RED ROCK CANYON, COLORADO

   

Red Rock Canyon is a recently aquired Open Space in Colorado Springs and once the construction is completed the park will offer rock climbing opportunities as well as miles of hiking trails and picnic areas.  This was my first visit to the park and I could not resist the stairway's beaconing invitation to climb to the top.

What awaited for me at the top was not only a spectacular view but there was also a very interesting structure cut into the rock.  The walls of the structure were layered by what was possibly some kind of cutting machine, but the surface was worn and weathered by exposure to the elements giving it an ancient Aztec appeal.

I climbed higher and was able to get a good view from above that revealed clear and distinct rooms.  My imagination ran wild as I tried to imagine who once lived in this dwelling cut into the mountain.

The dwellings had long been abandoned and the vegetation has taken over the site, giving a contrasting splash of green against the bright red rocks.

This is a close-up of one of the walls, a natural artistic beauty that can never be imitated no matter how we may try.  I half expected to see hieroglyphics on the walls.  I picked around the site and found evidence of a fire.  Scattered on the ground of one room were broken bottles and pottery.  I gathered the few that were still in tack and will clean them up later.  My priority after the shoot was to find out more about Red Rock Canyon and its mysterious yet beautiful dwellings.

My search revealed that it was in fact a quarry!  The ancient relics were probably the remainsof someone's garbage fire.  Oh well, so much for my archeological find.  Still, it was exciting for the time that I explored the site, thinking that it might have been a highway man's hideout or even some ancient native dwelling.