We went hiking today in Aiken Canyon Nature Preserve, a beautiful area for hiking along SH 115, south of Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain State Park. While hiking the Aiken Canyon Loop Trail, a great 4 mile trail that takes you through forests, fields, and dry creek beds, we saw lots of butterflies feeding on the wildflowers. I used a Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens to take this photo. 

Echinaceas, popularly known as coneflowers, are members of the daisy family of flowers. I took this photo with a Canon T3i DSLR camera and a Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG lens. 

While hiking in Red Rock Canyon in Colorado Springs, I noticed a few Canadian geese in the small lake on the eastern side of the park. This goose in particular was especially curious (or hoping for food) and swam near me and let me take multiple close-up photos of him. I took this photo with a Canon 6D DSLR camera and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.

The chipmunks in Rocky Mountain National Park are tame and hang around every lookout point in hopes of scoring a free snack. I took this photo at 10,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Forest with a Canon 70D DSLR camera and a Canon EF-S 17-55mm lens..

I photographed this bullfrog at a botanical garden in eastern Kansas, using a Canon 70D DSLR camera and a Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG telephoto lens.

I photographed this bullfrog at a botanical garden in eastern Kansas, using a Canon 70D DSLR camera and a Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG telephoto lens.

I always try and get a window seat when I fly so that I can grab a few pics of the world below. While flying over Connecticut on a work trip back in 2015, I managed to see and photograph my first "glory." Here's a Wikipedia article that explains this optical phenomenon. I took this photo with an old Samsung phone.

A plateau fence lizard I photographed on the campus of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, where I work. There's an area on campus with a long fence made out of railroad ties. In the mornings in spring and summer, you can find dozens of lizards sunning all along the fencing. I took this photo with a Canon 6D and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens.

Closely related to the blue jay, Steller's jays live at higher elevations here in Colorado. I see them sometimes while hiking the foothills on the western edge of Colorado Springs. I took this photo with a Canon 70D DSLR and Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG telephoto lens.

A desert cottontail bunny I noticed in the bushes while leaving work the other day. I took this photo with a Canon 6D and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM telephoto lens.