Tag Archives: hiking
Calypso orchids are only one of many delights along the Ceran St. Vrain Trail west of Jamestown. When we hiked the first mile or so of this trail on the solstice, the creek was running high and noisy, a roar … Read More…
I’ve been searching for them for five springs, ever since I moved to Colorado—the calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa or Calypso borealis), also known as fairy slipper orchid. I know where to look: shaded, moist ground under pine trees. Mossy surroundings. … Read More…
The morning was sunny and warm as we rendezvoused at Realization Point for the hike up Long Canyon with naturalist Dave Sutherland. “Ready for some time travel?” he asked. “We’re headed 11,000 years back to a time when the climate … Read More…
I’m volunteering again this spring at the native plant garden at Chautauqua Park. In front of the ranger cottage at the trailhead to Chautauqua Meadow, the garden provides a rich, blooming snapshot of the wildflowers found throughout the park. For … Read More…
It was midweek, and my shoulders were tight and brow furrowed from concentrating too hard in front of a computer. Why does grading season always happen when wildflowers are blooming? I needed a hike, maybe even a nap in the … Read More…
On maps it is called Rabbit Mountain, a sloping hill about twenty minutes north of Boulder. But when the interpretive kiosks mentioned this mountain’s habit of walking—three miles away from its companion foothills over recent eons, thanks to a maze … Read More…