Mel and I have just returned from a vacation in Colorado where we both enjoyed pursuing our passions—fly fishing for him, nature photography for me.
August 28-29
Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek, Iowa
Our four day, twelve hundred mile car journey from Michigan to Colorado took us through the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. According to Google Maps, it’s only a 16 hour journey— that is if you don’t stop to sleep or eat or go to the bathroom! We did all of the aforementioned, plus took a side trip to Honey Creek Iowa where we spent two days in a cozy little cabin on the grounds of the Hitchcock Nature Center. While at the nature center, we took pictures walks along the Fox Ridge Run Trail and the Boardwalk Trail.
Yelllow-billed Cuckoo (Mel’s shot) 
Dickcissel
Baltimore Oriole 
Red-headed Woodpecker (Mel’s pic)
August 30- September 2
Ft. Collins, Colorado
From Honey Creek, Iowa we headed through Nebraska to Fort Collins, our first Colorado destination.
Fort Collins is well known for its excellent fly fishing opportunities and a multitude of natural areas to explore. Over the course of our stay in Fort Collins, Mel went fishing several places along the Cache La Poudre River, while I took picture walks along the Hewlett Gulch Trail, the Fossil Creek Reservoir (twice) and at the Colorado State University Annual Trial Flower Garden. Mel joined me for picture walks on one of my visits to the reservoir and at the university flower garden.
(He took this picture while he was fishing and you can see the tip of his rod in the lower right corner.)
Bumble Flower Beetle (something I’d never heard of!) 
Rock cairn on the Cache La Poudre River
This one, as well as hundreds of others were hanging out at the Fossil Creek Reservoir in Fort Collins
Pied-billed Grebe 
Western Grebe
Musk Thistle 
Swainson’s Hawk
Beautiful flowers and butterflies from the Colorado State Annual Trial Garden…
Aphrodite Fritillary (I think) 
September 3-5
Estes Park, Colorado
As soon as we arrived in Estes Park, Mel headed to the fishing shops and I headed out looking for pictures to take. Surprisingly, the Knoll-Willows Nature Preserve is right in town and only a stone’s throw from where we parked! Within a minute or so of commencing my walk, I spotted a huge bull elk lounging in the underbrush along the edge of the preserve! A little farther down the sidewalk, were several of his girlfriends. Apparently, elk are a very common sight right in Estes Park!
The Girlfriends 
Looking around for a snack
Teenage boy in Estes Park 
Bull Daddy in Estes Park
In front of the Visitor’s Center at Estes Park, the Hummingbird Moths and the Hummingbirds were a delight to watch…
White-lined Sphinx Moth or Hummingbird Moth 
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Osprey with his catch of the day 
Red-tailed Hawk
Barn Swallow 
Pygmy Nuthatch
Least Chipmunk (look at the length of that tail!!) 
Mountain Cottontail
September 5, 2019
Rocky Mountain National Park to Steamboat Springs
We spent the day driving through the scenic, breathtaking Rocky Mountain National Park to reach our second Colorado destination, Steamboat Springs. Mel and I stopped several times through the mountain route to take in all the spectacular views– but I never took any scenery pictures (they tend to be disappointing compared to the real thing), preferring instead to look for the smaller things like birds and butterflies and mammals.
(Clark’s Nutcrackers are mainly found in mountains at altitudes of 3,000–12,900 ft in conifer forests.)
This little critter looks a lot like a chipmunk but is much bigger– kind of like a chipmunk on steroids!
September 5-9
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
While Mel went fishing in the Yampa River, I went walking along the Yampa River Trail, a 7.5 mile multi-use trail that runs through the heart of Steamboat Springs and along the Yampa River. Along that trail, I found other points of interest like the Rotary Park Boardwalk and the Yampa Botanic Park, both of which were wonderful places for a quiet retreat as well as multiple picture opportunities.
Swift Moth 
Two-striped Grasshopper
Cedar Waxwing 
Osprey
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
bedraggled Robin 
European Starling
Hollyhock 
Yellow Warbler 
Mourning Cloak butterfly
On one of the days that Mel didn’t go fishing, we took a drive up to Fish Creek Falls together for a picture walk and later spent hours at the Yampa Botanic Garden taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers, birds and visiting insects.
Stunning flowers from the Yampa Botanic Garden…
September 9-12
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs was our last destination in Colorado and we made the best of the time we had. As soon as we arrived on the afternoon of the 9th, we went for a picture walk in Palmer Park on a trail that turned out to be rockier and slipperier than we expected. Not many pictures got taken—we were too busy watching our footing!
One of the few pictures I took at Palmer Park because I was too busy watching my footing!
The following morning we headed out to the Garden of the Gods, which is known for its enormous, awe-inspiring geologic formations, including tall rock spires or hoodoos, and steep cliffs. It’s a major tourist attraction and well worth the visit.
After our visit to Garden of the Gods, Mel dropped me off at the Bear Creek Nature Center to take pictures all afternoon while he explored the fishing shops, bookstores and coffee shops around Colorado Springs.
Vesper Sparrow 
Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay
Spotted Towhee 
White-breasted Nuthatch
Scrub Jay 
Lesser Goldfinch and Pine Siskin
On Wednesday, our last full day in Colorado, Mel dropped me off at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where I spent a delightful five and a half hours taking almost 800 pictures of the zoo animals and of the native birds that were flitting about in the nearby trees!
Here you see his head and legs sticking out!
Emu 
Giraffe
The meerkats were great fun to watch. They are both curious and comical!
Their antics were so much fun to watch!
I had been hoping to see a moose in the wild in Colorado, but this is the closest I got!
Peacock wandering around in the zoo 
Steller’s Jay at the zoo
Also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, native to Africa.
Male Wood Duck 
Female Wood Duck
Porcupine taking a nap 
White-backed Vulture (Africa)
The best part of going on vacation, besides getting away from every day routines, is finding things I’ve never seen before (and taking pictures!), eating things I’ve never tried before and meeting new people I’ve never met before.