Caching In Old CO City & Garden of the Gods 6/12/2010

Well our first morning of caching in Colorado Springs and we had a great time and saw a lovely natural wonder. We started off with 3 NRV caches close to the campgrounds and then drove into Historic Old Colorado City and a virtual cache at a log cabin.

This log cabin was once Lucy A. Maggard's and her daughters. During the mining booms in the Pike's Peak region, not only did men take advantage of business speculation, but also women took similar advantages. Among these women was Lucy A. Maggard. Mrs. Maggard arrived in Colorado City and opened up Mother Maggard�s Boarding House. By November 1861, Mrs. Maggard was leasing and operating the Central Hotel which was this cabin.
We only knew that when Lucy came to Colorado City by 1861 she was the proprietress of the very small ‘Central Hotel’ - such as it was. When the newly elected Colorado Territorial Legislature convened in Colorado City on July 7th, 1862 her ‘hotel’ was actually only a two story log building built by her son-in-law, William Green Price. It was so small that the lawmakers had to sleep on the floor upstairs and meet in her kitchen.
Lucy was such a self-assured practical woman - unimpressed by the self-important male lawmakers – that she cleared them all out of her kitchen for meals. And she pressed the men to get wood for her fire, and water from Camp Creek before she would feed them even though they included such important men as George Crocker who hiked down from California Gulch, and decided to camp outside, before being elected Speaker of the House.
The first lawmakers of Colorado Territory were so disillusioned by the accommodations that Colorado City had for their new government – and perhaps intimidated by no-nonsense Lucy - after only four days they voted to adjourn. On July 11th, 1862 they hightailed it back to Denver – where they remain to this day.
The competing ‘El Paso House’ – on the site today occupied by the Amarillo Motel, on the south-west corner of 28th and West Colorado - would have offered much better accommodations. But as luck would have it, it was not finished until 4 days after the lawmakers left town. So Lucy Maggard gets the blame – or praise, depending on your point of view – for ending Colorado City’s bid to be the Territorial, then later the State, Capitol. To the then town of Denver went that dubious honor.
Always the entrepreneur, Lucy abandoned her ‘Central Hotel’ and began, just days after the Legislature left, to operate the successful El Paso House just a block away!
These few things we knew. But what we did not know until now, was the story of where Lucy Maggard came from. She was born Lucy Ann Davis in New York State in 1814. Or that her husband, David Maggard, father of Lucy’s four children, died in 1850 in St Joseph Missouri. Or why, and where she went after she left Colorado City in 1864.
We know now that she came across the dangerous plains from Kansas in 1859 with two of her three daughters and her son. One was Amanda - with her husband William Green Price. The other, unmarried Fidelia, as well as Lucy’s son, Jack. They first stopped in Auraria, now Denver. With the savy she had accumulated earlier – perhaps from already having run a 20 bed Boarding House in Missouri in 1850 - she immediately acquired a one story building, added stories to it, and ran it as “The Tremont” hotel for at least a year before selling it and moving in 1861 to the more ‘promising Colorado City’ Her third daughter, Catherine with her husband travelled separately, and went on up to Gregory Gulch and Central City where the big gold action was. Gold rush fever had infected them all.
Lucy had good reason to leave the Kansas-Missouri border region. Kansas, a border state was wracked with southern versus northern vigilantism and cross-border violence from the slave state of Missouri. When she was away for just three days near Lawrence, Kansas having left behind evidence in her home that she was a staunch abolitionist, it was burned to the ground. Like many others Lucy Maggard went further westward to get away from the eastern conflicts and looming Civil War.
Her descendent Sharon after ten years researching her family roots, concludes Lucy was afflicted also with ‘wanderlust.’
Everyone seemed to be moving in, then out, from Auroria to seek their fortunes elsewhere – some into the mountains seeking gold, others, like Lucy, looked for places of growing opportunity. She chose Colorado City which had just won, on November 5th, 1861 the honor of being named the location for the Territorial Capitol. So Lucy Maggard, pregnant daughter Amanda with her husband William Price, 20 year old daughter Fidelia, and younger son Jack, headed for Colorado City, 80 miles south.
The next documented information about Lucy came, not from what Sharon had uncovered, but from an advertisement in a very rare copy (only one original exists and we only have a copy) of Volume 1, Number 1, Edition of the Colorado City Journal dated August 1st, 1861. The same ad runs again on the front page of the November 28th, 1861, Number 18 issue. (I own one of only 4 originals, which I have loaned to the Society.) The ad is for the ‘Central Hotel’ on ‘West Central Street, Near Fifth’ in Colorado City, with Lucy Maggard, proprietor. That placed it near today’s 2800 block about where Pikes Peak Avenue intersects 28th Street. That was right off the most direct route to Denver which ran up past Camp Creek through today’s Pleasant Valley. Her ad stated that the ‘Denver Coaches’ start from ‘this house.’ And she bragged “The table always well furnished and prices moderate”
One thing we knew from several sources – Lucy Maggard put good food on the table wherever she ran a hotel. And she ran several of them – which repeatedly became her main source of income. She was a business woman from beginning to the end of her wanderlust life. Interesting woman was Lucy.

