Denver & Longmont, CO - May 9 & 10, 2022

 My plan was to move to Longmont and stay at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, but that meant going through Denver.  While Denver is a very nice city, I've been there several times and there's little there I still want to visit.  One thing that did appeal to me was to drive by the Denver Mormon Temple for a few photos.  It was an easy detour with plenty of parking for the motor home.  As expected, the temple's architecture is stunning, and the grounds were filled with blooming plants for Spring.

The campground at the Boulder County Fairgrounds proved to be an excellent spot for a base camp.  With a reasonable price, it is quite popular for both overnighters and longer stays.  I wound up staying eight days because there is a lot to do in the area.  While Longmont and other cities in the area have been there for a long time, recent growth has occurred in what was prairie and farmland.  Development has been well planned, resulting in compact, attractive neighborhoods, logically placed commercial areas and many open spaces for outdoor recreation.  It amazed me how many lakes, ponds and reservoirs there are, as well as miles and miles of hiking/biking trails.  I can see why the area attracts so many people despite the heavy traffic.

Longmont got its name from the fact it is overlooked by Longs Peak, at 14,259 feet the tallest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The mountain is popular for climbing, with a variety of routes, some not technical, but others more difficult.  One man was known to have climbed it 428 times, but he was killed in his last climb.

Of course, I enjoyed the many preserves and the wildlife, especially birds, that can be found there.  The most plentiful were Canada geese (which I'm not a big fan of) and red-winged blackbirds (which I do like).  I could have taken thousands of photos, but I showed admirable restraint and only took hundreds.

White Pelican

Cormorant

Hairy Woodpecker

Canada Goose

 

 

Canada Goslings

Bald Eagle (Juvenile)

Concerned Prairie Dog

Western Meadowlark

European Starling

Vespers Sparrow

Colorado Springs, CO - May 8, 2022

 Colorado Springs is one of my favorite "big" cities because there is so much to do there, mostly the outdoor kinds of activities that I enjoy.  Unfortunately, its popularity limited the time I was able to stay there this time, as I could only get two nights in a suitable campground.  At least this allowed the opportunity to visit a new place that I've been wanting to see for some time, called the Paint Mines Interpretive Park.  

Actually located in the tiny town of Calhan, the park is about forty miles from Colorado Springs.  The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay.

The park has approximately 750 acres, and evidence of human life as far back as 9,000 years ago. It features fantastic geological formations, including spires and hoodoos that form through erosive action that creates gullies and exposed layers of selenite clay and jasper. Four miles of trails lead visitors to various formations and several overlooks that provide a different perspective.  I knew I would not be up to this much hiking, especially considering some very steep hills in the trail, so I brought along my E-bike, which was the perfect way to get around here.  Riding both formal and informal trails, I put over five miles on the odometer and saw the entire park in little more than an hour.  It was great fun cruising among the formations with so little effort.

Driving back to Colorado Springs, I had some decent views of Pikes Peak, reminding me how many times the Unser family had won the famous race there.  The drive to the top of the mountain is exhilarating any time, but at 100 mph it must be heart-pounding.

Garden of the Gods is a premier attraction here, and I've walked around there in the past.  This time I just drove through and grabbed a few photos to share with you.  The red rock formations there are huge and spectacular.