GARDEN of the GODS, Colorado

Today,  I will share more from our western trip in September.  Charles Elliott Perkins purchased two-hundred and forty acres in the Garden of the Gods for a summer home in 1879.  He later added to the property, but never built on it, preferring to leave his wonderland in its natural state for the enjoyment of the public.  Perkins died in 1907 before he made arrangements for the land to become a public park, although it had been open to the public for years.

In 1909, Perkins' children, knowing their father's feeling for the Garden of the Gods, conveyed his 480 acres to the City of Colorado Springs.  It would be known forever as the Garden of the Gods "where it shall remain FREE to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed,  where no building shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park". 

If you want to read more information about the Garden of the Gods,  click HERE.   We had a fabulous visit there --so I wanted to share more photos with you today.  Sorry that the picture above and the last one below are not very good. It was almost dark when we took them.  Be sure to click on the photos to see enlargements.

We had a perfect day to be there... Isn't that a gorgeous sky?

These rock formations are amazing....  I just walked around with my mouth hanging open!!!!!!   I was in AWE of the area!

There are gorgeous walkways all around the area.  We enjoyed walking around with Sally and Jim.  (If you missed my blog about Sally and Jim,  check HERE.)

These rock climbers were amazing... I could never do that ---nor would I EVER try.... Yipes!!!!

Sally talked quite a bit about the big WHITE rocks.  Most people --including us--photograph the brown rocks, but don't stop to enjoy the white ones also. Isn't that a beauty?

There are many interesting birds in Colorado.   The top two are what are called Rock Doves... The one on the bottom --which you cannot see well is a White-throated Swift.  I also saw some Black-billed Magpies while there --but didn't get any good photos.

Sally took this photo of George and me while at the Garden of the Gods. As you can tell,  the temperatures warmed up some ---so we were able to shed our jackets.

George and I walked up to the top of a hill --and took some pictures looking down on the park.

Finally,  this is not a good picture since it was almost DARK.   Sally and Jim had told us where to drive to look down on the Garden of the Gods.  BUT--by the time we got there,  the sun had gone down behind that mountain.   You can get an idea of the total area though.   This place would be a fabulous place to get a photo with the sun shining on those big rocks.   We'll have to go back sometime.   WOW!!!!

We truly enjoyed our visit here.  Thanks again, Sally and Jim, for taking us to this beautiful place.  We are still re-living our wonderful trip through our photos.  Hope you are enjoying them too.

Prayers for ALL who had damage and/or lost so much in Hurricane Sandy...  Thank Goodness for Facebook and email ---as I worked hard to keep up with friends/family in the path of that storm.   God Bless ALL.

We never did get any snow (nor rain) here --but it has been COLD and WINDY.   Have a great day!

Hugs,
Betsy