Columbine Trail out and back 6/28/13

Hot today.  GPS said this hike was 7.83 miles round trip.  Trail guide said more than a mile less than that.

Butterfly Weed - I might like this even more than Orange Paintbrush. I love orange flowers.

Cool rainbow (iridescent) cloud

Mt. Cutler on the right

Broadmoor

cool moth

a vocal Raven

Butter and Eggs

Pikes Peak granite with lots of mica

dead Cicada

lizard

Trumpet flowers

Josh Turner 6/27/13

for Haily

Adams Open Space, Fountain, 6/20/13

A small (40 or so acres) open space in downtown Fountain, CO (access behind the library).  Very pleasant - the stream was crystal clear - maybe a good spot to check during migration.  I suspect the Kites are breeding here.  Low traffic while we were there - a teenaged boy who said he was looking for  Wild Turkeys with babies he'd seen another day and snakes and that he wants to be a herpetologist when he grows up, and a few high school kids jogging for cross country practice.  I think it isn't a well known park.

Mississippi Kite

Swallowtail on Milkweed

Spiderwort

mom

me

bird noises etc.  2 seconds in is Yellow-breasted Chat

Prickly Poppy

fish or tadpole?

Leopard Frog

Raccoon?

more fishies?

more bird noises, etc.  Near the end is Blue Grosbeak

Red-flowering Yucca

6/20/13 Smoky Moon for First Day of Summer

Woke up around 2 last night and looked out to see a red moon - this is my attempt at taking a few pictures with my point and shoot camera.  Very smoky with summer fires.

Old Scout Camp Trail 6/19/13

Much steeper than advertised in my little trail guide.  The stuff beyond the camp gets pretty steep, but what makes it bad is the gravel - lots of slipping and sliding trying to go up and down.  Trail eventually dead ends at the top of the canyon - two of us climbed up on top, precariously, and then headed back out.  The camp also seemed to come up considerably earlier than my trail guide suggested.  But to the camp itself is very easy hiking.  Total maybe 4.5 miles or so from the parking lot.

Scout camp ruins I guess.

Mysterious abandoned/hidden bike

view from the top - we scrambled up over the rock

part of the 'trail' we just came down to get to the top

Fungus Beetle

St. Mary's Falls 6/18/13

I hiked to St. Mary's Falls a few weeks ago, but had a friend who wanted to go, so went up again today.  It was a nice morning!

Shooting Stars

Wild Geranium

Asters