Showing posts with label Littleton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Littleton. Show all posts

Sunday, July 26, 2026

The Enjoyment of Hiking On Our Local Colorado Trails


 


Our neighborhood has many miles of local trails. Some were built and are maintained by our HOA Master Association and therefore are private for residents only, and some are our county's open space parks available to all.


This is a beautiful world, and all who go out under the open sky will feel the gentle, kindly influence of nature and hear her good tidings." ~ Enos Mills

Some of the trails are concrete, some are gravel, and others are dirt. Many are utilized by hikers, bicycle riders, and horseback riders. I am not the fastest hiker going uphill, but slowly and surely, I manage. Taking photos helps me get a bit of rest before I go on.


"For how many years did I wander slowly...what wonders and glory I could have missed had I ever been in a hurry! ~ Mary Oliver



" Keep close to Nature's heart...
and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."
~ Johm Muir


The trails pass red rock formations and meadows, and some gain a thousand feet of elevation beyond our area's average 6,000 feet (1828 Meters) elevation.

Over the years, my husband and I have walked the trails alone, with each other, our children, and with friends.


"The battle for conservation will go on endlessly.  It is part of the universal battle between right and wrong." 
~John Muir


I have photographed hundreds of wildflowers along the trails...these were just a few!


"I hope you are blessed with a heart like a wildflower
Strong enough to rise again after being trampled upon. tough enough to weather the worst of summer storms, and able to grow and flourish, even in the most broken places."
~ Nikita Gill



We have walked in all kinds of weather and all the seasons...in spring and summer...


...in Autumn...

...and in winter.


"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again." 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson




“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
~ John Muir



On days we can't walk, and sadly, that has been many days because of high summer heat and poor air quality due to wildfires in our state this summer, my husband and I go to our nearby community gym. 
It's small, but it is usually not crowded, and it has enough machines to choose from to do an hour workout. I like that the gym bicycles can be programmed to show rides through different national parks and scenic rides all around the world!



Even the twin fawns that were born in our backyard in June have been feeling this summer's excessive heat. They have been seeking out the shade of our trees for coolness. It has been fun watching them grow!

Where do you like to walk where you live? 
How has the weather been where you live this season? 


I can also be found on





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Sunday, May 31, 2026

Waterton Canyon and the beginning of the 567 Mile Long Colorado Trail




Waterton Canyon in Littleton, Colorado, is a well-maintained 12.4-mile round-trip trail along the South Platte River for hikers, bikers, fishermen, and horseback riders, and ends at the Strontia Springs Reservoir and Dam. It is also a road for Denver Water employees to access the canyon facilities and the Strontia Springs Reservoir. 



The canyon is home to mule deer, bighorn sheep, bears, rattlesnakes, and more than 40 species of birds. No dogs, leashed or off, are allowed on the trail to protect the bighorn sheep.



Please click on the photo above to enlarge the trail map of Waterton Canyon.




The 567-mile-long Colorado Trail #1776 (Segment 1) begins at Waterton Canyon and ends in SW Colorado near Durango, Colorado.
The Colorado Trail website states: "Mile for mile, the most beautiful trail in America… built and maintained by the volunteers of The Colorado Trail Foundation.
Since its completion more than 35 years ago (Trail History), the Colorado Trail has become known as one of the premier long-distance trails in the country, lauded by hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, and horse riders from around the world. The CT comprises 567 miles of trail between Denver and Durango, and it passes through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Colorado Rockies. Users traveling end to end encounter the high mountain lakes and towering peaks of six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges as they climb nearly 90,000 vertical feet. The average elevation of the Trail is 10,300 feet, topping out at 13,271 feet just below 13,334-foot Coney Summit in southwest Colorado.

You can watch a short five-minute video with photos of the trail on this YouTube link,

You can also watch a 27-minute PBS Colorado Experience Show on this YouTube link about how the Colorado Trail was built and maintained by volunteers.


Click on to enlarge


As my husband and I began a short hike along the Waterton Canyon Trail, we passed this water station at the beginning, which told us there would be no further drinking water along the trail. 


It was early morning, and we saw bicycle riders. backpacker hikers and people ready to go fishing in the river. 
There are 16 different kinds of fish in the river!


The Waterton Canyon Trail is a wide, compact dirt trail and fairly flat for the first few miles.


Please click on to enlarge

We stopped to read this placard. 

Information from the Denver Water website:
"In 1902, the Platte Cañon Filtration Plant, later renamed Kassler, was opened at the base of Waterton Canyon by the present-day Chatfield Reservoir. Kassler, which used the English slow-sand filter process, was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River.

Kassler’s underground infiltration galleries were built in 1890, the filter beds completed in 1906, and the reservoir and pump station were built in 1972. A whole town was built around the plant to operate and maintain the facility. At the height of its operation, Kassler delivered more than 50 million gallons per day of treated drinking water to the residents of Denver. It was named a national water landmark in 1979.

By 1985, Kassler ceased operations because it was unable to keep up with demand. Now the buildings and nearby facilities are used for educational purposes."


Please click on to enlarge

At a rest station/picnic area, we saw the placards above.

The first placard tells the story about the middle and late 1870s, when the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad constructed the first railroad through the canyon and through the valley of the North Fork to South Park and eventually to Leadville and Gunnison. The line was initially a narrow gauge and was later acquired by the Colorado and Southern Railway. Service on the line was terminated in 1937.

The second placard tells the story of the Berens family, Leroy and Mary, who had a homestead at this location in 1923 and raised two daughters here.


Soon, we had good views of the South Platte River.

The river water was flowing well!


We saw a wooden bee home for solitary bees along the way....


...and many wildflowers and shrubs...



...many Cottonwood Trees, already shedding their cotton-like seeds...


.
..and even an apple tree in blossom!




We saw a few female Bighorn Sheep...


..a giant ant hill...


..and a very large Bull Snake!


We hiked past the pipeline in Waterton Canyon that feeds water from the South Platte River to Denver Water’s Marston Treatment Plant.


We hiked about three miles, and when we returned to the parking lot, we saw horses being unloaded 
to go horseback riding along the trail. 
What a fun way that must be to see the entire length of the trail!


As we drove towards the highway to go home, the sky along the Platte River looked particularly beautiful with wispy clouds.


The Platte River leads into the Chatfield Reservoir.
The dam and reservoir were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a response to the disastrous flood of the Platte River in 1965. In addition to its primary purpose of flood control, it serves as one of many water supply reservoirs for the city of Denver, Colorado.
You can read a blog post I wrote about a flood that occurred a few years ago at this reservoir on this link. 
Sadly, this year has been a drought year for Colorado, although I read that this reservoir level is doing well, so far. 
We hope for more rain!





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Sunday, May 3, 2026

A Littleton Museum Visit With Friends

 


The Littleton Museum, located at 6028 S. Gallup Street in Littleton, Colorado, is one of the region’s premier cultural destinations and one of the top ten history museums in the United States.. It features two authentic living history farm sites, one representing 1860, and the other 1890, located on the museum's 40 acres. Earlier this year, the Littleton Museum renewed its accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, a prestigious designation held by only 3% of museums in the country, and was the first museum in Colorado to be recognized as an Affiliate of the Smithsonian.
The museum building includes a permanent exhibit focusing on Littleton's history, as well as two rotating galleries.

 


We went on an outing with friends to see the newest history exhibit at the museum, which presented a selection of objects from the museum’s collection of historic artifacts that celebrate both the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.  This exhibit will run to the end of 2026.


Please click the photos above and below to enlarge them for easier viewing of the contents and writing.



As the nation commemorates the semiquincentennial – or 250th – anniversary of its founding throughout 2026, Colorado will be celebrating its 150th anniversary, called the “sesquicentennial.” Because Colorado is the only Centennial State, it is the only state that will observe dual anniversaries with commemorative events year-round.

Please click on the photo collage to enlarge it.


The Littleton Museum's History Gallery had multiple timeline displays in the exhibit that began with evidence of the area's prehistoric days, to the native tribes that lived here, and the Spanish and French explorations of the area, before the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush brought more European settlers west and to what would become Littleton.


According to the Museum website and displays:

"As the fledgling metropolis of Denver City began to grow, the need arose to construct a series of ditches to carry water to farms and businesses without ready access to rivers and creeks in this arid land. Among the engineers hired to lay out this system was young Richard Sullivan Little of New Hampshire.

Surveying in an area several miles south of Denver, Little fell in love with the site of present-day Littleton. Upon filing a home stake and other land claims, Richard brought his wife Angeline from the East in 1862, the dry climate all but curing her asthmatic condition, and began to farm. The Littles joined with several neighbors to build the Rough and Ready Flour Mill in 1867, providing a solid economic base in the community for years to come.

In 1872, the Littles filed a plat to subdivide much of their property into the village of Littleton. When the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached the area in 1871, settlement began at a rapid pace. By the time of Colorado's statehood in 1876, there were schools, churches, a hotel, stores, and many of the other trappings of western settlement. In 1890, the 245 residents voted to incorporate the Town of Littleton."



The museum displays had many interesting period artifacts...

...we spent a few hours reading and learning about Littleton's history and development.


I also enjoyed seeing the beautiful handmade quilts on display...



...this one depicted scenes of an early Littleton





The quilt above, and the one below, were made to celebrate Littleton's Centennial in 1990.




The grounds of the Littleton Museum have two historic farm sites dating from 1890 and 1860.


There are also many farm animals on the grounds.

 
We all enjoyed visiting the 1865 first schoolhouse in Littleton, where a costumed reenactor teacher told us and some schoolchildren who were also visiting the museum on an outing, what going to school was like in that era.


After leaving the museum, we all had a delicious lunch at Romano's Italian Restaurant, which has been a favorite fixture in downtown Littleton since 1967. 
We had this pretty view as we left Littleton to drive West, back toward the Front Range foothills, where our neighborhood is located.

It was the end of a perfect afternoon!




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