Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Today, Noelle, Mom, Sierra and I drove east to check out Chimney Rock and go inside the visitor center there. Immediately, upon entering the building is this really cool layered artwork. 

The visitor center has recently been renovated and the exhibits are very well done. Sierra really enjoyed packing her wagon for the trip west.

We stepped outside on the patio for a view of the iconic rock that was a landmark for travelers on the way to Oregon, California, or the Salt Lake Valley.

After we finished touring the museum, we made the drive to the dead-end road at the Pioneer Cemetery. From there is a wonderful view of Chimney Rock.

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.

Medicine Bow National Forest: Skiing the Happy Jack Trails

This morning I awoke to a weird slick, slushy, slippery mess. After taking Rosie for her morning walk, I hit the road. I was headed southwest through Cheyenne to the Happy Jack Recreation Area. It was a pretty slick drive down to Kimball. However, Interstate 80 was mostly clear. That is, until I started to climb up the Gangplank west of Cheyenne when blowing snow made the road surface slick. I was relieved to exit the Interstate at the Summit Rest Area where I used the restroom. Then, I made the short drive over to Happy Jack.

I was a bit concerned about the lack of snow for most of the drive. It wasn't until I was within about 5 miles that there seemed to be enough consistent snow coverage for skiing. 

Another shock was the nearly full parking lot. It seems a senior group from Laramie was there for a snowshoe hike. After a few minutes of prep, I hit the trail. I am definitely out of ski shape! 

I ended up skiing the Meadow Trail to Phil's Pholly to the Tie City Loop where I started to make my way back west towards the trailhead. 

On the way back I skied the Ridge and Alder Trails 

back to the campground at the trailhead. It wasn't a particularly long ski, but I am really out of shape and felt like I got a good workout. Really nice job by the Medicine Bow Nordic Association maintaining the trails, though there was not a set classical track. I think this was due to a high school race later in the day. 

Scotts Bluff National Monument: South Bluff Hike

 First post for 2022! Today, Noelle, Sierra and I did the off-trail hike up South Bluff at Scotts Bluff National Monument. We parked at the visitor center parking lot, crossed Old Oregon Trail Road and then traversed the prairie as we made our way towards the base of South Bluff.

It was a cool morning, but luckily there wasn't much wind to contend with. Soon enough the climb commenced. We used clumps of grasses as steps to ascend the steep slope.

There were lots of great views north to the visitor center and east towards Dome Rock and Gering.

Once we had ascended to the relatively flat top of the bluff, we made our way to various viewpoints. The first viewpoint faced west with views of a distant Laramie Peak, 104 miles away. 

Next, we headed southwest to another viewpoint.

There were impressive splotches of orange lichens growing on the rocks here.

Finally, we made our way over to a southeast facing viewpoint. 

We admired the view here for a bit before making our way to the edge of the summit area for the very steep descent back to the car. 

Chatauqua Park: Flatirons Loop

For our last day in Boulder we had planned to meet some friends for lunch. We wanted to get in a short hike before that though. We headed to Chatauqua Park to hike the short Flatirons Loop. Originally, I had wanted to hike the trail to the First and Second Flatirons, but Sierra had a blister on her foot and seemed a bit worn out after the two previous days of hiking. We parked in the main lot near the Ranger Station and hit the trail. The views are spectacular!

The Chatauqua Trail is wide and flat, but it is pretty steep. We climbed up higher and higher to the base of the Flatirons.

Then, the trail seemed to relent for a bit as it roughly made its way parallel to the base of the mountains. We passed through a scree slope with views down to Boulder.

From there, the trail entered into thick woods. 

We paused at a small rock outcrop that jutted away from the trail.

Finally, we emerged from the woods at a picnic area and then headed back down to the parking lot on another wide, road-like trail. The views were again spectacular!

We made it back to the car with plenty of time before our lunch date at the Post, and so we headed over to the playground where Sierra got a chance to climb one of the Flatirons.

South Boulder Foothills Loop Hike

This morning we awoke in our rundown hotel room, dressed, and hit the road driving west to the foothills for today's hike, a short loop hike just east of Eldorado Canyon State Park. We parked in the large lot, paid the parking fee as non-Boulder County residents, and then hit the trail.

The hike is based on a loop featured in the guidebook "100 Classic Hikes in Colorado." However, a short portion of that hike does not allow dogs, and with Rosie we were forced to detour on the Homestead Trail instead of the Towhee Trail. Almost immediately we came to the Homestead Trail's namesake; the Doudy-Debacker-Dunn House.

Then, we continued a gentle climb on the Homestead Trail through short sumacs.

It was a warm day for late December. We spent a good portion of the hike in short sleeves. There were lots of great views west to the mountains.

Soon, the trail entered into some thicker woods. We stopped to take a break on a large boulder.

Then continued on our way walking north and parallel to the mountains.

Since we were now in thicker woods, the views became less frequent. Still, we caught occasional views of the Flatirons and Devil's Thumb.

On the way back to the car, 

we took a wrong turn and ended up following the Lower Big Bluestem Trail into the treeless prairie. While it added a bit of length to the hike, it offered some nice views of the mountains.

With our hike finished, we headed to Pearl Street to walk around a bit. We ended up eating a delicious lunch at Southern Sun.