Reflections and Birds

 These are the two main reasons we spend time in St. Vrain State Park in the summer.  Established in 1965, the park has 87campsites on 50 acres of land and 80 acres of water.

In 1958 the Colorado Department of Transportation purchased land along the St. Vrain River to mine for gravel needed to develop highway 87 into an interstate highway. That required lots of gravel.  The gravel pits were turned over to the State Parks Department for recreation.

Today the park has 87 campsites.  By 2005, trees had been planted in the park to augment the large cottonwood trees that grew along the St. Vrain. It is the winter home of bald eagles and hosts the largest blue heron rookery in the state.  It also has the only known nesting site of Great Egrets in Colorado. White pelicans and osprey also find seasonal homes at St. Vrain.

There are 14 ponds in the park, accounting for the reflections.

This is one of the osprey in a dead tree.

A nesting platform for bald eagles.

Blue heron are often difficult to photograph, but here we saw them numerous times during our stay.

This is some kind of snake—possibly a bull snake—swimming in one of the ponds.  Yuk!

Cormorants resting on a log.

American white pelicans.

One day we saw some turtles.

This osprey seemed to be posing for us.

Then it flew away.

So did this heron.

This is a red-winged black bird.  My dad grew up in Illinois and this was a bird he knew from there and often pointed them out when we saw them.

I will take photos of reflections in ponds and rivers, wherever I find them.  At St. Vrain, I am never disappointed.

We also have great views of snow-capped mountains along the Front Range of the Rockies.  

When they were developing this park, we looked at a treeless hill with some campground hookups. We asked, why would anyone camp there?  Today, you can see why we love it.

Reflections and Water Fowl

We are spending several days at St. Vrain State Park near Longmont.  It is good to have spacious sites and the park is a photographer's paradise because of the numerous ponds and birds.

This is a view of the Rocky Mountains west of the park.  The large mountain may be 13,501 ft. Arapahoe Peak.

Don't we have a good looking truck and trailer?

This heron obviously summers here.  We have seen it both days during our morning walks.

Here is a shot as it flew off.

                   
                                 

And another photo as it perched in a tree.

There are numerous American pelicans enjoying the ponds. These are floating on Pelican Pond.

I found a great reflection photo of this cormorant.

Last night we had a glorious sunset.

These flowers--some sort of "weed" or wild flower--remind me a little of sunny-side eggs.

And one last reflection on Bald Eagle Pond.

Relaxing

After two and a half busy months, we have had two weeks of doing little or nothing.  And have we ever enjoyed it!  We may have full hookups with 50 amp electric, but this is camping.  Way back when we were working, a trip out with our RV was usually just a time to relax.  That is what we have done during our stay at St. Vrain State Park.

We visited John's sister Cindy at her new home in Fort Collins.  She had a small home built in a senior community there and we enjoyed seeing the house and the "big house" where there are apartments, a very nice dining room and other amenities.  We then drove to the Back Porch Café for lunch.  We had a good visit.

John has been working on two diamond willow walking sticks that needed cleaning and sanding.  They promise to be really attractive.  I brought along a bowl I had turned that needed sanding and a scroll saw project that needed sanding and assembling.  I completed both of those projects.

We have both been writing.  I am putting together stories of my life.  John is finishing up a future book about his ancestors.

Other than that, we have only left the campground for groceries and visits to the laundromat.  Each day we walk five miles, enjoying the ponds in this park.  I could post the many, many photos I took here this year and last.  I could take pictures of reflections and birds all day long.  I will spare you all the photos, but here are three I took this week.

There are several pelicans that spend most of their time on one of the ponds.  They often float around in a group, looking like a small island.  They are impressive when it flight when the bottom of their wings are tipped in black.

This blue heron liked having it's picture taken, I guess.  It posed for us in this tree for over 6 minutes before we walked on.

We saw these logs in one pond this morning.

One of the fields hadn't been mowed before we passed it last week. The sun really showed off the flowers that were going to seed. They looked like a really large dandelion flower but they are probably some plant I don't recognize.

John almost always gets up before me, often getting out of bed before first light. Yesterday he woke me up before 5:30 (I usually get up about 6), telling me there was going to be a spectacular sunrise. Was he ever right! It was definitely worth waking up a little early.

Tomorrow we move on to Chatfield State Park in southwest Denver.

Settling Down

After driving from Arizona to the East Coast and then back west to Colorado in a little over 2 months, then getting caught up in a wedding and several family health issues, we were ready to relax and do as little as possible. In January I made reservations for 8 weeks in 4 different Colorado State Parks. The rules allow only 14 days in a single park within 45 days. That's fine. The state has lots of parks we love.

Our first stop is St. Vrain State Park north of Denver along I-25. We stayed here last summer, as well, and we knew we love it. There are 4 ponds, possibly once gravel pits, that became a state park. The ponds house a blue heron rookery and good birding opportunities, as well as fishing for trout and bass. What I like most are the multiple opportunities to photograph reflections--my favorite camera opportunity. Here are a few I have taken this year.

Canada geese are very prevalent. We see them everywhere--and have to watch where we walk because of their poop.

These little birds were lined up on a branch. They sort of look like some kind of swallow.

Saturday while we were out for our walk, we came on a raptor presentation. Very interesting. We saw a Swainson's hawk, a kestrel and a great horned owl. They are all magnificent birds.

The park is located in a relatively rural area. This old house is still standing just outside the park boundary.

We are really enjoying our time to relax and refresh in this beautiful, peaceful place.

What a Surprise

For several years as we have driven I-25 north of Denver we have passed St. Vrain State Park. It is a fairly new state park and we really didn't think we were interested because it is right along the highway. This trip we wanted to stay in the area for a few more days, including a weekend, in hopes we could receive the title paperwork for our new trailer and get it registered. Since our favorite parks--Chatfield and Cherry Creek--are booked solid on weekend months in advance, we decided to try St. Vrain.

What a delightful surprise to find a great state park. There is some highway noise in part of the park, but there are also numerous ponds, providing good scenery and trails and, most of all, reflections. And I can take pictures of reflections all day and (almost) all night. Here are just a few of the photos we took.

One view I didn't care for was this one. But when you are in an urban area, you can't have everything.

We did do a few things besides walking 5 miles a day around the ponds and taking photos. We were able to register both the new truck and the new trailer and we met Longmont friends Larry and Betty for lunch.   Hopefully we will see them in Arizona this winter.