Everyday Adventure // Beaver Heaven

Last weekend, I found beaver heaven.

I promise you, this is where all beavers wished they lived.  The mecca of beaverdom.

On our way to hike Mt. Sherman, we turned onto County Road 18 (off of 285, one mile south of Fairplay).  A few cattle guards later, I announced quite excitedly : A BEAVER DAM!

But there was not just one, nor were there two.  These epic beaver constructions continued for the entire length of the road, until we arrived at the trail head…at least eight miles later (maybe nine? or ten?).  I’m sure the most prolific beavers in the world occupy this stream – it almost looked like rice paddy fields in China – some dams were TALL and probably twenty feet across, creating huge ponds and pools in steps down the valley.

We didn’t actually see any beavers, which is amazing since I’d imagine that it took quite a few to make this thing happen.  We even saw a few places where the glut of snow runoff in spring broke through some older dams and they had to be moved and reconstructed.  And the road was lined with beaver-chewed tree stumps.

I wish I had an aerial photograph of the whole thing!

One of my favorite things about Colorado is all the stunning surprises you can stumble upon.  Like the most impressive beaver architecture ever.

In other news, happy Thursday!  Have any adventures planned for this Labor Day weekend?