We had a great Christmas in Wisconsin, but it's time to head home. We decided to break the drive up into two days instead of one really long day. We're staying in Chamberlain, SD after a wonderful dinner at the Dakota Cuban. Our first stop for the day (after driving through thick fog) was the beautiful Falls Park in Sioux Falls. Here's what we saw:
Early this morning, I made the drive down to Colorado and arrived at Devil's Backbone just as the sun was rising. We've hiked at this location several times before on the Wild Loop to the Keyhole arch. However, I've always wanted to explore a little deeper into the open space and so today I set off on a hike of two loops on the north side: Hunter Loop and Laughing Horse.
I paid the parking fee (now via app) and set off on the trail in the early morning light.
After a short hike on the Wild Loop, I set foot on a section of trail I had never been on before. I was able to observe a couple of mule deer.
From there I hiked the west half of the Hunter Loop and continued on to the Laughing Horse Loop,
I decided to stop at Weld Werks for a beer on the way home.
An annual tradition continues. Today, Mom, Dad, Noelle, Sierra and I made the drive north to the Pine Ridge District of Nebraska National Forest. I had printed off our permit in advance, and we drove to our now regular location east of Chadron State Park.
Mom and Dad stayed back at the car while Noelle, Sierra and I hiked up a hill towards the scattered ponderosa pines. After about 20 minutes we found our tree. I cut it down with the saw and dragged it down to the car.
We got lunch at Ken and Dale's and a beer at Brewery 719, then drove home to set the tree up in the living room.
This morning Noelle and I made the drive down to Fort Collins. We headed to the Bobolink Spur parking are off of Overland Trail and started our walk, headed west towards Horsetooth Reservoir.
We reached the base of the hills and started climbing.
When we reached the crest of the ridge, we made our way over to a picnic area overlooking the reservoir, mostly to use the restroom.
We ate a snack and then continued on our hike. The hike through rolling terrain offered great views of the pleasant scenery.
Just before we reached the flats at the bottom of the hills, Noelle spotted a large spider perched on a rock.
We finished the descent,
and said hello to a friendly horse before returning to the trailhead.
This morning, I decided to get out of town for a walk. Checking AllTrails, it looks like the closest trail to home that I have not hiked yet is the Sidney Deadwood Trail in the town of Sidney, Nebraska.
I made the drive down to Sidney and stopped at Cabela's to use the restroom. Then I parked at the Pony Express Memorial to start my walk.
From the Pony Express Memorial I had to cut around a small pond (and lots of goose poop), cross a busy highway (without crosswalks or sidewalks) and then cut over to the official start of the trail. I probably would have been better off just parking at the start of the trail on a dead-end road near a hotel. The trail is completely paved and starts by descending down towards Lodgepole Creek on a curving path.
This first section of trail seems little used and heads through old fields past a windmill
and through a prairie dog town. It then heads past the local branch of Western Nebraska Community College and into a proper city park, complete with exercise equipment and disc golf. The trail passes through a tunnel under a road.
The next section of trail seems pretty heavily used as it traverses alongside Lodgepole Creek and Legion Park, including the Cheyenne County Community Center.
Besides the community center and some ball fields, the trail passes a small pond with lots of geese,
and an old steam engine.
Then the trail heads through some nice neighborhoods on the outskirts of town, staying in the drainage of the Lodgepole Creek.
The trail heads to the far edge of town past industrial infrastructure like cell towers and train tracks.
The trail terminus is at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds. Here I turned around and headed back the way I had come. On the way back I decided to take a short detour into the Living Memorial Gardens.
To my surprise, there were still a few flowers in bloom in the beds there.
As I approached the end of the trail, I noticed utility flagging I had never seen before. It must mark the location of communications or electrical wiring for some of the missile silos in the area.
