OCTOBER 2011 UP LITTLE DRY CREEK, DOWN BIG DRY CREEK

I decided I better ride while the weather was good. Today: 76 degrees, in two days we're expecting 5-6" of snow in downtown Denver.

I caught the RTD 31 going North on Federal. I got off at W 67th..

 Then you follow this dirt path to the Little Dry Creek Trail.

And there it is.

 There are some gravel portions, even more on Big Dry Creek Trail.

 Going through the concrete canyons of Westminster. The trail through this part was filthy and had a lot of graffiti. A lot of broken glass too. Jeez, Westminster, you could do a better job on maintenance.

Fortunately this doesn't last very long.

 This is where you leave the concrete canyons.

 Then you enter one more. This one has no way out if there was a flash flood.













You can see a lot of sand and debris left over from Spring flood season.

Now we're out of the canyons for good.

 Little Dry Creek.

 Like most bike paths you pass through many parks.

There's a lot of street level crossings, be aware of car traffic.













Here's where we change it up a little bit. The last time I took this ride I went up Little Dry all the way to Alkire St. which required going over private property for about 100 feet to get to Big Dry. So when you see the UPS box you're on Vance St. Turn right, go one block to 80th, turn left and go one block to Wadsworth. Then turn right on the bike path and go 2.4 miles to the Big Dry Creek Trail.

There's a path on either side of Wadsworth.

 There is a lot of construction along Wadsworth.












After 2.4 miles and a couple of hills you are in the Big Dry drainage.                                                               

 At the bottom of this hill you'll find the Big Dry Creek.

And here we are.














Modern History is mostly deception.

There's the tunnel under the Burlington Northern rail line.

 After the tunnel the trail winds along a fence.

 Then you come out on w 99th st. Follow it for maybe half a mile.













I saw a Llama and a Cow.




Here's where you pick up the trail again.

I know we just left Wadsworth, this confused me too. We were on Wadsworth Parkway, this is Wadsworth Blvd, known as Old Wadsworth.

 I took pictures of all the trails that split off of Big Dry. If there are some good ones I'm going to ride them. I've already decided The Farmers Highline Canal is worth checking out.

Westcliff Trail

Stopped for a moment to take in the view.













I guess metal thieves don't covet iron.

I like the fancy seating arrangement here.













There are also secluded picnic tables.

Walnut Creek cutoff.

Big Dry Creek.

Westcliff Pkwy.














I saw a Red Tailed Hawk.              

I caught it in flight!

Big Dry Creek trail is gravel for much of the time.













Ok, so if you're not interested in animal droppings or tracks you can scroll past this. But I did see some interesting things.

Fox Tracks

Not sure what left this Impressive though.

Probably Coyote

Fox or Coyote

Probably Coyote

Probably Fox

Looks like someone ate berries

Looks like Fox

Fox Tracks

The ruler was a good idea. 

OK, last one.



Westminster has a new City Park on the Big Dry. It features a tribute to the Armed Forces.

Each branch of the service is represented by a stone monument.





COAST GUARD
































Each monument had stones engraved with Veterans along with where and when they served.

AIR FORCE

ARMY





















   

NAVY

MARINES

MERCHANT MARINES




















It's a very nice tribute. City Park is brand new and really nice. Lots of picnic areas and sports fields. 
                    

There is also a frisbee golf course. Frisbee golf, the bane of Humanity. 

Soccer Fields 


























Pretty big park

 I discovered most of these offshoots are less than a mile long.Some lead to really nice parks. I will study the route and explore next time.   

Under Sheridan.






















Nice Fall colors.

Lots of rest stops.

Cotton Creek Trail.

Legacy Ridge Trail.

Under CO 287.

















I saw another Red Tailed Hawk.

 Dirt trail winding along.

College Trail.






























There was a baseball game on this field.

This was a short path around a lake. Love those elevated wooden trails over wetlands.

I found a hidden lake, surrounded by trees.

Sheridan Crossing cutoff.

Bradburn Trail cutoff.

Big Dry Creek Reservoir.

Big Dry Creek Dam.




























Bald Eagle Habitat, Do Not Enter.

If your commute takes you over this bridge on W 120th, you might want to pick a better bridge. What a crappy bridge. The W 128th  bridge is nice and new. This one's falling apart.

My GPS didn't know the W 128th bridge. Must be less than ten years old. 

Arapahoe Ridge Trail cutoff.

yes we are quite aware there are coyotes in the area. 

Almost to the end now, pretty scenery. Many Red Tailed Hawks.

That's Bull Canal, which  contains Big Dry for about a half mile. Then they diverge. It takes place away from the trail but as I learn more I will post it here. There is a heck of a lot to explore. 

I thought that was a nice sign. I guess Westminster has it's focus on this awesome trail and has lost sight of Little Dry Creek.


O.K. so every time a tagger is caught, 25 hours community service in the concrete canyons of  Little Dry Creek.


I think that's reasonable.

Huron Street. 

Looking back  at Huron Street.

Quail Creek  Trail cutoff.

Interstate 25.

After you go under I-25 turn right and go up the Thorncreek Trail. Go to W 128th and turn left.


Go East on W 128th to Washington St. Then go 8 blocks to W 120th & Washington. You can catch an RTD #12 bus on the South side of W 120th. Or you can go another block on Washington St, it's about the same distance.


I caught an RTD #12 bus to 30th and Downing light rail station and caught a light rail home.


*BUT* I found a new (to me, anyway) bike path that intersects W 124th and Washington Street. Looking at in Google Earth it looks pretty cool. I'm going there to explore that trail before I do Big Dry again. This is cool!

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