Angry birds ;)

Not exactly angry, maybe just crazy. Let's go back in time and look at some birds I met this Spring in City park. The most impressive (at least for me) were the cormorants. Big black birds flying like cruise missiles low over the water.

 

Lotus and some other flowers...

There wasn't much sunshine last Saturday and the temperatures remained relatively cool, so it was a good time to go look for more flowers. And the flowers in the Botanical Garden looked simply amazing (in fact, as usual).

 

Chief Mountain hike

What can be better than staying downhill when the temperature climbs up and hits 90 degrees? Going to the mountains and having a hike somewhere above 10,000 feet is definitely a better thing to do. That's what I did last Saturday ;) I chose a trail I've never hiked before - Chief Mountain. Relatively close to Denver, relatively short and at a high altitude, it ticks all the boxes :). The trail is quite steep at the beginning and climbs between the trees.

 

Close look

Another Saturday and another visit to the Denver Botanic Garden. Just to walk around before the heat becomes unbearable and to look around and see the beauty of flowers.

 

Square Top Lakes - surprisingly round ;)

Another Saturday and I couldn't stay put. I decided to take an easy hike and went to Guanella Pass to hike up to Square Top Lakes. I didn't expect them to be square (and I was right), but I did expect to have a good time far from the hot air of the city downhills. I dropped my car and started along the trail that weaves through the beautiful valley...

 

Colorful gems

Another Sunday and another morning at the Denver Botanic Garden. The flowers there are like little precious gems scattered on the ground...

 

Wandering in the fog...

I missed hiking in the high country, especially around Loveland Pass. Hiking there is unusual and amazing, and I've done it a few times (for example - Loveland Pass - snow in June). So last week I drove up there and... found myself completely lost in the fog. Honestly, I don't have any photos because there was nothing to take photos of...just a thick gray fog covering everything (I mean it). But I was there and I hoped that the sun would warm up the sky and the gray mantle of fog would disappear. So I climbed up to the top of the trail, seeing nothing but the ground just beneath my feet (yeah, it's a 1,000-foot climb and it took a while) and discovered that not only was the fog thicker there, but also the wind was stronger and temperature was below freezing point. So I turned around... and started walking down to my car. When I was almost back to the summit, the surroundings cleared up a bit and I had a glimpse of the mountains around me. The wind cleared away the clouds and fog, and I had a few minutes to enjoy the view.

 

Just beautiful

The summer is time for flowers. Flowers of all colors and shapes. And right now it's time for lilies... that's why they dominate the photos today ;)

 

Flamenco in Albuquerque

A few years ago we went to Albuquerque for the famous Balloon Fiesta (click here to see the event - Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta). But we planned to spend some time exploiting the city too. First we enjoyed the farmers market downtown (click here to check it out - Downtown Albuquerque). Next we moved to see the old town. The oldest part of Albuquerque and we discovered something unexpected there. Something we didn't even think we could find in New Mexico - flamenco dancers.

 

Colorful and beautiful

Flowers, flowers, flowers... aren't they the best subject to photograph? And in June there are so many of them that I couldn’t resist taking a couple of photos every time I go out with my camera.

 

An hour in the mountains

Last Sunday was hot. It was hard to breathe in Denver even in the morning, so I decided to  go somewhere... somewhere where the air would be cooler and not so stuffy. Mount Falcon was the first place that came to my mind and I didn't think long about it. This park is only 40 minutes away, and the high altitude helps keep temperature down too. So soon I started on the trail, which at first was wide and flat...

 

Small bird flies fast

I woke up in the morning and decided I needed to do something different. Not that different, but still. Probably go and check out some small birds ;) So I went to Central City to see if I could find some. And it didn't take long to spot one, resting on the fence and waiting for the sun to warm everything up...

 

Loveland Pass - snow in June

The snow in the mountains stays longer than downhills... So if you miss it and want to refresh your memory... just go up to the mountains and you will definitely find some ;) Loveland Pass is one of the best destinations for such an escape from the heat of a big city. Can you imagine this tall wall of snow along the highway at the end of June? And yeah... I was unable to park closer to the summit and needed to walk uphill to the trailhead.

 

In the kingdom of sand...

We crossed the bridge (click here to refresh the memory - Crossing the bridge...), returned to the trailhead and soon found ourselves on Highway 163, heading towards Monument Valley. Everything around us looked quite unusual. The colors faded and the sky took on a grayish hue. The haze had hidden many details and we couldn't see very far.

 

A sad day for merganser family

Last Friday I stopped by the small pond in City Park to check on the merganser family. If you remember, just a week ago (six days to be exact :) ) I discovered that the merganser momma had returned and had 10 (!) ducklings (click here to read this story - They are back!). So I wanted to see if the small ones had grown and how the whole family was doing. But the family was still sleeping at the far end of the pond... so I watched them for a couple of minutes before heading towards the big lake in hopes of finding some more waterfowls...

 

Crossing the bridge...

The Dead Horse Lookout was our first stop on this trip (click here to see - Late evening in Canyonland...) but not the only one on our plans. The next morning we continued towards Natural Bridges National Park. We've been to Utah before, but this park escaped our attention, so we decided to fix this and take a look. We started on the trail that runs along the edge of the canyon and just look at this view!

 

Late evening in Canyonland...

We were going to check out some places and made our first stop at Dead Horse Lookout (not technically part of Canyonlands National Park, but the two are very close and I've always considered this lookout to be the entry point into Canyonlands).

 

They are back!

This morning I stopped by the City Park and they were back! The merganser family is back! Merganser mama and her 10 ducklings (last year there were 8)...

 

Creatures... or aliens?

I went to the Botanic Garden to take some photos of the flowers and when I downloaded the images to my computer I was surprised by what I found. There were some unexpected pictures... Something that I cannot identify... some creatures... or aliens? Anyway... some plants look quite not as obvious if you take a closer look...

 

Just days before colors changed...

Staunton Park is one of my favorite Colorado state parks. It is also becoming increasingly popular, so get there as early as possible if you want to hike there. And the easiest hike is just over 2 miles to Davis Ponds.

 

Orange and purple

Yeap, we did it again... I mean, we spent a couple of hours in the Denver Botanic Garden ;) And, honestly, there aren't many better ways to spend a Sunday morning ;)

 

Gold in Golden, again :)

Hmm...actually I'm not talking about real gold. I just refer to leaves in the color of gold. Just go there in September and walk along Clear Creek and... you won't regret it!

 

Beautiful flowers in a beautiful garden

...and I'm not talking about the Denver Botanic Garden ;) This Sunday we checked out another (that I like at least as much as the Botanic Garden) - Hudson Gardens. Less known, less sophisticated and plant-rich, but still a pleasant place to stroll around.

 

Mountains and trees

It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday morning and I was heading somewhere... but before I got too far, I changed my mind and ended up at Cherry Creek Park ;) I wasn't planning on doing any serious hiking... just wanted to spend an hour or two in the woods, and this place suited me quite well...

 

Bits and pieces...

Flowers are beautiful, aren't they? But today I want to look at blooms differently... Instead of the whole, I want to look at the parts. At bits and pieces. See the colors and shapes... And I'd like to start from this poppy... Bright and intricate...