Colorado is one of my favorite places in the world. Its natural beauty never disappoints and it varies widely, from pine-covered forests to barren, tree-less swaths. The colors also vary widely, with amazing shades of green, browns, corals, beige, blues, and even gold.
For our first Fort Collins hike, we choose Horsetooth Falls and Horsetooth Rock trails. It was about a 4-mile moderate difficulty hike that took us close to 2 hours through a variety of terrains.
While the trail started out rocky and “dry” (without a lot of tree cover), it quickly became lush and gorgeous.
We saw all manner of birds, insects, butterflies, wildflowers and even a buck! Who wasn’t fazed or impressed by us and just kept going about his business.
For our 2nd hike, we choose Overlook Trail via Foothills Trail. After the previous hike, we were tired but wanted a quick and easy trail. This trail was very different than the previous one, because it was arid without much tree cover and much to our delight, full of prairie dogs!
They chittered and made other high-pitch sounds at us, mad about the interruption. We did see some signs, right before we started the trail, about rattlesnakes, but luckily we didn’t see any. I love wildlife, and that includes snakes, but not on the trail we’re on, thank you very much. I am still scarred after watching the show “Meerkat Manor” only to see the main meerkat die a terrible death when a snake went into the burrow.
The final path, on our last day in Fort Collins, took us to a beautiful lake, full of wetlands, ponds, and even a river. We did this trail right before packing up and heading to Wyoming. Our trip to Grand Teton has a stop in a place called Lander, WY. I’m crossing my fingers everything in the RV holds up!
