It is an overcast day in Colorado Springs which even in winter is unusual. It is sunny most every day. I know, you cannot stop feeling sorry for us 😉. Today, though, it is snowing in the mountains yet Pikes Peak is visible, cloudy in the Springs, a nice day for a hike. Why? There is no wind, fewer people in this very popular park, and although we won’t have the lovely blue sky, we also don’t have the blazing sun washing out the colors. So onward to Palmer/Scotsman/Bretag trails and the Garden’s amazing rock formations.
We begin our walk at the north end of the park. Garden of the Gods is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain’s eastern Front Range. What is unique is from many vantage points in the park, you see all six of Colorado’s life zones: plains, foothills, pinyon-juniper woodlands, montane, subalpine, and alpine. Each zone has its own unique range of plants and animals. The foothills is a transition zone with overlapping characteristics, plants, and animals.
Thanks to Friends of Garden of the Gods for saying it short and sweet because the geology explanation of this park is extensive.
Garden of the Gods has been many things: a tropical haven; an inland sea; a field of sand dunes; and, even a vast swampy floodplain. Dinosaurs once grazed on the ferns and other plants. Sea serpents swam in shallow waters and mammoths trudged through deep snow in May. The rocks reveal secrets of ancient environments to those who know their language.
Digging a bit deeper, hundreds of millions of years ago the “Ancestral Rockies”, so named because they rose in much the same place as our modern Rockies, slowly eroded away. As they disappeared and the climate dried out, an enormous sand dune formed from Arizona to Montana, much the size of the Sahara. Here at Garden of the Gods, over millions of years the sand was covered by younger sediments gradually compacted and cemented into uniform sandstone called the Lyons Formation.
The Lyons was originally horizontal sheets, but was forced upward by the massive forces associated with the current Rockies rise about 65 million years ago, also uplifting igneous and other metamorphic “basement” rocks that make up the core of the Rockies. As a result, the Lyons Sandstone was tilted into the amazing fins and formations we see today.
Looking north, though, the view is quite different and much less dramatic.
Heading south again and up into the hills, we will start to see the gorgeous formations across the park.
We aren’t quite high enough yet for a great view, but that is the Tower of Babel on the left, right of the “V” is North Gateway Rock–yes, they are attached. The next red red rock is South Gateway Rock and then Gray Rock which is one of my faves.
Wow, be careful. These Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia macrorhiza) are everywhere and blend well among the grasses in their winter colors. I can’t wait to see the cactus in June when they bloom!
Sharp turn ahead and a steep drop too (see trail continue mid left). Watch your step over the deep stone steps.
What an interesting conifer. It is a One-Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma), a slow-growing, drought-tolerant member of the Cypress family. It should be drought hardy, although slow growing above ground below ground it grows fast. A three-year-old tree (less than two-feet tall) can have a tap root 30 feet long. Mature plants, ranging from 5 to 30 feet, can have tap roots almost 200 feet long. There is only one tree in the world with longer roots, the Shepherd tree (Boscia albitrunca) in Africa.
These junipers have male trees producing very small cones, and female trees producing berries. This one has berries–Hi girlfriend! Notice how old trees have split bark and long strips that are flat and quite interesting.
Up we go, watch your step!
There are not too many people out today, but I hear voices that seem to be catching up quickly–runners? Ah–nope–here they come.
Four legs certainly are faster (and easier) than two.
What a great view of Tower of Babel on the left and North Gateway Rock.
When I first got to the Springs, I wondered why so many places were named Kissing Camels. Kissing Camels Office Park, Kissing Camels Townhomes, Kissing Camels Surgery, Kissing Camels Golf Course, etc., etc. What is that about? Do you see atop North Gateway, to the right where that bare branch is pointing? Here’s a closer look to get your bearing.
We can see this formation from many places in the park, giving us a reference to our location.
From left, South Gateway, Gray Rock, Sleeping Giant. The smaller Garden formations we shall explore another day.
Wait, whoa, look there–a Robin!! No, wait a minute. Robins are here all year long–got me.
Just look at the flat peels of wood on this old one-seed juniper tree. See the rock formation between trees? Yup, kissing camels.
There is lichen everywhere, on rocks and on trees. This is a type of Foliose lichen.
What a view as we head downhill, and it is still snowing on Pikes Peak.
The trail takes us around the Giant Footprints formation.
Along unnamed formations.
That large rock in the background is Sleeping Giant. Do you see him? His head is the highest point.
How about now? Face on right, and almost looks like fingers on the handhold at left.
We are back on the flats, walking Scotsman Trail.
I’m pretty sure this is the Scotsman formation, his head with a Scottish bonnet? We’ll have to go check it out again. I was too busy admiring Pikes Peak.
Do you see those camels kissing on top left?
Memorialized on the south end of North Gateway Rock, this park was donated to the city to be a FREE public park in perpetuity. The land originally donated totaled 480 acres, but the park today encompasses 1,367 acres.
Our last 1/2 mile we walk in a prairie meadow along Bretag Trail. This is on the eastern edge of the park with yucca and grasses that will be beautiful in spring.
Looking west we see Tower of Babel far right attached to huge North Gateway Rock. See the kissing camels? They are always watching! In front is White Rock–no kidding–and left is South Gateway Rock. Each angle gives a different perspective of these amazing formations, but kissing camels is pretty consistent.
As we head north, we see quite different rocks and hills. These are truly the places where “the dear and the antelope play”, but are also home to Big Horn Sheep. Sadly, we see no sheep today, but we’ll be back!
One more patch of ice and we’ll be to the car. The shadiest areas along the trail always take the longest to melt, but there are enough footholds to get up there safely. We have a scenic drive around the park to head home and it is always a treat.
Along the road, the iconic picture of Garden of the Gods. Now for some blue sky.
Until next time my friend . . .
