Search

Photos from a Quick Trip to Comanche National Grasslands

Jen Toews
Feb 21, 2019
4 min read

Busy week so this post will be more of a photo blog! Enjoy the photos.

Day 1: On Sunday morning we traveled to the Comanche National Grasslands to look for short-eared owls and lesser prairie chicken. We saw neither, but so thoroughly enjoyed this area of the state that we already have another trip in the works.

Comanche National Grasslands is located in the southeastern corner of Colorado and consists of grasslands, hills, canyons, juniper woodlands, rare plants, dry riverbeds, cool sedimentary rock, dinosaur tracks, petroglyphs, ruins of Spanish settlements, and some of the best skies I have ever seen. This area should be considered a national treasure.

Here is a plant community dominated by little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Note, I had just sat through an excellent talk on landscaping with native grasses given by my colleague, Nick Daniel, so many of my photos feature grasses. These scenes will hopefully inspire and be translated into a front yard landscaping project this spring.

An ocean of prairie grasses underneath a Colorado sky.

Grassland dotted with Cholla

After driving many miles on dirt roads, we were finally just 17 miles away from our destination: Picture Canyon.

Entering Picture Canyon

Picturesque rock formations in Picture Canyon. I speculate that this canyon is named Picture Canyon not because it is picturesque but because of the pictographs and petroglyphs on the walls of the canyon and the caves.

More sedimentary rock formations

Celtis reticulata growing in the bottom of the canyon. This is a dwarf-sized Celtis with a very nice, gnarly form.

Bluestem growing on rock outcropping

Bluestem with golden hour lighting

Yucca and backlit grasses

A spring-fed wetland -- great bird habitat. Christi saw a Bewick's wren and not far from here we encountered a dozen scaled quail.

Junipers, Yucca, little bluestem

Christi enjoying an evening stroll through the willows

More grasses

We didn't have time to hike the 4-mile loop through the canyon, as the plan was to head up to the grasslands again before sunset to look for short-eared owls, which are crepuscular. No luck with the owls, but the sunset on the southeastern plains was lovely.

Here is an iconic western scene: a windmill, a barbed-wire fence and tumbleweed. Interestingly, tumbleweed (Kochia spp.) didn't arrive in the U.S. until the 1870s. I've read that it was unintentionally introduced via contaminated flax seed that Russian immigrants were planning to grow in South Dakota. Kochia, which is native to the arid steppe region of the Ukraine, is adapted to the North American steppe and has thus become one of the most common weeds in the Great Plains. On the scale of your yard, it is fairly easy to eradicate, but on the scale of acres and acres of public land, not so much, sadly.

Day 2: The original plan was to return to the Comanche the second day. However, a snowstorm, low temperatures, and the realization that the timing belt on our vehicle was long overdue to be replaced caused us to change our itinerary. Thus, we ended up making our way back to Denver via the scenic route. First stop was Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. This fur-trading post was a vibrant destination in the 1840s and brought together diverse peoples. Although the original fort burned to the ground, for a reason that shall remain forever unknown, preserved architectural plans allowed for reconstruction at the same site. The Fort is definitely worth a visit for those interested in Western history.

Visitors can wander through the various rooms, explore the courtyard, and try not to fall off the roof (there is no guard rail). I can't imagine how stressful it would be to bring a school group of rambunctious children here.

One of the National Park Rangers warming up at the fire (it was still only 14F). Although uncomfortable, I often appreciate the cold weather as it is a reminder of how harsh life was in the 1840s without the modern amenities that I take for granted.

The interior of one of the rooms

There were 2 working cats at the Fort. Here is Fitzpatrick who appeared to be very well-fed.

And yes, cats will always find the crazy cat lady. Fitzpatrick (aka the Murderous One) and Don Juan (aka the Lover) is what the Rangers referred to them as. Don Juan fell asleep on my lap during the informational video and I didn't have the heart to remove him. Instead I sat there until he moved on his own volition.

Outside the Fort.

Old gravestone

The drive back to Denver: You never know what you are going to see!

Driving into the storm.

We took the backroads, which took hours, but the scenery was better and we could slow down for birds.

Prairie falcon siting

If you're from Colorado you have complained about I-70 traffic. You may have even avoided traveling on this interstate because the thought of sitting in ski traffic for 4 hours isn't your idea of a relaxing Sunday. Mine neither. Well here is I-70 traffic on a 3-day weekend. This is east of Denver around Limon. Note to self: apparently very few people head to the plains on a winter weekend.