Castlewood

 We snuck a quick hike in at Castlewood Canyon today before the snow and cold come back tomorrow…

I felt like we needed some outside time before being stuck indoors for the next few days. (It’s not supposed to get above freezing until Friday.) 

Castlewood was absolutely stunning… 

…the blue sky, the bit of snow on the ground and decorating the peaks in the distance. Including, of course, my favorite peak: Tava. I really have a hard time with Tava being “discovered” by Zebulon Pike back in 1806, when it had already been well known and revered by native tribes for hundreds of years before Pike stumbled upon it. It already had a name too, when they named it after Pike. I much prefer it’s original name Tava (meaning Sun). 

Speaking of Tava. Here it is dominating the horizon to the south…

I love how it looks in this photo, framed by the two ponderosa pines. 

We call the smaller mountain just south/east of it (almost hidden behind one of the pines) “little sister” but it’s really Almagre  Mountain and is over 12, 000’ high! It just looks small next to stately Tava…

We had a lovely hike… it was wonderful to get outside and hike a little after the snowy January we’ve had.