Mud Lake and A Lesson in Mountain Weather

With summer in full-swing, just in time for our arrival to our non air-conditioned apartment, we heeded the advice of some locals and sought reprieve up in the mountains. Thankfully, that only means a 30 minute drive. Thirty minutes can take you some pretty incredible places from Boulder. We got some advice and maps from the Visitor Center in Nederland a couple days earlier and decided on a short hike around Mud Lake. It was a beautiful day, but by the time we finally got out of the house it was around lunch time.

My obsession with wildflowers continues

Nice flat trail means easy walking for Lucia

This pileated woodpecker has strayed from his usual range. Definitely a rarity.

Pockets of views from the trail, clouds moving and converging quickly.

Hiking is all about the snack breaks for some!

Gorgeous blue columbine. Perfection.

About halfway around the loop the clouds starting looking pretty ominous and it started to sprinkle a little. Then we heard the thunder in the distance. Being inexperienced with Colorado weather we decided to book it back to the car and made it right before it started pouring out. We did really like this trail though. You get the mountains, but its a flat trail and not too long of a loop for Lucia. We vowed to try and get out the door earlier in the future to hopefully avoid the afternoon thunderstorms.

We took the Tungsten Loop. Skipped the Kinnikinic Look because of the thunderstorm. 

A Hike in the Meadow - Prairie Vista loop at Flatirons Vista

We stopped at a great local bookstore while in Estes Park the previous weekend and picked up a little guidebook called Best Easy Day Hikes Boulder. And although my main obsession is birds, and our wonderful friends, the Alexanders, had already equipped me with a Colorado Birding book, I picked up a pocket guidebook on Rocky Mountain wildflowers.

With the plethora of trail choices in and around Boulder, we were completely overwhelmed with what trails to explore first, and which ones would be short & easy enough for a four year old, but still interesting for the grown ups. We figured we would just work our way through this book and it would give us a good introduction to a wide variety of trails in the Boulder area.

The first one we decided to try was south of town at a trailhead called Flatirons Vista. We hadn't registered our car in Boulder yet, so we had to pay the fee at the trailhead. If your car is not registered in Boulder County, there are several trailheads that you must pay to use. You can get an annual pass as well. More info on fees here.

Now, we are not the family to go hiking with if you are going hiking for a cardio workout, or to cover a lot of ground. Obviously, we have a four year old, who, coupled with short legs, happens to be right at eye level with all sorts of interesting things to investigate. We also have a moseying Mama (me!) who must stop and identify a new wildflower, scan the horizon for any birds resting on the tops of grasses or hiding in a tree, or have a discussion about how dragonflies existed in the time of the dinosaurs with Lucia. Needless to say, we spent quite a bit of time on that boardwalk through the meadow. It was a wonderful introduction to the unique-ness of the Front Range!

Chicory flower - I guess it is considered a weed and not a wildflower, but I still think it's beautiful!

Wildflower book in action. It's spiral bound with big pictures, great for kids and adults!

Flowering cacti - I think Prickly Pear,  now that's something you won't see in Maryland.

The trail takes you through this beautiful expanse of meadow, bursting with flowers, dragonflies and birdsong.

When you get to the junction near the pond the trail transitions from the boardwalk to a dirt trail (and note that mountain bikers are allowed to share these trails). We did see someone using a stroller though since it is relatively flat.

Magnifying glasses are a great thing to bring along to help with getting a close up look at bugs and flowers. This one just stays in our hiking backpack, and Lucia will be on the trail, see something interesting, and come running over, "Mommy! I need my magnifying glass!"

So many interesting textures, colors, sizes, shapes when it comes to plants!

Mountain Harebell/Bellflower, commonly seen in foothill meadows & dry open areas June-Sept.

Not sure what this one is.

I think this is an Aspen Sunflower, but don't quote me on that.

Again, ID TBD

We made it around the smaller Prairie Vista loop (about 2 miles) before the thunderclouds started closing in on us. There is the larger Flatirons Vista loop which could turn into about 3.5 miles for you. And Flatirons Vista North connects with the Dowdy Draw trails, which is where it looked like most of the mountain bikers were coming from.

Click map to take you to the details page on Flatirons Vista.

Overall this was a beautiful hike with lots of interesting things for the kiddo, especially with the wildflowers in bloom. Not much in terms of elevation, so its an easy hike as well.

