Mount Falcon Park in Colorado

A while ago, we decided to head up to go hiking near Morrison, Colorado, which is a small town just outside of Denver. It is the home of the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but we were there to get up into the mountains and enjoy some of the last days of summer. Any trail that is close to Denver is always likely to be crowded with hikers and mountain bikers and this was definitely the case at Mount Falcon Park. We decided to avoid the main trail, Castle Trail, which was packed with families, and take Parmalee Trail instead. It turned out to be a wise decision as we ended up having the trail almost all to ourselves.

The Start of the Trail
Clouds Building on Previously Sunny Day
Beautiful Wildflower
Into the Valley
Scenery

It was a beautiful day and the air was cool enough to make hiking thoroughly enjoyable. As with almost any hike in the mountains, there were gorgeous views and the wildflowers were still in bloom. The trail itself was steep at times, which is probably one of the reasons that there were fewer people on it, but not steep enough to be difficult. This happened to be one of the last hikes before the cooler, autumn weather arrived and it turned out to be a perfect hike to end the summer season with.

View of the Trail
Rugged Beauty
Clear Skies
Weathered Rocks
Wildflower

We don’t usually head north to go hiking, mostly because of the crowds, but we were glad that we decided to give this trail a chance. We use an app call AllTrails (or you can go to their website, alltrails.com) to find different trails to go hiking on. We have had many guide books over the years, but in this digital age it is easier to use the app, which also has ratings and comments from other hikers. In a sense, it is like TripAdvisor for hikers. However we find the trails, it is nice to find new trails like the ones at Mount Falcon Park, to go hiking on.

Another View of the Trail
Wild Berries
Into the Distance
Yucca Plants are Everywhere
More Wildflowers

 

Denver Botanic Garden

There are several cities with wonderful botanical gardens, but we believe that the Denver Botanic Garden is one of the best. Between the tropical flowers, rotating art displays, and special events, there is always something interesting to see at the garden. We especially enjoyed the variety of colorful orchids that we saw during our visit there. It is a great way to spend a summer afternoon, walking the flower lined paths and seeing the gardens dedicated to different regions around the world. The Denver Botanic Garden will often create displays on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver to allow shoppers to see some of the wonderful flowers that can be found in the gardens. If you are planning a trip to Denver, we’d definitely recommend that you consider adding the Botanic Gardens to your itinerary.

One of the Garden Displays
Lily Pond
Orchid in the Hot House
Walking the Grounds of the Botanic Garden
Colorful Flowers
Another Orchid
Bridge Over the Water
Reflections in the Pond
Statues Made of Drift Wood
Walking Through the Hot House
Victorian Secret Garden
Water Feature in the Garden
Garden Outside of the Hot House
Unique Tropical Flowers

 

Colorful Flowers Around the World

Regardless of where we travel to, whenever we see a beautiful flower we tend to take a close-up picture of it. We have been to many tropical locations, which have amazing flowers, but we see beautiful flowers in the hearts of cities as well. Obviously we also see wild flowers along the trails during our hikes. What we love about the close-up pictures is how it often captures the contrasting colors within the flower petals. We have included many of our favorite flowers here. Do you take photographs of flowers that you come across during your travels?

Beautiful Wildflower
White and Red Orchid
Flowers in the Jungle
Yellow Wildflowers
Tropical Flower
Colorful Flower in Ecuador
Butterfly on a Flower
Very Unique
Flower in the Jungle of Panama
Flowers in a Park
Bright Orange Flowers
Purple Wildflower
Interesting Yellow Wildflower
Tropical Flower in Panama