Posts Tagged ‘Hiking’

Calypso Cascades at Wild Basin – Another Great Rocky Mountain National Park Hike and Bears a Plenty

Monday, September 7th, 2009

For years upon years I’ve been coming to Rocky Mountain National Park, but I had never experienced the Wild Basin area near Allenspark. I have one word for this area of the park, PHENOMENAL! We decided to hike to Calypso Cascades on Saturday morning to kick off the Labor Day weekend.

After driving back to the parking area on a dirt road, we were greeted by our first surprise…bears!! Apparently, bears had shattered the window and torn out the metal door frame of two cars that were parked in the parking lot. The rangers were all abuzz. Typically, we have been told to leave all food, sun blocks, candy, etc in the car; however, the rules were new for these bears. They clearly knew how to get to the food they craved. Consequently, we were told to pack all of our food out of the car and take it with us on our hike.

Once I confirmed that the trail we were going to be taking was fairly busy, we packed up our picnic lunch and headed out. The trail was gorgeous. It followed a swift creek most of the way. The trail meandered through thick forest that reminded me of the Pacific Northwest, more than it reminded me of Colorado. Ferns, green mosses, and damp pine needles were all to be found during the entire hike.

After hiking about 1.8 miles in, we reached Calypso Cascades. The bridge crossing the stream below the cascades made for a perfect photo opportunity with the kids. Then, we settled in for our lunch. Although I initially had envisioned us hiking all the way to some larger waterfalls, storm clouds were approaching and the temperature was dropping. The kids were getting chilled, so we high-tailed it back to the parking lot.

All-in-all it was an exciting hiking trip…always on the look out for hungry bears. I can’t wait to head back and make it a bit further next time. I’d love to see the falls and eventually the lakes beyond that. One step at a time…I’m sure we will see it all…

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Posted in Hiking, Mountains | 3 Comments »

Rocky Mountain National Park – A Night to Ourselves

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

On a whim, my husband decided to take a vacation day on Monday. We wanted to go someplace close to home and so we headed back to our favorite stomping grounds on Sunday morning – Rocky Mountain National Park. It turned out to be a real treat!

To begin with, we felt like we had Rocky Mountain National Park to ourselves. We got what we consider to be a “prime” camping spot. We took a hike up a little hill, relaxed, took in the beauty of Longs Peak, while watching herds of elk in the moraine below.

The best thing about the entire night was that NOONE was there. My husband and I joked about whether it was the end of August or the end of February. There was not a single camper on the opposite side of the street and there were at least a dozen spots that were open on either side of us.

I know that camping on a Sunday night was the key to the entire process; however, we thought it would a bit more crowded with the busy Labor Day weekend just around the corner. How wrong we were – happily!!

The next day we tootled up to Bear Lake (there were tons of parking spots) and did a short little hike up to Nymph Lake. The lily pads are still beautiful up there – not in full bloom but still bright green and very tranquil looking. Then, we meandered back to the campground, packed up, and headed home. A true vacation and Rocky Mountain National Park to ourselves!

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Hiking near Evergreen

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Anyone living in the Front Range of Colorado can testify that Saturday was absolutely beautiful outside. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and hit the hiking trails near Evergreen. Jefferson County has countless wonderful hiking, biking, and running trails and the Aldelfer/Three Sisters Park Open Space area has to rank among my favorites.

The great thing about the Three Sisters Open Space is that many of the trails are designed into loops. Consequently, you can loop out as far as you want. Then, when you coming back to the parking lot, you can loop back and not have to hike the same trail twice.

Once back towards the parking lot, there were several covered picnic tables. These are perfect for a picnic lunch. Since they are covered, they give a little relief from the strong afternoon sun – especially for people who have been out hiking or biking all morning.

I cannot commend Jefferson County enough on a job well done on their parks and open spaces. We usually gravitate towards Boulder County; however, Jefferson County is keeping up with them. Beautiful open space and a great hike!!

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Lookout Mountain Nature Center – Fun for All

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Waking up this morning, we weren’t sure what we wanted to do. Something outside with the kids was definitely in store, but what? I was inspired to go hiking, found the perfect family hike, and then looked at the weather forecast – it looked like going to rain in that area, so we opted for something a little closer to home – the Lookout Mountain Nature Center.

There are two ways to get to the Lookout Mountain Nature Center from where we live. We took the beautiful, winding road on the way up, and the quicker, less scenic route on the drive down. Either way, at the top, we were pleasantly surprised.

The Lookout Mountain Nature Center has a gorgeous building made from recyclable materials. The volunteer on duty explained that the floors were made from recycled boxcars and the ceilings from pressed Aspen shavings that would otherwise have been thrown out. Other parts of the building were made from recycled glass and recycled rubber. It is really an amazing building that everyone should see.

Inside the Lookout Mountain Nature Center, there are hands-on exhibits that teach visitors about the natural habitat of local animals and conservation. Throughout the building, there are reminders of ways to conserve, recycle, and reuse various items. It is a great educational experience for people of all ages.

There are two loop trails at the Lookout Mountain Nature Center, as well. The Forest Loop and the Meadow Loop can be done separately, or combined into one large loop. The hike was nice with plenty of beautiful flowers. The best part was my young children could walk the vast majority of it on their own – about 1 ½ miles. The hardest part of the entire hike was that my one-year old daughter wanted to stop and point out EVERY SINGLE flower on the trail.

Although there are so many remarkable hikes in Colorado, sometimes it is nice to find a hidden gem in your own backyard. We will definitely be returning. Something new and something fun for everyone – all at Lookout Mountain Nature Center in Jefferson County, Colorado.

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Posted in Hiking, Mountains, Recycling | 4 Comments »