Life on the High Plains

We recently went camping in Southern Colorado at Lathrop State Park.  It was recently named the best state park in Colorado so we had to go check it out for ourselves.  I was a little skeptical, but I was soon won over. It's located near the Spanish Peaks, or Huajatolla (meaning breasts of the earth in the Comanche language).  The peaks are 12 and 13 thousand feet high. It was cold and cloudy during our entire stay, but on the first day we were able to get out for a hike that had been labeled "easy" in AllTrails. It started out easy, but as the elevation rose we found ourselves climbing through boulder fields. Eventually we made it to the top of the hogback ridge.  Stunning views! The dogs were real troopers especially our little old lady. The campground was nearly empty.  That's our trailer on the fair left side.  Nice site secluded by many pinon trees. The park has three ponds that can be used for fishing and boating.  Since the highs were only in th...

 The Great Blue Herons are back at one of my favorite walking areas, Fountain Creek!  There is actually a rookery with 13 nests that are occupied this time of year.  It's an amazing sight to see one of them flyover. This one was just standing in the spillway scooping up fish as they flowed over. Okay, maybe Canadian Geese aren't quite as majestic, but they deserved a photo. Beautiful shot of one of the ponds. The little snowfall we recently received actually put some water into Fountain Creek. Our big guy was still there on our return trip.   What a special treat!