Thursday ride

Fun Thursday afternoon bike ride around Chatfield Lake.

The South Platte River has been quite full lately, as they carefully meter the outflow from the lake.

The prairie dogs were ready and waiting to greet me, on my usual hydration stop.

I scooted around my favorite course, with just a little threatening weather to remind me to keep moving.

I spotted a Great Blue Heron, and managed to catch a pic of it, lined up with the pod of Pelicans in the lake.

There a freight train on the tracks I had to cross, but this one was paused just a short distance away from where I portage over the tracks, so of course I *had* to snap a pic of the engine facing me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the end of my ride, I ran up against yet another Highline Canal Trail closure… hooray for our trail maintainers! I didn't see any signs suggesting a detour path, so I just headed down the Lee Gulch Trail, which took me straight to my neighborhood, so…not too bad.

Saturday Bird Walk

We had a fun 40°F Saturday morning, participating in a guided bird watching walk through Tucker Gulch in Golden. 

The secluded creekside path allowed us to view several different birds that were attracted to the dense foliage. 

According to our guide, we saw or heard a Black Throated Blue Warbler, Say’s Phoebe, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow Rumped Warblers (Audubon’s and Myrtle), and Northern Parula, along with House Finches, Chickadees, Towhees, Flickers, American Robins, and Lesser Goldfinches. And yes, we heard a chicken in someone’s backyard. We were even flashed by a Cooper’s Hawk working their way through the trees barely above our heads. 

Our new spotting scope and tripod saw their second outing, and I viewed several of the new birds up close, but I caught only one useable picture, of an American Robin, as all the other birds were moving around too quickly for me to get setup. 

I practiced on stationary objects, which were very cooperative in waiting for me get setup to view them through the scope. I guess I’ve got a steep learning curve for this type of outing - lugging equipment around that conceivably could produce some fun pics, and learning how to get it set up quickly enough to be useful… 🤷‍♂️ I’m starting to think that a camera with a zoom telephoto might be a much better accessory for these outings. Back in the day, I had an Olympus OM-1 film camera with a zoom lens attachment, that I just loved, but I got disenchanted, when it quickly became contaminated with sand or something else gritty inside the mechanism, that prevented the zoom from working.  

Fun day overall!

Wednesday Ride

I haven’t tired of this view of the trail and foothills, shortly after I’ve climbed the shallow side of the Chatfield Dam. It feels like a little reward for this wimpy biker. 

I wandered out onto a long thin peninsula trail, and enjoyed the look of the lake from out there. 

My regular hydration stop includes Prairie Dog spectators. 

I love the look of the railroad tracks, with the mountains behind them, as I’m carrying my bike across. 

I enjoy seeing other riders on the trails. In fact, I even make an effort to count all the riders I see, just to get a sense of who’s out there on any given day. And of course, it gives me something fun to do, while I’m huffing and puffing along. 

Coal train climbing the hill heading south out of the Denver area. I never tire of watching freight trains, and I relish the opportunity to be near them during this route. 

I love the view of this foreboding weather, but it did remind me to keep going, as at this point, I’m only a little more than halfway around my loop.