Finally, Florissant

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I finally have a computer again! Of course, I don't have Zoom Browser or Photoshop or Access or any other programs I use on a regular basis. I also don't have Firefox, although that should soon be remedied.

The boys were quite pleased this morning that we let them sleep in, but it wasn't going to be a long day. We left Estes Park and were amazed by how many impatient drivers there are. People were trying to pass long strings of vehicles in no-pass zones on windy mountain roads. Do you not get used to what driving is like in the Rocky Mountains? If you hate it, wouldn't you choose to live somewhere else?

Our sole destination for the day was Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, west of Colorado Springs. It has been a destination for us on two prior occasions, but both were nixed. One was due to snow, I believe, and one was simply time. This time, despite the intermittent rain that has appeared most of the past week, we made it.

It's more than we expected it to be. This area was very different in the Eocene era with respect to climate, which meant that a now extinct species of redwoods lived there. There were volcanoes nearby, whose eruptions caused mudflows and a large lake. The mudflows entombed the redwoods, which were then petrified by silica alone, as opposed to those in and around Petrified Forest National Park where multiple minerals were at work. Algae, clay and volcanic ash mixed to form shale, in whose layers were entombed thousands of different species, resulting in one of the most impressive fossil beds in the world. They have found fossils of butterflies, as well as the only known fossil of a tsetse fly.

Our visit there involved listening to a University of Hawaii marine biology student (an intern) talking about the history of the area and how it became a national monument. She did a wonderful job and kept the boys mostly entertained, especially by touching petrified wood and volcanic ash. Liam thought the silt at Mendenhall Glacier was much nicer to touch. We took a walk past shale layers and past giant redwood stumps. It then started to rain, pretty much ending our visit.

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We learned that the Eocene Epoch is named for the dawn of small mammals. Continents moved, glaciers formed in Antarctica and the global climate cooled significantly.

We forgot where our camper key is located. We have a spare, but for how long?

Statement of the Day: "I'm going to start in the kitchen; it's a sty." - Liam, discussing where he's going to start cleaning tomorrow morning after he wakes up.

Miles: 280

High Temperature: 85, in Colorado Springs CO
Low Temperature: 57, in Florissant CO

Geocaches Found: 9

Projects Knitted: Sea Waves

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Photos

The Big Stump
They believe there are at least 50 petrified redwood stumps remaining unexcavated in the park. This is the largest stump they have.

Stump Trio
Apparently, this is the only formation of its kind in the world.

Rare Butterfly Fossil
This was found by a local homesteader.

Shale Layers
Prior to it becoming a national monument, people could pay to come in here and look for fossils. Wouldn't that be fun?

Photo by Cole
Cole loves to take pictures with my camera; Liam loves to be silly.

1+2
Or perhaps 7-4?

Comments

[Snowhawg]

Cool
Very cool formation. Interesting!

[Home and Away]

Hey, you passed right by where we live...
Woodland Park, CO, just 15 miles east of Florrisant Fossil Beds...which reminds me, I just missed the Grand Opening of their new visitor center last weekend...rats! Stop by the next time you pass through. By the way I spent a very pleasant summer in northern Minnesota in 1971 and then a camping trip that included Bear Head State Park just west of Ely in 2001.

[kengelha]

Not Sure When
Our trip to the four corners in 2011 was fantastic and we would love to go back. Of course, there are so many places we would love to go back to, and I won't be retired for at least another 20 years.