On our way south to Colorado Springs to meet up with my dad and Lynn, we took a short stroll around Lily Lake on the southern end of Rocky Mountain National Park. We saw more birds and small mammals here than on any other trail in the park… including this chipmunk who happily posed for us.

I was mostly bummed about all the snow because it meant it was too early for wildflowers. However! We did find some blue pasqueflowers on the southern side of Lily Lake just coming up. Imagine a fuzzy crocus. :)

We finished the southern end of the Peak-to-Peak highway which included a drive through Blackhawk, a town (seemingly) consisting entirely of casinos.

We took a short detour to Evergreen, CO to visit Creekside Cellars. The red wine was passable, but overpriced, and the white was, well, not really drinkable according to Eric.

Once in Colorado Springs we headed to North Cheyenne Cañon Park to see Helen Hunt Falls and Silver Cascade Falls.

Helen Hunt Falls is adjacent to the parking area, so the place was pretty crowded. It was next to impossible to get a shot of the falls without people posing on the bridge or even sitting in the creek above the falls. Silver Cascade Falls is not worth the uphill climb to see it, although you do pass this lovely cascade on the way. Our shot was taken from an overlook further up the road.

The drive out of the park with the sun behind us was beautiful; the light was really making the red rocks stand out.