Photos: Spring Blizzard in Colorado

We got about 20 or so inches of new, wet spring snow on Tuesday night. These pictures were taken on Wednesday afternoon. The temperatures soared up to 50 degrees F, but it felt warmer since the Colorado sun at a mile high in elevation on a cloudless day with no wind feels nice and hot! 

 Peeking through a snow cave

Outside in shirt sleeves!

Spring is just around the corner

Spring snow is the best kind for making snowmen.

Nature's beauty

He's supposed to be shoveling the driveway.

Colorado sun melts snow quickly

It happened again

Another school shooting in Colorado. Praise God no one was killed this time.

Hiking Jurassic Park

Geologic point of interest on the south side of I-70.

We have some amazing hiking trails right in our backyard here in the Denver area. Yesterday we went on three hikes: two short hikes and a longer hike. The two short hikes were along either side of Interstate 70, to step back in time and see the geologic formations that were unearthed when they blasted through a hill in order to connect the interstate highway system in 1971. The other hike was a 4.2 mile loop near Red Rocks amphitheater. All three hikes are literally minutes from our home.

Close-up view of the layering.

First we stopped at a geologic point of interest on the south side of I-70 as it enters the mountains west of Denver. The last time my husband and I had been there was about 15 years ago, before any of our young hiking companions were born. We were excited to show them the signboards which explained the different colors of layers of rock that had been uncovered when road crews blasted through this chunk of mountain when they were finishing building I-70.

We were amazed at the amount of erosion that had occurred since that time. All the sign boards were gone and large rocks had fallen into the paved path. The guard rail had warning signs about not getting too close and in many places the path was covered by sand, loose sandstone and shale. Nevertheless, we could see the cut-out on the north side of I-70 and that there were still signboards on that side. We decided to visit that side at the end of our hike. A rock on the trail.

White sand from erosion on the trail.

We kept a close eye on the weather because the beautiful blue sky of the morning was quickly filling with clouds as the afternoon came. Honestly, I didn't think we'd be able to complete our planned 4.2 mile loop with our youngest guy. He's not a really strong hiker and I wasn't about to carry a 7 year-old (no matter how small he might be!)

The Red Rocks trail head.

We found the trail head near a parking lot just before the amphitheater at Red Rocks. If you haven't heard about the natural amphitheater at Red Rocks, it is a world-famous concert venue. The Beatles played here. And the Fray played a sold-out concert here. Yesterday, another sold-out concert was preparing for an evening performance.

Side view of the amphitheater from the trail.

The scenery was gorgeous! Sometimes we get so busy with our lives that we forget to look up at the stars in the night sky, or simply look around us. This hike is so close to our home, but the landscape is so amazingly different and beautiful that I couldn't stop taking pictures and exclaiming, "Oh! Look at that rock!"

Dung beetle?

There were still wildflowers blooming, and what I think must be a dung beetle, though I haven't taken the time to look it up yet. But this little fella was crawling around a pile of poo and I couldn't resist taking his picture.

Looking down on our van.

Soon the path began to climb rather steeply. Our brave hikers kept up a good pace and once we got to the top of the ridge we knew we had to keep going. The sky was darkening and a brisk wind came up, but the view from the top was stunning.

Buckley AFB "golf balls" in the distance.

From the top of the trail we could see the cut-out on I-70.

The path down was called the Morrison Slide Trail, but fortunately we didn't encounter any rock slides. There were a few tricky bits that made us happy to have our walking sticks with us!

We made it down the mountain and to our van just as it began to sprinkle lightly, but we were enthusiastic about seeing the other side of I-70 because we felt very brave and strong for having finished such a hike with our three young companions (and dog).

Happy hikers!

The north side of I-70.

The drive to the other geologic point of interest was very short...probably less than 10 minutes. When we got out of the van we were met by very strong gusty winds, which made the boys giggle and squeal with delight! I held on tightly to small hands because I was a bit concerned that someone might be picked up and tossed onto the highway below. Fortunately, we were able to walk in the wind and we had rain jackets because it was now starting to rain rather steadily.

The signboards are still in place on the north side.

The signboards were in place, which described in great detail the both the age and the composition of the rocks we were looking at. These rocks were formed over a period of about 45 million years...they represented the time period from 140 million to 95 million years ago, which spans the end of the Jurassic period and the beginnings of the Cretaceous period.

The formations we saw are part of the Morrison Formation, which includes nearby Dinosaur Ridge, where you can see actual dinosaur footprints imbedded in the rock along the roadway.

Cold and tired but happy.

It's a good thing we went on our hike yesterday. Today, on the last day of summer, there is snow in the foothills!

A Pilgrimage for Mary in May

Six of us went on a walking pilgrimage last Friday of Memorial Day weekend. We decided to walk from Arvada to downtown Denver, a distance of a little over 8 miles. We parked at a commuter lot in Arvada so that we could take the RTD home again. Our plan was to leave Arvada early enough so that we could make it to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in time for noon Mass. Unfortunately, we left about an hour after we had intended to leave, so we were compelled to begin our hike with a brisk walking pace.


