Escaping the heat once again, my wife and I drove up to the Tarryall Valley this morning. Rising along the Continental Divide, north of Como, Tarryall Creek flows SSE across the northeast corner of South Park before carving a scenic canyon along the western edge of the Tarryall Range; nearing the Pike's Peak massif, the stream merges with the South Fork of the South Platte River.
Bypassing crowds at Tarryall Reservoir, we chose a shady roadside pulloff farther to the south. There we had lunch beneath a grove of ponderosa pines and took in views of the majestic Tarryall Mountains across the Valley. Known for their scenic rock domes and spires, those mountains also harbor the western portion of the Lost Creek Wilderness.
Enjoying the cooler air and a refreshing breeze, we were joined by western bluebirds, Townsend's solitaires and violet-green swallows while a lone golden eagle circled overhead. With some reluctance, we descended to the furnace-like conditions in Metro-Denver by early afternoon.
Bypassing crowds at Tarryall Reservoir, we chose a shady roadside pulloff farther to the south. There we had lunch beneath a grove of ponderosa pines and took in views of the majestic Tarryall Mountains across the Valley. Known for their scenic rock domes and spires, those mountains also harbor the western portion of the Lost Creek Wilderness.
Enjoying the cooler air and a refreshing breeze, we were joined by western bluebirds, Townsend's solitaires and violet-green swallows while a lone golden eagle circled overhead. With some reluctance, we descended to the furnace-like conditions in Metro-Denver by early afternoon.
