ROXBOROUGH STATE PARK

This is my second post about Roxborough State Park. It is my family's favorite place to hike! We try to go at least once a month, no matter what the weather is like in Colorado. I think we keep going back because we ALWAYS see and find something new. It's not JUST a hike, it's a marvelous adventure. One year, we saw a rattle snake slither across our path, a friendly red fox, and mule deers galore, all on the same hike!

If you're ever in Denver, I suggest you venture to this amazing park. There are hiking trails for all level of fitness, and you won't regret making the trip!

This is the first rock formation you see upon entering the hiking trails. Beautiful.

Here we go...Obachan (Grandma), is so happy to be outdoors!

This is why my blog is called "the walking stick"...it's the first thing the princess gets when she starts a hike. She loves her "sticks".

A scenic shot.

Peanut got curious...he thought he could get his own walking stick from this dried-up brush. Maybe next time, buddy!

Oh look here! What little bird are you?

Oh, you're a Black-Capped Chickadee! Well, you're beautiful and gorgeous, and have an amazing song!

For the purpose of photography, I only focused on one bird, but there were many Chickadees on this tree. They were chirping and they were super-friendly. Apparently, they adapt well to humans being around them, and are a highly recognizable endearing songbirds. We heard them...they sound heavenly-sent!

We continued our trek!

The kids slow us down, but that's okay. They are really enjoying their hike, and playing with their sticks.

At one point of our hike, our little girl wanted me to take a picture of this rock formation. Apparently, it reminds her of her big toe! What an imagination.

A little acorn.

Our journey continues...the landscape is amazing.

Why is daddy taking picture of the princess there?

Oh, she found something. What is it?

Why, it's Mule Deer scat! Great discovery princess! Good to see that you have been studying your scat book. I hope we can find some Mule Deers on our hike!

Let's keep going.

Do you see what I see?

I definitely see something...

OH MY G..!

Yes!

Mule Deers in the distance! Yay!!!!!!!

Of course, nothing at this point could compete with the discovery of Mule Deers! BUT, my daughter made an observation that really astounded me..."mommy, why is that the only green plant in this area?" . She was referring to the Yucca plant. I have to admit, I NEVER noticed this plant, even though it's actually all over place here in Colorado. It's been everywhere we have hiked...and my daughter was correct, it always looks green. I was so happy to be able to identify it the plant for her, and I'm currently reading about its special pollination process. I think she will love it, since it involves a special relationship with a Moth! I will post more about it once I feel completely versed in the subject. So stay tuned!

I'm still amazed how my 4 year old notice this plant...and we the adults did not. This is why I love taking my kids outdoor! They actually SEE nature. And through their fresh eyes, I get to see a whole new world!

Here's a close-up of the ever-prevalent Yucca Glauca plant. It really is beautiful! DON'T TOUCH though, it's quite prickly (I found out the hard way...ouch!).

It was the end of the hike (approximately 2 miles...one of the shortest in the State Park), and my little one was just too tired to keep on going on his own two feet.

Here's a close-up my beloved hubby took of me giving my baby-peanut a lift for the last bit of the hike. We were both exhausted at this point...a sign of a successful family outing!

READY FOR SPRING!

My reference books have arrived, and I'm so excited! Spring hiking here we come! Our family outdoor adventures will become more incredible than they already are! We can now find and identify everything we observe in Nature!

I got some adult-friendly reference books, alongside child-friendly ones.

I especially, love the Fandex series that I learned about from my one of my favorite blog!

Trees Fandex

Colorado Birds Pocket Field Guide

Fandex Wildflowers

Nature's Playground

Fandex Bugs

Fandex Birds

Go Outside!

Colorado Birds

Colorado Insects

Colorado Butterfly & Moth Field Guide

Plants of the Rocky Mountains

Colorado Trees & Wildflowers Field Guide

Wildflowers of Colorado Field Guide

We are going to use all of these guides through-out our Spring/Summer outdoor adventures...and we are so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

CASTLEWOOD CANYON STATE PARK

In Colorado, getting the kids outside in the Winter time is always a challenge. Some times there is snow on ground, the wind is a bit too rough, and the kids can only last outdoor for a half an hour at a time. However, there are days were the sun is shining so bright that we really have no excuse to stay indoors. The latter was the case on a beautiful crisp February morning.

