Driving the Gold Belt Byway: Indian Springs Trace Fossil Site and Phantom Canyon (Stops 19-21)

The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. | August 31, 2007

Our last major stop for the day on the Gold Belt Byway was Indian Springs Ranch, a ranch and campsite owned by the Thorson Family. The Indian Springs Trace Fossil Site is a National Natural Landmark (NNL) protected by the federal government, but it is owned by the Thorson Family and you must have permission and be accompanied by a family member to visit the site. Tours may be arranged by calling ahead.

Category: Activities, Biology, Geology, Gold Belt Byway, History, Paleontology, Science, Travel | 4 Comments »
Tags:

Driving the Gold Belt Byway: Garden Park and Skyline Drive Fossil Sites (Stops 12, 14-16)

The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. | August 29, 2007

Our first stop in the Garden Park Fossil Area was a view of Edward Drinker Cope’s quarries. Cope (1940-1897) was a well-known and notorious paleontologist, as much for his sometimes vicious rivalry with Othniel Charles Marsh for new dinosaur discoveries, which came to be known as the “Bone Wars.”

Category: Activities, Geology, Gold Belt Byway, Paleontology, Science, Travel | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Driving the Gold Belt Byway: Dome Rock and the Shelf Road (Stops 4, 17-18)

The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. | August 27, 2007

Towards the end of the summer, Dr. Herb Meyer took our paleontology interns, Kathy Salas and Eva Lyon, and myself on a tour of part of the Gold Belt Byway. The Gold Belt Byway is a National Scene Byway which winds through spectacular scenery and includes 21 stops of historic or scientific importance, including Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, the Cripple Creek Mining District, the rich dinosaur fossil sites of Garden Park, and an important Ordovician trace fossil site at Indian Springs Ranch.

Category: Activities, Geology, Gold Belt Byway, Paleontology, Science, Travel | 5 Comments »
Tags:

Seasonal training field trip

The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds, Inc. | June 1, 2007

This summer, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument welcomes four summer interns–two paleontology and two interpretive–as well as new and returning seasonal staff members and volunteers. Seasonal training finished this week just in time for summer visitation. Training this year included a tour outside the park, to some of the stops on the Gold Belt Byway.

Category: Education, Geology, Gold Belt Byway, Interpretation, Paleontology, People, Travel | 3 Comments »
Tags: