Of Birthdays and Bison

It seemed, initially, that the highlight of Maisie’s first full day in Denver — son #1’s 28th birthday — would be the unimpeded access to Luke’s comfy couch. But then we walked her around nearby Sloan Lake and she thrilled at the infinite supply of goose poop.

That delight, however, was dwarfed by our afternoon visit to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Once the home of chemical weapons manufacturing, the site, comprising 15,000-acres of prairie, wetlands, and woods, is the poster child for toxic clean-up thanks to a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local agencies and a little help from Shell Oil Co. Under the leadership of US Fish & Wildlife, the area has become one of the nation’s largest urban refuges, home to 330 animal species.

We didn’t see any bald eagles, or coyotes, or burrowing oils. We did, however, drive past lots of deer grazing and prairie dogs poking their furry little heads up out of their holes and scampering through the high grass. Maisie barely raised her head – until she spotted the bison.

Not even the walk under sunny skies along a prairie path outside of the refuge, nor the birthday celebration that followed, could compete.