Other wildflowers observed but not photographed:

Trailing Daisy
Yarrow
Tall Coneflower
Butter & Eggs (Lucia's favorite)

Birds
Western Meadowlark
Barn Swallows
Chipping Sparrow
Blue Grosbeak (Male & Female)

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Thanks to a very generous and thoughtful going away gift from Paul's lab, we received a family membership to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It was one of the first things we checked out once we got settled. It did not disappoint. Here are a few photos from our first trip, and we've already been back a second time. 

From the special exhibit on mythical creatures

The dinosaurs were an especially big hit with Lucia:

Great hands-on stuff for kids in the Discovery Zone, as well as throughout other exhibits as well.

She can't possibly be embarrassed by us already?!

Needless to say, we all had a great time. Lucia also had her first movie theater experience in the IMAX, which she loved. There was no way we could see all the exhibits in one trip, hence the second trip already!

Road trip into our new backyard...the Rocky Mountains.

After my Dad and Julia left we continued to do a lot of unpacking and organizing. It's hard to feel motivated to be settled when you don't know how long you will be living somewhere. 

Paul had a couple of weeks before he started work and so we tried to make the most of our time by getting out and exploring. These are a couple photos from our first trip "up to the mountains." We stopped in Nederland, the first town you get to after going up Boulder Canyon. We found a sandwich shop with good Yelp Reviews and a view of the creek and talked with the person at their local visitor center who gave us a bunch of maps and brochures. Then we loaded back up into the car and hit the highway north towards Estes Park. 

My two favorite people.

Mountain peeking out!

Highway 72 (which turns into Hwy 7) is knows as the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. It takes you right into the mountains, the continental divide and you really feel like you are driving at the edge of the world. It's really beautiful, but that's an understatement. And of course I like to geek out about the history of the area. I feel like I barely scratched the surface of Chesapeake Bay history when we lived there, and now I am jumping forward 100 years to the pioneers and gold mining. So many interesting stories to learn.

We found our way into Estes Park, which is sort of the gateway into Rocky Mountain National Park. We didn't go into RMNP, but parked and walked around Estes Park, had some ice cream, bought a book on Colorado wildflowers, then took the faster freeway route back to Boulder.

Ice cream break in Estes Park 

Driving through the mountains you see the endless possibilities for exploration and we are so excited to get out there and experience it!

Welcome to Boulder!

We made it! It was almost surreal to wake up in our hotel and know we were just a few short miles from our new home. We were excited and nervous and ready to get on with the unpacking. Thankfully my Dad and Julia had offered to meet us in Boulder and help unpack. I CANNOT imagine doing all of it without them, looking back now.

We arrived at the apartment complex to try and figure out where our unit was and where we could park the truck to unload. Paul left Lucia and I to play on the playground while he went to go sign the lease and get the key.

Pretty cool having a playground right out our door! Lucia approves.

We got the keys, my Dad and Julia arrived, and we got right to work. The apartment is spartan but clean and not as run down as we were preparing ourselves for, so in that regard we felt pleasantly surprised. It has new laminate faux wood floors in the main living/kitchen areas and industrial-grade carpet in the bedrooms.

Living Room w/ built in desk space

The kitchen is not a foodie's dream, but we'll make it work.

Lucia's bedroom. It is nice to have real closets and storage space. 

From Lucia's room looking into the "middle" bedroom which is my office/Lucia's playroom

Overwhelmed!

Unpacking in process

Obviously not a lot of photos from actual move-in day. It was all hands on deck all day long until the truck was empty. In short: it was hot, we had to go up and down stairs, we are at 5,300 elevation and we were exhausted and sweaty.

We spent the following day unpacking, making trips to Home Depot and Target. On day three we decided we all deserved to get out and explore. I mean, the mountains are practically on top of us, how could we not? Dad and Julia had already scoped out the trails at Chautauqua, so that's where we went. There is a huge network of Boulder Open Space trails that start at Chautauqua and take up right up and all around the iconic Flatirons. You start out going uphill through a meadow and the trails eventually take you into the forest. You can wind your way any which direction you choose to make your hike as long or short as you want. We saw lots of trail runners too. And judging from the jam packed parking lot, this is a very popular destination. We did a relatively short loop but you still get the amazing views and thigh workout. We took the Bluebell Road, a nice wide gravel/dirt road up along the meadow and looped back down the McClintock trail.

The City of Boulder preserves and manages 45,000 acres of land and 145 miles of trails. More about Open Space & Mountain Parks here.

The Flatirons!

Thanks for meeting us in Boulder and helping unpack Grandpa Rich & Grandma Julia!