Waiting for Taz, our twelve-year-old Schipperke dog to be treated at the Veterinary School in Ft. Collins, Colorado, we decided to sneak out for a quick hike in the nearby hills. This area had been threatened by fire in 2020 and I wanted to see how close the fire had come to this area.
We visited Horsetooth Reservoir; a 6.5-mile long and one/half mile wide reservoir located thirty minutes west from the Vet School. There were a few trails on the scenic ridges, but nothing that was very exciting to me to climb in the hot sun.
What are your favorite rivers? Do you fish? Swim? Kayak? What do you think of when you think of a creek? Brook? River? Stream?
I looked up the area on Apple maps and found Watson Lake State Wildlife Area nearby. What a gem! There was a small lake near the fish hatchery where we could hear the water overflowing into the river. We decided to stop and have a snack and drink as there was no path.
Looking across the peaceful lake, I noticed another road, very large trees and consulted the map again.
“He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; He brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.” Psalms 78:15-16 NIV
The Cache La Poudre (CLP) River was on the other side of those trees nestled under the cliffs. The CLP River is small by most standards, but by Colorado rivers, it is one of the main rivers, especially in the north.  It was named by the French traders who hid their “cache” of “gunpowder” near the river one winter.  We Coloradans know if you are a “native” or have lived here very long by how you pronounce “Cache La Poudre”.Â
It was a lovely 1.5 mile walk by HUGE cottonwood trees, a bubbling river, flowing grass and shade in the late summer sun reflecting on peaceful Watson Lake.
We headed to Berthoud, CO between Fort Collins and Longmont, Colorado. I had seen a picture of a grain elevator painting mural on a television show and wanted to view this artwork. The painting is called “Berthoud Roots or the Rancher’s Wife” and was painted by Susan K. Bailey. The painting is fifty-five feet tall by thirty-five feet wide. This was well worth a quick visit off of I 25 with a few shops and restaurants available as well. Unexpected peaceful surprises.
