Reservoir Ridge Natural Area: Bobolink Spur to South Loop

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.

The lower portion of the trail is pretty flat, but it heads towards the foothills it passes a few trees 

and a crosses a wetland on a boardwalk.

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. 

Sidney Deadwood Trail

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.