We began on urban sidewalks, passing by quaint houses with lovely gardens.
We crossed over Wadsworth Boulevard on the new Grandeview overpass.

Walking along Grandview Avenue in Arvada.
Walking enables you to see things you wouldn't normally see from a car. The eldest son immediately took the lead and frequently had to wait for his slower companions.

The urban setting quickly gave way to the Ralston Creek bike trail, where we enjoyed nature just a stone's throw from the sounds of highways.
Ralston Creek is flowing rather high today.


Signs of industry just off the trail.
So green and lush, it's hard to believe we're in Colorado!


The trail passes under a railroad bridge.

We enjoyed seeing nature and walking in the cool morning.
We had a bit of a shock when we saw Nessie, popping up her head to see who was invading her turf.

Much to our relief, it wasn't the Loch Ness Monster after all.


A bit of Arvada's Gold Rush history. This is located at Gold Strike Park, where there is a lovely bridge and the Ralston Creek Trail connects to the Clear Creek Trail. This is also the site of the first documented gold strike in Colorado in 1850.
The first of four beautiful pedestrian bridges.

We've left the Ralston Creek trail and we're now on the Clear Creek trail.
The overpass for I-76.

Clear Creek is especially high today.



After following the bike path under I-76 and seeing examples of local artisans, we once again left the trail for Tennyson Street, which took us past lovely houses and a great view of Lakeside Amusement Park.

One-half mile to Tennyson Street.
Lovely view of Lakeside Amusement Park.


Couldn't resist snapping a pick of St. Clair's.
Tennyson passes under I-70 and we followed it to 46th Avenue, which is a lovely, wide and tree-lined street for most of the nearly 2 miles we spent on it. As we neared the city, we began to see more Italian and Mexican restaurants. We spotted more than a few tamale places to which we'd like to return.
Some of our group were lagging behind.
While others were leading the charge.
Who decided to paint the funeral home?
Thanks for waiting, guys!

The first sighting of downtown. We're a bit over half-way there!

We're getting closer! Union Station can be seen above the end of the street.
Are we there yet? I'm getting hungry!
We'll have to go back to this place, for sure! But it was getting on towards 11:30 and we had to get to noon Mass. Crossing the pedestrian bridge over I-25. Feel the rumble! My husband gave me a kiss as I was looking at the traffic and a trucker blew his horn as he passed underneath. I nearly jumped out of my socks.
Ever onward. Despite what some critics have said, I think this is a beautiful bridge and it was incredible to walk across. But on the other side we found...
A Christmas tree made out of kidney beans? Some people love it; some people hate it. Here's a video of the artist talking about this work. Straight from the horse"s mouth.

Yours truly.

The Platte.
The next bridge we crossed was this pretty little bridge which crosses the Platte River. Further down, you can see yet another bridge, (the tall white mast) which crosses the train tracks near Union Station and the 16th Street Mall.
We decided to hitch a ride on the free Mall Ride to get to the end and closer to our final destination of the cathedral. The shuttle covered about 1 1/2 miles in ten minutes, helping us cover the final distance in a shorter amount of time in order to get to Mass on time.

The FREE Mall Ride!





The shuttle dropped us off near the state capitol building with it's gold-leaf covered dome. It was just a short walk up capitol hill to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass during World Youth Day 1993.
A new statue commemorating JPII's visit to the cathedral.


Schedule of Masses.
This statue of Mary's Assumption is on the east side of the cathedral.
The interior of the cathedral.

Finally, here's a shot I took last winter when our homeschool group had a tour of the capitol and we were able to climb up into the dome. You can see the cathedral quite well from up there.

After Mass and visiting with a friend,* we walked back down 16th Street Mall to look for a suitable place to celebrate our great achievement. We dined at Rock Bottom Brewery, Giovanni and I had their beer on tap, while the kids enjoyed their home-made root beer. The meal was scrumptious and worth every mile (8.5) we walked.

After that fine repast, we walked a couple of blocks to find our bus ready to leave for Arvada. It was a very lovely and enjoyable pilgrimage for Our Lady!

*Funny and true story, and one I hope a dear reader will be able to solve: Our friend was telling us that she spent last Christmastide in Cambridge, England, visiting her son, who is a fellow at Cambridge. While there, she went to a parish church, where she waited in line for confession one afternoon. She took up a conversation with a fellow penitent, who, upon hearing her accent, asked her where she was from. "Denver," she replied.

"Oh, I know someone from Denver," said the penitent.

"Oh, really?" said my friend, thinking to herself that Denver is a pretty large city.

"Yes," she said, and she proceeded to relay our family name to our friend.

Just curious: anyone out there been to confession in Cambridge lately?