Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock is probably the most photographed thing in the Garden of the Gods. As you can see, the road literally goes right between it and Ship Rock on the left, and there's a parking lot just behind where I stood to take this picture. Consequently, there are usually hordes of tourists crawling around, snapping pictures (a perennial favorite is the "pushing the rock over" pose) and generally making it impossible to get a shot of just the rock formations alone. The other day, however, Pat and I were pleasantly surprised to find the place nearly deserted! There were a couple of kids scampering about and a pair of tourists from New Mexico, and that was it. I was able to get this great, people-free shot of Balanced Rock and Ship Rock, and I don't anticipate I'll ever get the chance to do it again! Ha ha! Below, just for fun, is a picture of the two tourists.