The last time I hiked Red Rocks Trail, I started at the Matthews/Winters Park trailhead. But on Monday I wanted to focus more on Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the world's coolest natural outdoor amphitheatre - except for maybe that floating movie theatre in Thailand. So...
Colorado
HIKING GEM LAKE – Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, Colorado
Estes Park, Colorado is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, and you don't even have to pass through the official park entrance to reach many a lovely hike. Gem Lake is an easy-ish uphill walk of about 3.4 miles round trip, with rewarding views. Boulders and...
HIKING BARR LAKE WILDLIFE REFUGE: Easy Walk to a Wealth of Animals
If you like easier hikes, this is a good summer to watch my Colorado hiking videos. In January, I had surgery to remove part of a herniated disc that put pressure on my spine, but not before it damaged the nerves in my left foot. I expect to get my strength back, but...
TEEN MOM PROM – Is it a Reward, a Learning Opportunity, or Something More?
On Monday, a Denver Post columnist wrote an article about this spring’s first-ever prom at Florence Crittenton High School for teen mothers, and the article elicited negative comments that so upset me that at first I was at a loss for words. I’ve been working on a...
HIKING HERMAN GULCH TO THE CITADEL – A Thirteener Just Off Colorado’s I-70
I prefer hiking Colorado's thirteeners (13,000-foot-peaks) to its fourteeners, because they're less crowded with peak baggers, yet equally beautiful and often just as challenging. The Herman Gulch trail to The Citadel kicked my butt, and I loved every moment. I was...
HIKING BRIDAL VEIL FALLS – Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, Colorado
Do you have a thing for waterfalls? If you've read my memoir, you know that my favorite hikes embrace "many waters and signs of water." Bridal Veil Falls fits that description, and it's as romantic a sight as the name promises. It's more like many veils, trailing one...
HIKING MOUNT SANITAS – Boulder, Colorado Open Space & Mountain Parks
When I don't have time for a long drive or stamina for an all-day hike, but I still want to get away somewhere pretty and enjoy a little workout, I almost always end up on a trail in Boulder. The three-mile Mount Sanitas Loop is close to downtown, but its lovely views...
HIKING TO HEART LAKE: James Peak Wilderness, near Rollinsville, Colorado
A couple of weeks ago, my husband Dale and I went on my favorite Colorado hike. It's an 8.4 mile roundtrip up the South Boulder Creek Trail to the creek's headwaters at Rogers Pass Lake, and then on over a small saddle to Heart Lake. Thanks to record snowfall this...
JUST AROUND THE CORNER: A Secret Neighborhood Monastery – by Guest Trekker Sheila Phelan Wright
No Camino de Santiago, strolling the porticoes in Bologna or walking the Hampstead heath or trails in England for me this year. Healing from surgery, I’m close to home, putting one foot in front of another, finding adventures in Denver. And following the advice and...
WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? – When Writers Go to Town
Perhaps you’ve heard there are only two stories: 1) someone goes on a journey, or 2) a stranger comes to town. So, there’s really only one story, because “a stranger comes to town” is the flip side of “someone goes on a journey.” As a traveler and writer, I appreciate...