An apparent juvenile Bald Eagle keeping watch for its evening dinner over a grassy field

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Trail 7 - "Easy" Elk Meadow Park

Hiking in the Rockies on a sunny spring morning?  It's typically enjoyable.  Elk Meadow Park trails are no exception.  The park is a hilly area within the Rockies, just past the town of Evergreen, CO.

There's actually a lot of interconnecting trails in a somewhat complex layout. This requires you to know where you are going before you get going.  I walked on the course identified as Hike #7 in the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles from Denver and Boulder.  Fortunately, there are trail signs that tell you clearly on to which trail you are about to walk. Some portions of the trails involve modest climbs that would make me rate the hike closer to "moderate" than "easy".

Various courses along the trail system allow you several options to walk in circuits rather than in-and-out. I like the idea of hiking in a circuit.  Although there is plenty of shade during the hike, there are also significant areas under direct sunlight. 

Even though this is mid-Spring, I didn't see all that many varieties of flowers along the trails, but there were a few.  However, while exploring the trails, I ran across a few birds, and a coyote off in the distance.  No name sake elks, though.

Picnic Point and local dessert

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Trail 43 - Fall of the impending Winter

It's been while since I went for a hike at a location covered in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Denver and Boulder. I made it to Hike #43 from this book, South Boulder Creek Trail from Bobolink Trailhead. This is a fairly flat trail with a very slow incline. The trail is unusual, in that it splits between a paved path and a gravel-and-dirt path for a short stretch. The paved route is intended to support cycling, though cyclists were using both routes.

The trail follows fairly close to the right bank of the South Boulder Creek throughout the northern half of its length, and the left bank for the Southern half. The creek flows south to north.

Near the trailhead, there's a lot of shade on the unpaved route, but most of the trail is in open space. Wear sunscreen, as there's very little shade.  Additionally, the trail crosses both South Boulder Road and US Route 36 via underpasses.

Even for Midautumn, the vegetation was surprisingly brown with empty trees. It's pretty for Fall and Winter, particularly with a blue sky and the Flatirons as a backdrop.

Given the time of year, I didn't expect to see much wildlife. Even still, there were some curious cows in one of the fields. The hike was enjoyable and leisurely.

One warning about the creek.  Apparently, there's a New Zealand Mudsnail infestation. So, there's signs at several locations warning hikers (and their dogs) not to go into the creek (to make sure they aren't accidentally carrying this little invasive critters to other places in Colorado).

A fox just moseying along the road on a dog walk

 

A fox just moseying along the road. Joie got her chance to bark at this suburban intruder, from a safe distance.

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DVD from Netflix25 at the end of an era

#DVDNetflix25 at the end of an era from a company that literally changed society twice within two decades. (DVD.com was the best way to bypass the streaming wars.)

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Lookout Mountain Trail Golden Colorado

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City chickens 🐓 thinkin' that I'd just feed them as I walked by on the sidewalk

 

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Badlands Nature Reserve in Palo Alto, CA

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Sunday morning boardwalk at Baylands Nature Preserve