Images of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument – Colorado, taken in July 2016.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is a site that has produced fossil remains of over 1,700 different species of insects, plants and animals; however it is the petrified redwood stumps that are the main draw.

I took the Petrified Forest Loop Trail from the Visitor Center to see all of the excavated stumps but it was my late afternoon hike on the Boulder Creek Trail that was more memorable and it had nothing to do with fossils or redwood stumps. This was a peaceful and less traveled trail, I ran into only one couple on the entire two hour hike, which skirted the Boulder Creek and its surrounding meadow. Each time I paused on the trail all I could hear were birds, the breeze moving the grasses and the water running through the meadow. Now I’ve been on many similar trails in the past and heard similar sounds but not quite in such a magnificently serene setting. Perhaps Summit Meadow in Yosemite National Park could match the calming effect this place had on me and I’m sure there are and will be others but on this day I was reminded that although the parks are normally set aside for a specific purpose they also contain incredible natural spaces with the power to simultaneously peak and calm the senses in an unparalleled way.