#FindYourPark: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Sometimes in life you need some outdoor therapy.  There's something about being out in nature that clears the mind, refreshes the soul and removes life's burdens for a short while.

To celebrate National Park week, all pubic federal lands waived entrance fees on Saturday.  Irv and I decided to go check out our closest National Monument--Florissant Fossil Beds.


Back in the day, and I mean 34 million years ago, this area was filled with lakes and giant redwood trees that grew to heights of 250 feet.


The ash from nearby volcanoes covered the landscape which preserved these giant stumps.


Inside the visitor center they have numerous fossils of plants, insects, and fish that were found in the shale that covers the area.


Back in the 1800's numerous collectors and tourists came to the area and hauled away pieces of the trees and fossils.  Above you can see saw blades that were abandoned in the giant stump by those who were attempting to dismantle it.


In 1969 the federal government stepped in and after a fierce fight with the locales, the area became a park to preserve the specimens for future generations.


The park has about 14 miles of trails which we decided to explore.


The first hike of the year is always an eye opener as to how unfit you have become over the winter.  We ascended one of the hills and you would have thought I was climbing Mt. Everest.  Lots of stops to catch my breath and take a few photos


We were at about 8,400 feet.  The only sign of spring vegetation were these flowers.  Especially delicate and beautiful and I have no idea what they are.


Above is the Hornbek Homestead.  A woman by the name of Adeline Hornbek and her children moved to Florissant after her husband abandoned the family.  She filed the area's first homestead application.  She lived in the area for 27 years.


We meandered for about 4.5 miles along the trails.  


Once again we are thankful for the folks who maintain the trails and bridges.  


The only wildlife we saw were some ground squirrels and a couple blue jays although there were plenty of signs of the local residents. 
 

There is still paleontology work going on here.  They had these weather stations set up near some of the petrified stumps.  Nearby signs explained they monitor the conditions with hopes of discovering ways to preserve these specimens for future generations.  


 It was warm (by Colorado standards) day.  We both came home with sunburns.  It felt good to be out in nature again.  I'm looking forward to the summer 2019 hiking season.

Now, life goes on.  Have a great week and please leave me a comment.

Comments

polcat24 said…
Yes, it's always an eye opener for the first hike of the year as to how out of shape I am. And it didn't help that she wanted to go 4.5 miles. But she took me to a late lunch at the Bierwerks in Woodland park to make up for it. :)
April 23, 2019 at 9:42 AM
Yogi♪♪♪ said…
That looks like a great place for a hike. Lots to see and do. Amazing that those stumps were there long ago.

I always like talking our customer's geologists. They develop a narrative on the history of a place as they develop their prospects and talk about ancient riverbeds and mountain ranges, no covered by 18,000 feet of rock. Fascinating stuff.
April 27, 2019 at 4:11 PM
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