Garden of the Gods

The other day we drove down this road on our way to Santa Fe. Instead of ending at the foot of the mountain, it curves around the mountain and there's a very scenic, very curvy, downward slope to drive down, on the other side.

 Along the Turquoise Trail, a specially named section of highway, so named for the many turquoise mines in the area, there is a place with "holey" rocks, the Garden of the Gods.

  Notice the tree growing out of the rocks at the top? This large formation, known as the Dakota Wall, is part of a continuous sandstone wall, part of the Rockies, running north to south, from Canada to Mexico. This area is known as the Garden of the Gods, so named because of its similarity to the well known region in the Colorado Springs area. About a mile north, are ruins of the ancient San Marcos Pueblo, one of the most populous pueblos at the time of the Spanish explorers in 1540.

Ancient peoples revered this area. Here is a beautifully carved pole, possibly religious in nature or at least spiritual. Also known as Ambush Rock, this area was often used by masked bandits to waylay travelers on foot or horseback and to rob stagecoaches and wagons carrying silver and gold from the local mines.

There is a delightful little outdoor art garden in this area but it is behind locked gates. Later this year, it is anticipated that there will be a residence, studio, and gardens open to the public.

I love this sculpture of the Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Peeking out from the trees is this life sized black horse.

Here is a distant shot of the origami horses to give you perspective of the area.