In Colorado Springs to hike the trails at Garden of the Gods (See Hike #91 – Garden of the Gods) while visiting relatives in Denver, we learned of the new Red Rock Canyon Open Space so stop by their information office and got trail information so we could hike and explore the area.
An old quarry remained and after reading about its history, we climbed the steeped steps to have a good look around.
Huge cuts remained where giant slabs of red rock had been manually cut out and loaded on horse-drawn carts. Hauled to Denver, many buildings today have carved blocks and trim from that quarry. It seemed incredible to think about the weight of just one of those giant blocks of rock and the effort it must have taken to load one of those blocks up on cart. We climbed up on some of those cut out areas and looked out at the giant quarry. Absolutely amazing!
Back on the trail, we worked our way around the canyon, sometimes gaining in elevation for a great view of the valley below, then would head back down to the canyon floor.
It being December, someone had hung a holiday ornament near the bench on this trail, aptly named the Contenplation Trail.
The red rock of this canyon is part of the same vein of red rock at Garden of the Gods, and like the unusual rock formations at Garden of the Gods, there were some here as well.
Here’s Kathleen at the end of the trail. Yeah, she made it!
For more information on the Red Rock Canyon, the old quarry and hiking trails, visit their website here – http://www.springsgov.com/page.aspx?navid=2090 .
Sixty Before Sixty 
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