Down Time

I had a few precious minutes of down time on Thursday, so I grabbed the dog and went for a drive through the Garden of the Gods. I haven't been there in a while, which is a pity because I used to go at least once a month. Lately, though, it's just become too crowded thanks to explosive population growth in the region. I figured that on a random Thursday at the end of October it might be a little bit empty, though. One can hope. Alas, there were quite a few people about. Possibly it might have had something to do with the fact that the normally elusive resident bighorn sheep herd was making its presence known -- news of that travels fast, and indeed there were lots of folks gathered around that general area of the park, trying to get pictures of the majestic animals with their cell phones. (I drove on by.) Farther in, I parked my car just to grab a shot of Kissing Camels, and as you can see in the photo below, I wasn't the only person there. Ultimately I ended up at the High Point, and there I found a modicum of solitude with only a couple of other people about. As always, I tend to visit the park more during the cold months to avoid the crowds, so hopefully I'll have a less grumpy experience next time, as winter wears on.