Kite Lake: Other alpine wildflowers

As we often say, even though the pictures are enjoyable, they simply do not fully capture the magnitude and beauty of the subjects, whether it is the scenery, wildlife, wildflowers, etc. REMINDER: By clicking on each photo, you will get the full size with all the detail!!!Some professionals do a much better job. In fact, one such pro is Tom Kennon, a man of many talents, from being the CEO of Boyd Metals, the author of the definitive book on kayaking and canoeing Ozarks streams, to his photographic work. To see some dazzling photographic art, visit his website: tomkennonphotography.com - a collection of images of Colorado, Arkansas, and points beyond. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from the Kite Lake area.

Kite Lake Columbine flowers

The columbine,I think, has become our favorite flower; a blend of simple and complex, and subtle colorings that are difficult to pull away from,especially since the opportunities to enjoy them are so infrequent. We've included a bunch of pics, but they deserve it.

Kite Lake

With apologies to Ben and Myka (because weather and scheduling conflicts denied us the chance to take them to Kite Lake). Although a rougher than usual ride up and back, the rewards are spectacular scenery (including being surrounded by four fourteeners (Colorado holds the record for most peaks of 14,000+ altitude), opportunity for wildlife viewing, incredible alpine wildflowers, and fishing in a high-mountain lake at an altitude nearing 12,000 feet. Charlcie and Heather spent most of their time exploring and taking photographs (I got to do some), while Jaden spent her time exploring all over. Charlcie did find some time to read while Jeff and I fished. The cutthroat trout here are small but as you see, they are as deeply colored and pretty as any fish you will see - the thrill here was sight-fishing a dry-fly to a cruising fish and watching them approach and take the fly. And considering the environs,in my view, this is as much fun as any other fly-fishing experience. Did I mention wildflowers? Charlcie was able to locate an area of Columbine flowers, the official flower of Colorado, and special enough to warrant a separate display of them alone. Charlcie deserves credit for many of these and other photos - I wanted to make sure to get that in. So the Kite Lake series will be broken down into three segments: this one including fish/fishing/scenery, a separate one devoted to Columbine, and yet another featuring other wildflowers of this area.

Eleven Mile Canyon

Eleven miles of sheer beauty that is enhanced by a challenging and exciting wild trout fishery. This is a place that has been designated a favorite destination of most of our friends and family that have experienced it. The water was higher and murkier than last week when we visited with Ben and Myka. Again, Jeff figured it out and was the fly-fisherman of the day. Heather also caught some nice fish. We all tallied on this day! Jaden entertained herself by snapping 500 photos of the various chipmunks that she individually named - well maybe not 500 shots, but quite a few!

The Ponds at Warm Springs Ranch

One of the nice features of Warm Springs Ranch are the several stocked ponds on the property. Sometimes it is surprisingly difficult to catch these fish due to the preponderance of many insect hatches that provide an abundant natural food source. Other times, you can figure them out and have some great success. After our day on Fourmile was shortened by yet another thunder and lightning display, we had Charlcie join us on the ponds after the front had moved through. The fish were very active, cruising and feeding just under the surface, creating wakes that looked like torpedoes cruising through the pond. Jeff soon figured out that a black wooly bugger fast-retreived just under the surface elicited strong strikes. He caught large fish after large fish and put on quite a show. Seeing the torpedoes stalking his fly and striking convinced me to join the party, and I had a some success also. We're talking Kamloops variety of rainbow trout, none of which were under 15",and fat, healthy, and in a fighting mood. I turned the rod over for Charlcie to land one of the largest, a reward for her many hours of tough fishing.

Fourmile Creek

Fourmile Creek runs through Warm Springs Ranch (where the cabin is) and on downstream before it joins the South Fork of the South Platte River near Hartsel. The South Park Area Promotion organization has teamed up with local ranchers to provide fly-fishing access to private streams - in return the local ranchers receive some compensation as well as stocking and upgrading their streams. Fly-fishers pay a very reasonable fee for the opportunity to fish these private waters. Jeff and I had arranged to fish a mile of stream frontage for the day - on the ranch across from Warmsprings. Again, the stream was out of it's banks and off-color, but we figured out how to hook some very nice fish - rainbows 17"+, primarily on pink san juan worms. Good thing we didn't take our very light rods, because the size of these fish surprised us! Notice that nearly all the fishing posts include wildflowers and/or wildlife and scenery pics - proof that you've gotta take time to enjoy the spectacular surroundings that make fishing out here so special! On this day, Heather and Jaden made their trip to the Denver Zoo, while Charlcie enjoyed a personal day at the cabin - reading and relaxing.

Tomahawk Wildlife Management Area

We were able to enjoy a couple of hours fishing the Middle Fork of the South Platte River as it courses through the Tomahawk WMA. The river was swollen and off-color due to the heavy rains and so our fishing strategy had to change. Rather than fishing the typical terrestrials with a dropper, we had to change to something flashy to catch their attention - welcome back wooly buggers! Before the next storm moved in, we were able to catch many fish, but they were all small stocked rainbows. Better than being skunked, but having never caught a tagged fish in this stream, it was somewhat disappointing. While Jeff, Charlcie, and I fished, Jaden climbed the mountain that overlooks the stream - she is one adventurous young lady!