Cherry Creek State Park -- PHOTO TOUR (Denver: neighborhoods, living)

[vegaspilgrim]

A brief snapshot of a remnant of the High Plains in the middle of the Denver metro area, on a sunny day in the dead of winter.

[bhcompy]

Would be cool if you took the same pics in spring after everything turns green

[DenverAztec]

Nice shots on your tour VegasPilgrim! Bhcompy, the trees and some of the bushes will turn green but many of the grass lands that are not near the streams or the actual resevoir will stay the color of wheat. You will find the large tree lined streets and lawns in Denver proper in the older neighborhoods.

[zenkonami]

Absolutely gorgeous and serene. Who needs green when you've got a palette as beautiful as that!

[lalahartma]

Originally Posted by bhcompy

Would be cool if you took the same pics in spring after everything turns green

What green? This should be recommended viewing for anyone thinking of relocating to the Front Range.

[Josseppie]

GREAT PICS! I really like the ones that show the plains, sky line and mountains in one shot.

[McGowdog]

I'm with Zen! Nice photos just the way they are. It's Vegas's style to a tee as well.

[cobmw]

Depressing.

[zenkonami]

I think a lot of people (particularly those who haven't spent a lot of time in arid and semi-arid climates) assume green means "life" and brown means "dead." Having spent years in the Sonoran Desert I can attest to what's so spectacular about the brown, often brittle looking flora: adaptation. Plants that go to tremendous lengths to survive, whether that be cutting back their own water use, energy production, improved water storage, unusual reproductive processes, etc...

It took a while, but after realizing that nothing really rots in the desert I could see that everything just moves much more slowly. It's very vibrant and alive and manages to support numerous insects and animals just fine...we just tend not to notice them as much, assuming dead, dry brush.

I'm assuming, I hope not incorrectly, that the plains in Colorado are very similar, with lifecycle patterns reflect conditions of the local climate...but still very much a living system. I think people from verdant, eastern states tend to think anything not green is dead or hibernating, and consequently not very interesting.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by zenkonami

I think a lot of people (particularly those who haven't spent a lot of time in arid and semi-arid climates) assume green means "life" and brown means "dead." Having spent years in the Sonoran Desert I can attest to what's so spectacular about the brown, often brittle looking flora: adaptation. Plants that go to tremendous lengths to survive, whether that be cutting back their own water use, energy production, improved water storage, unusual reproductive processes, etc...

It took a while, but after realizing that nothing really rots in the desert I could see that everything just moves much more slowly. It's very vibrant and alive and manages to support numerous insects and animals just fine...we just tend not to notice them as much, assuming dead, dry brush.

I'm assuming, I hope not incorrectly, that the plains in Colorado are very similar, with lifecycle patterns reflect conditions of the local climate...but still very much a living system. I think people from verdant, eastern states tend to think anything not green is dead or hibernating, and consequently not very interesting.

The Sonoran Desert is a completely different animal than the High Plains. I don't even think you can compare the two at all. The Sonoran Desert is not "brown" by any stretch of the imagination-- it's actually full of green plants. The Sonoran Desert is the greenest "desert" in the world, incredibly lush actually. Large stretches of the Sonoran Desert are not even technically a desert. The Sonoran desert is a much more unique, diverse ecosystem than the high plains. Comparing the High Plains to the Sonoran Desert is like comparing a Ponderosa pine forest to a tropical rain forest.

Case in point:



That's outside of Tucson. Palos Verdes, Saguaros, prickly pear, chollas, ocotillos, and many others are green year round. The high plains on the other hand, is a landscape that really is brown. Of course, as you've seen with my photos, there are many different shades of brown, yellow, white, gray, green, and even some red in those photos. "Brown" is not a bad thing in my view of the world. But the colors of the high plains are definitely a lot more "drab" and "muted" than the colors of the Sonoran Desert (especially in the golden hours before sunset when you have your back to the sun).

I appreciate many types of landscapes. And truth be told, the high plains surrounding Denver is NOT my favorite type of landscape of all the places in the world. What really makes my heart sing is the high desert pinion-junipier red rock country of the four corners area. However, I can see the beauty in these high plains.