In the afternoon after going up Pike's Peak, we visited two "gardens" in the Colorado Springs area. The first was a garden of stone called Garden of the Gods, which is one of the most beautiful city parks in the country. The red rocks in Garden of the Gods are a sedimentary sandstone formation that has been uptilted and revealed by the forces of erosion. Sadly, we didn't have time to walk the hiking trails, but I was able to see quite a lot of beautiful views just by driving through.
The next three pictures are in order because they show the views from an overlook outside of the park, looking to the southwest, west, and northwest. The view to the west shows Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, and the mountain to the southwest is Cheyenne Mountain, location of the underground NORAD operations center. (Click on any of the thumbnails to get larger versions.)
Continuing up the hill from the overlook, we stopped by the Colorado Springs Utilities Mesa Xeriscape Garden. Xeriscape means landscaping with limited water, which is a big issue in the Colorado Springs area, so this is a demonstration garden illustrating the principles of low-water gardening. The garden is divided into different zones, each with different water needs. It's a smallish garden that wraps around a CSU office building, but it has a great location with views of the mountains and it's quite attractive. (Follow the link for a garden diagram and the list of xeriscape garden priciples.)
Previous segments:
CO1 - Pike's Peak Peak Cog Railway
Next segment:
Royal Gorge and the Arkansas River
