… Naughty! You think that I’m going to blog about Mike, HA! I couldn’t resist!

We visited the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument today in Florissant, some 35 miles outside Colorado Springs where we are staying.

Here, beneath pine-covered hills and grassy meadows lies one the world’s richest fossil deposits. Step back in time 34 million years and you would be standing in the midst of a warm temperate forest, at the edge of a lake. Redwood trees tower overhead. Thousands of insects flit and buzz. Prehistoric creatures roam in the distance, grazing on the lush vegetation.

A massive volcanic area existed 15 miles to the southwest. The volcanos erupt regularly and the eruptions mix ash, water and possibly snow to create massive mudflows called lahars. They can move 150 mph down the slopes and carry car-sized boulders. A lahar entombed ancient redwood trees in up to 15 feet of mud and volcanic debris. Eventually the parts of the trees encased in mud became petrified.

Redwood trees soaring some 250 feet into the air, now only grow in a thin belt on the California and Oregon coasts but exist here in Colorado as fossil stumps.

The Big Stump: a petrified giant Sequoia (Redwood) stump. This stump is one of the largest fossilized trees in the world and measures over 12 feet in diameter!

How many fossils can you see? 

Today’s park landscape features mountain meadows and rolling hills forested with ponderosa pine, spruce, fir and aspen. These trees stand in stark contrast to petrified giant sequoia stumps from the ancient ecosystem these fossil beds preserve.