BGuthrie Photos: CO -- Colorado Springs -- Garden of the Gods Park

CO -- Colorado Springs -- Garden of the Gods Park:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GARDEN_060528_002.JPG: The Amazing Balanced Rock: Around 300 million years ago, the Ancestral Rockies once stood here. Over time, the forces of wind and water eroded the magnificent peaks into swift streams of sediments. These sediments were eventually pressed and cemented into solid rock. The new rocks took the form of: * Sands full of iron oxide created red sandstone rock, * Muds forming softer, more delicate shales, and * A mixture of sand and pebbles called conglomerate. Balanced Rock was exposed more than 60 million years ago when the existing Rocky Mountains rose. To make its current shape, the soft, bottom layer of shale eroded much faster than the harder sandstone and conglomerate above. Amazingly, the narrow pedestal supporting Balanced Rock has held the 700-ton weight for thousands of years.
2. GARDEN_060528_004.JPG: Goerke & Son Photography: A privately-owned balanced rock: In the 1890s, photographer Paul Goerke shrewdly purchased the land around Balanced Rock. Goerke and his son, Curt, snapped photos of tourists for 25 cents each. The Goerkes then developed the plates i their shop at Steamboat Rock. Thousands have their photos taken: Originally, the Goerkes let people view Balanced Rock for free. They made money by charging for portraits in later years selling photographic supplies. They even furnished trusty burros as props. From private business to public park: Once personal cameras became more available, people started taking their own photos. To generate income, Curt Goerke built a wooden fence around Balanced Rock and charged 25 cents admission. When the City of Colorado Springs purchased the Goerke property in 1932, a large crowd cheered the dismantling of the wall. As early as 1909, the City of Manitou Springs disputed the Goerke Family's control over public access on the road leading to and from Balanced Rock.
3. GARDEN_060528_007.JPG: A Plentiful Harvest The abundant seeds of piñon and juniper trees draw wildlife to this ecosystem like a magnet. Chipmunks, foxes, piñon mice and squirrels munch the blue or copper-colored juniper berries. The berries last through the winter. They provide food for hungry robins, waxwings and Townsend's solitares. Scrub Jays and Clark's nucrackers collect the large piñon nuts and store, or caches, them for winter use. Piñon jays can transport up to 60 seeds at one time in their throats! Humans also enjoy piñon seeds. The Ute Indians have gathered the tasty pine nuts for thousands of years. Today, many people enjoy the nuts in pesto sauce.
4. GARDEN_060528_031.JPG: Balanced Rock
5. GARDEN_060528_102.JPG: Garden of the Gods Trading Post: The Garden of the Gods Trading Company began in the early 1900s when teenager Charles F. Strausenback began selling his carved gypsum figures at Garden of the Gods' cast gateway in front of Fatty Rice's beer hall. In 1924, Strausenback began building "an Indian Pueblo curio museum" so tourists not traveling further southwest would have a chance to study Pueblo structures. In this case, the museum was a private business, much like today's gift shops. Pueblo Indians were employed to dance and make baskets and pottery; Navajo Indians wove blankets and created silver jewelry. Native Americans plied their trades at the Trading Post through the mid-1950s. In 1979, TAT Enterprises, Inc. bought the Trading Post and began a series of additions, leaving the main structure much as it was in earlier days. Painting and photographs by Strausenback, historic photos, and memorabilia recalling the property's history can be seen throughout the building. Wrought iron fixtures, designed and created by Strausenback, remain on the entry doors and around the fireplace.
6. GARDEN_060528_106.JPG: Garden of the Gods Trading Post
7. GARDEN_060528_186.JPG: Pikes Peak
8. GARDEN_060528_190.JPG: Cameron's Cone
9. GARDEN_060528_213.JPG: How did Pikes Peak form? Over a billion years ago, Pikes Peak Granite was molten, or liquid, rock. It slowly cooled and hardened miles below the earth's surface, giving mineral crystals time to grow. The mass of solid rock was pushed up several times by mountain-building forces. About 65 million years ago, the collision of huge plates of earth elevated the region creating the Rocky Mountains. From 35-7 million years ago, colliding plates caused pules of uplift, raising the region yet again. Throughout this time, erosion wore away overlying layers and exposed the ancient granite. From two million to 10,000 years ago, long periods of wintery Ice Age weather gripped the land. Alpine glaciers formed on Pikes Peak. These rivers of ice sculpted U-shaped valleys and bowl-like hollows. Today, erosion continues to shape the rugged mountain. What do you think Pikes Peak will look like millions of years from now?
10. GARDEN_060528_225.JPG: People of the Red Rocks: In the summer of 1994, archeologists made a fascinating discovery in the Park. They found remnants of hearths, or campfires, that had been used by people long ago. Radio carbon dating of charcoal found in the hearths indicated that they were used 3,380 years before the present. It is likely that people camped in this area long before then. These early inhabitants would have stayed in the area for short periods of time, hunting and gathering food before moving on to another camping spot. Who were they? The Ute believe that these people could have been their ancestors. The Ute oral tradition indicates that they have always been in the mountains of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. They do not have a story that tells of migrating from somewhere else. Archeologists, anthropologists, and historians are continuing to study this interesting, complex puzzle.
11. GARDEN_060528_227.JPG: A Cultural Crossroads: In November of 1806, Army Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike and his group of explorers spotted something resembling a "small blue cloud" on the distant horizon. The next day, his men gave a mighty cheer for the "Mexican Mountains." They soon set up camp with a view of the pinnacle that would one day be named Pikes Peak. Pike and his men had succeeded in identifying a mountain that had served as a guiding landmark of this region for thousands of years prior to their arrival. "The summit of the Grand Peak, which was entirely bare of vegetation and covered with snow, now appeared at a distance of 15 or 16 miles from us, and as high again as what we had ascended, and would have taken a whole day's march to have arrived at its base, when I believe no human being could have ascended to its pinical [sic]." - Zebulon Montgomery Pike
12. GARDEN_060528_258.JPG: O beautiful for spacious skies... Travelers have been drawn to the towering rock formations of Garden of the Gods and the world famous Pikes Peak for centuries. The view from the summit inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful" in 1893. Pikes Peak was named for Zebulon Montgomery Pike, an American explorer and lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Pike was assigned to explore the Arkansas River to its source. On November 15, 1806, Pike wrote in his journal: "At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, I thought I could distinguish a mountain to our right, which appeared to be a small blue cloud; viewed it was a spy glass, and it was still more confirmed in my conjecture... in half an hour, (the mountains) appeared in full view before us. When our small party arrived on the hill, they with one accord gave three cheers..." Ten days later, Pike and his men attempted to reach the top but failed, due to a snowstorm. In reference to their lack of preparation, Pike entered into his journal: "I believe no human could have ascended to its pinnacle." Despite his failed attempt, Pike has the honor of having the mountain named after him.
13. GARDEN_060528_293.JPG: Cathedral Spires
14. GARDEN_060528_307.JPG: Garden of the Gods, Colorado
15. GARDEN_060528_359.JPG: Kissing Camels
16. GARDEN_060528_375.JPG: What's In a Name? Imagine standing here 150 years ago. You observe a red rock wilderness, no settlement nearby and footpaths traveled by American Indian people for centuries. What would you name this place? Back in 1859, not long after the "Pikes Peak or bust" gold rush began, a group of men explored the nearby area to determine a place for townsite at the base of Pikes Peak. They named their new town Colorado City, as "colorado" is Spanish for "red," like the surrounding land. As they looked over this area of cathedral-like rock spires, one man, Malanethon Beach, commented that the spot would be a great place for a beer garden some day. His friend, a poetic young man named Rufous Cable, replied that it was a place "fit for the Gods." The name Garden of the Gods has expressed the awe and admiration felt by Cable and by visitors ever since.
17. GARDEN_060528_380.JPG: On the Edge: Seeming to grow right out of the sandstone rock, Ponderosa Pines and Douglas Firs cling precariously to the ledges of the larger rock formations. These trees get their start in cracks within the rocks and hang on to life by wedging their roots ever deeper into the sandstone. Can you guess how the seeds got here? Re-greening the Garden: "When it rains, it pours." This saying is certainly true in Colorado. Brief downpours are literally "gully washers" that carry away any soil not held in place by plant roots. This erosion is hastened when the groundcover is damaged by hikes, horses or bicycles. The dramatic valley where you now stand was trampled and barren early in the 20th century due to heavy use by sightseers and special events. Juniper trees now dotting the valley were all planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s to begin revegetation. Native grasses have also been seeded, and the concrete path was constructed to prevent erosion from foot traffic. You can do your part to help the fragile Garden remain green by staying on the main pathways, allowing the native plants to regrow in disturbed areas.
18. GARDEN_060528_443.JPG: Cathedral Spires
19. GARDEN_060528_451.JPG: A reporter was covering the park for a travelog
20. GARDEN_060528_497.JPG: Siamese Twins
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Wikipedia Description: Garden of the Gods
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs. The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of red and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pikes Peak massif. Evidence of past ages; ancient seas, eroded remains of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can read in the rocks. A spectacular shear fault can be observed where the Tower of Babel (Lyons Sandstone) contacts the Fountain formation. The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the sandstone. There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils.

