GREEN MOUNTAIN TRAIL!

This is the "Green Mountain" trail.

view of Metro Denver from the parking area

Horse riders have the right of way...

Beware of Mountain Lions ...and rattlesnakes, but it is too cold in December for the snakes. This sign tells you what to do with Mountain Lion encounters and highly recommends carrying a BIG stick if walking the trails.

Yep, the Green Mountain Trail. Says so right there.

Last night I was watching the public access channel here. The city of Lakewood was doing a presentation of horse riding trails in that city, as well as recreation spots. (by the way, in some areas the riders have to scoop the poop, the same as dog owners in a city...that's a mighty big bag to carry when full...) There are at least three reservoirs and several parks and open wild lands for public use. Then the host brought up the William Frederick Hayden Park on Green Mountain... GREEN MOUNTAIN!!! My heart did a leap and immediately I went to Google...good ole Google...and searched it out, sure enough there it was! In Lakewood! Only a 15 minute drive from where we live! I was so excited. So, off to bed, nursing my nasty cold and hoping to feel better today for a drive in the country.

Well today came and I was feeling pretty crummy still. Wicked sore throat, congestion, cough...aarrrggghhh. That isn't going to stop me though...I want to see Colorado's Green Mountain and check out Lakewood. Jack needed to get new reeds for his clarinet, so we were set for a trip....feeling lousy and all. I just didn't care. I didn't know what we would find in Lakewood, but I was determined to go. It was a bright sunny day here in Denver. Very bright. I couldn't see our GPS very well and took several wrong turns which didn't sit well with the helpful navigator in the passenger seat. After 2 or 3 U turns, a couple wrong turns and a run stop light that nearly got us both killed...thankfully the guy in the big white truck saw us, cause I sure didn't see him. He honked and honked and honked at us...and I don't blame him one bit..I did apologize to him...he harumphed off. I was also thankful for Vermont plates, some how that eases my conscious a bit, I can claim stupid out of state driver...but then that sure doesn't leave a good impression of Vermont for these Coloradoans. Anyway, we made it to our anticlimactic destination. A parking area with a port-a-potty. The trails and signage confirmed our location at the Green Mountain Trail. It was windy and cold...even though the sun was bright and warm. I got out of the car, took some pictures. The views were nice. The hill...a hill...maybe in the spring it will be green. I was told by some helpful gas station direction givers not to try to climb the trails because this time of year they can be slippery and the Mountain Lions are about as well. They also said the view from the top is spectacular of metro Denver in one direction and the Rocky's in the other. Well, maybe another time. We drove to the music store, Jack got his reeds. We took a different direction back home via Dartmouth street. The theme of the day was finding familiar names. Off Dartmouth St was Jackson St. , that made us chuckle a bit. Now, snuggling in throws and lots of liquids and rest. Hope I feel better tomorrow. The views from the parking lot were nice.