Happy Trails to You!

Despite the ravenous High Park fire consuming thousands of acres in the Rockies, we headed off for a nice bike ride along the Poudre (pronounced poo-der) River Trail in Windsor.  Not counting the smoke filled air, it was a great day for a bike tour.

The 21 mile trail runs all the way from Greeley, past Windsor and over to the town of Ft. Collins.  We didn't do the whole trail, even though I'm sure Kim and our grandchildren would have no problem riding that distance.

You can see how hazy the sky is in this portion of the trail which took us through the Water Valley subdivision.  Don, Nate and Tatum are way ahead of me, then Kim pulling Ella in the chariot, and       last.........dead last, is me.  Hey, at least I'm still peddling!  Stopping to take pictures puts me at the back of the pack and the camera hanging over my shoulder is extra wind drag. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!  

We stopped for a short water break, even though Nate and Tatum are anxious to get started again.

Ella enjoys riding in the chariot and doesn't have to worry about keeping up with us......err........me.  She just learned how to ride her bike without training wheels this week.  By the end of summer, she'll probably be passing me up!  We passed by some interesting abandoned buildings and an old, dilapidated corral along this portion of the trail.  Makes me wonder who lived here many, many years ago and how they eeked out a living.

This was the portion of the Poudre River where we saw a Great Blue Heron as we headed towards Highway 392.  On the way back, Kim's keen eyes spotted a deer in the shade across the river.  The numerous small lakes and riparian areas are perfect for wildlife.

Kim and Ella look down at Nate.  He had decided the seat in Ella's chariot was the perfect place to eat his pizza goldfish.

The 14 mile ride was good for our legs and our spirits.  Don and I plan on doing this again, perhaps when the skies aren't so grey and brown as a result of wildfires.

Easy Riders at Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek State Park is one of our favorite campgrounds in Colorado.  It has something for everyone  interested in outdoor sports.  The 4200 acre park has a lake for fishing or water skiing, 35 miles of trails for hiking/biking, a beach area, a campground and even a shooting center!  No wonder it is packed every weekend during the summer.

My friend from grade school, Helen, and her husband Milo decided to camp here at the park for 2 days, even though they live in Colorado Springs.  As an added bonus, their friends, Sandy and Mel Downs, also came with their camper.  The more the merrier!  

Helen and Milo brought along their pooch, as they affectionately refer to as Joy, the Wonder Dog!

  

Here is our Easy Rider Group!  It was windy, but we were all ready for riding some of the trails within the campground.  I guess it is about time for Don and I to get some helmets, even though we both are "hardheaded"!

Helen, Don and Sandy stopped behind Mel and Milo, providing me a moment to snap a quick pic.

Helen and Mel check the trail map to determine where we all want to head next.  Mel and Milo decided on a longer ride and covered about 15 miles within the campground system.  Below, Helen, Sandy and I ride around the lake area.

Can you tell how windy it was?  The geese decided to hunker down on the beach for a bit.

Helen is pointing out the stick that she wants to to fetch.  I just don't now how excited Joy was at that prospect since the water was a bit cold.  Good thing dogs have all that hair for insulation.  Who knows, maybe they do make doggy wet-suits!  I've seen dogs with sweaters on, so I bet a wet suit for a dog is not too far fetched..

 Wednesday morning, it was bright, sunny and not a bit windy.  Time for Mel to take down the kayak from on top of his camper.  It was easy to move down to the lake on the small , detachable wheels.

Boy, I was excited!  This is my first time at kayaking!  Another thing to check off my bucket list!  This is one thing NOT on Don's bucket list.   A high five for fun on the water...or should I say a high paddle?  Either way, I was grateful to Mel and Sandy for this experience.  On our way across the lake we paddled past groups of geese, ducks and a family of pelicans.

Can you tell that I really enjoyed this experience?!

Mel and Sandy are celebrating 50 years of marriage this year!  Both are adventurers and are always traveling some place, even more so than us.  We now have two more friends in Colorado!

 Okay, Mel seems to be relaxing in the shade while Sandy paddles.  Is this what they refer to as equality among men and women now a days?  Actually, Mel was using the umbrella as a mini-wind sail.

Time to load up the kayak before Sandy and Mel head home.  

The two days were so much fun.  However, the evening was not!  In the late afternoon, we had severe thunderstorms in the area, causing the tornado sirens to go off!  We grabbed our laptops and the camera and I also grabbed my purse (no woman can be without that).  We headed for the closest structure....the bathroom & showers!  That is a lot safer than being in 5th wheel trailer when wind, rain, hail and tornadoes are around.   More of the same is predicted tonight.  : (   Guess even bad weather can be classified as an adventure...

Garden of the Gods

Once again, we were back at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  This time, we were prepared to do more hiking and to also include a picnic lunch in between the hikes.  It truly is an amazing city park, open to the public free of charge.  You can't beat a deal like that!

Kim, Tatum and Don check out the board before we take off on the Chambers/Bretag/Palmer trail, a 3 mile loop providing excellent views of the park.