Hence, we packed the entire family in the car and headed to Castlewood Canyon State Park for a glorious hike.

Once we arrived at the park (it took 45 minutes to get there), we asked the Park Rangers which of the hiking trails were easiest and shortest. After all, we had two toddlers, and their elderly "Obachan" (that's what the Japanese call their grandma), to take along with us.

The Park Rangers directed us to the Inner Canyon Loop trail, which they said was the easiest of the four trails in the park. They estimated that it would take us approximately an hour to loop around, and promised us that we would have a great view of the canyon once we got to the end. However, the hike was not easy, it took us an entire three hours to hike, and we never got to the end.

Our pictures tells the story:

Here we are at the beginning of the trail. It sure looks easy...

Daddy's turn to get his picture taken at the starting point.

First signs that we were going to have to be cautious and walk at a slower pace! Ice everywhere on the trail, and Obachan did not have proper hiking shoes to deal with the slippery surface.

We loved the rock formation in this park! Plus, we got to see a couple of rock climbers enjoying their sport as we continued our hike.

We couldn't understand why our little princess kept falling behind...

...until she caught up to us, and told us she found a "treasure"! This is why we go out in Nature, where pine cones are treasures!

The scenery was beautiful. We all stopped for a few minutes just to take it all in.

More snow on the ground. Actually, it was really iced-up. At this point we were all walking carefully and very slow.

Eek! A dead mouse! The princess was very fascinated by this, and asked if we knew what ate the poor little creature. We let her use her imagination, for we had no answer to her question. Her conclusion was that it might have been one of the dogs, since she noted that the park allows people to bring their pet dogs with them on a hike.

You can't tell from this picture, but this is actually a frozen stream! We had to stop, because it was very slippery and we had to climb a couple of big rocks to cross over.

Another picture of the frozen stream. Beautiful!

There was a part of the creek that was not frozen, and this lovely dog could not resist taking a dip!

At this point, Obachan was very tired and was feeling a bit uncomfortable walking on the muddy, sometime iced-up dirt. I had to stay behind with her, hold her at times to ensure she didn't fall down and break a bone. Our little girl was so concerned, that she found both Obachan and I a walking stick! If you click on the picture above, you can clearly see us both with our sticks. Thanks princess.

This is the obligatory, take a picture of the kids together task of the day! :-)

We made it mid point on the loop, but had to stop. Too many people that were coming from the other direction told us that we should turn around and not attempt to go to the end because the icy condition was dangerous. I guess they noticed Obachan holding unto me really tight, and knew instantly that with such an elderly person, we should not try and walk down the steep hill they all described as extremely icy, and not suitable for hiking. We heeded their warning and turned around.

Our little girl under a cute rock formation.

Back the way we came from! And look who now has one of our walking sticks! LOL

The peanut has been on daddy's back all this time. This is a picture I took of him just minutes before he passed out...which is something he usually does at the end of almost every hike we have taken. We can now actually time it!

However, the princess is still going...

Oh, and look! She found herself another treasure! What an amazing little rock. The colors are amazing!

She found another treasure!

Before we left the park, my princess noticed a little red berry-looking thing on the dried-up grass. It was a perfect opportunity to introduce the concept of "find and identify" to my lovely four year old.

We have yet to identify the fruit, and the grass species it belongs to...if any of you know what this is please let us know. We would be so appreciative. :-)

Here is a close-up of what we think is some kind of berry. As stated above, we have yet to identify the species, but since we will be going back to Castlewood Canyon State Park sometime at the end of Spring, we will hopefully be able to identify the grass that produces this fruit, with its more green discernible features.

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It was a treacherous hike, and we didn't make it to the end. But really who cares? We were out in Nature, enjoying its divine beauty. And look at these two on the car ride back home: So happy! Exploring Nature definitely has its rewards!

 

As a side note, we ran again into one of the Park Rangers on the way out of the park. He told us that we have to come back at the end of May, when the cherry blossom are in bloom. Apparently, the smell from the tree flowers are so powerful and gorgeous, that people make it a yearly tradition to return to Castlewood Canyon State Park just to smell the air. So, we are going back at the end of May, and we cannot wait!