Colorado Mega Podge

Written by ceddammit

Welcome! It’s OK, come on in! It’s Thursday in here. And that means it is once again time to vicariously roam all over the northern Colorado front range. And I do mean All Over! Today we will be making stops, albeit brief ones, at FIVE locations. We begin with Legion Park, on the eastern edge of Boulder, in late July of 2012.

How many parks give you a view of a power plant?
Longs Peak in the distance
Flatirons (and trees) (and grass) (and clouds)
Cloud SMASH power plant!
Legion Park, Boulder, Colorado (Photographed on July 25, 2012)

Our next stop is Mount Falcon. This is one of those places that even the locals don’t seem to know about. I had lived along the front range for almost 20 years when I finally discovered it. It’s located southwest of Morrison, though I went in through the west entrance, which is above the town of Indian Hills. I would have taken many more pictures at Mount Falcon Park (there are some GREAT views looking down at Red Rocks Park) but forgot to bring my extra camera batteries. Here’s what I got while the batteries lasted…

Rock!
Looking down on Green Mountain
Downtown Denver in the haze
Mount Morrison
Mount Falcon Park, Colorado (Photographed on July 14, 2012)

I’m a weirdo. In 22 years of Colorado livin’ I never went skiing, snowmobiling, or snowshoeing. I didn’t even ride the Estes Park Aerial Tramway…until the 4th o’ July, 2012. On that date, my cousin and his family were visiting from a flatter state. I tagged along and learned that there are indeed touristy things that are actually worth doing. See for yourself:

Looking down at the lower terminal as we start the trip upwards
Lake Estes, as seen from the tramway
Looking straight down at rock formations under the tram car
Now, views from the upper terminal.
Center: Twin Owls. Above: Mummy Mountain. Below: Stanley Hotel.
The big guy in the distance is Longs Peak. To the left is Mount Meeker.
I think this is the back of Twin Sisters?
This is Longs and Meeker again, but now shaded by clouds and smoke.
Rodent!
There’s a reason this thing is called Lumpy Ridge.
Stanley Hotel complex
Left: Downtown Estes Park. Above: Stanley Hotel. Above 2: Lumpy Ridge
On the trip back down, looking down into the forest below the tramway
Fire hazard
Another view STRAIGHT down into the trees.
Elevated neighborhood near the tram
Looking down from the tram car
Final approach to the lower terminal
Estes Park Aerial Tramway, Colorado (Photographed on July 4, 2012)

The next stop on today’s tour is a very short trip I took up Butler Gulch, west of Empire, Colorado:

The concrete tower on the right is the headframe of the Henderson Mine. This is a molybdenum mine.
Butler Gulch, near Empire, Colorado (Photographed on June 26, 2012)

Last but grooviest, let’s hike the Boulder Canyon Mystery Trail. I call this a Mystery Trail because I can find no information about it whatsoever. It consists of old wagon / 4×4 roads that appear to be completely unnamed, and I’m not even sure what the purpose of these roads originally was. I just know that it led to some very nice scenic views. Have a look:

This is one of at least three dead cars I saw along the Mystery Trail.
A rock enjoying the breeze
This rock may be mooning you.
Above Boulder Canyon, Colorado (Photographed on June 23, 2012)

That completes this week’s ThrowBack Thursday! I will be adding the photo captioned “Cloud SMASH power plant!” to my photography store. As always, if you’d like to be able to buy any of the other photos you see here, just let me know! You can do that by entering a comment below, or through the contact page in the photography store. Next week on ThrowBack Thursday: Exploring the old Colorado Midland Railroad between Leadville and Hagerman Tunnel; if there’s time, we’ll also visit the Great Plains of western Nebraska and northeast Colorado. Toodle. Ooh.

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