Nate and Tatum discovered that the Soapweed Yucca plants were filled with Ladybugs.  Nate exclaimed that he had found a "double one" so I was obliged to take a picture of the two amorous insects.

 As we got to a top of the trail, the following view emerged.  The rusty orange of the gigantic rocks are a great contrast to the green pines, cottonwoods and blue skies.

Don, Kim and Ella headed down the trail as we worked our way back to the parking lot.

Time for a snack break, and a picture!

We headed for the Sleeping Giant rock,

and discovered a climber going up the sheer rock wall!  Not my type of activity!

 But Kim, Bret and their children have done many climbs, including Ella!  Below, Kim and Nate check out the rock for places they could place their hands or feet.  Technical climbers must register at the Visitor center and are permitted only with proper climbing equipment.

Okay, I think sometimes our Colorado grandchildren are part mountain goat!  They easily scaled the rock formations as I waited below.

 After lunch we took the Siamese Twins trail, named after the twin rocks seen below.

On the same trail is a unique rock with a large hole, perfect for either taking a picture of our grandchildren or....

providing a view of Pike's Peak!

No visit to Garden of the Gods would be complete without a stop at the Balancing Rock.  There were plenty of people waiting to take their turn at having their picture taken.  I snapped 3 quick pictures before we had the 3 grandchildren leave so someone else could take their place.  In the 1890's, this rock was on private property and tourists paid 25 cents each to have their picture taken.  Not much money today, but very expensive back then.

Other Fossils

It was time that our grandchildren discovered that there are other fossils in this hemisphere besides us!  I know we are "older than dirt" to them, but a trip to the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument proved that we are young by comparison to the fossils found here!



 Tatum and Nate wanted to become Junior Rangers, so they had to fill out a book with various activities before they could earn their badges.  Here they are looking up things in the various drawers holding fossils so they can complete the Bingo page.

Don and Ella were the first to get to the huge petrified Redwood tree stump.  It's amazing to me that there were actually Redwoods here in Colorado, rather than just in California!

Nate and Tatum were diligent in filling out their books.  Tatum had to do more activities than he did because of the age difference.  The Forest Service booklet was well done, and included mazes, things that they had to find in the park, questions, and word puzzles.  It kept them both interested.  We heard no complaints of "I'm bored" or "Why do we have to be here?".

As usual, Ella posed for a picture.  She's always telling me, "Grandma, take a picture and put it in my book so I can read it."  I make up a scrapbook every year for each of my grandchildren and she thinks I can get her pictures into a book almost at the drop of a hat!  A true optimist!

Tatum, Nate and Kim walk along the Petrified Forest Loop Trail, looking for various objects.

Success!  Tatum and Nate are sworn in as Junior Rangers!

Happy Campers!  Badges and a certificate for each of them!

Even Ella got a sticker for her Wee Wasps booklet.  Instead of putting it on the book, she promptly applied it to her shirt!

Mueller, Part II

On Tuesday afternoon, our campsite got a little more crowded.  Our daughter-in-law, Kim joined us along with our Colorado grandchildren, Tatum, Nate and Ella.  Oh, I must not forget their dog, Jake!

Their SUV and Thule were packed to the gills, so to speak.  At least she had room for the kids!

Nate got out of the truck and did what all boys do......hunt for bugs instead of helping set up the tent!  He is one serious bug hunter!

Yep, it was up to Kim and Tatum to set up the tent while  Don "supervised" and Ella rode her bike.  Our site had a nice big tent pad, so it wasn't crowded at all.

The next chore was gathering wood.  Again, Don was the "supervisor" while his "team" did all the work!  Even Ella helped with the rather large log that Kim and Nate found down the side of hill.  It was hard enough walking up the hill at this elevation, much less hauling fallen logs!

All set up and ready for an evening fire and marshmallow roast!

Kim relaxes (finally) and updates Bret on her day.  One of the best things about being a teacher is having two months off during the summer.  Bret had to hold down the fort at home while Kim sacrificed by being here camping with us.

Ella turned 5 the previous week.  However, you can never have too many birthday cakes or parties.  We found a cake and candles at the store so she could celebrate once again.  At the first party, she said she was 5.  The next celebration she was 6!  By the time the third party came around, she was announcing that she was a teenager!  No wonder I feel that time is just flying by!

Nate loves marshmallows cooked over the camp fire.  Don't most kids?  After all, they are all sugar!  Not such a great thing for kids to eat just before bedtime....

Ella had more marshmallow on her hand and face than she did in her mouth.  Clean up on aisle four!

One of our friends from church also joined us for dinner Tuesday night.  He works for the forest service in Woodland Park during the summer months.  Jake was sure happy to see him; he accepts pets from anyone!  You can almost hear him say "Just pet me & I'll be your BFF"!

I even got Dan to pose for me before he left.  He talked to Kim about a lot of the hikes he has done, or wants to do, so they had a lot to talk about that night.  Dan, Bret and Kim are all avid hikers and "outdoorsy" people.  Colorado is definitely the right state for them to live in!

There was still time for Jake to snuggle with Tatum before he was relegated to the SUV for the night.  Can't leave him outside on a leash since this is bear country.