Casual Sunday: Ken-Caryl, Manor Lodge, Botanic Gardens Chatfield

[Categories: Photography, Travel, Travel photography, Photography 101 Forever]

M’lady and I did a relaxing drive to a few local sites we hadn’t visited SW of Denver, CO. Ken-Caryl Ranch and The Manor Lodge were our first stops.

Ken-Caryl is a suburban housing development nested in a fairly narrow valley between the hogbacks rift and the first foothills west of Denver.  It’s built on a former cattle ranch.  The Manor Lodge is the early 20th century mansion of ranch founder John Shaffer.  Other old ranch mansions in the vicinity include the Cherokee Ranch and the Highlands Ranch Mansion.  A few historical links inform about the Manor Lodge:

http://www.themanorhouse.com/index2.php#/rtext_2/1/

The Shaffers and the Formation of Ken-Caryl Ranch

The Manor Lodge

The Manor Lodge

Views of Denver from the mansion:

26mm

55mm

200mm

We gotta move!  Ever try to relocate several fields of prairie dogs?  I guess this is one attempt:

Prairie dog town, moving they hope.

Views of the valley, hogbacks rift on the left, foothills on the right:

Onward to the Chatfield Farms division of the Denver Botanic Gardens.
http://www.botanicgardens.org/chatfield-farms

Flora and fauna abound:

Heavy spring snows have taken their toll:

The Deer Creek schoolhouse was moved here from a half mile away:

I did say farms:

After the 2 feet of snow last weekend Spring is here, rain (not purple) is forecast next week, summers a’coming.

Enjoy.