Horsetooth Mountain Open Space: Horsetooth Rock via Wathen Trail

Today I decided to take an old pair of my work boots to a cobbler in Fort Collins. That meant a day of hiking. I opted to go to Horsetooth Mountain Open Space to hike up to Horsetooth Rock, taking a route I've never before taken: the Wathen Trail. It was an uneventful drive to the trailhead. When I arrived, I went to purchase my parking pass, but the machine was not working. I ended up not having to pay. I hit the trail, 

and initially headed towards Horsetooth Falls. Sierra and I had hiked to the falls back in June of 2022.

The morning was somewhat overcast, but there were still nice views of the smaller peaks of the foothills.

I hiked down to the falls and found it to be just a trickle. 

That's not surprising, given it was also a trickle last time we hiked to it when it should have been running higher with snowmelt. From the bottom of the falls, I made my way to the top. There is a series of pools with small cascades there.

There was also a small "balanced rock" that you can see from near the top of the falls.

After visiting the top of the falls, I returned to the main trail where I watched a female hairy woodpecker climb a ponderosa pine.

Besides the woodpecker, I spotted a few Stellar's Jays and some house finches. 

I continued the climb up the Spring Creek Trail to the Wathen Trail junction.

Once on the Wathen Trail, periodic views of Horsetooth Rock 

and the view over Fort Collins opened up.

I made the final climb to the summit and enjoyed the view up there for about 15 minutes.

For the decent, I opted to take the new Westridge Connector Trail.

This trail was badly needed. Last time I hiked up Horsetooth Rock, I hiked up from the Soderberg Trailhead on the Towers Trail. The Westridge Trail descended down quite a way before I was able to ascend up to the summit. I thought it was silly to descend. Now, hikers no longer have to make that descent as the connector trail eliminates it. Anyway, there were nice views from the new section of trail.

Once back to the car, I made the short drive to Rogers Shoe Repair and then to Funkwerks for a beer before the drive back home. 

Wyoming Historic Governor's Mansion: Tinsel Through Time

Today, Noelle, Sierra and I made the drive down to Cheyenne for some Christmas festivities. Our first stop: the Tinsel Through Time exhibit at the Historic Governor's Mansion. 

The building was the official Wyoming governor's residence from 1905 through 1976. Rooms inside the building are furnished in the typical style of different eras of residence and decorated for Christmas in the same styles. 

Our first stop was the Library. It was decorated in a style consistent with the earliest years of residence, featuring a tree illuminated with candles.

Next, we passed through the dining room. Decorated like a typical 1950s/1960s Christmas.

From the dining room, we passed through the Breakfast Roon and through the staff dining room into the Governor's Den and the Drawing Room. 

We explored the upstairs rooms, along with the rooms in the basement. My favorite items in the basement were a Wyoming Tree, decorated with the state flag 

and the canisters left over from the Cold War Era. 

After our visit to the Historic Governor's Mansion, we made our way over to Freedom's Edge Brewery for a beer and some wings from the Weitzel's Wings truck parked just outside. 

The Grunwald's Christmas Tree 2023

Today, Noelle, Sierra, Rosie and I headed up north to the Nebraska National Forest near Chadron to pick out this year's Christmas Tree. We went to the same general location in the forest that we went to last year and after a little bit of walking around in the wind, we found our tree.

Here's a look at the tree in our house and with lights on it. 

Soapstone Prairie Natural Area: Pronghorn Loop

 Last call for hiking at Soapstone Prairie! Soapstone Prairie Natural Areas is managed by the City of Fort Collins. Every year the natural area closes to recreational use from December 1st through March 31at for wintering mammals. Today, I would take advantage of the last day to visit for 2023.

The drive south through Cheyenne, Wyoming was uneventful. I took the Buckeye Road exit off of I-25 and headed west, then north to Soapstone Prairie. Today was my second visit to the natural area. Last time I visited was in November of 2021 when I hiked the Mahogany Loop. This time I would be hiking from the south trailhead on the Pronghorn Loop. 

I parked at the trailhead, and hit the trail,

immediately crossing the access road and heading east into the prairie. 

Along the course of the 9 mile loop, the trail passes through several stiles.

Throughout the hike, I would contend with patches of drifted snow covering the trail. The sometimes deeply drifted snow made the normally easy hike a bit more difficult. One of the highlights of the hike was the wildlife I encountered along the way. I saw a pretty large herd of pronghorn,

along with several prairie dog towns.

Besides the wildlife, there is an interesting structure covered with corrugated metal. Some type of cowboy or shepherds shack, I suppose.

Artifacts like square nails lay scattered on the ground nearby the structure. I took a quick look and replaced this nail where I had found it. 

Nearby to the shack was a very tall stone cairn. I thought the trail would pass by it, but it didn't. I was only able to observe it from a distance.

Once I had finished with my hike, I made the drive out of the natural area, passing the bison herd in a fenced pasture as I made my way out.

I would guess I was the last person to hike the Pronghorn Loop for 2023.

Chadron State Park: Black Hills Overlook Trail

 Another pleasant day was forecast for today. Noelle, Sierra and I decided to get out and take advantage of the nice weather with a hike at Chadron State Park. I had done a little research online and found that the Black Hills Overlook Loop looked pretty interesting. We made the drive up north and arrived at the trailhead in the campground. Unfortunately, I didn't have any cell coverage and so I couldn't check AllTrails to ensure we were on the right path. We ended up taking the wrong trail and followed a section of the Campground Trail. While not our intended hike, the trail offered some nice views of the surrounding landscape. 

Our detour had been short, so when we returned to the car, we opted to try again for the hike we had originally planned. We went straight at a three-way intersection (we had made a right turn the first time) and followed the trail up a small canyon, passing through a few gates and stiles. 

Once we had emerged from the canyon, a sign ensured us we were on the right path.

We climbed up to the top of a ridge,

leaving Chadron State Park and entering Nebraska National Forest. At the top of the ridge views opened up in all directions. 

We could indeed see the Black Hills far off to the north. 

The trail here followed at or near the top of the ridge.

The views were pretty amazing. There were views over a series of canyons 

and far off to the north as well.

We stopped at three interpretive signs not far from a forest road.

Then, we turned around and headed back the way we had come. There was supposed to be another trail that branched off of ours, but we never found it. Instead, we headed back the same way we had come, admiring all the views from a different perspective.