[January 1, 2019, Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge] After flying in from New York, Dallas and I rented a car from Alamo at the Denver Colorado airport and drove to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, which is also in Denver. The Refuge was open, but the auto gate on Gateway Road was closed on account of today’s holiday. We parked in a small lot just outside the gate and hiked over to the Visitors Center. As expected, it was closed, but we were able to pick up a trail map from a rack outside. We joined the Legacy Trail, taking it east across the prairie. We passed the Ferret Exhibit, but it appeared to be closed for the winter. The trail took us across fields with thin snow cover through which poked prairie vegetation. Most of the plants were dried-out and has the amber-brown colors of winter. Off to the west, the sun was lighting up the Flatiron hills around Boulder and the more-distant snow-capped Rocky Mountains. We passed many Prairie Dog mounds, some two feet tall and four across, but saw none of the animals, themselves. We also passed a tall fence with a sign warning of American Bison on the other side. None of these animals were about. We did spot several Magpies and a hawk. The trail then passed through an area of sparse and low woods. The trees included Red Cedar and Pine, and in the damper regions, Cottonwood. Rounding a corner, we spotted a group of Mule Deer, including a very muscular-looking buck with a big rack. After crossing a road, we came to Lake Mary, a small impoundment with a tiny wooded island in its center. We walked around the northern shore of the lake, past a fishing dock. We then crossed another road and came to Lake Ladora, another impoundment considerably larger than Lake Mary. It, like Lake Mary, was mostly iced-covered. A flock of Canada Geese sat on its surface. We walked around the lake in the counter-clockwise direction, crossing a footbridge at the narrow, eastern end of the lake, which was marshy and full of cattails. Stately Cottonwood grew along the shore of the lake. We passed several groups of Mule Deer, one with more than a dozen members. Upon completing the loop, we crossed the road again and tried to walk the long puncheon that crosses the marsh at the eastern end of Lake Mary, but discovered that it was closed for repairs. We took the southern half of the loop trail, instead, which offered nice view of the little island. After completing the Mary Lake loop, we rejoined the Legacy Trail and took it back east to our car. About three hours.