Adventure Travel Photography Blog
When the prettiest part of a two mile hike, sometimes four miles, depending on how far I go, it a bushel of wheat grass, I don’t tend to write about it. But since I’ve walked most of the perimeter trail at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge and posted it on my blog, I figured I’d mention its west side too.
TAKE A WALKWell, I’m trying to take advantage of Denver’s wonderful weather while I can…it has been magnificent, and it is supposed to be a cold winter so I’m bracing for the bad weather some time soon. So far, the mountain have gotten all the snow, and Denver has mostly been blessed with sunny skies!
I revisited the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. I wanted to get some more pictures of bucks. I was a little late to the party though, only arriving just before 8 a.m. I think there would have been more activity at 7 a.m. I certainly was not out of luck! In fact, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is a very lucky place for me…they have committed to carry my notecards! Now I am in two local stores…the other is the Park Hill Community Bookstore. So I am happy about that!
As I drove toward the visitor center today, it was blocked by a temporary, white tent leftover from an event from the previous day. The refuge crushed 6 tons of ivory that has been confiscated over the last 25 years from illegal importation into the USA. In fact, the refuge has two repositories…one for anything from Cowboy boots to ivory illegally carried into the country and the other for bald eagles that may have been hit by a car while feasting on road kill or that have died from natural causes. Indian tribes then request a whole bald eagle or certain feathers for their ceremonies from the refuge. It can take 9 months to 3 years to provide the tribes with perfect feathers or birds. What shocking to me was to find that either one of these repositories existed, and that these Colorado based repositories only a few miles from my house service the entire country!
Back to my mission for the day which was wildlife photography. I drove around the refuge a while before I found my first deer. I actually spotted two coyotes first! Then I found a white tail buck…they are elusive and he quickly trotted off into the distance. The deer were not “hanging out” where they were supposed to (according to the tour I took last week)! I finally drove toward the end of the road where I was prepared to turn around when I spotted a doe. I learned from the guide last week, that when there is a doe, there should be a buck nearby during mating season. I kept my eyes open, but spotted nothing…just a single doe strutting through the field. Suddenly, she spooked and hopped forward as a coyote trotted off behind a tree. She was leaping right toward me, when she settled and turned to the left to cross the road.
I moved my car onto the road from the parking area to get a better shot. After she cross the road, and dipped into a lower terrain where the brush interferred with any good shots, I started to leave when I noticed she was approaching a buck! The buck licked his snout, raised his head and puffed his neck, but she seemed to be a tease. She quickly became disinterested as he chased her along plains. He continued to court her while another photographer joined me and noticed another buck on the other side of the road…was there going to be a fight? We were waiting! As we waited in anticipation, another buck appeared! Unfortunately, they all appeared disinterested in one another, so we moved on.
As I was returning toward the exit, I passed by a white tail buck sipping some water from the creek. He didn’t stick around long. Despite being more aggressive toward other deer, the white tail is much more shy toward humans than the mule deer that were happy to let me wait around!
After visiting Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, I drove north to Brighton to check out Barr Lake State Park. This park has a nature center, and I thought they might like my cards. The buying manager wasn’t there, but the park ranger at the desk mentioned they were looking for new products, so maybe I will have some more luck…that would be good!
In the meantime, I decided to check out the park. It is a somewhat difficult park to get around unless you plan to hike! There are only two parking areas, otherwise, to get around the lake, it requires a long 8.8 mile walk! That was not on my list of things to do today…I was in the mindset of a 4 mile hike. Not far from the nature center is a boardwalk trail that follows along the edge of Barr Lake beneath the cottonwoods and offers a spectacular view of the lake and snow-capped mountains beyond.
While I tried in earnest to snap a photo of a black capped chickadee, the birds eluded me as they flitted from branch to branch before I could get my camera focus. I didn’t even notice the two doe resting peacefully to my right. One looked almost dead, while the other kept an eye on me while I clicked away. The boardwalk took me within 6 feet of them. They raised to their foot as I stood above their heads, but curiously watched me through the tree branches until a little kiddo came running down the boardwalk. They hopped from their cover, beneath the boardwalk and into a more open area to do their business! I watched them chomp on dry leaves for a while before I finally decided to move on.
The lake is home to a few more side trails that spur from the main loop. I took them all. I walked a pier to a gazebo that poked out into the lake where all types of ducks and waterbirds enjoyed their day floating, quacking, and diving for food. I have never seen such a variety of ducks in one place. I’m not sure how many species of ducks exist, but I wouldn’t be surprised if every species swam and flew around Barr Lake. Since the early 1900’s, Barr Lake has been known as a premier bird-watching area with approximately 350 species of birds having been spotted.
It is also home to a bald eagle rookery! So, after snapping some mediocre photos of the ducks (I just don’t have a big enough lens), I moved on to the rookery. I spotted three bald eagles!! One was mature, one immature, and the other I didn’t get a good enough view. My pictures of the bald eagles are from a mile away too, but it was still fun, and I got at least a 4 mile walk in while on my wildlife photo hunt for the day! Both Barr Lake State Park and Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge were good to me on this sunny, 60 degree day. ETB
For notecards and key chains, visit My Shop on this website.
