| Pella Crossing is a low area adjacent to
St. Vrain Creek just west of Longmont. There is marsh, several big
ponds, and creeks and irrigation ditches. And maybe five miles of
trails wind among all this water.
I visited on a cold, snowy January 1, hoping to burn off
just a little of my holiday weight gain. The area was bright, white,
and icy. I crossed the Zweck and Turner Ditch and walked west along the
margin of Sunset Pond. After about 1/4 mi., I turned west toward the
Marlatt Trails on the other side of 75th St.
There was Dragonfly Pond, with benches on the shore.
Those facing south were dry. There were cattails, snowy ice, and rabbit
footprints in the snow. Next came Poplar Pond, with its big, old, and
twisted poplar tree at the trail's edge.
About one mile in, I turned right, away from the pond,
and walked over a ditch and a bit farther to the banks of St. Vrain
Creek. Back to the main circuit, I walked between Poplar and Dragonfly.
I sat on one of the benches for a while, ate my sandwich, and watched
the clouds shift about the peaks of Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak high in
the backrange.
Back at Sunset Pond, I continued clockwise around it and
then around Heron Pond, and finally between Heron and Webster. This is
certainly a watery walk and probably offers great bird watching in
season.
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