Tuesday, June 04, 2024

T-Dub'ing to the State Forest State Park

This morning, once things warmed up at bit (56 degrees), I rode my TW200 on CO Hwy 14 about 25 miles to the State Forest State Park's Moose Visitor Center.

Buckhorn Sheep came by to visit

A view of the campsite from CR 15a

State Forest, yep that's the name of the forest, a bit uninspired perhaps?

The visitor center was pretty small but it did have some stuff to look at:



Barbed Wire Moose

The above moose is supposed to be designed the same size of a record moose.  That hump on it's back its 6 feet off the ground, I stood by the statue and the hump was a couple of inches taller than me!

The info pamphlet from the visitor center recommended cruising County Road 41 for moose sightings.  So off I went in search of moose.

Alas, no sightings of these magnificent beasts, but some pics of nearby mountain peaks:


I saw and cruised through a couple of large campgrounds, not bad in terms of dispersion and location.  There were few rigs onsite this time of year.

I rode back towards Walden in windy conditions, not as bad as yesterday but definitely windier than I like.

As I approached the campsite by the Walden Reservoir, some pics:



The bugs were out in force with the warming temperatures!  Luckily for me, though they fly in thick clouds, they don't bite.  Google Lens says they're midges.

In the afternoon, I rode out again to try and circumnavigate the reservoir.

Walden from near the "top" of the reservoir

From across the campsite, can you see Uma?

Furthest point reachable.

As I returned to my campsite's vicinity, I made a short detour to get closer to what looked like a whole flock of pelicans:

Tomorrow, perhaps a recce of the North Sand Hills Park about 25 miles to the north of Walden.  

So far in this area, I've seen Buckhorn Sheep, Geese, Pelicans, Seagulls, assorted small birds, ducks, one Blue Heron, Beaver Lodges but alas, no moose.

Clear skies for tonight's sunset but nothing to make me drag the camera out.

2 comments:

Oz said...

The moose made of wire is really cool. My son and I stopped there many years ago on our trip. The center was closed, but we got photos with the wire moose. Those mountians are so pretty.

redlegsrides said...

Thanks for the comments, Oz. I'll admit I tend to favor snow clad mountains myself.