Prairie Ridge Natural Area

After picking up my boots at Rogers Shoe Repair, I headed to the area between Fort Collins and Loveland to hike at the Prairie Ridge Natural Area. I had never been to this area before, though I've been to the nearby Coyote Ridge Natural Area a few times.

Like the hike at Coyote Ridge, the trail starts down in the plains and immediately heads west towards the foothills. 

 Unlike the trail at Coyote Ridge, this one never climbs up to the ridge, it basically reaches the base of the ridge where you reach an intersection. Here you can head north or south parallelling the ridge. 

I hiked both directions. There were lots of prairie dogs to admire.

I hiked north into Coyote Ridge Natural Area first,

then headed south on a spur that passed agricultural lands

before reaching an abrupt dead end. 

This abrupt dead end makes me wonder if there are plans to extend the trail further south at some point. It was a nice hike, but not the most interesting one in the Fort Collins area. 

After my hike, I headed into Fort Collins for a beer at Maxline Brewery, a pleasant brewery I had not yet been to. 

Running Deer Natural Area

I finally had a day off with a forecast of nice weather for a trip down to Fort Collins. I had dropped off a pair of boots to be re-soled. They've been ready for pickup for a few weeks, but every time I had the time to make the trip down there, we've gotten snow. Today would be my day.

I made the drive down to Fort Collins and arrived before the cobbler opened at 9 am. To kill some time, I opted to go for a short hike at Running Deer Natural Area. I didn't expect much but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting the site is. I parked at the Colorado Welcome Center off of Prospect Street, then hit the trail, an old road.

Almost immediately, I passed one of the many ponds on site. I believe its an old sand pit.

The site is appropriately named, I saw several running deer over the course of my visit.

My first stop was the old fire tower cab that was once located on West White Pine Mountain to the west of Fort Collins.

Interpretive signs in the lookout cab told the story of how the lookout was staffed and its location in Roosevelt National Forest. 

From the lookout, I headed back to the main portion of the natural area where there is a series of trail loops. I hiked all the loops and enjoyed seeing lots of birds, including red-winged blackbirds, belted kingfishers, killdeer, great blue herons, and Canada geese.

For being at the edge of a city, pretty close to an interstate highway, the scenery was pretty nice. Lots of ponds,

and even views of the distant mountains.

I probably spent about an hour and a half exploring, before heading into town to pick up my newly refurbished boots. 

Guernsey State Park: Tunnel Mountain Trail

Today was forecasted to be a nice day weather-wise, at least for western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. Colorado, where we had originally planned to go, is a different story. After breakfast we set out west to Torrington, Wyoming, where we stopped at the Bread Doctor for some baked goods. Then, we headed to Guernsey State Park for a hike of the Tunnel Mountain Trail. 

After eating our bakery treats in the car, we hit the trail with slices of sourdough bread for energy.

The trail meandered through a low area for a bit, crossed a dry wash on a bridge,

then headed towards some railroad tracks 

before climbing up the north flank of Tunnel Mountain and paralleling the tracks. We caught a glimpse of the end of a train hauling coal out of the Powder River Basin.

We then continued our ascent and caught a glimpse of the mountain's namesake tunnel.

From there, the trail descended for a short distance before climbing 

up to the summit of Tunnel Mountain 

with great views overlooking the Guernsey Reservoir.

From the summit, the trail made a steady descent 

down to the park office. There were some nice views on the way.

We took a short break at the trailhead near the park office, then started to retrace our steps back to the car.

We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of another train just as it entered the tunnel! 

It was a scene that Sierra said reminded her of a model train layout. 

Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Alcatraz

 My last full day in San Francisco meant another field trip. This time, we would be headed to Alcatraz. We arrived at the ferry dock and looked around at the exhibits, including a really cool scale model of the island.

Then, we boarded the ferry for the ride out to the island. We really lucked out with the weather. Blue skies and pleasant temperatures. The views to Alcatraz were awesome!

Upon arrival on the island, we had a private tour of two limited access areas: The prison hospital and the old fort under the prison. The hospital was interesting in that we caught a glimpse of the "cell" of the famous "Birdman of Alcatraz". 

Also, caught glimpses of locations used in shooting "The Rock". 

After the hospital, we headed through the old military prison,

and then under the prison to the old "Fortress Alcatraz".

Some of the most interesting things to see in the old fort were graffiti left from the Indian occupation of the island from 1969 to 1971.

After the tour of the old fort, we moved onto a self-guided audio tour of the prison. We saw the cells and learned about some of the people (guards and prisoners) who lived there.

You start in the shower room where besides showering, prisoners would be issued their clothing. 

 One of my favorite stops was the cell where prisons had escaped. They used dummies they had fabricated out of random items they found in the prison.

After the audio tour, we left the prison area 

and explored parts of the island on our own. I really enjoyed seeing the lighthouse.

We walked through the beautiful gardens and all around the open areas of the island, enjoying the views.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the tour, was the evidence of the Indian occupation. There is a good deal of graffiti left and a very interesting exhibit about the start of American Indian Movement (AIM).