It’s been a while since I’ve written a post that wasn’t completely book-related. Too long, I think, but then I don’t get many responses to my nature postings. However, we visited an exceptional natural area in Colorado and I’m inspired to write about it.
The Caribou Ranch has been a well-known Colorado destination for decades, or perhaps centuries? The location was on the popular Switzerland Trail in the 1890s to 1920s.
My dad remembers driving back to the Bluebird Mine in the early 1950s. Over 150 artists recorded albums here after a studio was built in 1972, and several movies were filmed here with the DeLonde Ranch as a backdrop. The studio burned in 1985 and some of the property has been sold. The history is easy to look up, but frankly my interest lies in what 2000+acres of the property has now become: Caribou Ranch Open Space, part of the Boulder County Parks system.
If you read to the bottom of this sign, under special considerations, you can tell that this park is being actively managed to protect the wildlife and plants. In addition to what’s listed here, no dogs are allowed (sorry Copper!), the parking lot is small to limit visitor impact, and the entire property is closed from April to July 1 to protect nesting migratory birds and elk calving in these lush meadows.
I am totally in favor of all these regulations! This park has a stunning diversity of wildflowers, which the county wildlife biologist told us are actively protected by volunteers removing invasive species. Volunteers also help conduct extensive bird surveys. I’m sure if we’d made it up earlier in the day the wildlife would have been more active. However, it was sunny and hot, with a slight haze that’s hanging over the west from the Oregon wildfires. That’s to say, nice for hiking but some of my photos are on the bright side.
And with that bit of background on why I found this protected area so appealing, lets dive into the wildflower meadows that excited me.
Photos hardly do justice to these colorful vistas! But I tried. Most of these white flowers are Yarrow, and the sage-green plants are various sages, which I didn’t take photos of. Here’s what we saw, with the names above the photos.
The majority of yellow flowers are Sulphur-flower buckwheat.
The blue, bell-like flowers are Harebells.
The upright pinkish-purple ones are a native Locoweed (not the vetch planted on roadsides).
Though not visible in this photo, the meadows also hosted a brilliant Common Red Paintbrush, as well as Yellow Paintbrush.
These flowers seemed to be the perfect combination of short, less-than-knee-high, plants for a meadow around a home that needs to maintain a wildfire mitigation zone.
Some of the taller plants.
Blanketflower or Gaillardia.
Lupine
Blue Flax
Slendertube Skyrocket grew on the woodsy edges.
Bluer Penstemon in the foreground and pinker Locoweed in the background. The yellow is a composite which are harder to identify, but it might be sneezeweed.
Bumblebees were working the Penstemon.
Caribou Ranch is a beautiful place with lots of diversity. I applaud Boulder County for their purchase of this portion of the property.
I may not live here fulltime, but Colorado has inspired my love of nature and my writing stories with threads of nature study. Fern, the heroine of The Witch of the Meadows grows up in Colorado with a love of wildflowers before she stumbles into her wizard heritage. Check it out if you want more wildflowers!
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