Cherry Creek: Hess Road to The Pinery

 

I've mentioned this keystone species before. Beaver dams are common along Cherry Creek. I haven't seen one on the hike but I've seen plenty of their architecture. I think this is the first one I've seen with an entrance above the water level.

Around deeper waters of lakes and large rivers, beavers might not live in dams. They often build burrows. And, yes, they do eat and digest wood (usually bark). It takes about 20 minutes for a beaver to cut down a 15 centimeter (half foot) wide tree.

Far to the South of Denver, there are still murals. I'm not sure who's responsible for this one but it's nice. It's also the last one on the Cherry Creek Trail.

This is common weather on the plains. What's not common is the funnel cloud we had in Lone Tree (West of I25) the other day. Last year they had their first since they started recording weather for the region.

The plains (East of I25) produce strong updrafts that build high cumulonimbus (storm) clouds that spawn tornados. We had an early start of storm season this year with some active systems scurrying East 

A weir dam impounds a strip lake on Cherry Creek near the Pinery. Here, I'm hiking out of the long urban corridor of Cherry Creek into ranch lands. That just goes on and on interrupted by a canyon. Two more hikes will bring me to the end of the Trail.

Every half mile is a reminder of how far you are from the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. Strangely, the other side doesn't tell how far it is to the end of Cherry Creek Trail in Cottonwood Canyon.

What else should one see on the prairie but prairie dogs. This town is huge and the inhabitants do not seem to be that bothered by the frequent hikers and bikers and dogs .

I've commented on these denizens of the Great Plains elsewhere in these blogs. They're one of the first examples of wildlife I encountered since they have taken up in the medians and on the roadsides in Broomfield where I first lived in Colorado.

This short section of Cherry Creek landed me in an affluent neighborhood where there is a stand of pines and I guess that's why they call it "The Pinery". I was hoping for more business but there is a bank and a country club.

Oh, and there's a bus stop but don't let that fool you into thinking that there's actually public transportation for hikers. The bus leaves The Pinery for Denver early in the morning and it returns in the afternoon as it's last stop, two runs only. It's purely a commuter bus. 

The last stop for the regular routes is in downtown Parker, about five miles to the north. If you want to travel South of Parker Park 'n Ride, you'll need to find another way. Lyft and Uber aren't too expensive.

And a parting view across the prairie across the plains from The Pinery Park 'n Ride

The next long stretch of the Cherry Creek Trail through ranch lands and mesas will bring me to a surprising canyon far from the mountains.