Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is about 35 miles west of home in Colorado Springs. With unique fossils that do NOT include dinosaurs, 6,000 acres, 3.5 miles of self-guided loops, 15 miles of trails, and a Labor Day 2020 Monday that needs a trip, let’s explore together!
OK, enough suspense. That is Big Stump above, a 1/2 mile walk from here. This is my first visit to Florissant Fossil Beds, so let’s begin by walking the self-guided Petrified Forest Loop. The information kiosks along the way will explain the forming of this unique place.
You may be wondering, if there are no dinosaurs here, what’s the big deal about fossils? Well, this valley was once surrounded by volcanoes. They formed much of the landscape we see here today. About 37 million years ago (late Eocene period) a massive flow of ash and hot gasses tore through the valley creating conditions for fossil preservation. About 34 million years ago Florissant Lake forms here and preserved delicate fossils in shale. At some point the lake drains creating a stream valley where mammals and tree stumps are preserved. Lake Florissant forms again until a final volcanic pumice eruption fills the lake and leaves the valley as we see it today. (Thank you Park Service for this simple explanation.)
So what is unique about these fossils that a National Monument was created? Glad you asked. 😉 This valley contains one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Huge petrified redwood stumps and thousands of detailed insect and plant fossils. I’ll share a few, but you can see more here.
That is one tiny bug (5/32 of an inch), but look at the detail preserved. The eye looks 3-D! There are still many specimens to find and the park continues to search out the area’s history through the fossil records.
Here we are at Big Stump. At 14 feet wide, it is the largest of the area’s 30 known redwood stumps. The resident paleontologists are sure more remain undiscovered underground.
Yes, redwoods grew on the edges of Lake Florissant when this Colorado mountain valley was a much warmer, subtropical ecosystem. Some key geographic layers are clearly seen here behind Big Stump. At top #1 is caprock conglomerate unit–a remnant of a debris flow. Next #2 is middle shale unit–remnant of the ancient lake containing thousands of insect and plant fossils. Last #3 is lower mudstone unit–lahar (volcanic mudflow) that buried the redwoods growing here resulting in the preservation of petrified stumps.
The youngest Eocene rocks are pumice conglomerates. I picked up a rock laying on the trail–my mom was a rock hound when I was a kid, so can’t help myself–and it weighed nothing. Pumice can actually float on water. Seeing these rocks I wish I had tried to pick one up. Next trip, although they are conglomerates which adds weight. Conglomerates in this case is pumice-rich white sandstone with smaller rocks and gravel mixed in. You can see those smaller rocks clearly on the left rock.
Let’s walk a little further to see the Hornbek Homestead on the park’s north edge. Under the 1862 Homestead Act, Adeline Hornbek purchased this property in 1878. An inspiring story of how a determined widowed woman with four children made a good and honest life for herself and family, ranching and participating in the growing community of Florissant, Colorado.
It is time to head to Sawmill Trail which will take us through the forest and meadows frequented by elk. The Ranger said a female moose and her youngster have been seen there too. Moose are rare in the park. Think we’ll get lucky?
Much of this loop trail is not shaded so we may see late summer flowers in full blooming glory. Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) is everywhere gleaming gold. It blooms from August to October.
So interesting to take a closer look. Long tubular flowers always in dense, rounded or flat-topped clusters at the end of the branches.
Western Meadow Aster (Symphyotrichum campestre) blooms from June through September adding to the autumn color.
They also attract pollen-gathering visitors. This is a Long-horned bee (Melissodes sp.), named for its long antennae. They are about 1/3 inch long so look closely to find them.
Looks like we’ll be walking in the sun to find the trailhead. It is a bit hazy out but since we are at 8,400 feet, the sun is strong and air is thin. Be sure to wear your hat and grab the sunscreen.
These conifers with reddish bark and black crevices are Ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa), common in the West, particularly in the mountains. They stand erect and reach over 200 feet with a circumference as much as 27 feet. Its cones, many scattered on the ground, grow in clusters of two or three. Here’s something I never noticed before. As a cone falls away, what remains is a beautiful rosette.
Oh look, one of my favorite animals, a Pronghorn Antelope buck on the move. Since they can run 60 mph, this is barely a walk. For sustained speed, they are the fastest animal in the world. For shorter bursts, they are beat out only by the cheetah. We spoke of them before and how very unique they are in the animal world.
