Everyone’s favorite summer event – the My Outdoor Colorado’s Family Cook Out – was even better than expected. Many community members from Denver’s Westwood & Cole neighborhoods came out to enjoy the summer weekend with crafts, games, critter crawl, and, of course, some s’mores.
Families and neighbors arrived in the afternoon and we beat the heat by doing crafts inside. Many coloring pages were decorated, paper bag animal puppets were constructed, and even a few Cook Out photo albums were assembled. A storm started to roll in and the heat died down a little so we made our way to the fire pit for dinner. Don’t worry – we stayed dry and the storm traversed just south of us! Sandwiches, grilled cheeses, and hot dogs were cooked over the fire as we all relaxed while eating by the scenic South Platte River. And then a delicious multi-course dessert of watermelon and s’mores was enjoyed by all.
After filling our bellies, we all traded our regular shoes for water shoes and grabbed some nets on our way to the river. It was finally time for critter crawl! Every took to catching critters quickly, and before long our museum was filled with crawdads, leeches and clams. Many folks tried catching macros for the very first time, but you would never be able to tell with how many we had swimming in the museums. We all learned how to hold a crawdad, how clams move, and why the leeches we have in the South Platte are safe for humans.
As the sun started to set, we all exited the river and said goodbye to the macros we caught. We enjoyed the dramatic sky as we changed our shoes back and made our way back to the building. A big thank you to everyone who helped make this event the great success it was. We can’t wait to see everyone again next year!
Pollinating Pals