Maxwell Natural Area: Hike to the "A"

Today the forecast called for warm temperatures and, better yet, little to no wind! We decided to take advantage by getting out of town and heading down to Fort Collins for some hiking, eating, drinking and playing at the playground. After a pitstop at Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, we made it to Fort Collins and drove to the Maxwell Natural Area for our hike on the Foothills and Overlook Trails to the big "A" above the former Hughes Stadium site. 

 Almost immediately, we realized how snowy and muddy the hike would be. Portions of the trail were slippery, packed snow, while other areas were a thick, muddy mess. We stopped to admire the view of our hike's destination. 

So why an "A" you might ask? Colorado State University's mascot, now the Rams, was formerly the Aggies. After a short stop and photo-op, be continued on, gently ascending the muddy path past the stadium site's boundary. 

We passed a few prairie dog towns that really captured Rosie's attention.

Then, we started climbing more steeply up to a ridge.

At the top of the ridge, we passed through a small meadow area with scattered ponderosa pines.

Soon enough we approached the road the parallels the eastern shoreline of Horsetooth Reservoir. Near the road we turned onto the Overlook Trail.

We followed the Overlook Trail up to a rocky ridge overlooking both Fort Collins on the east, and the mountains and reservoir to the west.

We spent some time up there relaxing, enjoying the view and eating some apples. Surprisingly, we had the whole place to ourselves for our entire time up there. Eventually, it was time to head back. We retraced our steps back the way we had come through even messier conditions in the warming temperatures. 

After changing out of our muddy footwear, we drove into town for lunch at the new Sweetwater Brewing. The food was pretty good, especially Sierra's smoked wings! The beer was decent also.

After lunch, we headed to nearby Sugar Beet Park where Sierra played 

and I walked Rosie to the new sculpture.

Our final stop of the day was a drink at Peculiar Brewing's new Fort Collins tasting room. Then, it was the drive back to Gering.