Urban Hiking

Yesterday we ventured out to check out some new trails.  I'd recently learned about a city park that I wasn't familiar with in the northeast side of town.  I had planned this hike as an outing for the family during Mr. Bean's graduation, but we all know how that turned out with snow on May 20th.


The weather was beautiful and after a short wait for a parking spot we checked out the trail map and chose the largest loop around the park.


You can see the tip top of Pikes peak in the center of this shot.  Still lots of snow up there.


Very nice trails with very little elevation gain through some nicely wooded areas.


There were lots of rock bluffs and formations that we stopped to explore.


We took a little detour off the main trail over to this one.



There were also some arid areas filled with dryland grasses and cacti.


Look!  There's even a picture of me this time.


More rocks to explore.  There's a reason this area is called the Rocky Mountains.  When we got out of the trees into the open sun both of us were sweating like crazy.  I told Irv that it was probably 60 degrees or so.  When we got back to the car the temperature was 65 degrees.  We have become such wimps about heat living in the frozen tundra.


There were a few wildflowers.  I think the one above is probably mountain lupine.


Right near the end of our hike we saw some wildlife.  Do you see him?  Snakes are good, snakes are good, snakes are good...


Before long we got back to the parking lot.  Question.  If you can still hear cars and airplanes and you occasionally see a house during a hike, is it still considered hiking?  Urban hiking is certainly not Yellowstone, but it's better than sitting on your duff getting old and fat.


Afterwards we went for a sandwich at the Which Wich.  I've always want to try it so I had one of their signatures, the Philly Cheese Steak.  All I can say is "it was okay".  Nothing to go out of my way for again.

Being outside revives my spirit and soul even if it is in the middle of a city.

How about leaving me a message, please?  It's the polite thing to do.  Thanks!

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Nice little hike, even the hike. Urban hiking is a good option. Tulsa's Turkey Mountain is an Urban Wilderness and you cannot hardly get away from the traffic noise.
June 2, 2019 at 9:06 PM
polcat24 said…
It was a nice pleasant hike, but yes we were sweating like crazy.
June 4, 2019 at 8:17 AM
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