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September 15, 2022, taken (I think) from Rampart Road and looking east. Don't quote me on this, but I think I was up there doing some senior portraits, and grabbing pictures like this as opportunities arose. Anyway, nice view and nice light!

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Another nice moment from last Thursday on Rampart Range Road. I was there doing some senior portraits, but actually remembered for once to get a snap or two for the blog. Look at that amazing piñon pine.

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A gorgeous view of the Kissing Camels from Rampart Range Road, taken late in the afternoon last Thursday.

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One last pretty moment from our drive on Rampart Range Road. This section isn't far from Woodland Park. Lucky us for having places like this to enjoy, only minutes away.

The Summit, I Suppose

I figure this must be the summit of Rampart Range Road. There's a a spot to pull your car over and take in the magnificent view, and there's also this placard. The inscription reads: "Rampart Range Road, Constructed by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps. Dedicated to your use and enjoyment, June 19, 1938." It's also got a ton of graffiti scratched into it. I don't understand why anyone would see this and say, "Gee, it would look so much better if I scratched my initials and some stupid message onto it." But there you have it -- many have apparently done just that.

Where the Elves Are

From the viewing platform shown in yesterday's post, if you can tear your eyes away from the mountains and cast them downward, you'll be looking at Highway 24 snaking through Ute Pass. The buildings with the colorful roofs are the North Pole and Santa's Workshop. That's right, the North Pole is in Colorado, not the top of our planet, silly! Okay maybe it's not the real North Pole but it's a fun place to bring your kiddos year round. They'll even get to meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Random Viewing Platform

If you drive far enough up Rampart Range Road, you'll eventually come to a viewing platform that looks like it's been there a long, long time. It's located at a spot that gives you an absolutely stupendous view of the mountain (Waldo Canyon Fire destruction in the foreground notwithstanding). Just be careful not to fall off! I'm kidding. The drop off looks dramatic from this angle, but it's actually more of a slope than a cliff.

A New Perspective

I hope you've been enjoying my little series this week on Rampart Range Road! Pat and I have never driven all the way through to the end of it, in fact we've only made occasional forays of maybe a mile or two along its winding route, so we were blown away by the astonishing views of snowy Pikes Peak that just kept getting better and better the farther we drove. It's like you could almost reach out and touch it. We were practically at eye level with the summit, or so it felt. We stopped several times to take pictures. So beautiful.

Remnants

Driving on Rampart Range Road will take you directly through the path of the Waldo Canyon Fire so you can see up close the destruction it wrought. It's very sobering to see how perilously close it came to destroying the Garden of the Gods. For those who aren't familiar, this is recent Colorado Springs history and it resulted in the destruction of over 350 homes, including those of two of my friends. The photo below shows where it breached the foothills and raged downhill (which is practically impossible) into the Mountain Shadows neighborhood. It's hard to describe exactly how traumatizing it was for our city. Nearly nine years later, it still brings painful memories. You can read about it HERE, and if you click on the Waldo Canyon Fire tag below, you'll see every post I've made about it, including the ones I made in real time as the fire started, spread and quickly grew out of control.

The Back Side of the Scar

We drove up Rampart Range Road after taking the pictures that I've been featuring the last few days. This winding dirt road originates in the Garden of the Gods and takes you all the way to Rampart Range Reservoir outside Woodland Park. It's a very scenic drive. Lest you think all of our views are pristine and beautiful, though, let me bring your attention to our infamous scar. See how the top of this ridge is suspiciously flat? I don't mean level, I mean flattened instead of jagged and rocky, as it should be. That's because it was a large quarry for decades, and it left a giant scar just north of the Garden of the Gods that's highly visible from practically anywhere in the city. I just spent the last half hour going through every post on this blog that features the Garden of the Gods or our famous view from the overlook, and not a single one of them shows the scar, because I always reflexively shoot around it or crop it out in post. It's not exactly scenic, at least I don't think it is, and unfortunately it's hard to miss!

Since the quarry has closed, the site has grown over with a few stubby trees and undergrowth, but it's never going to look normal. As you drive on Rampart Range Road you'll eventually go past the back side of the scar, and you can clearly see where the natural shape of the foothill ends and the manmade destruction begins. I don't know whose idea it was to put a quarry in such a highly visible spot, but there's not a lot we can do about it now. The next time I go to take a picture of our view I'll purposely include the scar so you can see what it looks like from the front. But first, I'll be continuing my series on Rampart Range Road for the next several days.