Cherry Creek State Park

 Cherry Creek State Park camping is spacious and beautiful. Here's a picture of Julia's sister Katie's favorite site at sunset. 

My site had no hookups, so I was boon-docking, so to speak, for the first time. It worked well and saved $40. My cheap ass retirement spending appreciates that. Cherry Creek park and reservoir is within the Aurora CO city limits and has very nice beaches and fishing I hear. John Van Ginkel, an Atlantic High School friend, lives a half mile from the park, so he rode to the camp on Monday morning. As we walked along the beaches, about a mile from my site, there were piles and piles of trash everywhere. Not usual he said and it made him pretty angry. Continuing our walk, we came upon several police officers and a ranger with a Geiger counter combing an area just up from the beach. Interesting. I remembered seeing police car lights the night before, and did hear a sound that I thought was a car back firing. So, the story came out that there was an incident involving two men and gun shots; thus, why the beach was left in haste by the poor people who were trying to enjoy an evening on the beach. Always something happening somewhere as I travel. 

Willow has been observing squirrels and bunnies, and if she could, she would catch them and...eat them? Hell if I know what she would do. There were no squirrels to speak of in my neighborhood...gotta have trees ya know. So, this is a new specie she is studying with great intent. I do believe I could put this girl to work for a farmer who would like to rid themselves of them. She is also intently focused on bunnies, but seriously, I know they eat vegetables, but they are so cute I just could not stand any harm coming to them. Anyway, pass the word along that Willow is available for hire. Could be a great second income for me. 

I am leaving Colorado next week and going north to Wyoming and northern Nebraska. I haven't decided where I will camp first, but I need to call my cousin Bill who spends a lot of time on a plot of land somewhere in west/central Nebraska. I may venture toward Mt. Rushmore or the Black Hills, and eventually I will spend some time on the Niabrara River in northern Nebraska. 

Onward I go. Peace, Watson