We learned a lot today. At one time the Florissant area was quite warm and humid. There was lots of vegetation that you don't find in @ 8,000 feet today such as ferns, cedar trees, and forests of maple, hickory, and oak. Lots of different insects and wildlife used to be there too. (Good thing we live here today, I'm not overly fond of heat or bugs!) Then the area was covered by volcanic ash and mud and a lake formed. Over time the conditions created the fossil beds that are found in the area today. It was such a cool thing to see!
Although we didn't find any fossils of our own we took some beautiful pictures on our hike.
I like it when Mark takes an overhead shot of me, I don't look so chubby this way.
A beautiful alpine meadow.
Colorado's famous aspen trees.
Mark and the kids.
Some neat looking boulders half @ the half-way point of our hike.
A petrified sequoia. Mark and Leah wanted me to add that the tree was probably 12-15 feet around and Leah said that it had 1,000 or more rings. So, if you know trees, the tree was over 1,000 years old.
Leah with her cool new glasses (most of the time she still wears contacts).
Jordan sipping his water and listening to the park ranger.
Some samples of fossils that they have found at the park.
A really cool rock we found. We just took a picture and returned the rock to nature.A funny thing happened on our walk. I had Mark carrying some batteries for the camera for me. He had put them in his pocket along with whatever else he had in there. About half way through the hike he jumped and started throwing things out of his pockets. I guess the batteries had made a connection with the change in his pocket and was creating an electric current. He also had a tissue in his pocket and he figures he is lucky he didn't set his pants on fire.
Life is an adventure, who knows what will happen next or what we will do next!
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