The Gateway in the Garden

11 x 14
I grew up in Colorado Springs and spent many weekend afternoons scrambling around the sandstone formations in the Garden of the Gods. There are so many visitors today that some of the old pathways have had to be cemented and you can no longer drive around casually. The old gravel roads are now walking paths.

But you can really see how so many visitors enjoy the unique beauty of this special place. It has a unique soothing effect and other energies that I think are very uplifting. The last Native Americans to dwell near them were a band of the Ute tribe. Their take on this magical space was that it was home to their spiritual hierarchy--the Garden of the Gods.

This view is looking east to a break in the vertical red sandstone series that some have called the Gateway. In this central focus of the park there are also many distinctively shaped junipers. They are tapered unlike any others that I have seen. The lore is that they were planted during the Great Depression by the WPA or the CCC from a local stock, although I have not seen any others that are of similar shape.

I think they acquired their distinctive shape because of the magical place they have grown in!