Today I went for a walk with a hiking group in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, just a few short miles from my house. The last time I stopped by the refuge, it was the middle of the summer, the sun was intense, and there was not an animal to be seen! Today was a different story.
Just as soon as we got on the trail and veered around a barrier marking some damage from the September floods, we spotted a coyote. A moment later…a buffalo! Oh yes, I forgot, we saw a herd of buffalo this summer, but they are behind a fence, so that wasn’t too exciting to me.
As we continued on along the flat gravel like trail, three deer trotted ahead of us. Then we spotted a large buck with a nice rack! The trail crossed a road and then curved past a placid Mary Lake, despite ominous clouds rolling our way. Golden leaves trickled to the ground by the wooden bridge in the crisp breeze as we continued on toward the Ladora Lake Loop.
Part of group returned to the cars as a few rain drops spattered on our jackets while the rest of were treated to glorious light shining on the mountains in the distance. Then we came upon another family of deer, at least eight, with another big buck grazing on the tall grass.
We crossed the floating bridge to find some water birds, sadly I don’t know the kind despite my step-father being an avid birder and returned toward the visitor center. In all, we hiked about five miles connecting four different trails, Discovery, Legacy, Lake Mary Loop, and Ladora Loop.
I actually really enjoyed the walk and think I will go back out there with something more than my iPhone to capture of photo. I found out there was a photo contest that just finished…darn! Maybe next year…ETB.
For notecards and key chains, visit My Shop on this website.
During my year and a half in Denver, I haven’t spent much of my spare time checking out the cultural scene as I always head to the mountains. With Suellen in town, we visited museums and attended festivals all within a few miles of my house…some in walking distance!
We started at the Cherry Creek Art Festival that is held annually. It is an outdoor festival, with tents set up over multiple blocks displaying art and jewelry. In addition, bands play and several local restaurants serve their best fare at food tents. We didn’t manage to get any pictures of the art, but we did get a picture of a T-shirt a patron was wearing.
After visiting the art show, we stopped in at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum. The air and space museum, an airplane hangar, is located at the old Lowry Air Force Base that is now converted into condos, restaurants, green space and the like. The museum is across from the gym I go to and has a giant RB-52B airplane in front of it. This plane is the most photographed plane in the state! The RB designation means, the plane that is 48 feet high and 156 feet long, was used for reconnaissance. It has a wingspan of 185 feet, carries six crew, and can reach a max speed of 630mph. It can travel 3,600 miles at combat weight of 272,000 lbs and reach 47,000 feet. It’s maximum take off weight is 420,000 lbs and empty it weighs 185,000 lbs. The plane is definitely eye catching! It is right next to the gym I go to, and it always catches my attention enough to make me think I need to visit that museum at some point…the time finally came with Suellen! Personally, I think the plane outside the museum may have been the best part, and we could have saved our $11 entry fee.
The map provided to us, with the location of the of each plane in the hanger, was incorrect. In addition, certain machines along the side of hangar weren’t labeled, so we didn’t know what they were…neither did the volunteers! Inside the hangar, the Star Wars X Wing Fighter was pretty fun to see, since we grew up in the Star Wars age.
According to the information placards, the most famous plane in the museum’s collection is the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor that served in the USAF from 1958-1969.
From the museum, we walked next door to the Lowry Beer Garden and enjoyed a burger and beer before we headed to Jazz in the Park. Jazz in the Park is a free music series on Sunday night from 6-8 during the summer, in City Park, Denver’s largest park. I live nine blocks away from the park, so I’ve been this event multiple times.
Our tour in and around Denver continued the following day at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. We went in the morning, but it was still very warm, so there wasn’t too much wildlife to see…one deer, some buffalo, lots of prairie dogs, and some pelicans is about all I can name. There were a few flowers in bloom as well, but it was mostly prairie grasses.
After a morning driving and walking around the refuge, we visited 16th Street Mall downtown and stopped in at the pavilion to see an exhibit comparing Michelangelo and da Vinci. I had no idea they were such inventors. I thought of them as sculptors and artists. Da Vinci invented the universal screw mechanism as an effective and safer way to lift heavy objects. This was one of many inventions.
The following day, we visited the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It is located in City Park, and it is absolutely fantastic. We spent at least five hours there and didn’t even finish seeing all the exhibits, much less attend an IMAX movie or the planetarium. I loved the space exhibit. There were so many interactive parts to it. I used a computer to create a star and watched it grow the size of the sun and explode. The gem exhibit was also impressive, though I am a rock hound. I actually became a member at the window before we even went in and it was a very good investment…I will be going back!
Anyway, Denver offers quite a bit of culture, and I feel like Suellen and I made a small dent in it during the few days she was here!