Always nice to pop over the ridge and get a great view all the way across Golden, Arvada and up to the Boulder area:
First up was this coyote about 50 yards uphill from me on the same trail. It turned right, I turned left to go uphill:
Yet another coyote peered down over the ridge at me. The way up after that:
Next were these bucks roaming around right where the trail was going to cross the hill. Good thing they are pacifists, because they could have easily destroyed me with those antlers. There was a group of about 10 other mule deer far downhill from them. Check out how their ears are swiveled backwards to listen in on me:
Then came a mother coyote with 3 skinny pups, about 30 yards downhill as I was running back down. She was just lounging in the early morning sun, totally unconcerned with me, her pups playing around.
Fall cottonwoods on the way back:
It's amazing to me that wildlife can prosper in such close proximity to us, but then again we provide food (prairie dogs, small pets? flowers, gardens?).
We also provide a deterrent to the larger predator that lives nearby and can take down these animals: mountain lions. I saw a lion that got hit crossing the highway (470) just next to this mountain, and one day they closed down the elementary school below these slopes because a bus driver saw a lion skulking around nearby. It's an uneasy truce, but one that works out well for potential prey, most of the time.
