Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Raccoon Trail

Last sunday we hiked the Raccoon Trail in the Golden Gate Canyon Park, outside of Golden Colorado.

This was supposed to be an easy hike, but because I read the instructions incorrectly, we did the hike backwards, therefore we added a lot of going up, and just for fun, I also added a mile, starting from the wrong area.
Needless to say, this hike kicked our asses.

The other hikers passing us by called it a "moderate hike".
At the time, I simply called it "Hell".

Let's just say, we need to get in shape, which is true, but I am also blaming the altitude. After all, the altitude there is only "7600 to 10400 feet". Yeah, I should have paid more attention to that part.

No wonder we were breathing heavy like a couple of old machines, stopping every five minutes, hoping not to lose consciousness...
My crafty survivor husband built himself a walking stick, and I got stung by a bee.






I still got some wonderful pictures.
It started very nicely, we were both all smiles.

We got to see many different kinds of berries.

Even raspberries with mushrooms on the side.

And different kinds of pine cones.

We walked through beautiful fields of flowers.

And fields of Aspen trees too.

Then the terrain started going up, and up, and up...

Time for a break.

Robert made himself a beautiful walking stick which he used a lot on this trip.

You can see it in the above picture.

And here I am enjoying some shade.

We finally arrived at the Panorama.

Sitting on a bench and having a snack, a little chipmonk poked his head out.

Here he is again on the rocks, checking us out.

Then it was time to go continue our journey back down the canyon hill.

Did I mention there was an "active bear area" sign at the entrance of the park?
A nice young lady at the welcome center mentioned that bears had only been seen at night. Thank goodness. I had no plans of staying the night anyway.

We also saw a rabbit.
 Look closely, you'll see his eyes.

Time to go on again...

Just a mile to go.

Towards the end, Robert started having cramps in his right leg, and I kept stopping every five minutes to take a breath. This was a hard hike for us.

It took us three hours to finish the Raccoon Trail.
Much longer and harder than we had anticipated.
I think I'd like to do it again next year, when we're in better shape.

It was difficult, but the views of nature were wonderful, and yes, it was worth it.

We finally made it to the car exhausted, thirsty and starving.

 Here is the valley we drove through on the way out of the park.

 

COLORADO IS BEAUTIFUL!

Red Rock Canyon and Amphitheater, Morrison Colorado

Last week-end, on the way back of the Lair of the Bear Canyon, we also visited Red Rock Canyon.
It is hard to miss with the vibrant red and orange colors.

First you are driving in a wild desert landscape with slanted colorful rocks all around.

After a short drive in the park, you arrive to the parking lot for the amphitheater. You are now much closer to the stones.

Let's go to the amphitheater.

Look on the left.

This is some weird design. The colors are melting into each other. This reminded me a bit of the colors from Death Valley outside of Las Vegas, but in a smaller scale. Still very impressive though.

Here's the amphitheater.

This amphitheater is famous for its sound as it is naturally enclosed with rocks.

An entire array of stars from U2 to John Tesh have spoken about their extraordinary experiences on stage there.

Wanna be a Rock Star? Here's the view from the stage.

While I was sitting on stage taking this picture, Robert decided to run up the stairs all the way to the top, and give himself a good sweat. Here is is, checking me out with his binoculars. Look for the cowboy hat, black shirt and white pants in the center, leaning against the railing.

And here's stinky wet man going back down those stairs, much slower this time...

On the way out of the Amphitheater, there is a great view where you can barely see Downtown Denver in the background. Look for it towards the middle left, behind the green hill.

What a magical place. We'll definitely go see a concert there soon. It must be something at night!

Can't wait to hear that famous sound...

COLORADO IS BEAUTIFUL!