Skyline Drive

tanjabrittonwriter 41 Comments

My return trip to Colorado Springs from the Sandhill Cranes in the San Luis Valley follows US 50. After the happy encounter with a pair of nest-building American Dippers along the Arkansas, the highway ascends away from the river to a plateau that abuts the world-famous Royal Gorge, before descending back into Cañon City. Known for its picturesque position next to the Arkansas River, its Holy Cross Abbey (former home to Benedictine monks and present home of a famous winery), and as the site of several correctional facilities, Cañon City is also the location of one of Colorado’s most famous scenic drives. I had visited the city repeatedly before I was made aware of the existence of this drive—thank you, dear Andrea!

As I pass the entrance to the legendary Skyline Drive in March, I briefly debate whether to take it, but I want to visit a few birding hotspots along the main drag and opt out. I am reminded, however, to share impressions from previous visits and, back at my desk, delve into my archives and select a few photos. As the differing skies show, they are gleaned from two different days, namely January 2020 when it was cloudy, and January 2023, when the sun was shining.

Short in length at a mere 2.8 miles, Skyline Drive is rich in thrills. The one-lane, one-way paved road hugs the top of a razorback ridge made of Dakota sandstone before dropping back down into Hogback Open Space, which is traversed by multiple hiking trails. The road isn’t encumbered by guardrails and offers breath-taking panoramic views and heart-stopping moments when it seems to turn into a runway into space. And even though it was only built from 1905-06 by 60 inmates of a nearby prison, it also affords glimpses into the remote past.

Stone arch at the start of Skyline Drive

The stone arch was constructed from local rocks in 1932

Skyline Drive on the left, with US Highway 50 visible below on the right

The single and serpentine lane of Skyline Drive

Ready for take-off?

Luckily, the bottom didn’t drop out

View of Cañon City and the eastern horizon from the Hogback Open Space

As a number of informational plaques inform the interested itinerant, this portion of North America was once covered in an extensive inland sea, called “Western Interior Seaway,” during the Cretaceous (ca. 145 to 66 million years ago), the last of three geologic periods of the Mesozoic Era (the others being the Triassic and Jurassic). The sandstone that makes up the ridge today is the result of sedimentation, time, and uplift of a former estuary of this vast inland sea. As it happened, this estuary was traversed by dinosaurs who left their footprints in the sand.

The fossilized remains of these tracks were discovered in 2000 and represent so-called trace fossils, i.e. the traces left behind by those long-ago earth dwellers, thought to represent a group of Ankylosaurs walking next to another by the edge of the sea. Thanks to the uplift, the undersides of those tracks are now visible and inspire mental excursions into bygone times.

Oblique layer of uplifted sandstone showing the underside of multiple dinosaur tracks

Dinosaur tracks

Close-up of a dinosaur print, at least 3 feet in diameter (a guesstimate)

If one is lucky, the present-day traveler can also find reminders that, extinct though the dinosaurs may be, their descendants are alive and well (this point is debatable but I won’t detour into birds’ sobering vital statistics), and most of them have acquired the ability to fly.

The hogbacks are known to harbor many bird species, breeding Prairie Falcons among them. And while I have seen them there showing off their impressive aerials skills, my photographic skills weren’t equal to capturing them on “film.”

Other avian denizens with a tendency to stay lower in their rocky realm are the aptly named Rock Wrens. One is often alerted to their presence by their loud, burry song which helps locate them in their stony world into which they blend so perfectly, and where they climb over and dive under rocks in search of the spiders and insects that make up their menu. They, not unlike the dinosaur tracks, are reminders of all the wonderful discoveries that await us if we only keep our minds and eyes open.

Rock Wren (follow this link to Cornell’s website to learn more about this species)

41 thoughts on “Skyline Drive”

    • Danke, liebe Brigitte. Ich mag diese Felsenzaunkönige auch, sie sind so unscheinbar und verschmelzen so leicht mit dem Hintergrund, sind aber trotzdem interessant und unterhaltsam (wie eigentlich alle Vögel, oder ?! 😊).

      Herzliche Grüße zurück,

      Tanja

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  3. First thought: I presume Skyline Drive is one way! The scenery is spectacular, and it was fun to see Highway 50 paralleling the drive down below. I learned about the Western Seaway when I visited western Kansas, and wandered around at the Monument Rocks site. There, it was swallows that had built their nests among the remnant cliffs: as wonderful a sight as your Rock Wrens.