The hogbacks, so named because they resemble the backs and spines of a pig, are ridges of sandstone whose layers are tilted. Instead of lying horizontally, some layers are even vertically oriented. Each hogback can range up to several hundred feet long, and the tallest (called North Gateway Rock) rises to a height of 320 feet tall. A notable rock feature on this hogback, Kissing Camels, appears to be two very large camels sitting face to face with their lips touching. The hump on the northern-most camel broke off from erosion and heavy climbing.

Entrance to the park is free according to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins, whose children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909. It contains numerous trails for hiking, walking, mountain biking and horseback riding. One of the most popular trails, named Perkins, has been paved in an effort to combat the erosion of the park's central garden caused by its numerous visitors. Visitors receive frequent reminders to watch out for rattlesnakes in the hot days of summer.

Because of the unusual and steep rock formations in the park, it is an attractive goal for rock climbers. Rock climbing is permitted, with annual permit obtained at the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center. The only requirements are reading the rules, having proper equipment, climbing with a "buddy", and staying on established climbing routes. Due to the sometimes unstable condition of the sandstone—particularly after a great deal of precipitation—several fatalities have occurred over the years. This is a very popular bicycle-riding area because of the scenic views, safe one-way recently-paved roads, and healthy clean air.

Nearby attractions:

Near the entrance to the park is Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, a recreation of rustic ranch of the late 1800s. The walking tour features a restored ranch house, demonstrations of smithing and facts about Native American activity in the area, including a small recreation of a Native American campsite. Unlike Garden of the Gods, Rock Ledge Ranch charges a small entrance fee.

Also nearby is the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, proceeds from which support the Garden of the Gods Park. The center provides useful information for the experienced hiker as well as the armchair tourist.

The name:

Many people assume the name comes from a Native American name for the area. In fact, the name of the park only dates back to August 1859 when two surveyors helping to set up nearby Colorado City were exploring the nearby areas. Upon discovering the site, one of the surveyors, M. S. Beach, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden." His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." The beer garden never materialized, but the name stuck.

In 2006 a dinosaur species discovered there, was named after the park: Theiophytalia kerri.
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