Garden of the Gods

The beauty at Garden of the Gods is unsurpassed, but what makes it even more impressive - and unique - is that it's not a tourist trap. Other than a single Trading Post and a Visitor Center (that is actually outside the park), there is nothing commercial or man-made.

It is all natural. It has wonderful hiking trails throughout the park, but you can also stroll the paved paths to see the more well-known formations.

The best part of my stay in Colorado Springs were the mornings I'd take my coffee into the park and sit and stare at the rocks with Pike's Peak looming in the distance.

After my coffee, I'd take off on a two- or three-mile hike in the park. Life is good.

There are other pages of photos taken in the Colorado Springs area. If you're intersted in seeing them, please return to the Colorado Springs home page.

Or, if you're interested in other areas of the state of Colorado, return to the Colorado home page.

Or, you may wish to choose a destination below.

I had a nice conversation with this kindly, gentle-faced man who must have been in his late 70s, maybe 80s. I was taking pictures at the High Point Overlook, the highest point in Garden of the Gods, and he had just walked up from Manitou Springs below, a 15-minute walk, he said. He walks it every morning.

I learned a lot about him as he told me about his grandchildren and his army life in Germany. He walked with a crooked old walking stick with a kelly green rubber tip on the bottom, and he'd use the stick to point to different locations that we were overlooking, such as Pike's Peak, Cheyenne Mountain and the burn area of Waldo Canyon. He spoke softly and with a cracked and shaky voice. "See that red roof right down there next to that RV? That's where I live," he said.

He retired to Manitou Springs with 'his bride.' I asked if she is still living, and he said yes, as he pointed to his house with his walking stick. But she is suffering from Alzheimer's he told me, and his expression became sad, and I could tell he was fighting back tears.

We shook hands upon our departure and wished each other well. He turned away and headed back down the mountain to his house... and his bride.

Please visit some of my other travel locations. Feel free to email me if you have questions or comments.

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