The Road Home Woodland Park

I spent my Birthday riding around the Hayman Burn area near Cheesman Lake - riding the XR650R on some fireroads, literally fireroads. Its been 6 years since the Hayman fire devastated this area burning a total of 138,000 acres in a week. I can still remember the smoke plume seen from the City - I went for a ride that first day and almost got caught in it, they had several roads closed and it stayed that way all summer.

burn area

During the Hayman fire

fire1.jpg

I have ridden around the area for along time since but never been to the center of it Cheesman Lake, the place has a lot of visual damage and they dont allow you to do much there but fish.

Cheeseman Lake

I took some singletrack to get to Goose Creek Road where most of the fire was.

Single Track Rampart Range

Goose Creek Road Lost Wilderness

Lost Wilderness 6 years after the Hayman Fire

Hayman burn area Pikes Peak in the background

I decided to ride up to Wellington Lake and into Bailey for some lunch when it started to rain, I was worried about getting my camera wet there so I took no pictures. Stopping at the Cut Throat diner there for a burger I was sitting next to a young couple when the power went out, they had their daughter with them, a cute redheaded girl who yelped when the lights went out. Appearantly a tornado had touched down on Kenosha Pass and it took out some Powerlines - wow a tornado in the mountains?? First time I had heard of that! They had a police scanner on and I guess there was also a motorcycle accident - bad enough that they requested the flight for life? Being the 4th of July Weekend their where bikes out everywhere. Luckly I was riding on some obscure backroads and single track - no traffic there to speak of except the occational campers out in the woods.

I made my way over to rampart range, and decided to ride the entire length of it to Woodland park, some 50 miles of twisty windy rough in places mountain dirt road. There were a lot of folks fishing along the Platte River on the way to Rampart Range from Buffalo Creek, tons of them and I saw my buddy baldy cop sitting in his police sherrif pickup, along with another cop in another truck - they both had atv's in the back, they where sitting at the crossroads where hwy 67 and Buffalo Creek road meet, east of Foxton. He was the guy who stopped and lectured me about speeding on horsepower hill last May. Still bald as hell!

Rampart Range

Primordial soup bowl

Rampart Range after the rains

Rampart Range

Rampart Range

Rampart Range

I have this thing for wild flowers I like to photograph them whenever possible

Wildflowers

Wildflowers

more wildflowers

red ones

Columbine Colorado State Flower

Another Columbine

attached is the gps track from my zumo