Florissant Essay

    The fossil beds are an unassuming place.  As our guide Lanie said, most people expect to see big fossils of animals, not trees. 

Wandering the grounds looking at trees does not sound very interesting but it was.  I had no idea that there used to be a redwood forest in modern Florissant.  The yurt held more interesting things, small fossilized plants and animals.  As a child, I attended a micro-fossil camp where we got to excavate rock from a very special site and look at the fauna that existed millions of years ago, and looking into the microscopes in the yurt reminded me of that experience.  Looking at the rocks on the site, I could imagine doing that again.

    From a broad viewpoint, looking around the fossil beds provides a rhythm of the world.  Ancient fossilized tree stumps are a prominent feature, but there are also new trees.  Nature creates and destroys and creates again and this is easily seen at this site.  There is even a modern pine growing out of a fossilized tree!  The rhythm of energy flow is easily noticed from that particular image.  Nature will use all available resources to renew herself. 

    Looking around the fossil beds, toward Pikes Peak, I noticed the clouds moving and the blue sky. 

I imagine those things were seen by the creatures that lived in the ancient redwood forest.  The fossilized trees have a texture not too unlike our modern trees.  The thin papery layers of rock have a unique texture as well.  The rock is delicate, yet it has preserved ancient tissues for millions of years.