The first real rain in months fell on Boulder today. It cleared and cooled the air. The temperature came down from 98 degrees at 3 pm to the 70s in a couple of hours. Then, about 6:30 the sun came out from behind the clouds that had covered us all day.

Finishing an article due this evening, I looked up from my desk and noticed the perfect hiking weather. I wanted to get out on the trail since I hadn’t got any exercise since Friday.

I would have gone out for a hike this morning, but my friend Parkie Parker finally arrived here. I had expected him at 10 (as well as three years ago, but that’s another story). He and his friend Elaine got here at noon. We went out for a wonderful lunch at Sunflower Organic Restaurant in downtown Boulder.

After they left and I finished my work, it was too late in the day to go far or long. But I didn’t want to anyway. I wanted to hike on a trail close to my apartment that I never knew existed until this week.

I found it through a careful study of some of my maps after noticing an amazing rock outcropping when Nancy and I went to Flagstaff House restaurant two weeks ago. This was the view from our table:

Flagstaff View of Fountain Rock Formation

When I studied the maps, I thought that the outcrop might be along what they label as the Viewpoint Trail that runs along the foothills from Flagstaff Road to Arapahoe Avenue. So that’s where I went this evening. It was a short but steep hike and I was back in my SUV in 90 minutes, just before it was pitch dark.

Along the way I met up with a deer as well as a dear lady named Erica. She is both a hiker and a professional photographer. That would be a perfect combination for me if I were 30 years younger or if she were 30 years older.

But I’m still not absolutely sure if I have identified the rock formation that I saw from the restaurant. It is probably this rock formation north, not south, of Arapahoe Avenue known as Red Rocks:

Red Rocks

It’s probably the same, but the different time of day and vantage point make the comparison difficult. I need to do more research and will soon will be hiking up to those rocks I saw today and will provide a further report.

By staying late on the trail yesterday evening I got a further reward — a wonderful sunset over those rocks:

Sunset on the Front Range

What a wonderful way to end a weekend!