Coyote Ridge Natural Area (Again)

Today Noelle, Mom and I wanted to get out of town for a bit. We decided on Fort Collins. Sierra wasn't too excited about the idea though, so to entice her I did some research and found a playground that I thought looked really fun. It's called Twin Silo Park and after watching a few You Tube videos about it, I had Sierra convinced that she needed to go to Fort Collins.

The drive through Cheyenne and into Fort Collins is pretty painless. A little after 10 am we found ourselves at Twin Silo Park and Sierra was excited to get out of the car and play.

After an hour of climbing, 

sliding, 

playing and ziplining, we were ready for lunch at DC Oakes Brewhouse. 

Finally, after lunch we were ready to hit the trail. We don't have a lot of hiking options this time of year, as many of the trails are closed for mud and erosion protection. One of the few trails open right now is the Coyote Ridge Trail, which I had hiked back in December. We made the short drive west, parked the car, and hit the muddy trail. 

 Almost immediately, we walked through a large prairie dog town. 

We continued on towards the mountains and our objective for the hike: Coyote Ridge.

Sierra was feeling sleepy, but luckily Mom was snake awake.

Just beyond the "Snake Awake" sign we met our first short, steep climb.

We continued through a gap in the hogback 

and got into some snow.

We continued to climb up the ridge,

 made it through a switchback,

and then we were in the homestretch. mom stopped for a bit to admire the view.

Then, before we knew it we were relaxing on the rocks under a beautiful ponderosa pine tree.

The views out across the valley to the next ridge were quite spectacular. 

I climbed a rock outcropping to a wonderful photo op.

After our short break we turned around to head back to the car the way we had come. As we approached the restroom and cabin at about the halfway point of the trail, we found a large herd of mule deer.

A half hour later we were back to the car.

Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area: Northlook Trail

I'm getting lucky with wonderful weather on all my days off lately. In between my haircut this morning and my doctor's appointment this afternoon, I decided we needed to get outside and take advantage of the warm temperatures and blue skies. We made the short drive south to Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area again. Today we decided to hike the Northlook Trail that begins behind the Nature Center.

We started passing the bird feeder behind the Nature Center. It was just loaded with pine siskins. We continued north on the mostly snow-free ridge with wonderful views off both sides of the trail.

The views were so good, we just had to stop every now and then to take some photos.

The views to the east featured the ridge we had hiked last week on the Monument View Trail, and a small canyon that separated the two.

We continued in the beauty,

eventually arriving at the recreation area's boundary fence.

The trail followed the fence line for a bit, and ended at an interesting overlook of the surrounding area.

I found a small, domed, rock promontory to climb up to where I admired the view.

Then we turned around and headed back the way we came.

As we approached the end of the trail, we took a slight detour by following a a dirt road, labeled as a "Nature Trail" to the west,

and then we finished our short hike back at the Nature Center.

Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area: Monument View Trail

Our original plan for today was to drive south into Northeastern Colorado to hike Pawnee Buttes and check out Parts and Labor Brewing in Sterling. However, Grandma wasn't feeling the best this morning, so we opted to stay closer to home. Since we finally registered our cars in Nebraska, we could pay the in-state rate for a state parks pass and so we headed to Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area to do some hiking.

Upon our arrival, we investigated the nature center for a bit, bought 2 park passes (one for each vehicle) and then set out to do some hiking. I saw a trail called "Turkey Run" on the map that I thought looked interesting, and so we drove to the trailhead, and hit the trail. The hike started with a descent along a north facing slope, into a canyon. There was a lot more snow (and ice) on the trail than I had anticipated.

Grandma was having a difficult time hiking on the slick trail and so she turned around to head back to the trailhead. Sierra, Noelle and I continued on. Soon enough we came to a trail junction and took a right onto the Pine Top Trail.

Soon the trail reached an unsigned junction. We opted to go right again on the south facing slope where there would be less snow. We quickly climbed to an old stone picnic shelter. The views from the shelter were stunning.

From the shelter we continued on an old road, past some restrooms and into a picnic area. There were patches of snow here and there which offered an opportunity to throw a few snowballs.

After following a few dead end, unofficial user trails, we made our way to the Monument View Trail.

This is where the views got really spectacular. We hiked along a ridge

with views out to Scotts Bluff National Monument and the surrounding hills.

The trail ended at a really nice overlook.

After enjoying the view there for a bit, we turned around and headed back to the start of the trail.

We rested at a picnic table at the trailhead,

then walked the road back towards the car, hoping to meet Grandma at some point. Soon enough we found her. She wanted to do more walking and so all four of us turned around to hike Monument View Trail again. The views were just as spectacular the second time around!

 Upon returning to the car we drove back towards Gering and Grandma noticed some bighorn sheep in a field east of the road. We turned around to have a closer look, then headed into town for a Nebraska lunch at Runza.

It was a great way to spend a beautiful western Nebraska morning!

Scotts Bluff National Monument: Hike to the Old Picnic Area

With Sierra in school, Noelle and I have started to make Fridays our date days. Today our date would include a hike in a seldom traveled section of Scotts Bluff National Monument, the old picnic area on the west side of Mitchell Pass. We parked the car along side the road, and hit the trail, actually the old road with a chain across its entrance.

We hiked the old road to the point where it seemed to peter out.

It was a wide flat spot that I assume was the old picnic area. There wasn't much left of it. It was very scenic though,

with lots of ponderosa pines

and some ravines.

After exploring the area for a little while, we retraced our steps on the old road,

headed back to the car.

Scotts Bluff National Monument: Saddle Rock Trail

I was so excited this morning to take Noelle and Sierra over to Scotts Bluff National Monument to hike the Saddle Rock Trail. After breakfast, we packed a day pack and made the short drive to the monument. We parked the car and hit the trail, excited to see some of the best scenery of Nebraska's Panhandle.

A sign near the trailhead warns of rattlesnakes,

but being January, we have little risk of seeing the venomous serpents. Sierra was excited to be out exploring and ran ahead on the trail.

It was a chilly morning, but at least it wasn't windy (at least not yet).

We passed Scott's Spring and rested at a bench

before the trail started to climb in earnest.

Soon we were approaching the tunnel through Saddle Rock.

We went through the tunnel

and enjoyed the view from the other side.

If we were quiet, we could even hear prairie dogs in the meadow far down below.

Soon we started switchbacking steeply up the bluff.Then we found ourselves at Saddle Rock.

Sierra rested on a rock there,

before we followed a section of trail that traversed a narrow ledge.

Sierra thought the "pipy concretions" of limestone were interesting.

As we approached the summit of the bluff, pondersosa pines became more numerous.

There were lots of views out across the prairie to Dome Rock

and other points of interest.

We enjoyed the views from the different overlooks and then stated to descend back towards the trailhead.

It was a fast hike as we made a our way down.

 By the time we were back at the car, the wind had picked up quite a bit. We were glad to have finished the hike when we did. Still, I would say this has to be one of the most interesting hikes in Nebraska!