Florissant Fossil Beds and Cripple Creek

When I first came to Colorado back in 2011 for a work assignment I would always find myself driving past Florissant Fossil Beds and Cripple Creek on my way to explore the central part of state but never really taking the time to stop and really explore the area. Granted I had driven though Cripple Creek once and made a brief stop at the Homebeck Homestead (which can be found here http://smallfrye-travels.blogspot.com/2012/01/cripple-creek-colorado-and-hornbeck.html).

Now that I’m back in Colorado for a short term project and finding myself without my personal vehicle (I have a company vehicle and I’m kind of limited where I can take it so I pretty much stuck to the pavement)I decided to explore these areas a little more. On the morning I went the weather forecast wasn’t the most favorable (we’ve had afternoon rain showers off and on for weeks)and I almost didn’t go because of it but I kind of told myself ‘Where is your since of adventure, go for it’.

So I off I went.

The first stop was the Florissant Fossil Beds, I won’t try to explain the area beyond that the area is littered with the prettified remains of ancient redwood trees. For more info see the National Park Service Site: http://www.nps.gov/flfo/index.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Photos form Hans Loop and Sawmill hiking trails - I was the only one out here.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 By the time I had gotten back to my vehicle I had noticed that off to the east that storm clouds had begun to build but they were of no concern to me due to their distance. So I was off to old mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado (now filled with casinos).

Again, I won’t touch my on the history of area since I’m not very good at explaining things like so I’ll just share some photo’s but information can be found here:

http://www.mininghistoryassociation.org/CrippleCreek.htm

http://visitcripplecreek.com/heritage

 Photos from the first museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from inside the Assays Office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from inside the old train station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overlooking Cripple Creek, Colorado

 

By the time I had finished exploring the museums the storm clouds from earlier had begun to roll in and figured it would be a good time to head back.  Needless to say it was a good day to be out.

Great Westen Trail - Lewis Peak

A couple of photos from a short 6 mile (one-way) hike up to Lewis Peak just above Ogden, Utah along a portion of the Great Western Trail.

Trail head start.

For one reason or another this photo kind of creeps me out.

Mountains to the north that lead to Ben Lomond Peak.

Along the trail.

Looking back towards Ben Lomond and the trail up.

Looking towards the south and the trail ahead.

Lewis Peak elevation marker. It's kind of crazy to know that I've hiked to peaks in Colorado that are 6,000 feet higher.

View of the valley below (Ogden, Harrisville, Riverdale, Layton)

 

Pineview Reservoir  

Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods

Back in Colorado for a few months working on a construction project for the company that I work for and decided to do a quick easy hike to 'Garden of the Gods' a few Saturdays ago before spending the next couple of hours studying for the LEED AP BD+C exam. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

I did this same hike back in December 2011 when I first move to Colorado.

Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.

 

Inside the Garden of the Gods park.

The Red Rock Open Space area - a number of hiking and mountain biking areas are contained within this area.