Sunday late afternoon. I look online for nearby hiking trails and also download from Amazon a book about local hikes. I zoom in on Dishman Hills Natural Area, only a few miles away from the newlywed’s apartment. C’mon Tango, C’mon Miles (furry granddog). Let’s go explore. Woohoo hoo. Dishman Hills has several access points and a network of trails. . Acres and acres of conserved forest. We park at the northern trailhead and hike right into a shaded mountain forest. Definitely in the Rocky Mountains. Definitely home. Definitely happy. Breathe. Rest at an open-air amphitheater.

This can only be the Rocky Mountains.Regardless of your place in the mountains, the setting is familiar. Abundant rock formations (bear hotels) are the strongest clue. The occasional, orange-tinted bark of the Ponderosa Pine is another. Yet, this northern part of the Rockies has a unique, regional feel.  Majestic fir trees, no Colorado Spruce. More moisture and greener understory. Blooming Dogwood trees. Early spring wildflowers. At high elevations in Colorado, wildflowers bloom early to mid-summer. Buttercups cover the forest floor up here already.

I can say now that I have lived among or explored all sections of the US Rockies. They are my home. When away, even for the short time in ND, they call. Home, home, home, and with my peeps, too!

Granite outcrop, Dishman Hills. Can’t you just see a bear hibernating in that dark recess, center of photo?

Gotta be the Rocky Mountains

Dogwood understory—gotta be moist and shaded