It just so happens they were having a Farmer's Market right next to the park where the log cabin was so we walked over and looked around and bought some apple tarts. Then we did 3 more NRV caches in Old Colorado City before heading for our caching and drive through the Garden of the Gods.

Garden of the Gods is a public park located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. Entrance to the park is free according to the wish of Charles Elliott Perkins, whose children donated the land to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909.
It contains numerous trails for hiking, walking, mountain biking and horseback riding. One of the most popular trails, named Perkins, has been paved in an effort to combat the erosion of the park's central garden caused by its numerous visitors. Visitors receive frequent reminders to watch out for rattlesnakes in the hot days of summer.
Because of the unusual and steep rock formations in the park, it is an attractive goal for rock climbers. Rock climbing is permitted, with annual permit obtained at the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center. The only requirements are reading the rules, proper equipment, climbing with a "buddy", and staying on established climbing routes. Due to the often unstable conditions of the sandstone—particularly after much precipitation—several fatalities have occurred over the years. This is a very popular bicycle-riding area because of the scenic views, safe one-way recently-paved roads, and healthy clean air.
The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of red, blue, purple, and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pikes Peak massif. Evidence of past ages; ancient seas, eroded remains of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can be read in the rocks. A spectacular shear fault can be observed where the Tower of Babel (Lyons Sandstone) contacts the Fountain Formation.[1] The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the sandstone. There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils.
The hogbacks, so named because they resemble the backs and spines of a pig, are ridges of sandstone whose layers are tilted. Instead of lying horizontally, some layers are even vertically oriented. Each hogback can range up to several hundred feet long, and the tallest (called North Gateway Rock) rises to a height of 320 feet (98 m) tall[2]. A notable rock feature on this hogback, the Kissing Camels, appears to be two very large camels sitting face to face with their lips touching.
One of the most popular features in the park is a large balancing rock, known locally as Balanced Rock.
The Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center is located near the park entrance and offers free nature presentations daily. Natural history exhibits include minerals, geology, plants and local wildlife, as well as Native American culture. Programs include nature hikes, a Junior Ranger program, narrated bus tours, movies and special programs. Proceeds from the center support the Garden of the Gods Park. The center provides useful information for the experienced hiker as well as the armchair tourist.
The name of the park dates back to August 1859 when two surveyors helping to set up nearby Colorado City were exploring the nearby areas. Upon discovering the site, one of the surveyors, M. S. Beach, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden." His companion, the young Rufus Cable, awestruck by the impressive rock formations, exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." The beer garden never materialized, but the name stuck.
In 2006 a dinosaur species discovered there, was named after the park: Theiophytalia kerri.

We started with a Earthcache which was all driving where 8 different waypoints took us to 8 scenic sections of the park. Next was another Earthcache regarding the rock formation Kissing Camels. Next was a virtual cache at the Gateway Rick Overlook a scenic site where you could look between the rocks into the valley. Then it was 2 more Earthcaches one at the Three Graces rock formation and the second at Balanced Rock.

