Last evening, my son (a pilot) and I took a flight across the Colorado Piedmont, south of Denver. Leaving Centennial Airport an hour before sunset, we headed west to Chatfield Reservoir and then turned south, following the base of the foothills.
Crossing over Roxborough State Park, adorned with scenic rock formations, we could see the prominent peaks that rise along the South Platte River Canyon to our west and southwest. Farther along, we passed the craggy mass of Devil's Head and continued up the Plum Creek Valley to the Palmer Divide. Angling to the east, we followed the Divide for a short distance, catching a view of Monument and Colorado Springs in the Fountain Creek Valley, off to our south. After curving across the upper tributaries of Cherry Creek (which eventually joins the South Platte in downtown Denver), we passed above the mesas and buttes that characterize the scenic topography of the Castle Rock region.
As we headed north, near Sedalia, the sun set behind the Front Range and we could see the multiple ridges of foothills and mountains that produce a stair-step landscape, leading to the Mt. Evans massif. After taking it that spectacular view, we headed back to Centennial with a fresh appreciation for terrain that we have long known only from the ground.
Crossing over Roxborough State Park, adorned with scenic rock formations, we could see the prominent peaks that rise along the South Platte River Canyon to our west and southwest. Farther along, we passed the craggy mass of Devil's Head and continued up the Plum Creek Valley to the Palmer Divide. Angling to the east, we followed the Divide for a short distance, catching a view of Monument and Colorado Springs in the Fountain Creek Valley, off to our south. After curving across the upper tributaries of Cherry Creek (which eventually joins the South Platte in downtown Denver), we passed above the mesas and buttes that characterize the scenic topography of the Castle Rock region.
As we headed north, near Sedalia, the sun set behind the Front Range and we could see the multiple ridges of foothills and mountains that produce a stair-step landscape, leading to the Mt. Evans massif. After taking it that spectacular view, we headed back to Centennial with a fresh appreciation for terrain that we have long known only from the ground.
