With the creation of Kane Ranch Open Space in March 2022, El Paso County added an opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to explore prairie habitat in the eastern half of the county—only a limited number of area parks offer a similar experience. Kane Ranch Open Space is located around 15 miles southeast of Colorado Springs and … Continue reading Kane Ranch Open Space
One of the immediately obvious features of downtown Colorado Springs is its public art. Similar to other American communities, suburban spread in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in a lackluster city center. This dilemma was addressed in the early 1990s when the city council adopted an action plan that led to the formation in 1997 … Continue reading Art on the Streets 2024
Next to birds and flowers, I probably pay closest attention to butterflies and moths. These are fascinating creatures with winged scales (which is reflected in the name of their order, Lepidoptera, or lepidopterans, from Greek lepis, meaning “scale,” and pteros, meaning “wing”). An estimated 180,000 lepidopteran species exist on this planet which is a formidable … Continue reading Beauteous Butterflies
Today, I would like to take you back to Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. If you didn’t travel there with me last week, please do so here for background and context. After parking and checking in at the front desk, you can watch the documentary about the history of this place and/or read about it … Continue reading Florissant Fossil Beds–Part 2
Between Colorado Springs in El Paso County and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in neighboring Teller County to the west, one doesn’t simply travel some 30 miles in distance but also some 36 million years in time, back to the late Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago), when the Florissant Valley was covered … Continue reading Florissant Fossil Beds–Part 1
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