Chatfield State Park - 9/3/2006

Today's bike ride around Chatfield State Park was very nice with a few interesting sightings of wildlife despite the large number of people present on this beautiful Labor Day weekend. The temperature was about 70 degrees. As usual, the bike trails were not very busy which is what I like about riding there. In addition, I know of some "secret" trails. Here is a picture of one of them:



This trail is on the west side of the lake and it is quite possible to ride a bike on it despite its overgrown look. At least it was today. Sometimes, it's underwater! Today, however, the lake level is very low and there is no problem riding all the way through.

The trail is mostly paved but due to its closeness to the lakeshore, it has been eroded or covered with sand in some places. It is part of a set of older paved trails that can be found around the park. Some are in better shape than others. Some should be avoided due to the presence of puncture vine (goatheads) growing in the cracks in the pavement. The part shown in the photo does not have this problem.

There is one trail near the bridge over the South Platte River that heads into the woods and becomes so overgrown that it is impassible. There are even more trails like this on the far east side of the park as well. I wonder if some of these trails predate the dam.

As I continued my ride around the lake, I ended up on top of the dam as usual. Looking ahead, I saw a large brown bird soaring and then land on the structure on top of the dam - about 50 feet in front of me. It landed and left its large wings spread for a moment. Then it folded them in and I could clearly see the head of the bird. I had my camera and tried to get it ready but the big old bird flew off before I could get the picture I wanted. I took a picture of it as it soared above me:



I had hoped it was some sort of eagle but the head was unmistakable. It was a turkey vulture. There were two of them soaring together. I enjoyed watching them for a while before continuing on my way.