Rain-Washed Sky

Skunk Canyon • 9 July 2026

Out here in the west, west of the Mississippi, west of the prairie, at least six wildfires have been raging for more than a week, and have blanketed the state in a thick haze of wood smoke. But finally today, someone somewhere danced a rain-dance, and the sky took notice, at long last, and washed the smoke away. And the air became breathable again.

So off we went to breathe some of it: paradoxically, to Skunk Canyon. A nice 3.5 mile hike with some elevation and scenery, and a pleasant jaunt midway along the “Roman Road” of Boulder, aka, the Mesa Trail.

Heard the familiar whir of hummingbirds overhead, but mostly calls of spotted towhees, that chirp-chirp-chip-trilllllllll. But the Merlin app has become de rigueur on Humpday, and so it listened, and nodded, and confirmed our suspicions: towhees.

The trail goes up through a valley (where one can hear most of the birds), winds up some switchbacks, then forks left to follow the canyon, or right to head up to a ridge and take the Kohler Trail to Mesa. Mesa rolls south to the NCAR trail and up a hill to “the Great Green Water Tower,” whereupon graffiti is rampant, most recently with at least twenty new markings of “Save NCAR.” We can only hope.

And then back down the fire access road to the NCAR road, and down to the car, there to declare another successful BNO.

☶