A Trip To the Garden Of The Gods

I drove down to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs yesterday afternoon and was surprised to find so many people there on a weekday, although unlike on the weekend, there were actually a few parking spots available. The park is almost exactly a one-hour drive from my condo in Denver, and so a great destination for a day trip on a warm and sunny fall day. The land this park is located on was originally purchased by Charles Elliott Perkins, a friend of General William Jackson Palmer, who founded Colorado Springs in 1871. Perkins originally was going to build a summer home on the property, but decided instead to leave it in its natural state and open it to the public. In 1909, after Perkins died, his children conveyed the 480 acres to the City of Colorado Springs.

The family gave the property to the city on the condition it "shall remain free to the public, where no intoxicating liquors shall be manufactured, sold, or dispensed, where no building or structure shall be erected except those necessary to properly care for, protect, and maintain the area as a public park." Which is why there is no admission fee and never will be to enter the park, and why the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center is located across the street from the park entrance. As for no intoxicating beverages, I have yet to stopped at the entrance and have the car searched, although there is always a first time.

As I walked through the Central Garden, the most popular part of the park, I noticed a wide variety of visitors. There were, of course, seniors like me, but also young couples, families, and groups wearing the same shirts, which nevertheless did not identify who they were. There were also several groups of what I believe were Japanese tourists, one of which was enthusiastically posing for a photo, as seen in the photograph on the left. I was originally going to take that photograph when they had finished taking theirs, but they kept taking photo after photo and gave no indication that they were going to stop. Ever. And so, I finally said the hell with it and included them in mine. So there. You're in the blog. Happy? All in all, a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon.