Friday, November 20, 2009

Garden Of The Gods

Chances are, you have never seen anything like Garden Of The Gods in Colorado Springs! This is an incredible place with unbelievable sandstone formations.

Below, my husband and son under The Balancing Rock, a natural and totally amazing formation at Garden of the Gods. Can you believe this?



Make sure you bring your camera. Your friends will never believe you as you try to explain what you saw here.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs
from instacam.com






A little background information: In 1879, a man named Charles Elliott Perkins, who happened to be the head of the Burlington Railroad, bought this property and did not do any type of development to the land. He died in 1907 and left the property to his heirs. They decided to give the property to the city of Colorado Springs if it was preserved as a park and opened to the public.
Fortunately for all of us, this is what the city agreed to and it is now registered as a national landmark.

Garden of the Gods is a 1,300 acre rock garden. When I say "rock," I don't mean rocks the size of your hand or your head. I mean giant sculptures made by God using wind and rain over millions of years.

They identified a new dinosaur here in May of 2008, Theiophytalia kerri. How exciting is that!

Below, a photo of one of the huge formations at Garden of the Gods with my husband and son on the road to give you some perspective of how large and awesome these rocks are!


There are no words to adequately describe this rock wonderland. When my in-laws came up to Colorado Springs for my husband's graduation, they could not believe how beautiful this place is. All through school, some of my husband's fellow students would spend hours in this park studying. If we had not had three small children, we may have done the same thing...

Admission to the park is free. Can you believe it? But, there is an optional 20 minute bus tour of the park for $5 for adults and $2.50 for kids up through the age of 12.

There is also an optional 12 minute movie that costs $2 for adults and $1 for children, ages 5 to 12. It is called "How Did Those Red Rocks Get There?" By taking the tour and/or watching the movie, you are supporting the upkeep of the park.

There is a visitor information center where park officials will answer your questions. Here you will find restrooms and a cafeteria.

In the summer, park officials give free 45 minute walks, talking about the sandstone formations and the wildlife here. There are walking trails so you can get your exercise for the day. You can also drive through the park as the rock formations are spread out.

You can bring your dog on a leash as long as you clean up after him/her. The walking trails are mostly easy, some moderate. There are also some mountain biking trails and some horseback riding trails.

Technical rock climbers have to register at the Visitor Center.

To get there, take exit 146 from I-25. Take Garden of the Gods Road west and then go south on 30th Street.

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