Now that it’s stopped raining almost every day along the Front Range of the Rockies, I was able to hike one of my favorite local trails again. The loop trail over Goshawk Ridge starts just six miles southwest of my home in Boulder, but until a few days ago it had been closed because it was so muddy.

Early yesterday morning I got back there with Nancy, my friend and neighbor. We left at 5:30 and saw the sunrise en route. Just after we reached the trailhead we got this view.

Early Morning Light on the Front Range

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One of the things that I like best about this 4.2 mile loop trail is its variety. We passed through both meadows and forest as we climbed up and over Goshawk Ridge. We saw birds and wildflowers in abundance.

This Broad-tailed Hummingbird Tastes a Bee Balm

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A Pine Siskin Finds a Perch

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Even though summer arrived a month ago, some of the mountain flowers are just beginning to bloom. The flowers of cactus, like this prickly pear, are some of my favorites because the flowers are so delicate and soft on a plant you can touch only with great care.

Two Flowers and Three Buds

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Pinedrops are one of our most unusual plants. They are red because they have only a trace of chlorophyll.

This Baby Pinedrops is Less Than 6 Inches High

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But perhaps the most unusual plant I saw had a single flower so tiny that is only about 1/3 of an inch in diameter.

A Deptford Pink Flower

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Neither Nancy nor I have ever seen this flower before. None of the four books that I use to identify the flowers of Colorado show it. ​But a friend identified it.