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  5. Now that’s a novel point of view: the undersides of dinosaur footprints. I wonder whether some artist in our own era has crafted a sculpture that features the undersides of human footprints. I also wonder whether the namer(s) of the Skyline Drive in Colorado got influenced by the older one of the same name in Virginia.

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    • I doubt this is the only place where one can admire the undersides of footprints, and I know for a fact that there is a sculpture in Colorado Springs that shows the underside of a human’s foot: Artus Van Briggle’s sculpture of the Lorelei in one of our local parks.

      I didn’t know about the eponymous drive in Virginia, but maybe those who named this Skyline Drive did. It wasn’t the road’s first name, BTW, that was the less catchy “Hogback Road.”

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    • Danke für Deinen Kommentar, liebe Ulrike. Frau fühlt sich auf dieser Straße dem Himmel tatsächlich sehr nah!

      Und wie schön, daß Du dem Gesang des Felsensteinkönigs gelauscht hast. Alle Zaunkönigarten haben, meiner Meinung nach, ein sehr interessantes Repertoire, wenn es für menschliche Ohren auch nicht unbedingt harmonisch anhört. Aber “oberputzig” ist für ihre Kompositionen sehr treffend, wie Du sogleich erkannt hast.

      Herzliche Grüße zurück,

      Tanja

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  8. What a thrill to read this and the photos!!! This is such an interesting landscape for me to see, as it is so different aesthetically, than the one in my province. The dinosaur prints really put things into perspective too, I think.

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    • Thank you, Julie, I’m glad you found my post thrilling. I think many people are surprised when they see photos of Colorado’s dry, desert-like landscapes, but a big portions of the state are characterized by high-desert conditions.

      Seeing fossils is always a reminder to put our short lives in perspective and to try to take the long view.

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    • It probably looks worse from a distance. Apart from being narrow and having no guardrails, the pavement is actually quite good. I wouldn’t risk it in snow or heavy rain and it’s not advisable for someone with acrophobia, but I think most attentive drivers won’t have a problem.

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    • Thank you, Tina, it’s a fun and interesting road to explore. And I always rejoice when I come across Rock Wrens: First I hear them, then I scan the rocks for movement, then my heart gets a little happy jolt when I spot one. 😊

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  14. What magnificent scenery!

    It would not do for me to attempt that drive. I have this tendency to look from side to side for neat stuff as I drive and the vehicle sometimes doesn’t know it’s supposed to stay on the road while I’m busy scanning for birds and things. Thank goodness the car is equipped with an EYSS which has saved me from many a nasty off-road experience. (“Emergency Yelling Spouse System”)

    Thank you for sharing your adventures in the sky.

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    • Thank you for taking a trip into the sky with me.
      I’m familiar with the EYSS, which is very helpful. The only problem arises when I’m driving by myself and see a bird I want to identify…

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  16. Those wide open spaces in your photos get me every time, Tanja. And here’s hoping that you are a steady driver!
    I’m captivated by dinosaur tracks. Around here we have quite a few, and luckily Amherst College, about an hour’s drive for me, has a superb collection of them to view up close and personal. In my garden, I have a few fossil rocks that were given to me as gifts, and they never fail to make me wonder when I look at them….
    A wonderful read! Thanks for posting. 😉

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    • Thank you, Julie, I’m glad you enjoyed the wild ride on Skyline Drive, replete with reminders of those who walked the earth before us.
      We also have a few fossils and, like you, I’m always amazed when I hold them in my hand and ponder those long-ago beings who left their marks.

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  17. It must be an awesome drive. How incredible to see dinosaur footprints so well-preserved. The rock wren blends in so well – fortunately its call can alert those in the know to their lovely presence.      

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  18. I have to admit, the words “The road “isn’t encumbered by guardrails” was immediately translated into “oh hell no” ha. A slight jest of course, but am not a fan of ledges that do not have a retainer that extends to my knees. This has been a point of contention between my lovely wife who likes to taunt me on this phobia and has almost caused a divorce more than once leveraging here apparent mastery of heights – one particular harrowing rope bridge across a cliff at Zion NP was a true test of our bonds ha. At least this appears to be a one-way road – my completely justifiable and reasonable fear (certainly not a phobia) was a result of being in the backseat of car as a kid in the outside lane of a two way on the side of a mountain – I shudder just thinking of it now…by hey, those dino tracks are pretty cool (distracting myself hehehe). Thanks for providing a safe tour!

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    • Sorry, I hope looking at the photos didn’t give you vertigo. You need to hear Brad’s story of his experience on the bridge that spans the Royal Gorge in Colorado. You might need to take some dramamine before he starts telling it, though!

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