Here we are, Sawmill Trail. Is this inviting, or what! It’s a new adventure for us both, so let’s enjoy.
Around the base of many large conifers grows Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), a ground-spreading shrub that reaches 3 feet maximum height. I’m not sure why, but the landscape is getting a yellow cast. It could be smoke, but there are no close fires and I don’t smell smoke.
I think this juniper may prefer a bit of shade which the pine at one time offered.
These are the first aspen we’ve seen here and no leaves turning gold yet. Aspens are unique because all the trees in a cluster grow from the same root. They all start life together, age together, and die together. If you look at these trees, you’ll see they are all similar height and width.
Oh my, we’ve come across a lot of bird activity. Mostly smaller birds flitting around so fast, but we also have a Robin. OK, you are shaking your head, but honestly I have not seen a robin since early June. Not sure why they don’t seem to be in my part of Colorado Springs.
I did my best, but fast and far doesn’t make for great pictures. The Pygmy Nuthatch is only about 4 inches long and hyperactive. How do they survive winter temperatures since they are year-round residents? They shelter in tree cavities, huddling together in groups of about 100 individuals in a single hole of a roost tree. There they let their body temperatures drop to hypothermia. What an amazing energy-saving plan.
Mountain Chickadees are common in their preferred environment of evergreen forests in the West’s mountains. Although we see Black-capped Chickadees in Colorado Springs along with Mountain Chickadees, Black-capped prefer deciduous trees.
As we head uphill to continue this loop trail, I realize the issue with yellow haze–now I smell smoke. No idea where the smoke is coming from, but today I’m glad to have a face mask.
Here in the sunny meadow we see Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphoro fruticosa), in the Rose family and sometimes called Yellow Rose. These shrubs can grow to five foot, but I’ve rarely seen them over three. They bloom from late May to Mid September, and a welcomed addition to many personal gardens. These flowers are feeling summer-weary this time of year though.
Down the hill with about 1/2 mile to the car, we now “see” Pikes Peak and the smoke problem is clear–no pun intended. 😉
This is Sugared Beard Lichen (Usnea hirta) happily growing on its preferred host, Douglas-fir.
What a surprise. A Bottle Gentian also called Pleated Gentian (Gentiana affinis). Only the tops of the petals spread outward. They are spring into summer flowers, so we are lucky to see them.
Here we are, at the end of Sawmill Trail. We finish our walk along clearly marked, neatly maintained Ponderosa Loop, a wheelchair-accessible .3 mile trail. We did’t see any elk, moose, or even squirrels today, but snow is coming tomorrow and they sense those things, preparing as each species does for such events.
There a nice picnic area to our right. I brought sandwiches, but the smoke is getting bad so let’s head home.
Looking north from the parking area. I must find out where the fire is. Three hours ago I took a picture behind the Visitor Center of the mountains above that lone pine toward left (see below). How quickly the smoke overtook us.
This was a great first visit, and after talking with a Ranger, there are a few more hikes here we must do, one goes to a lake. It might even be fun to walk some trails on snowshoes. Until next time my friend . . .
UPDATE ON FIRE AS OF WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9: The smoke came about 160 miles south from the Cameron Peak Fire near Fort Collins, north of Denver. The storm coming down from Canada was blowing south bringing smoke Monday and snow Tuesday. Over Monday, the Cameron Peak fire doubled in size due to high temperatures and very dry surrounds, from 60,000 acres to over 120,000 acres or about 160 square miles. Tuesday’s storm brought colder temperatures and snow slowed the fire by dampening its fuel, however temperatures are forecast in the 70s and 80s over next week. As a result fire activity is expected to pick up, further evacuations my be issued, and more fire personnel are expected adding to the over 1,000 people currently on the job.
Please keep people working and living in that area in your prayers. Wildfires are scary, dangerous, mostly unpredictable, costly, and unfortunately for us and nature, more common and intense due to climate change. I’m not getting into politics, and although partly natural, the impact by humans is undeniable. Remember, climate change is a long term, at least several decades, alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns regionally or globally. The National Park Service now has a brochure about climate change impacting our National Parks and a Climate Change Response Program. This is no hoax my friend, so let’s do our part.
