Pueblo and Beyond

Yep, Bill and Rocky have been to Lake Pueblo State Park again.  In fact, I think we have been there every month since last Sept.  Don't usually go there in the summer - too hot and crowded.  Actually when we were there last week it was starting to get more crowded.  I watched as these huge rigs pulled in.  Great big diesel pick-ups pulling a huge trailer and behind that a motor boat.  Good grief, how do they afford the gas?  And what amazes me is they pull in, set-up their satellite dish and then they hardly ever come outside except to go  boating.  Why come to camp if all you're going to do is sit inside and watch a screen.  I don't get it.

 We have had a lot of snow in Denver this spring so it was a welcome relief to find warm sunny weather in Pueblo.  But, we haven't seen a lot of wildlife down there lately.  Did take a photo of beautiful, male, mountain bluebird.  A lot of bluebirds winter down around Pueblo.

Back in March Rocky and I decided to drive past Pueblo and go to Lathrop State Park 40 miles to the south, just outside Walsenburg.  When you leave Pueblo going south you almost immediately begin to climb out of the Arkansas River valley into juniper pinion country.  Really beautiful.  The Spanish Peaks loom just to the south of Walsenburg.  We had a great view of them from our camp.  Despite the beautiful setting, Lathrop is not one of my fav camping spots.  There are two nice lakes, but the campgrounds are not right on the lakes, so you are not on the water.  But it is interesting country with lots of wildlife and that amazing view.

Been taking a few shots around Arvada here - down at the pond at the end of our street, and at Lake Arbor.   Connie, Rocky, and I went for a hike up on North Table Mtn. back in March.  We had just had a big snowstorm a few days before, but it warmed up nicely after that.  By the way, as I write this, it is snowing again and starting to accumulate.  I am so tired of snow.  I want to get my pond plants in and get my garden going.  If this weather keeps up we won't have tomatoes till first frost.  Maybe I'm imagining things, but it sure seems like in the last twenty years spring and fall seem to have more extreme weather events.

Mountain bluebird around our camp at Lake Pueblo.

The snow covered Spanish Peaks 40 miles to the south as a sailboat enjoys nice weather on Lake Pueblo.

A pair of magpies were beginning to nest in a cottonwood next to our camp at Lathrop State Park.  Very noisy.

I think this is a sage thrasher which was around our camp at Lathrop. 

A male hooded merganser caught a crayfish in Lake Arbor during a nice winter day.

Pair of doves have been hanging out around our backyard pond.  They usually nest somewhere in our yard.

Connie and Rocky hiking on North Table Mtn. on a nice sunny day not long after our big March blizzard. 

Black-crowned night heron at Lake Arbor this morning in the blowing snow first week of May.

Black-crowned night heron in the snow at Lake Arbor first week of May 2016.  He was agitated by a car blowing it's horn.

A pair of blue-winged teal stopped by the pond at the end our our street the other day.  They have since moved on.

Our camp at Lathrop State Park with the beautiful Spanish Peaks in the distance.