Before I tell you about our morning walks, let me tell you a little about the wildfires burning in Colorado. Mueller State Park is just southwest of the Waldo Canyon fire that ravaged this area last summer. And it sits about half way between the Black Forest fire north of Colorado Springs and the Royal Gorge fire west of Canon City, burning now. We are fortunate that we haven't seen smoke here. But the fire damage, especially in the Black Forest, is immense. That fire is probably the most destructive, based on the financial loss with 360+ homes burned, ever seen in Colorado. As of this morning, the fire encompassed about 70 square miles, with an evacuation area of 94,000 acres and 13,000 homes. Some 38,000 people have been evacuated. There are two confirmed dead. Our prayers are with all these people whose lives have been so disrupted.
The Royal Gorge fire has destroyed 48 of the 52 structures at the Royal Gorge Bridge Park. The bridge has been damaged, but not too severely, at this point.
There are at least two other fires in the state, as well.
Now on to more positive things.
Every morning we are trying to walk 2 to 4 miles. At 9,600 feet above sea level, John is walking with me, not running. Mueller has some 50 to 55 miles of trails, so we have lots of choices on where to go. The scenery is great.
Look at these balanced rocks.
And the wildflowers are really starting to bloom. So far, I haven't identified any of them, but we sure enjoy seeing them.
When we were in Colorado Springs, we camped near Falcon along Highway 24. The fires were just north of where we were.
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