2021 CWGS Pond Tour & Picnic
By: Dorothy Martinez
Our Annual Pond Tour & Picnic is coming up on Saturday, July 17th from 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm for the Tour and
from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm for the Picnic.
A suggested route of the Pond Tour sites is included with this Newsletter. The route and a basic map
will be posted to the website under “2021 Pond Tour”. The Tour should take about 2 hours to drive, this
does not include the time you spend at each pond, only the time it takes to drive the entire route. The
route is approximately 66 miles in length. The suggested route starts at I-25 and 120th Avenue and ends
at the final destination, Waneka Lake Park in Lafayette where the Picnic will take place.
Please note, the Club will not be providing any food or drinks for the Picnic this year due
to the COVID Pandemic. If you wish to participate, please bring your own food and drinks for yourself
and any guests.
The Picnic starts at 5:00 pm. We have reserved the East Picnic Shelter at Waneka Lake Park for the
Picnic. The Tour will operate from 2:00 pm through 5:00 pm and is self guided. The Tour is free to all
CWGS members and their guests. Along with the provided route, you will need a good Denver Metro area map
and/or a GPS.
You’ll also want to bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. Please remember, only the ponds and gardens
are open, the houses and restroom facilities are not. If you need a bathroom break, take time to stop
along the way. The picnic will be held at stop #7, Waneka Lake Park, located in Lafayette.
The Pond Tour map has also been published on the website and should help you orient where each pond is.
You can zoom in for more detail. To assist you in driving, the directions are also posted on the
website. For a link to the map, please go to:
https://goo.gl/maps/KjZ34JL5pzuaiVK2A
Here is a detailed map of the route, you can zoom in for more detail:
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2021 Pond Tour Descriptions
By: Rebecca Nash
Stop #1
Chris & Shelley Leinster
12484 Kalamath Court
Westminster, CO 80234
I work in the landscape industry and I built this pond myself in 2013. I had a couple of weeks off over
the Christmas break and my employer was generous enough to loan me his skid-steer. The weather was quite
pleasant until the day before the semi-truck of stone arrived, when the temperature plunged to 4 degrees
and we received over 6" of snow.
My yard turned into an ice-skating rink and I had to set every stone by hand as my tractor slipped and drifted on
the ice! The ground froze as solid as granite and I had to rent a demo-hammer (an electric jackhammer),
just to dig through the soil. I believe I invented some new curse words that day.
As a result, the product is a little different than what I had envisioned, but I am very pleased with the
results. The pond has provided a wonderful atmosphere for entertaining as well as a nesting place for
wild Mallard ducks who return each spring. We hope to retire on a lake someday but for now our pond-side
home will do.
Stop #2
Dennis & Sue Weatherman
4175 E. 139th Avenue
Thornton, CO 80602
We have 2 ponds, one with a waterfall, Koi, and some plants. It's about 800 gallons, professionally
built with lots of boulders, rocks, and flagstone. This feature is right outside our bedroom windows for
evening listening. There are 2 large Koi and a fantail goldfish we inherited from an older gent closing
down his pond. One of those Koi has survived Dennis' mistakes, we lost the other Koi to something (no
idea what), but unfortunately he didn't survive. We have cattails, iris, water hyacinth,
water lettuce, cannas, and some other plants we don't recall names for.
The second pond is smaller and was built with help from CWGS member Peter Heir several years ago. This
was built to help the water lilies survive, as our Koi tried to destroy them. Sue added goldfish to
this pond last year and they are thriving! How they get fatter and bigger over the winter is crazy. In
this pond are iris, water lilies, water petunia, 2 floating planters, and again plants we have forgotten
the names of. Our lilies are not doing so well this year as I write this. The flagstone patio around the
ponds provides an area for seating and enjoyment.
Stop #3
Larry & Keann Brown
2123 Cherry Street
Brighton, CO 80601
I started my outdoor ponds with a single pre-formed pond 25 years ago. Over the years I have added
additional pre-formed ponds; some interconnected, others stand alone. I stock them with various fish.
The usual suspects Koi and Goldfish, but also small fish like mollies, swordtails, and platys. I am an
avid aquarist with a fish room with 1,200+ gallons of both fresh and salt water tanks. The ponds have a
variety of plants from water hyacinths, water lilies, and lotus, and marginal plants. I use some of my
ponds to grow live food via aquaponics for my fish, strawberries, and lettuce. See you in July!
Stop #4
Sue Gasiorowski
1109 Lantern Drive
Fort Lupton, CO 80621
We decided in 2004 to build our first pond. My daughter-in-law (at the time) and I joined and took a
class that CWGS offered that year. We managed to install one that was about 5,500 gals. My husband and
I made a few mistakes along the way but enjoyed it for 7 years before we invested in a Fifth Wheel to
travel, while it was still possible. I kept my pump, extra liner, and the Aquascape filter in storage
along with my other prized possessions, hoping someday, I would be able to build another.
Fast forward to 2016. We gave up traveling due to my husband’s declining heath. We bought a small
retirement home. Life changes and COVID restrictions forced us to spend almost every day staying at
home. In April 2020, I mentioned to my former daughter-in-law that I still had pond makings in the shed
and wished we were all several years younger so we could build another. She convinced me we could do
this again along with my 13- & 15-year-old grandsons’ help.
My small backyard was nothing but river rock on a slope. The prior owners used it as a rental. They
took the easy way out and used the rock with no plants. My family now shutters if I mention rock duty.
We all hated hand picking and sifting the rock from the future pond area and carrying the rocks in
buckets to the other side of the yard. I’m hoping that part of the yard will be a dog run someday.
