I have a million very important things to do, but my inner gypsy takes priority sometimes. Yesterday, a beautiful day in October, I just needed to get away. I had the three little boys with me and I asked them where they wanted to go. I didn't like their first choice, so I told them to pick again. Joe, my 7 year old piped up, "Colorado!" It was already almost 11 am and Colorado is about an hour and 45 minutes away, but, ok.
The younger boys still don't completely understand geography, so to them Colorado isn't really a state, but a state of mind. It is a place to hike, enjoy nature and probably end up at a restaurant on the way home. There are a couple of places I have been wanting to explore in Colorado, but they were too far on a day we were getting a late start. So, Trinidad here we come!
Trinidad gets overlooked as a trip destination sometimes because it has been primarily known for being a major sex change operation destination (not a discussion I intend to have here, Google it if you must). But it is really a quaint mountain town with an interesting history in an area with a coal mining past. I have been there several times and have enjoyed the museums, the beautiful Catholic Church and a nice little city park. We've been to Trinidad Lake briefly before, but I thought this would be a good day to explore it more extensively.
We went to the Visitor's Center entrance. I am sure there are some interesting things in the Visitor's Center (along with the history, southern Colorado is geologically very interesting), but the boys wanted to get right down to the business of exploring. At that particular entrance to the lake is where you can find a series of nature trails. We explored the Levsa Canyon Self Guided Nature Trail. This is a perfect trail for a family hike with little kiddos in tow. I had a seven year old, a five year old and a two year old on my back (only the two year old was on my back, fyi). It is a mile long with slightly challenging terrain (rocks and elevation changes), but definitely do-able for young children. There is a map available and the trail has 15 markers with a corresponding short, informative explanation on the map. Joe stopped and drew a lovely picture of the cactus he saw in his nature notebook while Gabriel tossed rocks. The view from the trail was magnificent as it overlooks the lake and the hauntingly beautiful Purgatoire River.
We finished up our afternoon with a playfest at the nicely maintained playground next to the amphitheater. The boys enjoyed the playground equipment and riding their bikes on the sidewalks. While they were entertaining themselves, I was able to scoot a few yards away and look at the small display featuring a succinct history and pictures of two of the Native American tribes of the area. I was also treated to a display of frolicking Mountain Bluebirds in the Pinon trees.
As we arrived home that evening at dusk, the sky was a pink backdrop against the dark green mountains splashed with deep golden colored Aspen. It was a picture perfect ending to a delightful and unexpected day with the little men in my life.
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