Right when you step foot on the uneven soil you breathe in the fresh air of pine trees surrounding you. Making your way up the paint peeled deck to lift the bear boards with it creaking every step you take. You finally make it to the door with a sign welcoming you to the cabin “take a deep breath you made it to the cabin.” the screen door creaks open to a bright purple door leading you into the one-roomed cabin. “SLAM” the screen door shuts behind you with great force you feel the chill all around the cabin, feeling as if it hasn't been lived in before. The cold winter isolated the cabin from us but right when spring comes it is welcomed by children ready to spend every hour in the forest exploring the unknown and only coming in when their bellies rumble to scavenger the cabinets to find what little food that has not expired. With any luck, there would be hot dogs to make some bacon cheese dogs. The fire ignites with no hesitation on the dry soil with some help of sticks and pine needles; it crackles and pops when the wind sweeps it into another direction. The small trail of smoke sweeps right into our faces burning our eyes forcing us to turn away and risking our dogs to slip off the stick. The day is never done till the sun goes down and the animals come out. Just when the sun decides to wake the birds start singing, the chipmunks steering, the wind whispering through the trees, the animals waking to get a drink and hearing their feet crunch on the forest floor. The fresh air makes you shiver as you rap up in a blanket and enjoy the nature that surrounds you. There's never a dull moment in the presence of nature.

We've only been twice, tried a third time, but it was muddy and a truck transporting hay to the farm near the viewpoint got stuck and there was traffic. It was still beautiful, with the stars out. We heard the typical things, like the crickets and the birds, just with more cars and the men working to get the truck moving. We had chips and soda with us this time. We had bubbly and sweet sprites, with the crunch and salty bbq chips.

When I go to this place, I relax, and really get a beautiful view of the city.

     When I went to Pikes Peak, it was 2016 when the cog was still running. But it was just like I imagined. It was very peaceful and overall just a great place. I went up with my cousins and I remember tasting a coffee lollipop for the first time, and it was actually pretty disgusting, but we all hated it so it was ok. It was one of the most memorable moments that I’ve ever had in my life. 

The salty smell of rain fills the air as the clouds cover the sky. The amazing taste of water fills your mouth and everything is good. The cold wind blows away the clouds while whistling through the trees. The sun starts to set, so it’s time to go home. Today was just another great day in Ute Valley Park. 

At Eleven Mile Lake, there is long grass in some places there, so when the wind blows I can hear grass flapping and getting tangled together. In the afternoon it gets really quiet. There really isn’t any wind so there aren’t many waves near evening. That’s my favorite time of day at the lake because all I can hear there is the occasional swish of water from fish or sudden movements in the lake.The air is so natural and fresh there that breathing it in gives off an oddly good taste in your mouth. It tastes clean and pure, and even refreshing. It’s like drinking freezing cold water and feeling it go down your throat. Out of everything I have talked about so far, my utmost favorite part of Eleven Mile Lake is its sunsets. The sky turns yellow and reflects onto the water. The sun gets so bright and it's absolutely mesmerizing to watch. There are many places I like to visit in Colorado, but none of them are as great as that lake.