Saturday, October 22, 2011

Roxborough State Park, October 2011

Family hike day! It took some wrangling, but we talked the kids into making the grueling 10-minute drive to Roxborough State Park for some fresh air. The photo ops started before we even got into the park, as the mule deer rut is apparently going on and some young males were quite literally butting heads right by the Water & Sanitation building outside the park entrance.

The weather was perfect -- waiting until fall to come here was definitely the right call, as opposed to August when temperatures were in the 90s.

Zak and I had actually hiked this trail when we he was just going into first grade. And we did come in August then, so the kid was definitely a trooper.

I'm not sure why they don't allow dogs in Roxborough, even on leashes. But not having Ginny meant I could bring my Nikon D90, which definitely resulted in better pictures.

Great colors again from the Gambol Oaks, like last week at Deer Creek Canyon Park.

I don't know if I was just paying more attention this year or if the weather conditions had something to do with it, but I don't ever remember foliage as vibrant as this season.

Yes, Taryn wore a dress. You pick your battles.

I can't believe the kids still spontaneously hold hands sometimes. I remember them doing that on a trip to St. Mary's Glacier three years ago and thinking it probably wouldn't last much longer. Glad I was wrong.

I got Danelle to look at this plant from different angles to see how completely awesome it looked with the sun behind it. She wasn't as excited by the effect as I was.

A contemplative moment atop the ridge, with downtown Denver in the distance.

Did I mention how nice the colors still were?

Yup, still nice.

We took our time and spent a nice couple of hours covering the three miles. As usual, we had a blast. I wish the kids would remember that when we're forcing them in the car as they're groaning about having to go on a hike!

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