Castlewood Canyon State Park 4-23-2024
Had the day off from work so I went to Castlewood Canyon State Park. This may be the one outdoor place that I know better than any other. Like the back of my hand you could say. Growing up it was always the closest state park, so I would come here with family, school, and later with friends or just by myself.
This time I went by myself and hiked around the rim of the canyon, a round trip hike that takes me roughly 2-3 hours.
There were lots of wildlife and wildflower sightings this entire hike. The rain we have been getting lately is evident in the greenery that has taken over the entire park. Wildflowers I saw included bluebells, Larkspur, arnica, golden pea (or bean, according to iNaturalist taxonomic definitions), strawberries and raspberries, penstemon, cinquefoils, and skullcaps.
The trees in Castlewood Canyon are mostly gymnosperms - Ponderosa pine, juniper, etc. But there are also willows by the creek, cottonwood trees, and in at least on portion of the canyon, a grove of aspen trees.
Animals are also very active in the park right now. In addition to wild turkeys and mule deer, I saw several prairie lizards. Looking back through past observations, it looks like my prairie lizard sightings are all between April and August, although I did see a dead one in Fort Collins in January a few years ago - maybe came above ground too early and froze to death?
Lots and lots of birds as well. I saw many spotted towhees (they flew away too fast for me to get any good pictures), turkey vultures, and ravens. And a gnatcatcher, I think. At least that's what the audio recording leads me and another iNatter to believe.
I might start recording all my visits to Castlewood Canyon SP in journal posts so that I can start building a journal record of the plants and animals I see throughout the year and over many years. And also things like how green the park appears to be throughout the year, and how the water level in Cherry Creek looks.
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