Garden of the Gods

August 12, 2019









James and Kathy

Garden of the Gods

The beautiful Colorado Springs park, The Garden of the Gods, is located just a few short steps from our house in Colorado, which is one of the best things about having a place there. It is an incredible area of huge natural red rock formations that seem to jut up out of the ground creating majestic formations that are now the most popular tourist destination in the entire Colorado Springs area. The park draws thousands of nature lovers, hikers, rock climbers and more to see the incredible formations.









Though the most popular areas are almost always packed with tourists and visitors, the trails leading away from our property are almost always quiet except for the occasional horseback tours that emanate from the Academy Riding Stables just around the corner from our house. The horse tours pass along in front of our house multiple times a day, which never ceases to interest me.



Cyndi and Roger





The area now known as Garden of the Gods was first called Red Rock Corral by the Europeans. Then, in August 1859, two surveyors who helped to set up Colorado City explored 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."







It is pretty cool to be able to take a walk or hike every morning in one of the most beautiful areas of the entire country and Kathy and I try to take advantage of it as much as we can since it is just so easy. The Garden of the Gods Park is a rich ecological resource. Retired biology professor Richard Beidleman notes that the park is "the most striking contrast between plains and mountains in North America" with respect to biology, geology, climate, and scenery.





The skull of a dinosaur was found in the park in 1878, and was identified as a unique species, “Theiophytalia kerri”, in 2006. A subspecies of honey ant not previously recorded was also discovered in 1879 and named after the park. Mule deer, bighorn sheep and fox are common. Bears and Mountain Lions can also be found occasionally and many lizards, snakes and a few amphibians. The park is also home to more than 130 species of birds including white-throated swifts, swallows and canyon wrens.









There are over 21 miles of trails through the park and while we probably have not yet traversed them all, we are actively working on it with each passing day that we spend at our Colorado home.  One of the coolest places to visit in the park is the wonderful Garden of the Gods Trading Post. Built in 1929 by Charles E. Strausenback, the a Pueblo-themed trading post at the junction of Beckers Lane and the park boundary where it was reported that, "real Indian curios will be carried, including Indian silver, Navajo blankets, pottery, etc.”











To this day Native American artisans can be found creating and selling masterpieces of art and there is also the standard gift shop and small refreshment stand. It is a wonderful throw back to a different era, and a really cool place to stop and check out. Kathy and I did some shopping there while we were here.





James

We also had the opportunity to spend an evening out with Kathy’s nephew James. He is currently working on a construction crew building a cool new building in downtown Colorado Springs. We picked him up at his worksite and went out for a wonderful dinner at a local BBQ joint and had a good time catching up, James seems to be doing pretty well and it was really great to see him.





Finally our friend Dakota and her baby Sloane drove up from their home in Clovis, New Mexico to spend part of the week with us. Air Force requirements kept her husband Andy from joining us, but we really were excited to have Dakota and Sloane visit. They stayed with us one night in Colorado Springs before we all headed up to Estes Park. The night they were here, we were joined by Kathy’s brother Chis and his wife Kari as well as her mother Judy for a fantastic pre-birthday dinner at the Golden Bee Restaurant at the famous Broadmoor Hotel.





https://www.gardenofgods.com/

http://www.gardenofthegodstradingpost.com/