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Tag Archives: hiking
The Ceran St. Vrain Trail
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 … Continue reading
Posted in nature
Tagged hiking, lodgepole pine, native plants, ponderosa pine, wildflowers
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Calypso orchids at last!
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. … Continue reading
Ice Age hike
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 … Continue reading
This spring at Chautauqua
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 … Continue reading
Early spring on Goshawk Ridge
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 … Continue reading
Posted in nature, writing
Tagged Amy Leach, clouds, hiking, native plants, pasqueflower, wildflowers
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On the walking mountain
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 … Continue reading