Winter Photos 2014

I had an opportunity to head out east and decided that the light and shadows made for some pretty scenes. The cows don't seem to mind the snow - or do they? We'll never know.

Some of these shots, the ones of the cows, are facing toward the southeast. The rest are looking southwest/west.

Garden of the Gods January 1 2014

My business happily took me near Garden of the Gods today, January 1, 2014. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to stop by an take some pictures.

Garden of the Gods is a lot bigger (1334 acres) than these pictures make it seem, though most of the most prominent red sandstone cliffs are pictured here.

Garden of the Gods is a National Landmark, and has been so since 1971. Most of it was owned in the 1800s by two men, Charles Perkins and General William Palmer (founder of Colorado Springs). They donated the land to Colorado Springs, which has since added surrounding parcels to its holdings.

It's fun to walk around Garden of the Gods, and not simply because of the scenic natural formations. Folks walk their dogs there, tourists roam, and you hear different voices and accents. There are the occasional rock climbers (permits required) and little kids. It's a fun, touristy area, which sort of takes you out of Colorado for a few minutes and places you in a zone where all sorts of folks are walking around enjoying nature's wonders.

Pikes Peak, from northern Colorado Springs

It is a dry, parched climate, with plenty of cactus underfoot

This is the "Balanced Rock," probably the most famous spot in the park

Some dear I saw on the way home