As we had travelled far the previous day we decided to remain a bit closer to home. One of the areas we had wanted to look at was the park known as “The Garden of the Gods” which is only a few miles from downtown Colorado Springs. This is an area of large red rock structures that have been carved into sheer faces and steeple spire peaks. We initially go to the visitors centre to learn a bit more about the geology – and fortunately there is an orientation film. The rocks were formed in a similar fashion to the South Dakota Badlands at a time when a shallow sea filled what is now the interior of the USA. When this sea retreated a sedimentary sandstone layer was left behind which was then pushed upwards as the volcanic action that formed the Rocky Mountain range. Years of erosion has resulted in the delightful sculpture rock formations of today.
After this film we wondered into the gift shop and then found out one of the docents was giving a talk on the American Bison. Apparently in the 1500s there was estimated to be 60 million bison broadly scattered across a wide swath of the Americas. Even in the mid-century many millions still roamed across the central plains. At the end of the Civil war the US government turned its attention to fighting the Indians that had been squeezed into the plains by the expansion of the white man from the East and the West. After much hard fighting the US troops were not doing too well so the decision was made by the government to destroy the food supply of the “pesky” Indians so they put a bounty on the heads of bison – so began a huge slaughter which resulted in the massed herds being destroyed. By the 1870s only about 500 bison had actually survived. Fortunately someone saw some sense and programmes were put in place to preserve these wonderful animals and now the population in the US now numbers some 400,000 animals. The only truly wild herd lives in Yellowstone National Park (about 1000). We also learned a lot about buffalo physiology and their significance to the culture and support of the American Indians.
Having had our heads filled with loads of information we needed a break and so headed across to the Garden of the Gods park. This was a sacred place for the local Indian tribes and as you walk amongst the fantastic sculptured rocks you can understand why – it has a most spiritual feeling. We continue to walk and wonder at the rock with frequent stops for Emily to pet every dog walking through the park – being a warm Sunday afternoon this numbers a lot. Still it was a 
good chance for Karen to chat and find out people’s life history. These rocks have long been a popular place for rock climbers and today they are out in force. After a serene walk through the rocks we jump into the car and head off to one of the featured rocks – the balanced rock. As its name suggests this rock is teetering on a narrow point – seemingly impossibly balanced. For many years this rock was privately owned by an individual who used to charge money for people to have their picture taken by the rock. As camera technology grew to allow more people to own a personal camera this person erected a fence around the rock and charged admission. Eventually the City of Colorado Springs acquired the rock and added it the Garden of the Gods park.
Finishing up with some photos at the balanced rock we head up route 24 to Woodland Park where there is Dinosaur Resource Centre. The group who own and run this centre are renowned palaeontologists and have made many important discoveries. This centre demonstrates some of their dinosaur finds and sea creatures. We take a fascinating tour with a engaging and knowledgeable 16 year old (they grow up so quickly nowadays). At the end of the tour you get to look into their laboratories and the guide goes inside and produces a box with some interesting fossils inside including a Megoladon tooth.Another action filled day for the Hoblets and probably one of the better of many great days we have had on this tour.
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