Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Revolutionizing · Modernizing · Simplifying
Picture a wildland crew hiking toward a fire on the south side of Cheyenne Mountain. And about ten feet out front, leading the way, is a four-year-old Nigerian dwarf goat.
That happened. On July 9, 2026, during the Rock Creek Fire, a brown and white goat named Goldie followed a Southern Colorado Interagency Wildland Team crew, sat about ten feet ahead of them, and made noises like she wanted them to follow her. She even chomped brush along the way. Call it informal fuel mitigation. Superintendent Shane Coyne said it honestly looked like she was guiding them in.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department posted the video. It hit more than 2.5 million views.
And now she is the guest of honor at a free family day at the park right next to where all of this went down.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is throwing its annual Adventure Day at Cheyenne Mountain State Park on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. And here is the part people miss. Aug. 1 is not a random Saturday. It is Colorado's 150th birthday. The state turns 150 that exact day, and CPW built the whole event around it.
So they are stacking the deck. Free hands-on stations all over the Limekiln Trailhead area. Archery. A rock wall you can actually climb. Hatchet throwing (which, side note, is a fantastic idea and also mildly terrifying with a crowd of kids around, but they have staff on it). A BB gun marksmanship range. Orienteering. Geocaching. Knot tying. Fishing.
Every station you complete earns you raffle tickets. And prize raffles run all day for anyone with a valid Colorado State Parks pass. So the kid who grinds through every activity is basically building a lottery pile as they go. Smart. Keeps them moving.
CPW says all of it is led by experienced staff, volunteers, and the park's friends group. So this is not a free-for-all with sharp objects. It is run.
Here is the human part, because there is always a human part.
Goldie's full name is Golden-Oreo. Goldie for short. She is four years old, Nigerian dwarf, brown and white. Her owner is Lindsey Glader, and she is connected to Castle Rock firefighter Pete Glader. So the goat basically comes from a firefighting family. You cannot make that up.
The Rock Creek Fire burned on the south side of Cheyenne Mountain in El Paso County. And the good news is it stayed tiny. About 1.5 acres. No roads closed. No structures burned. And Goldie made it home safe with the crew.
That is the whole reason this thing blew up online. It was not a tragedy. It was a small fire, a strange little escort, and a goat who apparently thought she was on payroll. The internet ran with it. Two and a half million views later, she is a Colorado celebrity.
And now families can meet her at the park.
Look, I am not going to pretend every free event is worth the drive. Most people do not realize how many "family days" are just a folding table and a coloring sheet. This is not that.
You have got real skills stations. You have got a viral animal your kids already probably know about. And you have got the 150th birthday tie-in, which gives the whole day a reason to exist beyond "get outside." It is a concrete, low-cost excuse to get the kids off the couch on a summer Saturday. That is rare, and that is the actual value here.
Hayley and I have said it a hundred times. The hardest part of getting kids outdoors is the first push out the door. A goat with 2.5 million views is a pretty good push.
The activities are free. The park is not.
Cheyenne Mountain State Park is at 410 JL Ranch Heights Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80926. Adventure Day is free once you are in, but you need a valid state parks pass or a day pass to get through the gate. That day pass was recently running around
And here is the real estate note, because I cannot help myself. This part of El Paso County, out on the JL Ranch Heights side, is exactly the kind of pocket people underestimate. You are minutes from a legitimate state park with fishing, trails, and a real trailhead system, and it still reads as quieter southwest Colorado Springs. Proximity to open space like Cheyenne Mountain State Park is one of those things that quietly holds value in the Springs market. Buyers say they want it. Then they actually pay for it. A park entrance you can reach in a few minutes is a feature, not a footnote.
So that is the deal. Aug. 1. Colorado turns 150. There is hatchet throwing, a rock wall, and a goat who tried to run a fire crew.
Bring the kids. Grab the day pass. Let Goldie do the recruiting.