My wife, Dee, and I took two of our grandchildren, Jada and Jarad, to The National Wildlife Refuge at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Commerce City. This is an island of wildlife habitat surrounded by metro urban developments.

The visitor center is the hub of 8.7 miles of trails going around or near four lakes nearby. We were there a little before lunch and the wildlife was too smart to be out in the heat of the day. We walked down to Lake Mary and saw some fishermen there and they have a holding tank showing their catch. The fishing is catch and release so all the fish in the holding tank is returned to the lake. The only wildlife we saw was a toad or frog along the trail. There were lots of wildflowers and native grass.

There is an interesting display in the visitor center. Eagles, hawks and other native birds are on display. Foxes, coyotes and other ground animals are also displayed. In addition to the stuffed animals they have a live Bull snake and a live Salamander in the visitor center. The attendant asked our grandchildren if they would be interested in seeing the Salamander. The grandchildren were hesitant to touch that strange looking creature. I was not aware the salamander is native to this area. In addition to the wildlife display there is a display about the arsenal when it is was a weapons manufacturing site for World War II.

This brought back memories to me. During the late sixties I was assigned to the 244 th Engineer Army Reserve battalion. They were stationed at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal and one weekend out of the month I had to go out for the weekend meetings. For two years I would drive by the Shell Chemical plant to attend the meetings and this plant would emit some of the strangest smells as I passed by. I heard they were making pesticides and herbicides at the time. I don't think it was very healthy but what can you do about it?

This was the era when the U.S's nerve gas and mustard bombs were stored at the arsenal. Bunker after bunker of toxic poisonous gases were stored out there. I was kind of amused by the sophisticated leak detection system that was set up. In front of the entrance to the bunkers was a rabbit or chicken pen. If the animals died they knew they had a leak somewhere.

Security was very loose. On occasion a semi-retired security guard would pass through and ask us what we were doing in the area. He would then shoo us back to the Army Reserve building and then go on his merry way. Times have really changed.

The arsenal is a gigantic area and the part that is finished now is just a small segment of the arsenal. Future plans are to return nearly 17,000 acres to a more natural prairie environment and remove all reminders of manufacturing facilities of the past.

More photos at National Wildlife Refuge