Who Knew?

Now I've lived here in Colorado for almost three years.  I've heard it said that it has a high desert climate.  I never believed it because I was used to the desert in Arizona.  The Sonoran Desert to be exact.  Now there's a desert!  But much to my surprise, I discovered something today.  We have cacti in Colorado! 

It was such a beautiful day (compared to last week when we had a snowstorm in April - I don't think I'll ever get used to that!) that Dave and I decided to take a hike.  Now I'm not a mountain climber.  I like my hikes on flat, stable ground.  Our favorite place to hike here in the Denver area is at a park called Platt River Park in Littleton.  They have a trail that both hikers and bikers can use together but they also have a trail that's strictly for hikers.  It winds through the wetlands and it's like a peaceful oasis in the middle of town.  It travels by the river and you can often see birds and beavers in their natural habitat.  We saw a beautiful little mallard duck just a swimming along and lots of butterflies.   Even the dandelions are pretty here.  I like to think of them as wildflowers but Dave just calls them weeds.  Today I noticed something I had not seen before.  In one area of the park were these lovely little patches of cacti.  They may be prickly pear cactus but don't quote me on that.  It was like having a little piece of Phoenix here.  Here's a couple more photos of our wonderful day.

Dandelions Along the Trail

Dandelions and Butterfly