MyShadowProductions #54 - Day Trip #13 - Sanitas Valley Trail - Boulder

Hello again.

This trip was a spur of the moment decision and Google maps helped me spot a hike very near Boulder that looked interesting.

The name alone was a little interesting, I was thinking what if “sanitas” meant “sanity” in Spanish, wouldn’t that be a cool place for a Sanity Walk? But, it doesn’t, it means Health so I did a Sanity Walk on Health Valley Trail :)

It was a very hot day and it would have been better if I would have started earlier, but I didn’t.

Left Denver around 10:30 am on the Flatiron Flyer (FF1) bus from Union Station. Arrived at Downtown Boulder Station around 11:30 am and walked to the Sanitas Valley Trailhead.

I hiked the Sanitas Valley Trail and the East Ridge Trail, noon to about 2:30 pm.

The Valley Trail is a nice and wide gravel trail ( I think it would be beautiful during or after a snow, and walkable). The East Ridge Trail is fairly steep and very rocky. I felt it was hard to distinguish the trail in some spots and that is the reason I did not reach the summit of Mount Sanitas (I was pretty worn out too). :)

Here is a little history of the area:

These are my movie/videos from my photos:

(The music in the first one is called “Hot Heat”, sounded appropriate, looked for “Cold Heat” just to be contrary but didn’t see a song like that :))

Any geologists out there, has to be at least one? :) I am curious about the rock type below. There are a lot of similar sized holes on the surface? Bonus points for any information.

Saw this guy, in the photo below, as I was walking back to my apartment down the 16th Street Mall. Looks like he had a very hard day (hope it’s not his last day) and that wheelbarrow looked so inviting for a siesta:

Glad he didn’t wake up while I was taking the photo!

                Well, until next time, have a great adventure!

MyShadowProductions #53 - Sanity Walk - Denver West Business Park

Hello everyone! (Trying a new font)

Whenever I am in the area, Denver West Business Park is a pretty nice place for a Sanity Walk. Spread over 83 acres are 20 plus large office buildings, sand volleyball pits, 5 miles of walkways, statues, murals, water features and geese.

There were no MyShadow photos today, too many high clouds and haze/smoke from the wildfires out west. I did get a window reflection though, if you watch closely.

Here are a few movie/videos from my photos:

Tonight I found a few areas that I missed with photos and also the sun was out, so you know who made an appearance watching over the volleyball game.

Here is an additional movie/video with no extra charge :)

Have a great weekend!

MyShadowProductions #52 - Day Trip #12 - Denver to Estes Park

Happy July!!

First, a little “housekeeping”. Sometime in July the service (Feedburner) that sends emails to you (Followers of my Blog) will stop doing so. This means that I will need to find an alternate service to do this through Blogger. I know this is very scary (lol), but, about all you can do is PRAY for a calm outcome. It looks like it might be a challenge from the searching I have been doing and I might even need to learn a little “Coding” (yes, at my age, HELP :) I will keep you updated :) I have already changed the “to Follow by Email” widget which you have probably noticed if you are viewing on iPad or laptop.

Anyway, the BUSTANG bus service from Denver Union Station to Estes Park Visitor’s Center started up again this past weekend (Saturdays and Sundays) and will go through September. Click here for more information on the trips.

Estes Park is definitely a tourist area, both for locals (locos?) and travelers alike!

I went via BUSTANG in September of 2019 when they were running exploratory routes. They found the trips to be very popular but due to COVID-19 they skipped 2020. It was good news to see the service expand to three months and start in July of 2021.

On my trip in 2019, I arrived at the Estes Park Visitor’s Center and then took the Free Shuttle to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), transferred to another Free Shuttle inside the Park and went to the Bear Lake Trailhead. I hiked to Bear Lake and Mills Lake. The following is a movie/video of what I saw:

This trip I left Union Station on the 7 am bus (There is a second departure at 8 am) and arrived at the Estes Park Visitor’s Center at 9 am. Round trip cost is $10!!! :) Return buses leave at 3 and 5 pm each day.

My only plan was that I would explore the Town of Estes Park and Lake Estes (other options - Horseback riding, Canoeing, 9 Hole Golf, Rafting, hike to other lakes in RMNP and Aerial Tramway will have to wait for another day).

Here are a few movie/videos from my July 4, 2021 visit:

For lunch I ate at The Grubsteak and ordered off of their Specials menu. I thought “when in Rome” so I ordered broiled trout. It was called Ruby Red Trout and by Google I learn that it is part of the salmon family, which is what I thought by the taste as I was eating. I don’t know if I have had trout before?? It may or may not be trout from Colorado though, I didn’t think to ask:

It was very good :)

You very astute MyShadow aficionados (raise your hands) might have noticed in the MyShadow photo that I am sporting a new hat. You are right, after 3 years of sun and maybe one too many yearly washings, it was time, as evidenced by the photo below :)

Be honest, did you “zoom in” to see what the little white note said? 

In the movie/videos you may have noticed that I visited the grounds of The Stanley Hotel. Famous for several reasons including past Paranormal Activity and the movies The Shining and Dumb and Dumber.

Click here for The Stanley Hotel website. The website has a very good video that shows everything about the place, my photos just scratch the surface!!

I saw a sign or two that said Presidential Cottage but didn’t see Joe or Donald or Barack or George or Bill or Jimmy. Did a brief search and couldn’t find out the last President to stay there.

If you are in Denver and want to smell CHLORINE, go downwind of the fountains at Union Station!!

Have a great week!!