Road Dispatch Archives
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GeographicWest Road Dispatch Number 4Garden of the Gods COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – The circumference of the Earth at the equator is 24,901.55 miles. And as you circle the globe there are some places that stand out beyond description. Places that are truly unique and beautiful. Where the handicraft of Nature or God make you realize how beautiful these unique places truly are. Not overstating, the writer hopes, is that Garden of the Gods is such a place. White and red sandstone sentinels surround you as walk around 3300 acre park, jutting up into a crystal clear blue azure sky, when it not snowing like crazy which it does at times, not much though. Not much because the park is shielded by the 14,115 foot high Pikes Peak. Garden of the Gods is really unique and beautiful national treasure. It has been for the last century and thousands of centuries before that. It is very difficult to take bad photographs there unless of course you do it on purpose. To get your orientation of what to do and see first, it is a must. There, you can pick up a free visitors guide and invaluable map. You will also see displays describing the creation of Garden of the Gods by the hand of Nature, plus a wonderful 12-minute video about this beautiful National Monument. There are the other ubiquitous amenities such as restrooms, restaurant, and gift shop. There is a much larger gift shop elsewhere in the park but more on that later. When you are at the Visitors Center stroll outside to the balcony that overlooks an awesome scene of Pikes Peak, the entrance to Garden of the Gods and an unobstructed view Colorado Front Range. The view is so beautiful, so awesome from this vantage point it almost does not look real. There are similar views that take your breath away, the view from Glacier Point in Yosemite for example, but from the left, south, to your right, north, the ridge of Colorado Front Range mountains are stunning. And it is from this view that you can look down and see the entrance to Garden of the Gods directly across from the Visitors Center. Once you drive past the entrance monument you are entering another world of thrusting iron-laden sandstone sentinels thrusting up from a green carpet of shrubs and trees. The first natural impulse is to stop just beyond the entrance to start taking pictures of these jagged rock-faces on either side of the road....but patience, patience, besides, No Parking signs are everywhere on the main passage roads within the Park. Drive several miles up the Ridge Road to the Main Parking lot. From there you can park, walk, take pictures, take in the views, join a free guided tour, with or without your dog. They allow them in the park but under control, a six-foot leash and a plastic bag ready to pick up, uh, well, you know. Fingers crossed, you day will be bright, sunny, warm sun and cool air. It should be. The humidity in Colorado Springs is generally low with only 15½ inches of precipitation per year. You are up at about 6,500 feet in elevation, the fewer oxygen molecules in the air and the air pressure is about 20 less than sea level so take it slow if you are a flat-lander. That’s okay, your body will tell you to take it slow, dizziness, out-of-breath, you’ll see as you walk up and down the trails ahead. And above all, take water, wear a hat, bring a jacket (depending on the season), and take your time. You will not see it all on your first visit, but assuming this is your first visit, what you will see stays with you the rest of your life. Saying that, I first visited the Garden of the Gods more than 40 years ago. It remained vivid in my mind and the recent revisit confirmed the impact the place made upon my mind. As you enter the first trailhead, you will see a red ribbon of pavement, color blended with your surroundings, stretch out and beyond winding into the central viewing area. That trail is known as the Perkins Central Garden Trail. It is 1.5 miles long; it is paved, and has a vertical gain of less than 30 feet. It meanders through the largest rock formations in the park and if you don’t have a camera, shame on you. But, I think you will have a camera and view the beauty of the park, Pikes Peak and the Colorado Rockies with someone you love or at least can tolerate for an hour or two. Every now and then you will see a bench, or viewing area where you can sit and rest and just take it all in. The towering red spires surround you and envelop you. You will see divots in the rock where colonies of swifts, swallows, pigeons and bats call home. You may even spot a falcon or hawk soaring above your head. You may see black billed magpies, Mule Deer and not very often, shy coyotes or even-shyer, unless you look like a good meal, mountain lion. And above all you will hear the quiet of the mountains or gentle rustle of tree limbs from the zephyrs moving in and out of the tall red towers surrounding your view. Pinion Pine and Juniper are everywhere. Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir carpet the areas in and around the park. And from what was once a series of ancient seas, the red edifices that mark Garden of the Gods. Garden of the Gods was designated in 1972 as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. First viewed by the white man in 1820 by Major Stephen Long, it was named a Colorado Springs and protected as a public park in 1909. Native Americans were the first human residents and were protected and fed by this area for millennia, mostly the Ute Indians. After the first trail visit, consider a visit within the park to the Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, early home to private landowners, The Chambers. Drive to Balanced Rock, a much photographed chunk of rock precariously balanced on a narrow-band of support (augmented recently to prevent the icon from tumbling.) And finally, you must make a stop near the southern exit at Garden Lane and Beckers Lane at the Garden of The Gods Trading Post. It must be the largest memorabilia shop in any national tourist site. Besides the rows of tokens you can buy there is a restaurant in the rear where you can sit and eat and view the beauty of the park surrounding you. The Garden of the Gods is the quintessential Colorado attraction. It is the cornerstone of attractions in Colorado Springs area that includes Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, Manitou Springs, and Cripple Creek. In future dispatches we will visit those sites as well, and of course, serve up a set of Photologs to remember.
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