This course is offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Colorado State University. You must be a member of Osher to enroll in this course.
They don’t call them babbling brooks for nothing. Rivers have stories to tell - the ebb and flow of life, changes from season to season, overlapping waves of cultures, all the while the river carving its course and working its ecological magic. Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, at the mouth of the Big Thompson Canyon, is an ideal place to explore natural, cultural, and individual histories.
Wander along the river that runs through the ranch and unpack histories, retracing the footsteps of everyone from Arapaho and Ute tribes and cattle ranchers, to last night’s foraging bobcat and this morning’s dippers and canyon wrens.
For much of the afternoon, we will take an easy hike up the Sulzer Gulch and across the Alexander Mountain to understand the deeper history of earth processes behind the “sylvan dell.” Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. If you don’t want to join us for this hike, you may soak up the beauty as you sit by the stream or wander the nearby beautiful setting. A delicious barbecue lunch is included.
Rain date - Saturday, July 16
Recommended Readings: Armstrong, D. M., 2008. Rocky Mountain Mammals, a Handbook of Mammals of Rocky Mountain National Park and Vicinity, 3rd ed. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, CO, xiv + 264 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0-87081-882-0. Benedict, A. D., 2008. The Naturalist’s Guide to the Southern Rockies. Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, CO, xvi + 656 pp. ISBN-13:978-1-55591-535-3. Chronic, H., and F. Williams, 2002. Roadside Geology of Colorado, 2nd ed. Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula, MT, xi + 399 pp. ISBN-0-87842-447-4.
Noncredit courses do not produce academic credit nor appear on a Colorado State University academic transcript.