Rifle Falls and Harvey Gap

Two of Colorado's wonderful state parks. We get an annual state park pass because we spend most of our play time at one or more of them. There are 42 of them in Colorado so it's no wonder!

We spent the whole day with Cameron today. We took him to Rifle Falls State Park and Harvey Gap State Park.

Rifle Falls is a desert grotto. There are three cataracts surrounded by limestone caves. There is a trail that loops up and around to the top of the falls and back around and down the other side. it passes numerous small caves and even a couple of big ones.

It is spring time in the Rockies so naturally there are still no leaves on the trees. We were lucky there was not still snow on the ground, although we were not very far from deep snow.

We hiked around for hours investigating nature, climbing in caves and playing hide and seek. This isn't safe for the littles so it was just the teen, and he was only practicing his ninja stealth skills. He is really, really good, too.

Here is a little plant growing right out of the limestone. They were just waking up - meaning they survived the freezing weather and were just getting their green back. This particular formation was as big as a car and bleeding water.



This picture was a total accident! I was getting my reflection in the water next to it. When I got home and looked I did a double take. I turned it upside down and cropped it down and what do you see?



Here is Rhetta's silhouette from inside one of the larger caves.



Sibling sweetness...



Taking a break (because I begged them).



Family portrait ♥



The very noisy, wet cataracts.



The elusive ninja teen checking out the shoreline down on the lake at Harvey Gap. He hiked over the dam with me then we took a trail around the upper part of the lake. We were headed to another water fall but never made it because he kept taking side jaunts down to the water. He really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed watching him have a good time.



And finally, the other slightly less elusive boy learning how to use the bee-noculars because, you know, you can't put in too much cuteness.