Old Mining Equipment

Last fall I was exploring the Cripple Creek and Victor region on the other side of Pikes Peak, and there was some old mining equipment by the side of the road. This area was a huge gold camp, one of the largest finds in history - in fact that's where the expression "Pikes Peak or bust" comes from.

Florissant

About 30 minutes west of Colorado Springs is the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Fossilized redwood stumps up to 14 feet in diameter can be found, and it's one of the richest fossil deposits in the world. It's well worth the effort for those interested in such things.

The park also includes the restored Hornbek Homestead.

Garden of the Gods (Part 2)

This week I got a new 10-20 mm super-wide-angle zoom lens (that's 15-30 mm in 35mm film terms) and decided to go back to Garden of the Gods specifically to try it out. Since I work nearby I went early in the morning and also in the late afternoon sunshine to try to capture the best light.

The first five pictures are all of the North Gateway Rock, also known as Kissing Camels. The scale doesn't come across in these pictures - the rock is 320 feet high. The first is taken from the main parking lot near base of the rock, as wide as the lens will go at 10 mm.

The next two show the other side of the rock, with the dedication plaque.

Again, the scale is huge. I'm standing right at the base of a 300-foot high rock, looking almost straight up in this picture.

This is taken towards the back of North Gateway Rock in the late afternoon sunshine.

This is the only telephoto shot in this post, showing the feature at the top that gives Kissing Camels its name.

This is South Gateway Rock.

And finally, here's White Rock in the afternoon sun.

Garden of the Gods at Sunrise

Close to my office is a city park called Garden of the Gods, where massive sandstone formations rise out of the ground at the foot of Pikes Peak. I stopped by an overlook this morning before work after a fresh snow and took these pictures. The first is before sunrise, an 8-second exposure to capture the pre-dawn hues. The second was shortly after the sun had risen, exposing the natural colors of the rock. In the background, there's snow blowing off Pikes Peak in the winds, blurring the contours of the mountain. This is one of the must-see sights for anybody who visits Colorado Springs, preferably in the early morning when the light is best and the skies are usually clear.