It’s taken us a year to get where we are, but I can never thank her and my grandsons enough for all the
help and encouragement they have given me this last year. I am still battling the green water by adding
more plants and shade, but you all know it takes forever when you’re not using chemicals. I now have a
beautiful oasis to enjoy. Hope you all will come to Ft. Lupton to see first-hand what my former
daughter-in-law and grandsons helped me accomplish.
Stop #5
Martha Miller & Joel Waszak
943 W. Yale Court
Lafayette, CO 80027
We currently have three aquatic ponds. Our largest pond was installed in 1993. The pond is
approximately 8’ by 12’ and holds around 1,200 gallons of water. The pond was built with varying depths
of shelves to accommodate the various types of pond plants. The pond also features a waterfall that we
really enjoy. The waterfall provides a relaxing sound and plenty of activity with birds visiting the
pond for drinking and bathing. The two smaller ponds have a small water lily and several water plants.
A second feature in our back yard is a G-scale garden railroad (Switzerland Trail). It features over 650
feet of track, over 100 spruce trees, and many perennials. The railroad garden also includes 80+
buildings with detailed scenery. This railroad also has two miniature ponds. The trains will be running
for the Pond Tour.
Stop #6
Carolyn Blakley & Joel Hamm
2877 Blue Jay Way
Lafayette, CO 80026
We built our pond in 2016 and thanks to some great advice, built it three times bigger than originally
planned. My intent was to build a lush tropical style pond with lavish perennials and tropical plants
surrounding it. It is approximately 20” deep with a waterfall and has early (late April) blooms due to
the shallow depth and wall. We have around 30 Koi and about 20 waterlilies, both tropical and
hardy, we also have 3 lotus along with various other aquatic and bog plants.
Stop #7
Picnic
Waneka Lake Park, East Picnic Shelter
1600 Caria Drive
Lafayette, CO 80026
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2021 Pond Tour Directions
By: Dennis Weatherman
These directions are written as if you are coming from Denver proper to the Tour. The Tour is in North
Denver this year. Adjust your route accordingly or use GPS.
Starting from I-25 and 120th Avenue ...
Stop #1
Chris & Shelley Leinster
12484 Kalamath Court
Westminster 80234
From Denver, take I-25 north to 120th Avenue, turn left on Huron Street, turn right on Huron Street, turn
left on Home Farm Avenue, turn left on 124th Drive, turn left on Kalamath Court
Return to Huron, turn left on Huron Street ...
Stop #2
Dennis & Sue Weatherman
4175 E 139th Avenue
Thornton 80602
From Huron Street, turn right on 136th Avenue, turn left on Bellaire Street (stoplight after King
Soopers) to 139th Avenue, turn left on 139th Avenue
Turn right on Bellaire Street, turn left on 136th Avenue ...
Stop #3: Larry Brown
2123 Cherry Street
Brighton 80601
From 136th Avenue, turn left on Holly Street, right on CO 7 (160th Avenue/Bridge Street), head east thru
Brighton, turn right on S. 22nd Avenue/S. 21st Court, turn left on Cherry Street
Return to US 85, turn southeast on Cherry Street, right on 22nd Avenue, right on E. Bromley Lane to north
US 85 ...
Stop #4
Sue Gasiorowski
1109 Lantern Drive
Fort Lupton 80621
From US 85 north, turn right at 14th Street exit, (CR 14 ½/Mineral Road), turn right on Pacific Court,
turn left on Lantern Drive
Turn right on Pacific Court, turn left on 14th Street (CR 14 1/2 /Mineral Road) to south US 85 ...
Stop #5
Martha Miller & Joel Waszak
943 W. Yale Court
Louisville 80027
Take US 85 south to CO 52, turn right/west on CO 52 (Mineral Road), from CO 52, drive approximately 28
miles, turn left/south on US 287 (N 107th Street), turn right on S. Boulder Road, turn left on N.
McCaslin Blvd., turn left on W. Century Drive, turn right on Dahlia Street, turn right on Yale Court
Turn right on Dahlia Street, turn left on Dillon Road ...
Stop #6
Carolyn Blakley & Joel Hamm
2877 Blue Jay Way
Lafayette 80026
Stay on Dillon Road, Dillon Road will cross under Northwest Parkway, turn left on US 287, turn left on
South Point Drive, turn left on Blue Jay Way
Turn right on South Point Drive, turn left on US 287 ...
Stop #7
CWGS Pond Tour Picnic
Waneka Lake Park, East Picnic Shelter
1600 Caria Drive
Lafayette 80026
From US 287, turn left on S. Boulder Road, turn right on Ceres Drive, turn left on Caria Drive, turn
right on Waneka Lake West Lot. Picnic is at the East Shelter
Drive careful, observe traffic laws, have a good time, enjoy the scenery, hope to see you there!
Any errors herein are solely my fingers’ fault, Dennis Weatherman, CWGS Board Member-at-Large and Pond
Tour Committee
https://goo.gl/maps/KjZ34JL5pzuaiVK2A
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Upcoming Events for August 2021
By: Dorothy Martinez
We have two really special events coming up in August. Pencil these dates in, as you won’t want to miss them.
Water Blossom Celebration to be held on Saturday, August 7th from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm near the Monet Pond at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Join us for demonstrations, docent lead tours, free information about water gardening/water plants, and free plants.
Pond Side Meeting to be held on Saturday, August 21st from 12:00 pm until 3:00 pm at The Gardens on Spring Creek and the CSU Flower Trial Gardens. Join us for an afternoon of exploring various public gardens within Fort Collins.
Keep an eye out on both the website and the upcoming edition of the CWGS August Newsletter for more details!
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