.

After I got home, I used FlightAware to show me the track of that C-130. Presumably they were loitering over Littleton, until their moment to do a flyby of the Broncos game.