Balanced Rock:Balanced Rock has often been called the Eighth Wonder of the World. However that may be, it has certainly been one of the world's most photographed rocks. Favorite photographs have included those of someone trying to push the rock over or of someone posed in front of the rock, sitting astride a burro or horse.Old-time tour drivers often told unsuspecting touists that Balanced Rock rotated on its axis once a year; should they come back the following year they would see an entirely different face of the rock. Area children, for their part, often placed empty coke bottles under the bottom of the rock before a windstorm. On their return, they would find the bottle shattered to pieces. This practice came to an end at mid-century after a group of college students attempted to topple the rock, and the city park department was forced to add a stabilizing layer of cement around the base of the rock.
Balanced Rock did not become a part of the Garden of the Gods Park until the early 1930's. Before that it was private property. During the 1890's a youngster of fourteen named Curt Goerke began taking photographs of visitors to the rock for a quarter of a dollar each. Soon he was making so much money that his father Paul quit his job, learning photography, and bought Balanced Rock and nearby Mushroom Park for $400. By the first decade of the twentieth century, the pair were taking pictures of tourists - often seating them atop the four burros kept nearby. The wet plates were developed in the Goerke Photography Shop attached to nearby Steamboat Rock. As business improved, stairs were cut into Steamboat Rock, and a telescope installed on the top.
Geologists claim that the story of the Garden of the Gods began nearly 300 million years ago, when sediment from the Ancestral Rockies was carried eastward and spread out into great alluvial fans. This sediment was then reddened by ferric iron and long covered by a shallow inland sea. Some sixty million years ago - when the modern Rocky Mountains began their upward thrust - the horizontal sedimentary rocks were elevated and tilted skyward. The forces of wind and rain then gradually stripped away the softer layers, sculptering balanced rock into the form we see today.

The Three Graces:The Three Graces is a rock formation made up of Fountain Arkose, the oldest type of rock found in the Garden of the Gods. Fountain Arkose is a conglomerate made up of coarse-grained sediments. About 300 million years ago, the Ancestral Rocky Mountains were eroding and the sediments were being deposited as stream gravels and alluvial fan deposits. The Ancestral Rocky Mountains were formed from granite, like much of today’s Rocky Mountains, and this is where the feldspar in the Fountain Arkose came from (an “arkose” is a rock formed from at least 25% feldspar). The presence of the feldspar is what gives the Three Graces its pink hue.
Rocks formed from alluvial fan deposits often have a large difference in the particle size due to the nature of this type of deposition. Alluvial fans are formed from material which is carried in streams which travel through restricted areas such as canyons or narrow washes. When the water reaches the end of the restriction, the water spreads out and the energy of the water is dissipated. With the reduction of energy in the water, the material which was carried along drops out, with the larger material dropping first. Weather events have a large effect on the erosion of this material. Storms and spring snowmelt often cause larger particle sizes to be moved in the streams (boulders and gravels) versus smaller material (gravels, sands, and mud) which is moved during dry seasons. Catastrophic events, such as extreme floods (the Big Thompson Canyon Flood in 1976) or dam breaks and resultant flooding (the Lawn Lake Dam failure in 1982) are known to have moved boulders 20’ or more in diameter, along with a range of other smaller material.

Kissing Camels:The Kissing Camels formation sits at the very top of North Gateway Rock. These lovestruck camels are often said to be engaged in the longest kiss on record. Geologists claim that the story of the Garden of the Gods began nearly 300 million years ago, when sediment from the Ancestral Rockies was carried eastward and spread out into great alluvial fans. This sediment was then reddened by ferric iron and long covered by a shallow inland sea.
The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of red and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pikes Peak massif. Evidence of past ages; ancient seas, eroded remains of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can read in the rocks. There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils.
The Garden of the Gods seems to have attracted not only the Mountain Ute Indians, but also the nomadic tribes of the plains - first the Apache, then the Comanche, and finally the Kiowa, Pawnee, Arapaho and Cheyenne. Early white settlers claimed that the Garden was a favorite campsite for the various bands of Utes, especially in late fall and winter. It was said that the Utes came to the Garden during those seasons not only because of the absence of their enemies, the Plains Indians, but also in order to hunt the great herds of elk which fed upon the nearby mesa. With the start of the Indian wars in the mid-1860's, the Arapahoes and Chyennes discontinued their visits to the Pikes Peak region. Not so the Utes, who continued to camp in the Garden of the Gods throughout the 1860's and 70's.
Physical evidence for these Native American campsites still exists in the form of hidden petroglyphs, ancient fire rings, broken pottery, and innumerable stone tools and projectile points. These bits of archaelogical findings, coupled with the accounts of the early pioneers, only serve to confirm the suspicions of modern historians that the Garden of the Gods was an American Indian crossroads up into historic times.

That was it for our drive through Garden of the Gods and we stopped at the Trading Post and looked around and bought a few souvenirs of our visit. Then we stopped and found one more cache in Manitou Springs and it was on back to the coach for the day. Well we guess that's about it for the today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick