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mistressofmuses) wrote2025-08-04 08:43 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-08-04 08:43 pm
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Tuesday, July 29: Centennial Cone Open Space Park
Last Tuesday, we decided to pick a park we hadn't been to before to check out. Alex read the pages for a few different county open space parks, and we picked Centennial Cone. It's a bit of a ways up one of the canyons, and definitely a pretty high elevation to start at!
It's a lovely view from up there!
Glanced over at the side of the trail and this little guy was just sitting right there! Super vibrant markings, much more so than the similar lizards I'm more used to seeing.
Clouds dipping below the top of the mountain.
Unfortunately, literally about five minutes into the hike we heard thunder. Checking the radar, we were right in the path of the *one* tiny little thunderstorm that popped up over the mountains. *Sigh.*
I think Alex may have been mildly annoyed that I kept stopping anyway (despite the thunder) to take pictures of things, but I can't help myself, lol.
Neat beetle! And some cute little succulent-type plants growing in the rocks.
Lovely mariposa lily!
I just wanted a picture of the paintbrush and didn't even notice the little insect! Probably a katydid or tree cricket nymph of some type? And looks like a second bug of some kind up around the right side, but can't see it well enough to know what kind.
I really wish this had actually been clear, but a cute little bumblebee and a cute little cactus!
I do really like the little barrel cacti.
More paintbrush!
It did start to rain a bit more as we headed into a treed area. It was a bit of a relief, as it cooled it down a bit. This day was *extremely* humid for Colorado. I think I saw that we tied a record dewpoint in Denver.
Though then of course because it was so humid, after the rain dampened everything, we were just wet and sticky the whole time, haha.
Ant lion burrows! :D
Little baby prickly pears!
A robber fly.
I wish I'd had a chance to really get this shot how I wanted it, but the thunder was getting a bit insistent for a while. But I liked the cactus at the edge of the rocks, with the mountains in the background.
From up here you could see the river and the road down below.
The rain mostly lightened up after a while, and the thunder got a bit less threatening. Luckily! For a while it just kept strengthening and it looked like it was headed right for us, ha.
So perfectly spherical!
Looks like someone was marking territory on the tree! (Scrape, scrape.)
One (1) distant deer.
A different neat beetle.
And a big velvet ant.
The rain started up again just a couple minutes after we made it back to the car, so our timing was pretty good!
We ended up taking a pretty long scenic detour in order to avoid some pretty extensive roadwork along the highway we came up.
It was a nice day out! The park is a bit distant for us to likely come to often, but I'd enjoy coming back on a day that had less threat from the weather, just so I could take my time looking at stuff a bit more.
It's a lovely view from up there!
Glanced over at the side of the trail and this little guy was just sitting right there! Super vibrant markings, much more so than the similar lizards I'm more used to seeing.
17 more pictures:
Clouds dipping below the top of the mountain.
Unfortunately, literally about five minutes into the hike we heard thunder. Checking the radar, we were right in the path of the *one* tiny little thunderstorm that popped up over the mountains. *Sigh.*
I think Alex may have been mildly annoyed that I kept stopping anyway (despite the thunder) to take pictures of things, but I can't help myself, lol.
Neat beetle! And some cute little succulent-type plants growing in the rocks.
Lovely mariposa lily!
I just wanted a picture of the paintbrush and didn't even notice the little insect! Probably a katydid or tree cricket nymph of some type? And looks like a second bug of some kind up around the right side, but can't see it well enough to know what kind.
I really wish this had actually been clear, but a cute little bumblebee and a cute little cactus!
I do really like the little barrel cacti.
More paintbrush!
It did start to rain a bit more as we headed into a treed area. It was a bit of a relief, as it cooled it down a bit. This day was *extremely* humid for Colorado. I think I saw that we tied a record dewpoint in Denver.
Though then of course because it was so humid, after the rain dampened everything, we were just wet and sticky the whole time, haha.
Ant lion burrows! :D
Little baby prickly pears!
A robber fly.
I wish I'd had a chance to really get this shot how I wanted it, but the thunder was getting a bit insistent for a while. But I liked the cactus at the edge of the rocks, with the mountains in the background.
From up here you could see the river and the road down below.
The rain mostly lightened up after a while, and the thunder got a bit less threatening. Luckily! For a while it just kept strengthening and it looked like it was headed right for us, ha.
So perfectly spherical!
Looks like someone was marking territory on the tree! (Scrape, scrape.)
One (1) distant deer.
A different neat beetle.
And a big velvet ant.
The rain started up again just a couple minutes after we made it back to the car, so our timing was pretty good!
We ended up taking a pretty long scenic detour in order to avoid some pretty extensive roadwork along the highway we came up.
It was a nice day out! The park is a bit distant for us to likely come to often, but I'd enjoy coming back on a day that had less threat from the weather, just so I could take my time looking at stuff a bit more.
Thoughts
Yeah, most lizards blend in more.
>> Ant lion burrows! :D <<
Wow! I've never seen them in the wild, only pictures. Such fierce little things.
Re: Thoughts
Ant lions are so cool! I was delighted to get to see a bunch of burrows - I don't always see them every year.
Re: Thoughts
Ah, that would make more sense. I've often been amazed how a bright yellow and black goldfinch can vanish in summer foliage.
>> Ant lions are so cool! I was delighted to get to see a bunch of burrows - I don't always see them every year.<<
*envy*
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It was nice to go somewhere we hadn't been yet. We tend to find places we do enjoy and then just keep going to those... which is nice, but it's good to try and find new favorites, too!
The rain just felt silly. We were seriously just right under the *only* little storm that bubbled up!
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The spherical cactus was so perfect!
It was nice to be somewhere we hadn't gone before. As much as I like our old favorite spots, it's nice to find something new, too.
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It was a really pretty area, though. (Most of the trail goes in to a valley, and the parts that wrap back around one of the mountains at least have a good buffer between the trail and "down."
The thunderstorm felt so insulting! It was seriously the *only* little one that bubbled up anywhere even close, and it of course came right for us! At least it never got too bad (even if completing the hike in damp clothes and with wet hair wasn't the most fun).