Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
 Deer crossing the top of GM! |
Green Mountain Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA
A personal look at a very much loved park and |
Green Mountain is a great place to live! It offers residents a lot of open space, and a hint of "country" living, while sitting on the edge of one of America's largest, noisiest sprawl centers - the Denver metro area! Despite Green Mountain's close proximity to such a mess, life can still be reasonably peaceful with quiet streets (except along 6th Avenue...), clean air (Green Mountain is almost a thousand feet higher than Denver, maybe keeping it somewhat above the smog?), and great people (The Green Mountainside Civic Association hosts neighborhood Easter egg hunts, garage sales, and summer picnics...).
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Since parts of the Green Mountain community are so much higher than Denver, temperatures can be slightly cooler and snow accumulations a bit deeper. Nevertheless, Green Mountain is a desirable community that wouldn't mind separating itself from Lakewood and the surrounding sprawl. You can see a hint of this sentiment in the protest photos I've posted below. It seems Green Mountain's residents are very concerned about filling-in every inch of open space with more housing, businesses, and parking lots - let's hope they win the fight! |
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Click Here for my YouTube video of Green Mountain from the air during winter! |
 More pipes mean more people and less open space... |
Sally White is a naturalist who knows a lot about Green Mountain and the adjacent Front Range's geologic and biologic makeup. She leads nature walks and has all kinds of interesting experiences, information, and advice. Her Foothills Fancies blog is well worth a visit plus she asked that I make available to everyone her Weeds
on
our
walk
flier and the state of Colorado's Noxious and Invasive Weed List - check 'em out!
Oh, in Sally's blog she describes a naturalist like this, "Naturalists look at things (that's why they're usually so slow). Hikers, bikers, others may look at scenery, I'm willing to admit that, but naturalists LOOK, really look, at things. (And touch them and smell them and whatever else.) They may, depending on their type, be looking at or for birds, butterflies, insects, flowers, trees, ferns, spiders, grasses, shrubs, lichens, geology, rocks, fossils, water, patterns, snakes, salamanders, frogs, fish, fungi, bugs, big critters, little critters, or scat, to name a few --but they are most likely looking AT something. They may be looking at or for a specific KIND of something, like carrion beetles, zeolites, sulfurs, oak galls, rock tripes, or moonworts. They may even be looking at or for all of the above." She goes on to say, "Thus, naturalists are just different. Not right or wrong, just different. All part of that human diversity we cherish. The thing is, they need open spaces, especially relatively untrammeled open spaces, for their chosen 'sport.' Tamed urban spaces just don't cut it the way remnants of the wild, however modified, still can." - although I haven't asked her, my guess is that Sally doesn't appreciate the pipes and other development along Green Mountain any more than I or my neighbors do... |
Skiing Green Mountain!
Over the Christmas week of 2006, two huge storms crippled the Denver area with
an average of almost three feet of snow! On New Year's eve, days after the skies
had cleared, my friend Steve Farley called and suggested we go skiing in our own
"backyard" on Green Mountain! These five photos show part of the experience - it
was great!! The snow was deep, soft and powdery - just like in high country. Plus,
although there were few people there were lots of deer and even a few elk!! The
following pix prove my point that Green Mountain has it all!
 1. Starting at Jewell Ave. |
 2. Steve on the summit |
 3. Roger skiing down |
 4. Elk |
 5. Deer crossing... |
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Click Here for my backcountry skiing page... |
Ditch Dwellers Beware!
Other threats to Green Mountain's quality of life (for both people and wildlife!) include economic pressure to construct housing in what Green Mountain residents consider natural drainage areas alongside Alameda Avenue and the Hayden Green Mountain Park. During 2005 and 2006 I noticed a number of very large banners on display along adjacent properties and fence-lines. Having walked through the drainage area, myself, it does seem incredible that somebody would want to build a house there! Also, it appears to be a natural wildlife corridor that shouldn't be disturbed either. It's not often that the desires of the people trump big government or business interests - it will be interesting to see what happens in this fight...
 6. Risky area |
 7. Caution! |
 8. Snow |
 9. Foot path |
 10. Drain warning |
 11. Ditch warning |
 12. No ditch homes |
 13. Know the risk |
 14. Steep slope |
 15. Stormwater |
Green Mountain Miscellanea:
 16. For sale |
 17. Water Department |
 18. Water Bill Payment |
 19. Solar Siren |
 20. Smoggy view from Mt Morrison |
 21. Front |
 22. My Backyard |
 23. Deframe and Ohio |
 24. Ohio and Deframe |
 25. South fence line |
Green Mountain Pets and Wildlife:
In the nearly five years that we've lived on Green Mountain, by the time I created this entry in June '07, I had discovered nearly two dozen piles of bird feathers in our yard and around the house. And, I've also seen the neighbors' cats scurrying away from me, in my yard, with all kids of limp and dying creatures clamped tightly in their their jaws. There's no doubt that neighborhood cats are really destructive to backyard wildlife allong with dogs contributing to some of the killing as well. So, it was with some interest that I saw this neighborhood warning about the disappearance of pets around Green Mountain:
Take Precautions with Wild Predators In coyote country, January-March is breeding season, which can make these animals aggressive and territorial. "Coyotes are adaptable predators, found in most open habitats, including city neighborhoods, open space, parks and trails" said DOW District Wildlife Manager Crystal Peterson. Coyotes should be treated with caution and respect: [They go on to list how to protect pets, discourage coyotes, and what to do during an encounter, etc.]
A COMPANION ALERT IS THAT NEXT UP THE FOOD CHAIN ARE MOUNTAIN LIONS! |
On the Mountain Itself:
 26. Walking to the top... |
 27. Soapweed Yucca |
 28. Mt Morrison |
 29. Rooney Valley |
 30. Carma Colorado carves up 90 acres... |
 31. Looking at Mt. Evans |
 32. Denver and its Smog... |
 33. C470 & Bandimere |
 34. Pediment gravel |
 35. Looking through the fence... |
Dinosaur Ridge:
Okay, although the two are located really close to each other (within 4 kilometres and easily visible) they are two distinct and separate geological formations. Dinosaur Ridge is a north-south running hogback made of exposed sedimentary rock that has revealed dinosaur footprints and plant impressions due to the various layers that have been tilted by the Rocky Mountain Orogony (mountain building process).
 36. Green Mountain view |
 37. Dinosaur Tracks |
 38. Ornithomimus Track |
 39. Entrance |
 40. Natural Landmark |
 41. Green Mountain view... |
Green Mountain, itself, rises to 6856 feet and sits about 800 feet above Highway C470 on its west side. Green Mountain is a remnant mass of Green Mountain Conglomerate, a pile of syntectonic gravels that developed adjacent to the rising Front Range about 55-60 million years ago. Syntectonic means that the sediments were laid down at the same time as mountain-building was taking place.
West Metro Fire Protection District:
These folks are not only Green Mountain's fire department, but are also
responsible for emergency response for much of Douglas and Jefferson counties
as well. I've discovered them, a few times, practing mountain resuce techniques
at the trailhead I use to climb Mt. Morrison. This particular morning (Saturday,
November 18, 2006) was clear and warm and I happened to be carrying a small camera!
 42. West Metro fire truck |
 43. Readying the litter |
 44. West Metro fire truck |
 45. Rescue litter |
 46. Rescue litter |
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